Pigeons from Hell
Encyclopedia
Pigeons from Hell is a short story by Robert E. Howard
written in late 1934 and published posthumously by Weird Tales
in 1938
. The story title derives from an image present in many of Howard's grandmother's ghost stories, that of an old deserted plantation mansion haunted by ghostly pigeons.
and spend the night in a deserted plantation
manor. Griswell awakens from a troubled sleep to see Branner walking up the stairs in a trance. He is horrified when Branner returns, no longer alive but an animated corpse gripping the bloody axe that had split his skull. Griswell flees the house in a blind panic and runs aimlessly into the woods.
In his headlong flight he meets the county's sheriff, Buckner, who investigates the house and finds Branner cold and motionless on the floor. Griswell is implicated in his friend's murder, but the sheriff gives him the benefit of the doubt and doggedly attempts to clear him. Buckner is inclined to give some credence to Griswell's bizarre tale due to the ominous reputation of the manor. It was once the residence of a family from the West Indies, the Blassenvilles, who were known for their cruelty. One night in 1890 the last of the Blassenvilles, Elizabeth, fled from the house and never returned. The manor has lain deserted ever since and is shunned by the local black folk. The pigeons of the story's title are ghostly birds that sometimes flock mysteriously about the decaying manor. Legend has it that they are the souls of the Blassenvilles let out of Hell.
The following evening Buckner and Griswell go to the hut of an ancient voodoo man, Jacob, seeking information about the house and the Blassenvilles. Jacob tells of the extinct family and of Celia Blassenville, who mistreated her mulatto maid Joan. He then begins to ramble incoherently about voodoo, the god Damballah, and about zombies and their female counterparts, zuvembies
. Finally he tells how "she" participated in voodoo rites. While reaching for firewood, Jacob is bitten by a poisonous snake, meeting the very fate he feared would overtake him for revealing the secrets of Damballah. Buckner and Griswell conclude that Joan transformed herself into a zuvembie
to exact vengeance on Celia Blassenville and her nieces. They resolve to spend the night in Blassenville Manor to learn the truth.
in or near the ArkLaTex region of the Deep South
. Other stories include "The Shadow of the Beast", "Moon of Zambebwie", "Black Hound of Death" and "Black Canaan
".
In 1983, Stephen King
, writing in Danse Macabre
, considered "Pigeons from Hell" to be "one of the finest horror stories of our century". With its decaying Southern family, sexual sadism, gruesome murder, and evil psychotic spinster, it is reminiscent of the works of William Faulkner
and other writers in the Southern Gothic
tradition.
ous episode of the Boris Karloff
-presented Thriller television series, airing in June 1961
. In 1988
, the story was adapted into a graphic novel
by Scott Hampton
for Eclipse
(ISBN 0913035688). More recently, it has been turned into a four-issue comic book
mini-series
written by Joe R. Lansdale
, with art by Nathan Fox, and published by Dark Horse Comics
, starting in April 2008
.
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
written in late 1934 and published posthumously by Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
in 1938
1938 in literature
The year 1938 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The trilogy, U.S.A. by John Dos Passos, is published containing his three novels The 42nd Parallel , 1919 , and The Big Money ....
. The story title derives from an image present in many of Howard's grandmother's ghost stories, that of an old deserted plantation mansion haunted by ghostly pigeons.
Synopsis
The story opens as two New Englanders, John Branner and his friend Griswell, are travelling in the SouthSouth
South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the bottom side of a map is south....
and spend the night in a deserted plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
manor. Griswell awakens from a troubled sleep to see Branner walking up the stairs in a trance. He is horrified when Branner returns, no longer alive but an animated corpse gripping the bloody axe that had split his skull. Griswell flees the house in a blind panic and runs aimlessly into the woods.
