H. Russell Wakefield (1888-1964) is the third man in a triumvirate of English ghost story writers. The first two are M. R. James and E. F. Benson. As the last man in a chain of storytelling tradition, Wakefield’s tales are less well-known and still under copyright. So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I never heard of “Into Outer Darkness”. The story first appeared in The Clock Strikes Twelve (1939). I found it in Hugh Lamb’s The Star Book of Horror No. 2 (1976).
I particularly jumped on this one because it features a kind of psychic detective. Wakefield was not a fan of the sub-genre, as he showed in his Weird Tales story “Ghost Hunt” (Weird Tales, March 1948). In that story he created the fake psychic Professor Mignon. Wakefield uses a little black humor having a fake meet real. This time the hero, Richard Lytton (named after Lord Lytton most likely), is a real sensitive. As such he tries to avoid any kind of involvement but has made an exception for his friend, Alec Propert. “No doubt most people would think he was making much ado about nothing, but most people were fools, and he intensely disliked any kind of ghost-hunt.”
Alec drives them to Whitling Manor. On the drive over Lytton asks about the previous renters. The last of four was a rich American. His son disappeared mysteriously while reading a book in the library. Propert points out that the library seems to be the foci of the disruption, despite knowing almost next-to-nothing about the house. He does recall there is a set of stairs that no one ever walks down. Alec offers to let Lytton walk down them. He declines.
The two men sit on chairs in the library, a large room that Whitling had expanded from three smaller rooms. Lytton watches the fire on the end of his cigarette. The darkness produces a figure at the end of the table. He sees torches along the wall. The smoke begins to fill the room. Lytton finds he can’t breathe. He pounds at the walls and floors. He sees a light then darkness…
Alec goes to see if Lytton is ready to leave.
“He got up and switched on the lamp. he gazed down at the gasping, fading shadow in the chair. And he screamed out, “Dick!” as the torch slipped from his trembling hand.
Wakefield leaves the ending of “Into Outer Darkness” largely unstated. You imagine what happened to Lytton. You explain what happened to him.
Hugh Lamb sets the tale with Wakefield’s philosophy that ghosts should always be malevolent. (A philosophy I completely agree with.) This belief came from an actual psychic encounter, the material from which he wrote his first story “The Red Lodge”. This lead to the idea that anyone who meddles with the supernatural through Spiritualism, seances, etc. is “playing with fire” (to steal a Conan Doyle title.)
‘I believe all psychic intrusions possess negative survival value and should in no way be encouraged. Communication with the dead should never be attempted; it inevitably confuses and distresses. Why shouldn’t ghosts be malignant, striving to destroy, or at least scare the wits out of us? They may very well be.’
Certainly Lytton would agree. His encounter had “negative survival value”. As to whether this type of story is scarier than “Ghost Hunt” (which has a small twinkle of humor) I found “Into Outer Darkness” a little underwhelming. I get that suggestion is creepier than showing all the monsters, but somehow this tale doesn’t give me enough. I’d love to hear about Lytton’s other cases. Wakefield, of course, has no interest in tell them. Lamb calls it: “one of the most chilling tales in this collection”. As I haven’t read the other stories (yet) I can’t comment.
