The Great God Pan
The Great God Pan is a horror and fantasy novella by Welsh writer Arthur Machen. Machen was inspired to write "The Great God Pan" by his experiences at the ruins of a pagan temple in Wales. What would become the first chapter of the novella was published in the magazine "The Whirlwind" in 1890. Machen later extended "The Great God Pan" and it was published as a book alongside another story, "The Inmost Light", in 1894. The novella begins with an experiment to allow a woman named Mary to see the supernatural world. This is followed by an account of a series of mysterious happenings and deaths over many years surrounding a woman named Helen Vaughan. At the end, the heroes confront Helen and force her to kill herself. She undergoes a series of supernatural transformations before dying and she is revealed to be the child of Mary and the god Pan.
Pan Book of Horror Stories
The series was initially collected and edited by Herbert Van Thal. On Van Thal's death Clarence Paget edited the series, from volume twenty-six until its demise with volume thirty in 1989.
The early editions of the "Pan Book of Horror Stories" were notable for their lurid cover art and Van Thal's introduction of stories by new authors alongside classics of the genre. The first edition included works by Peter Fleming, Muriel Spark, Bram Stoker and C. S. Forester. Later volumes featured Ray Bradbury and Lord Dunsany among others. Basil Copper made his debut in fifth volume, with the story "The Spider". The series also published work by Charles Birkin, R. Chetwynd-Hayes and Alex Hamilton. After volume nine, Van Thal placed a heavier reliance on new authors. The series grew in popularity and was the stepping stone for much new talent. In the 1970s, the increasingly violent content of the "Pan Books" provoked some controversy. In the early 1980s a slow decline in standards was observed. Popularity rose again in the late decade, but a multitude of reprint stories from Stephen King and a severe slide in quality ended the iconic series in 1989. The last book is now a rare collectors item, due to the small print run it received.