Pigeons from Hell

Robert E Howard delivers a chilling tale in Pigeons from Hell, drawn from ghost stories told by his grandmother. The narrative centers on a deserted plantation mansion once owned by the Blassenvilles, who fell into poverty and vanished one by one. Local lore claims that pigeons flocking around the decaying structure are actually the souls of the lost family. Two men traveling through the American South spend a night in this haunted house, only to confront a grisly reality involving voodoo and zombies. The story was written in late 1934 and appeared posthumously in Weird Tales in 1938. Farnsworth Wright introduced it with a one-line note describing frightful death and three women hanging in a dreadful room of horrors. This edition collects Howard’s work, appealing to readers who enjoy supernatural fiction and gothic horror traditions. It suits those interested in early twentieth-century weird tales. Readers seeking modern psychological thrillers or non-horror genres may find this collection less relevant. The text relies on the atmospheric tension of Southern Gothic settings and the macabre imagery of spirits trapped in avian forms. Howard’s background as a master of weird fiction provides the foundation for this specific narrative. The book does not contain extensive analysis or commentary, focusing instead on the original story as published. It stands as a piece of historical horror literature rather than a contemporary guide.