Table of Contents















12. Poetry






Here is a glossary of tribes, clothing, weapons and other stuff relating to the Arabic, Turkish, and Mongolian stories
(mainly the Historical ones, but also applicable for many Conan stories).


1. Fantasy Stories




1.1 Conan the Cimmerian

Howard’s most famous creation, the Cimmerian barbarian, thief, pirate and eventual King of Aquilonia during the pre-Ice Age Hyborian Age.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Beyond the Black River1935novella
Black Colossus1933shortstory
The Black Stranger1987novella; Howard re-wrote it as the Black Vulmea story “Swords of the
Red Brotherhood,” which L. Sprague DeCamp then re-wrote into the
Conan story “The Treasure of Tranicos” (first published 1953).
Cimmeria1965poem
The Devil in Iron1934novelette
Drums of Tombalku1986untitled synopsis & draft; novelette titled and completed by L. Sprague de Camp first published 1966
The Frost-Giant’s Daughter (aka Gods of
the North; The Frost King’s Daughter)
1934shortstory; written as the unsold Conan story “The Frost-Giant’s
Daughter” but rewritten with a different hero as “The Frost King’s
Daughter”—first published in the fanzine Fantasy Fan (March 1934)
as “Gods of the North”—extensively rewritten by L. Sprague de Camp
and published as “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” (note: no hyphen) 1953
The God in the Bowl1975shortstory; edited version by L. Sprague DeCamp first published 1952
The Hall of the Dead1974untitled synopsis; novelette titled and completed by L. Sprague DeCamp first published 1967
The Hand of Nergal1976untitled fragment; novelette titled and completed by Lin Carter first published 1968
The Hour of the Dragon (aka Conan the Conqueror)1935-36novel
The Hyborian Age1936essay
Iron Shadows in the Moon (aka Shadows in the Moonlight)1934shortfiction
Jewels of Gwahlur (aka Teeth of Gwahlur; The Servants of Bit-Yakin)1935novelette/shortfiction
The People of the Black Circle1934novel/novella
The Phoenix on the Sword1932novelette
The Pool of the Black One1933novelette
Queen of the Black Coast1934novelette
Red Nails1936novella
Rogues in the House1933novelette
The Scarlet Citadel1933novelette
Shadows in Zamboula (aka The Man-Eaters of Zamboula)1935novelette/shortfiction
The Snout in the Dark1979untitled synopsis & draft; shortfiction titled and completed by L.
Sprague DeCamp and Lin Carter first published 1969
The Tower of the Elephant1933novelette
The Vale of Lost Women1967shortstory
A Witch Shall Be Born1934novelette
Wolves Beyond the Border2001draft; novelette completed by L. Sprague DeCamp first published 1967
Xuthal of the Dusk (aka The Slithering Shadow)1933novelette; first published under its alternative title




1.2 Kull of Valusia

An Atlantean barbarian and King of Valusia in the ancient Thurian Age (predating Conan’s Hyborian Age). He appears in the Bran Mak Morn story “Kings of the Night.” See here for further information.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(8) The Altar and the Scorpion1967shortstory
(9) The Black City (aka The Black Abyss)1976fragment/unfinished draft; shortfiction completed by Lin Carter as “Black Abyss” first published 1967
(12) By This Axe, I Rule!1967novelette; Howard re-wrote this into the Conan story “The Phoenix on the Sword”
(10) The Curse of the Golden Skull1967shortstory
(5) Delcardes’ Cat (aka The Cat and the Skull)1967shortstory
(1) Exile of Atlantis1976originally untitled; shortfiction rewritten by Lin Carter (titled by Glenn Lord) first published 1967
(14) The King and the Oak1939poem
(3) The Mirrors of Tuzun Thane1929shortstory
(2) The Shadow Kingdom1929novelette
(6) The Skull of Silence (aka The Screaming Skull of Silence)1967shortstory
(7) The Striking of the Gong1976shortstory; edited version by Lin Carter first published 1967
(13) Swords of the Purple Kingdom1967novelette
Untitled:
(11) “Three men sat at a ...”1978untitled fragment; shortfiction completed by Lin Carter as “Wizard and Warrior”
(4) “ ‘Thus,’ said Tu, ...”1978untitled fragment; shortfiction completed by Lin Carter as “Riders Beyond the Sunrise”




