The Lure of the Unknown: Essays on the Strange

“Every thing possible to be believ’d is an image of truth.” – William Blake

The Lure of the Unknown is a collection of Algernon Blackwood’s essays, talks, reviews and anecdotes exploring encounters with the strange and unusual or, in Blackwood’s preferred word, the “odd”. They include his first attempts to investigate alleged haunted houses, his association with such luminaries as W. B. Yeats, “A.E.”, and Gurdjieff; his thoughts on telepathy, reincarnation, elemental spirits, other dimensions, and his beliefs in what lies beyond our normal perceptions. These writings reveal not only Blackwood’s diverse experiences, but his depth of reading and analysis of the unexplained. They provide another dimension to an understanding of one of the great writers of the supernatural. 

Few of these essays have been reprinted beyond their first publication or their broadcast on radio and television. Selected and introduced by Mike Ashley.