In his headlong flight he meets the county's sheriff, Buckner, who investigates the house and finds Branner cold and motionless on the floor. Griswell is implicated in his friend's murder, but the sheriff gives him the benefit of the doubt and doggedly attempts to clear him. Buckner is inclined to give some credence to Griswell's bizarre tale due to the ominous reputation of the manor. It was once the residence of a family from the West Indies, the Blassenvilles, who were known for their cruelty. One night in 1890 the last of the Blassenvilles, Elizabeth, fled from the house and never returned. The manor has lain deserted ever since and is shunned by the local black folk. The pigeons of the story's title are ghostly birds that sometimes flock mysteriously about the decaying manor. Legend has it that they are the souls of the Blassenvilles let out of Hell.
The following evening Buckner and Griswell go to the hut of an ancient voodoo man, Jacob, seeking information about the house and the Blassenvilles. Jacob tells of the extinct family and of Celia Blassenville, who mistreated her mulatto maid Joan. He then begins to ramble incoherently about voodoo, the god Damballah, and about zombies and their female counterparts, zuvembies
Zuvembie
A zuvembie is a creature created by Robert E. Howard in his short story Pigeons From Hell, published in Weird Tales in 1938. Due to restrictions put in place by the Comics Code Authority, the term has since been used in comic books to replace "zombie"....
. Finally he tells how "she" participated in voodoo rites. While reaching for firewood, Jacob is bitten by a poisonous snake, meeting the very fate he feared would overtake him for revealing the secrets of Damballah. Buckner and Griswell conclude that Joan transformed herself into a zuvembie
Zuvembie
A zuvembie is a creature created by Robert E. Howard in his short story Pigeons From Hell, published in Weird Tales in 1938. Due to restrictions put in place by the Comics Code Authority, the term has since been used in comic books to replace "zombie"....
to exact vengeance on Celia Blassenville and her nieces. They resolve to spend the night in Blassenville Manor to learn the truth.
Comments
"Pigeons from Hell" is one of several regional horror stories by Howard set in the piney woodsPiney Woods
The Piney Woods is a temperate coniferous forest terrestrial ecoregion in the Southern United States covering of East Texas, southern Arkansas, western Louisiana, and southeastern Oklahoma. These coniferous forests are dominated by several species of pine as well as hardwoods including hickory and...
in or near the ArkLaTex region of the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
. Other stories include "The Shadow of the Beast", "Moon of Zambebwie", "Black Hound of Death" and "Black Canaan
Black Canaan
Black Canaan is a short story written by Robert E. Howard that was originally published in the June 1936 issue of Weird Tales. It is a regional horror story in the Southern Gothic mode, one of several such tales by Howard set in the piney woods of the ArkLaTex region of the American South...
".
In 1983, Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, writing in Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre (book)
Danse Macabre is a non-fiction book by Stephen King, about horror fiction in print, radio, film and comics, and the genre's influence on United States popular culture...
, considered "Pigeons from Hell" to be "one of the finest horror stories of our century". With its decaying Southern family, sexual sadism, gruesome murder, and evil psychotic spinster, it is reminiscent of the works of William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
and other writers in the Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot...
tradition.
Adaptations
The story was the basis for an eponymEponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous episode of the Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
-presented Thriller television series, airing in June 1961
1961 in television
The year 1961 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1961.For the American TV schedule, see: 1961-62 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. In 1988
1988 in comics
-Events and publications:* Jack Binder, creator of the original Daredevil, dies at c. age 86.* Tarpé Mills, creator Miss Fury, dies at c. age 73....
, the story was adapted into a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
by Scott Hampton
Scott Hampton
Scott Hampton is an American comic book artist well known for his painted artwork. He is the brother of fellow-comics-creator Bo Hampton.-Biography:Scott Hampton was born in 1959 in High Point, North Carolina....
for Eclipse
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
(ISBN 0913035688). More recently, it has been turned into a four-issue comic book
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
mini-series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
written by Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
, with art by Nathan Fox, and published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, starting in April 2008
2008 in comics
-January:*January 9: Teen Titans: The Lost Annual, delayed since 2003, is published.*January 23: Hellblazer #240, marking the 20th anniversary of the series, is released.-February:...
.
External links
- Publication history (including early draft)
- Pigeons from Hell, full text