1.3 Solomon Kane

A Tudor-period puritan adventurer, wandering across Europe and Africa. See here for a Solomon Kane timeline.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(7) Blades of the Brotherhood (aka The Blue Flame of Vengeance; The Blue Flame of Death)1968shortfiction; “edited version [which?] by John Pocsik first published in Over the Edge, 1964; the ‘Malachi Grim’ version [which?] is in the Public Domain”
(3) The Castle of the Devil1968fragment; also features John Silent; completed by Ramsey Campbell
(14) The Children of Asshur1968fragment; completed by Ramsey Campbell
(1) Death’s Black Riders1968fragment; shortstory completed by Fred Blosser first published 1984
(13) The Footfalls Within1931shortstory
(10) Hawk of Basti1968fragment; shortstory completed by Ramsey Campbell
(9) The Hills of the Dead1930novelette
(8) The Moon of Skulls1930novella
(4) The One Black Stain?poem
(2) Rattle of Bones1929shortstory
(5) Red Shadows (aka Solomon Kane)1928novelette
(11) The Return of Sir Richard Grenville?poem
(15) The Right Hand of Doom1968shortstory
(6) Skulls in the Stars1929shortstory
(16) Solomon Kane’s Homecoming?poem
(12) Wings in the Night1932novelette




1.4 Bran Mak Morn

The King of the Picts during the Roman invasion of Britain, eventually becoming the subject of a Cthulhu Mythos cult as the “Dark Man”. He is referenced in the Kirowan story “The Children of the Night” and features in the Turlough O’Brien story “The Dark Man.” Wikipedia puts “The Little People” and “The Lost Race” here because they are “related to, but does not feature, Bran”—however, the only connection is that these stories have Picts in them, and “The Lost Race” quite clearly takes place centuries earlier (the protagonist says “my race came from Gallia only a hundred years ago,” thus fixing the story as being a pre-Roman tale of the Bronze Age). Thus, I have moved those stories to Other Fantasy below. See here for further information on Bran Mak Morn.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(6) Bran Mak Morn1988synopsis; originally untitled—there is also another untitled synopsis placed as (7)
(0) Bran Mak Morn: A Play1983fragment of a play; characterised as “Howard juvenilia”
(8) The Drums of Pictdom?poem; “related to, but does not feature, Bran” — in fact, it is just 4 lines long:
     “How can I wear the harness of toil / And sweat at the daily round, /
     While in my soul forever / The drums of Pictdom sound?”
(2) Kings of the Night1930novelette; also features Kull
(1) Men of the Shadows1969novelette
(5) A Song of the Race1969poem
(3) Worms of the Earth1932novelette
Untitled:
(4) “A gray sky arched ...”1969fragment; untitled




1.5 Turlough Dubh O’Brien

An 11th century Irish outcast. See here for further information.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(3) The Dark Man1931novelette
(4) The Gods of Bal-Sagoth (aka The Blond Goddess of Bal-Sagoth)1931novelette
(5) The Shadow of the Hun1975unfinished draft of a novelette
Spears of Clontarf1978novelette; Howard re-wrote this, with added fantasy, as “The Grey God Passes” and also, as a modern horror story, as “The Cairn on the Headland”
(1) The Twilight of the Grey Gods (aka The Grey God Passes)1996novelette/shortfiction; based on Howard’s own “Spears of Clontarf”
Untitled:
(2) “The Dane came in with a rush, hurtling his huge body forward ...”1975fragment; first published in Shadow of the Hun
(6) “This is the tale of a nameless fight ...” (aka “The Ballad of King Geraint”)?poem (1,046 lines); one of several nameless poems titled by Glenn Lord as a means to identify them




