Carnacki: The Watcher at the Gate by William Meikle, illustrations by M. Wayne Miller

Ghost House, Dark Renaissance Books, 2015

ISBN: 9781937128753

Available: Hardcover, new and used. Currently out of print.

Carnacki: The Watcher at the Gate collects twelve original short stories by William Meikle, with William Hope Hodgson’s supernatural detective at the center. Each story centers on a dire situation: an imperiled individual calls upon the unusual expertise of Carnacki to get to the bottom of the occult goings-on and expertly banish the evil back to the Outer Darkness.

A few of the stories that are particularly well-written incorporate another Hodgson character, Captain Gault. These are some of the most interesting tales of the collection. While Carnacki is a great character, Captain Gault adds a bit more panache to the atmosphere. In “Captain Gault’s Nemesis”, the captain is carrying cursed cargo below decks of his ship, and Carnacki has to deal with the problem. In “The Blue Egg”, Carnacki is a guest aboard Captain Gault’s ship, and witnesses the effects a sliver from a rare gem has on the captain and crew. Everyone who is near it wants to possess it, and its power grows day by day.  In “The Gray Boats”, a strange fog emanating from two abandoned Navy ships destroys everything in its wake, including flesh and bone.

An admirable trait of Carnacki’s is that when children come to him with matters of the occult, he takes them seriously, investigates, and inevitably finds that the issues are real. In “The China Doll,” Lord Atwell of Belgravia calls on Carnacki to investigate his youngest daughter’s room, as she thinks it is haunted. When he is alone in her room, he discovers the china dolls are whispering. His investigation leads him to the manufacturer’s facilities, where it turns out that the manufacturer has a unique problem with the curing oven. In “The Black Swan,” a young girl arrives at Carnacki’s residence, distraught and pleading for his help, regarding a large black bird she thinks lives in her closet. He travels with her to her home, where, after a few minutes of terse conversation, her father relates the story of the black swan in the basement.

In addition to being a friend to the seafaring Captain Gault and children, Carnacki is popular among political figures. In two stories, he comes to the aid of a young Winston Churchill. He also helps the Home Secretary in an investigation of an occult ritual gone wrong.

Other exciting stories await the reader. Having recently revisited one of the original Hodgson books, I can attest that Meikle’s writing is in keeping with the overall tone and atmosphere of Carnacki’s adventures, and I appreciate that, as well as his blending in of the realm of eldritch horror.  The inclusion of horrific entities tormenting humanity and threatening to either kill us or drive us insane is a nice touch, and fit in well with the overall feel of the Carnacki stories. This is a great read that will appeal to readers young and old. Recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker