Tag Archives: Orpheus

I’m continuing my look at Manly Wade Wellman’s pulp hero Silver John, the roaming singer and guitarist who fights supernatural forces in the Appalachian Mountains of long ago, sort of like a countrified Orpheus meets Kolchak. He’s called Silver John because of the silver strings on his guitar and the silver coins he carries in his pockets. For more details click here: https://glitternight.com/pulp-heroes/

WHERE DID SHE WANDER? – This short story is set during the time Silver John and Evadare are married. Our hero travels to perform at the Trudo Music Festival, where he got tongues wagging by setting his guitar on fire while on stage. I’m kidding! While there John looks into a local legend behind a song he’s just learned. A legend about Becky Til Hoppard, a woman hanged as a witch in 1849. Her gravestone is regarded with superstitious awe and Continue reading →

Silver John: Can These Bones Live?

I’m continuing my look at Manly Wade Wellman’s pulp hero Silver John, the roaming singer and guitarist who fights supernatural forces in the Appalachian Mountains of long ago, sort of like a countrified Orpheus meets Kolchak. He’s called Silver John because of the silver strings on his guitar and the silver coins he carries in his pockets. For more details click here: https://glitternight.com/pulp-heroes/

NOBODY EVER GOES THERE – Just a reminder that all the Silver John stories published after his marriage to his beloved Evadare (click here if you missed the tales chronicling that landmark event – https://glitternight.com/2011/06/03/pulp-heroes-silver-john-four-for-friday/  ) jump around in time. This short story is set when John is much older. This tale breaks from the tradition of having the stories narrated by Silver John in the first person. We get a third person narrative in which the older (probably 40’s) balladeer comes to the aid of two young lovers in the town of Trimble.

Mark Banion and Ruth Covel, two teachers at Trimble High, cross to the forbidden side of Catch River, where ancient, shadowy life forms caused the disappearance of an entire textile factory crew plus their families. All of that happened over 75 years ago, but strange sounds still emanate from the creepy-looking abandoned factory and the company houses nearby. The romantic leads investigate the strange place and find themselves surrounded by the nebulous creatures from the Continue reading →

I’m continuing my look at Manly Wade Wellman’s pulp hero Silver John, the roaming singer and guitarist who fights supernatural forces in the Appalachian Mountains of long ago, sort of like a countrified Orpheus meets Kolchak. He’s called Silver John because of the silver strings on his guitar and the silver coins he carries in his pockets. For more details click here: https://glitternight.com/pulp-heroes/

WHO ELSE COULD I COUNT ON? – Silver John encounters his own older self from forty years in the future. He’s traveled back in time to Continue reading →

I’m continuing my look at Manly Wade Wellman’s pulp hero Silver John, the roaming singer and guitarist who fights supernatural forces in the Appalachian Mountains of long ago, sort of like a countrified Orpheus meets Kolchak. He’s called Silver John because of the silver strings on his guitar and the silver coins he carries in his pockets. For more details click here: https://glitternight.com/pulp-heroes/

I CAN’T CLAIM THAT – With Silver John and his beloved Evadare married now (and if you missed the landmark tales depicting those events click here – https://glitternight.com/2011/06/03/pulp-heroes-silver-john-four-for-friday/  )   the stories stopped going in chronological order, jumping around Silver John’s life past and future. Set BEFORE John’s marriage, this vignette features a warlock named Joss Kift who seeks revenge on our hero for exposing him. A black rooster with its throat cut, a voodoo doll and a black dog hanging from a tree are Continue reading →

I’m continuing my look at Manly Wade Wellman’s pulp hero Silver John, the roaming singer and guitarist who fights supernatural forces in the Appalachian Mountains of long ago, sort of like a countrified Orpheus meets Kolchak. He’s called Silver John because of the silver strings on his guitar and the silver coins he carries in his pockets. For more details click here: https://glitternight.com/pulp-heroes/ 

ON THE HILLS AND EVERYWHERE – This short story would be better titled  A Very Silver John Christmas. Our wandering balladeer is spending Christmas Day with a mountain family; singing, playing and tale-spinning for his supper. He tells a story about a man named “Mr Carpenter”, who of course turns out to be Jesus Christ, and who performs a Yuletide miracle for Continue reading →