1.6 James Allison

A 1930s Texan (not to be confused with Kid Allison) who recalls his past lives as ancient heroes while he lies dying from a long disease. See The Thunder-Rider for an Indian counterpart.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Black Eons1967fragment; novelette completed and titled by Robert M. Price
Brachen the Kelt1998fragment; shortfiction completed version first published 1981
The Garden of Fear1934novelette (Stone Age)
Ghenseric’s Fifth-Born Son (aka Ghor, Kin-Slayer)1977fragment; completed version of 16 further chapters (each by a different author) first published 1997
The Guardian of the Idol2003fragment & synopsis; shortstory completed by Gerald W. Page first published 1981
(1) Marchers of Valhalla1972novelette (the first story, where he begins to remember)
The Tower of Time (aka Akram the Mysterious)1998fragment; shortstory completed by Lin Carter first published 1975
The Valley of the Worm1934novelette (Bronze Age)




1.7 Other Fantasy stories

Note: wikipedia places “Black Canaan” in this section, but I moved that story to Weird West since I can see no reason for why it should fit better here.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Almuric1931novel
Delenda Est1968shortstory
Golnor the Ape1985fragment/shortstory
The Isle of the Eons1979shortfiction
The Little People1970shortstory
The Lost Race1927shortstory
Nekht Semerkeht1977fragment; shortfiction/novelette completed by Andrew J. Offutt
People of the Dark1932shortstory
Spear and Fang1925shortstory
The Thunder-Rider1972novelette
The Tomb of the Dragon1977---
Under the Baobab Tree1974---
Valley of the Lost (aka King of the Forgotten People)1966novelette; not the same as The Valley of the Lost (aka Secret of Lost Valley)
The Voice of El-Lil (aka Temptress of the Tower of Torture and Sin)1930novelette
The Witch from Hell’s Kitchen (aka The House of Arabu)1952novelette



2. Boxing Stories




2.1 Sailor Steve Costigan

A 1930s Texan sailor aboard the Sea Girl out of San Francisco, travelling with his white bulldog Mike and having fistic adventures throughout the oceans—though mainly in the Pacific, particularly the China Sea. (Wikipedia calls the ship a tramp steamer, but in “Texas Fists” Costigan directly says “the sailing vessel Sea Girl.”) Thankfully, in my opinion, the stories are not pure boxing, but have action and humour as well. I can’t really get a chronology going here, so my order is basically just that of publishing.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(8) Alleys of Peril (aka Leather Lightning)1931murder! references Iron Mike Brennon, “The Iron Man”
(26) The Battling Sailor?---
(12) Blow the Chinks Down! (aka The House of Peril)1931---; edited into a Costigan story with Bill McGlory of the Dutchman
(27) Blue River Blues?---
(13) Breed of Battle (aka The Fighten’est Pair;
Sampson Had a Soft Spot)
1931shortstory; dognapping!
(2) The Bull Dog Breed (aka You Got to Kill a Bulldog)1930shortstory; durn Frenchies!
(22) By the Law of the Shark1996---
(7) Champ of the Forecastle (aka Champ of the Seven
Seas; The Champion of the Forecastle)
1930in the Baltic!
(14) Circus Fists (aka Slugger Bait)1931the circus!
(15) Dark Shanghai (aka One Shanghai Night)1932kidnappers! with Bill McGlory of the Dutchman
(4) Fist and Fang (aka Cannibal Fists)1930savages! references Kid Allison
(23) Flying Knuckles1996---
(19 General Ironfist1934Chinese warlords!
(24) Hard-Fisted Sentiment1996---
(25) The Honor of the Ship1996---
(17) Night of Battle (aka Shore Leave for a Slugger)1932gang of robbers!
(1) The Pit of the Serpent (aka Manila Manslaughter)1929shortfiction; love!
(21) Sailor Costigan and the Swami1977---
(3) Sailor’s Grudge (aka Costigan vs. Kid Camera)1930Hollywood!
(11) The Sign of the Snake1931edited to be a Costigan story, written as “McClarney” (the editing
is very bad: the ship is the Panther, the bulldog is called Bill, and
the writing is altogether different from the characteristic Costigan tales)
(18) The Slugger’s Game1934dognapping!
(20) Sluggers on the Beach1934buried treasure!
(10) Texas Fists (aka Shanghied Mitts)1931Mexicans and miners!
(9) The TNT Punch (aka The Waterfront Law;
The Waterfront Wallop)
1931in Cape Town!
(16) Vikings of the Gloves (aka Including the Scandinavian)1932Danes battle Swedes!
(6) Waterfront Fists (aka Stand Up and Slug)1930romance!
(5) Winner Take All (aka Sucker!)1930financial opportunity!
Untitled:
“I had just hung by sparring partner, Battling O’Toole ...”1975fragment
“It was the end of the fourth round ...”1975fragment
“The night Sailor Steve Costigan fought Battling O’Rourke ...”1975fragment




