Weird Tales: The Houdini Issues-Part Three

"Imprisoned with the Pharaohs"

In January and February of 1924, Weird Tales magazine played cowboys and Indians on its covers. In the first illustration, a hatless cowboy wearing thick, furry chaps is seen fleeing on horseback from a ghostly rider twirling a ghostly lariat. In the second, an Indian seems to be summoning lightning from the night sky. With his straight arms raised and his hands open before him, he looks like the symbol of the Lone Scouts. With his flashing red cloak, he looks like the ape in Frank Frazetta's illustration for the Conan story "Rogues in the House." Both covers were by R.M. Mally.

Then the Houdini issues began.

There were three in all, in March, April, and May/June/July 1924. Although Houdini signed his agreement with Weird Tales in February 1924, the issue with the Indian cover was already on the nation's newsstands by then. The March issue was the earliest in which his byline could appear. 

R.M. Mally was again the creator of the three Houdini covers. Houdini was supposed to have been the author of all three cover stories. They were:

• March 1924: "The Spirit Fakers of Hermannstadt"

• April 1924: "The Hoax of the Spirit Lover"

• May/June/July 1924: "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs"

So there were three stories published under Houdini's byline in Weird Tales. But does that mean that Houdini was actually their author? The answer is obviously no in the case of "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs," as H.P. Lovecraft is known to have ghostwritten that story. There was some drama attached to that, for Lovecraft wrote it in a hurry, lost his first version in an even quicker hurry, then rewrote it on his honeymoon, again in a hurry. (Most people are in a hurry on their honeymoons, though not to retype lost manuscripts.) Maybe the briefcase or satchel containing his typescript is in the same place as Hemingway's stolen suitcase. Maybe they're both at the dead letter office where Bartleby the Scrivener used to work. Wherever it went, Lovecraft was well compensated for his work, Houdini liked the result, and his story is still admired by fans of weird fiction. It also became the cover story of the only quarterly issue of Weird Tales, May/June/July 1924. (1, 2)

To be continued . . .

Notes

(1) According to Wikipedia, "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" is supposed to have been an influence upon a young Robert Bloch. Wikipedia of course doesn't say how. Robert Price, though, has identified an Egyptian Cycle of stories written by Bloch. These were published in Weird Tales in 1936-1938. Bloch's Milwaukee friend Earl Peirce, Jr., wrote a story, "The Archer" (Weird Tales, Mar. 1937), that seems to be connected to the Egyptian Cycle as well. Bloch didn't encounter Weird Tales until 1927. If "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" was an influence upon him, that happened after the initial publication of Lovecraft's story.

(2) Houdini's fictional guide in "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" is Abdul Reis el Drogman. I assume that the Reis part of his name is from Piri Reis. El Drogman would seem to refer to Abdul Reis' service as a guide. Otis Adelbert Kline would later write stories about a man employed in the same way. These were in his Dragoman series for Oriental Stories and The Magic Carpet Magazine of 1930-1933.

William F. Heitman's illustration for "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs," in Weird Tales, May/June/July 1924. The byline was Houdini's, but the story was written by H.P. Lovecraft. The scene here reminds me of one from Raiders of the Lost Ark in which Indiana Jones descends into a pit full of snakes. Indy's friend Sallah is there. Played by John Rhys-Davies (Rhys, not Reis), Sallah would appear to be a drogman- or dragoman-type character. Every Western adventurer in the Middle East or Near East needs one.

Original text copyright 2024 Terence E. Hanley