Random House Publishing Group
Search
Expand Mobile Menu
The White People and Other Weird Stories

The White People and Other Weird Stories

About the Book

Classic tales of the fantastic, creepy and weird, with a foreword from the award-winning director of The Shape of Water Guillermo Del Toro 

Machen's weird tales of the creepy and fantastic finally come to Penguin Classics. With an introduction from S.T. Joshi, editor of American Supernatural Tales, The White People and Other Weird Stories is the perfect introduction to the father of weird fiction. The title story "The White People" is an exercise in the bizarre leaving the reader disoriented and on edge. From the first page, Machen turns even fundamental truths upside-down, as his character Ambrose explains, "there have been those who have sounded the very depths of sin, who all their lives have never done an 'ill deed'" setting the stage for a tale entirely without logic.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Read more
Close

Praise for The White People and Other Weird Stories

"The pleasure of rediscovering these stories or experiencing them for the first time is sure to be amplified by the insightful foreword by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and the excellent introduction by S. T. Joshi." — Craig Smith

"As a selection of 'weird' short stories, The White People is a fine example of the precursor to what has become a popular subgenre of fantasy fiction, as well as a window on to the spiritual concerns of the Welsh author Arthur Machen (1863-1947): the veil separating the phenomenal world and the supernal realm is thin. While we may have forgotten the rituals, spells, charms and wards once used to commune with the spirits, the spirits have not forgotten us."

— Times Literary Supplement
Read more
Close

About the Author

Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was born in Monmouthshire in Wales, a region whose associations with Celtic, Roman and medieval history would make a strong impression on him. Too poor to attend university, he moved to London in 1881 and worked as a journalist, tutor and publisher's clerk, finding time to write at night. The Great God Pan was published in 1894, and despite widespread criticism for its decadent style and sexual content, was Machen's first popular success. In later life, he became an actor and pursued his interests in Celtic Christianity and the legend of the Grail while continuing to write fiction and journalism. More by Arthur Machen
Decorative Carat

About the Author

Guillermo del Toro
Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was born in Monmouthshire in Wales, a region whose associations with Celtic, Roman and medieval history would make a strong impression on him. Too poor to attend university, he moved to London in 1881 and worked as a journalist, tutor and publisher's clerk, finding time to write at night. The Great God Pan was published in 1894, and despite widespread criticism for its decadent style and sexual content, was Machen's first popular success. In later life, he became an actor and pursued his interests in Celtic Christianity and the legend of the Grail while continuing to write fiction and journalism. More by Guillermo del Toro
Decorative Carat

About the Author

S. T. Joshi
S. T. Joshi is a freelance writer and editor. He has edited Penguin Classics editions of H. P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (1999), and The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories (2001), as well as Algernon Blackwood’s Ancient Sorceries and Other Strange Stories (2002). Among his critical and biographical studies are The Weird Tale (1990), Lord Dunsany: Master of the Anglo-Irish Imagination (1995), H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (1996), and The Modern Weird Tale (2001). He has also edited works by Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, and H. L. Mencken, and is compiling a three-volume Encyclopedia of Supernatural Literature. He lives with his wife in Seattle, Washington. More by S. T. Joshi
Decorative Carat

About the Author

S. T. Joshi
S. T. Joshi is a freelance writer and editor. He has edited Penguin Classics editions of H. P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (1999), and The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories (2001), as well as Algernon Blackwood’s Ancient Sorceries and Other Strange Stories (2002). Among his critical and biographical studies are The Weird Tale (1990), Lord Dunsany: Master of the Anglo-Irish Imagination (1995), H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (1996), and The Modern Weird Tale (2001). He has also edited works by Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, and H. L. Mencken, and is compiling a three-volume Encyclopedia of Supernatural Literature. He lives with his wife in Seattle, Washington. More by S. T. Joshi
Decorative Carat

By clicking submit, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.

Random House Publishing Group