2.2 Sailor Dennis Dorgan

A renamed version of Sailor Steve Costigan (the ship is now the Python, and his dog is called Spike), published under the pseudonym Patrick Ervin.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Alleys of Darkness (aka Alleys of Singapore)1934shortfiction
Alleys of Treachery (aka The Mandarin Ruby)1966shortfiction
The Destiny Gorilla (aka Sailor Costigan and the Destiny Gorilla; Sailor Dorgan and the Destiny Gorilla)1974shortfiction
In High Society (aka Cultured Cauliflowers)1974shortfiction
A Knight of the Round Table (aka Iron-Clad Fists)1974shortfiction
Playing Journalist (aka A New Game for Costigan; A New Game for Dorgan)1974shortfiction
Playing Santa Claus (aka A Two-Fisted Santa Claus)1974shortfiction
Sailor Dorgan and the Jade Monkey (aka Sailor Costigan and the Jade Monkey; The Jade Monkey)1971shortfiction
The Turkish Menace (aka Sailor Dorgan and the Turkish Menace; Sailor Costigan and the Turkish Menace)1974shortfiction; sold to Magic Carpet Magazine in May 1933, but it folded before publication; re-written by Darrell C. Richardson and published
The Yellow Cobra (aka Sailor Dorgan and the Yellow Cobra; A Korean Night;A Night Ashore)1974shortfiction




2.3 Kid Allison

Referenced in the Sailor Steve Costigan story “Fist and Fang.” Not to be confused with James Allison.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
College Socks (aka A Student of Sockology)1931---
The Drawing Card?---
Fighting Nerves?---
Fistic Psychology?---
The Good Knight (aka Kid Galahad)1931novelette
The Jinx?---
Man with the Mystery Mitts1931---
The Texas Wildcat?---
A Tough Nut to Crack?---
Untitled:
“ ‘Huh?’ I was so dumbfounded I was clean off ...”never publishedfragment




2.4 Ace Jessel

A black, happy-go-lucky boxer.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Apparition in the Prize Ring (aka The Spirit of Tom Molyneaux)1929shortstory
Double Cross1983---




2.5 Other Boxing stories

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Crowd Horror1929---
The Ferocious Ape?---
The Fighting Fury?---
Fists of the Revolution1976---
Iron-jaw (aka Fists of the Desert)1936novella
The Iron Man (aka Iron Men)1930novella; references both Kid Allison and Sailor Steve Costigan
A Man of Peace?---
The Mark of the Bloody Hand1986shortstory
Misto’ Demsey (aka Misto’ Dempsey)?several small stories
Night Encounternever publishedfragment
Right Hook?---
Shackled Mitts?---
They Always Come Back1976---
Trail of the Snake?fragment
The Voice of Doom1986---
Weeping Willow?---



3. Western Stories




3.1 Breckinridge Elkins

Humorous stories of a kind, strong but not very smart cowboy from Bear Creek, Nevada, apparently taking place in the 1890s. (He has an uncle called Jeppard Grimes and a cousin called Bearfield Buckner, thus linking him to Howard’s two other humorous cowboy series.)

All stories with the note “(AGBC)” were later edited together to become part of the 1937 novel A Gent from Bear Creek, containing 10 stories published in Action Stories (March 1934 to August 1935) plus 3 original stories. This is also called a collection, but that is not truly correct: some names and details have been changed, and the stories were edited to make an over-arching story of Breckinridge’s romantic troubles with Glory McGraw.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Apache Mountain War1935shortfiction
The Conquerin’ Hero of the Humbolts (aka Politics at Blue Lizard; Politics at Lonesome Lizard)1936shortfiction
“No Cowherders Wanted” (aka Gents in Buckskin)1936shortfiction
Cupid from Bear Creek (aka The Peaceful Pilgrim)1935(AGBC #9) shortfiction; references Teton Gulch and Wahpeton; link goes to both the published and to the original version
The Curly Wolf of Sawtooth (aka A Elston to the Rescue; A Elkins Never Surrenders)1936shortfiction; printed as a “Bearfield Elston” story (the original version
was not published until over 40 years larter)
Evil Deeds at Red Cougar1936shortfiction
The Feud Buster1935(AGBC #6) shortfiction
A Gent from Bear Creek1934(AGBC #5) shortfiction
A Gent from Bear Creek1937novel created by combining 13 short stories
Guns of the Mountains1934(AGBC #4) shortfiction
The Haunted Mountain1935(AGBC #10) shortfiction
High Horse Rampage (aka Gents on the Rampage)1936shortfiction
Mayhem and Taxes1967shortfiction
Meet Cap’n Kidd1968(AGBC #3) novelette; this version is actually the chapter from A Gent
from Bear Creek
, so you might as well read the novel instead (I am not sure if there ever was a stand-alone version)
Mountain Man1934(AGBC #2) shortfiction
Pilgrims to the Pecos (aka Weary Pilgrims on the Road)1936shortfiction
Pistol Politics1936shortfiction
The Riot at Cougar Paw1935shortfiction; references “Pilgrims to the Pecos”
The Road to Bear Creek1934(AGBC #7) shortfiction; the version in the novel incorporates parts of
the Bearfield Buckner story “Gents on the Lynch”
The Scalp Hunter (aka A Stranger in Grizzly Claw)1934(AGBC #8) shortfiction
Sharp’s Gun Serenade1937(AGBC #11) shortstory/shortfiction; references “The Haunted
Mountain;” called “Educate or Bust” in the novel
Striped Shirts and Busted Hearts1967(AGBC #1) shortfiction; read it in the novel A Gent from Bear Creek (I
am not sure if there ever was a stand-alone version)
War on Bear Creek1935(AGBC #12) shortfiction
When Bear Creek Came to Chawed Ear1971(AGBC #13) shortfiction; read it in the novel A Gent from Bear Creek (I
am not sure if there ever was a stand-alone version)




3.2 Pike Bearfield

Not your traditional Westerns, these humorous stories take the form of letters and tales written in semi-illiterate fashion by the none-too-bright but all-too-big (“six foot nine in my socks”) “Pikeston Bearfield, Esquire” of Wolf Mountain, Texas. Unusually, there is no killing in these stories, though the blood splatters furiously enough anyway.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Diablos Trail1963unfinished
A Gent from the Pecos (aka Shave That Hawg!)1936shortstory
Gents on the Lynch1936shortstory (September 1879)
The Riot at Bucksnort1936(April 1885)
While Smoke Rolled (aka While the Smoke Rolled)1928shortfiction (March 1879); printed as a Breckinridge Elkins story




3.3 Grizzly Elkins

A giant buffalo hunter from Missouri (apparently; he’s called a “piker” once) swinging his Bowie butcher knife in bloody brawls some time in the mid to late 1880s in what is either Kansas or northern Texas (there are cattle herds heading for Ellsworth, and the Indian Territory is near).

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Gunman’s Debt1978---
Law-Shooters of Cowtown (aka Law Guns of Cowtown)1974---




3.4 Buckner Jeopardy Grimes

Similar to the Pike Bearfield stories in depicting a big, dumb Texan cowboy, though from Knife River this time.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(2) Knife River Prodigal (aka A Texas Prodigal)1937shortstory
(3) A Man-Eating Jeopard1936shortfiction
(1?) Texas John Alden (aka Ring-Tailed Tornado; A Ringtailed Tornado)1944shortfiction; printed as a Breckinridge Elkins story




3.5 The Sonora Kid

AKA Steve Allison. He also appears in some of the El Borak stories.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Brotherly Advice1988---
Desert Rendezvous1988---
The Devil’s Joker (aka The Devil’s Jest; Outlaw Trails)1975---
Knife, Bullet and Noose (aka Knife, Gun and Noose)1965shortfiction
Red Curls and Bobbed Hair1988---
The Sonora Kid—Cowhand1988---
The Sonora Kid’s Winning Hand1988---
The West Tower1988fragment
Untitled:
“A blazing sun in a blazing sky, reflected from ...”1988fragment
“The Hades Saloon and gambling hall, Buffalotown ...”1988fragment
“The Hot Arizona sun had not risen high enough to heat ...”1988fragment
“Madge Meraldson set her traveling-bag on the station ...”1988fragment
“Steve Allison settled himself down comfortably in ...”1988fragment
“The way it came about that Steve Allison, Timoleon ...”1988fragment




3.6 Other Western stories

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Beyond the Brazos River(1931)from letters to H. P. Lovecraft
Bill Smalley and the Power of the Human Eye (aka The Power of the Human Eye)1991---
Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War(1931, 1935)from letters to H. P. Lovecraft
Boot-Hill Payoff (aka The Last Ride)1935novella; finished work started by Robert Enders Allen
“The Classic Tale of the Southwest”(1933, 1935)from letters to August Derleth & H. P. Lovecraft
Drums of the Sunset (aka Riders of the Sunset)1928-9shortfiction
The Extermination of Yellow Donory (aka The Killing of Yellow Donory)1970---
“Golden Hope” Christmas1922---
Showdown at Hell’s Canyon (aka The Judgment of the Desert)1973shortfiction
Six-Gun Interviewnever publishedfragment
The Strange Case of Josiah Wilbarger (aka Apparition of Josiah Wilbarger)1967---
Vulture’s Sanctuary1936---
The Vultures of Whapeton (aka The Vultures; The Vultures of Teton Gulch; The Vultures of Wahpeton)1936novella; this story has two endings
Wild Water1975novelette set around the Depression



4. Historical Stories

See also Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn and Turlough Dubh O’Brien for historical stories with fantasy elements.




4.1 El Borak

“Francis Xavier Gordon, once of El Paso, Texas, and now for years soldier of fortune in the outlands of the world.” Most stories are set in early 20th Century Afghanistan, but some occur elsewhere in the Arab world. Several of the El Borak (“the Swift”) stories also feature the Sonora Kid.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Blood of the Gods1935novelette (South Arabia)
The Coming of El Borak1987---
The Country of the Knife (aka Sons of the Hawk)1936novelette (Afghanistan)
The Daughter of Erlik Khan1934novella (Afghanistan)
El Borak1987 (twice)two stories were printed under this title, the second
featuring the Sonora Kid; the synopsis of one version
is in the Public Domain
Hawk of the Hills1935novelette (Afghanistan)
Intrigue in Kurdistan1986---
The Iron Terror1987---
Khoda Khan’s Tale1987---
The Land of Mystery1987---; features the Sonora Kid
The Lost Valley of Iskander (aka Sword of the Hills)1974shortfiction (Afghanistan)
North of Khyber1987---; features the Sonora Kid
A Power Among the Islands1987---; features the Sonora Kid
The Shunned Castle1987---; features the Sonora Kid
Son of the White Wolf1936novelette (Jordan, 1917)
Three-Bladed Doom1976-77(Afghanistan) printed in both a long (novel, 1977) and
shortened (1976) version; L. Sprague DeCamp edited it
into the Conan story “The Flame Knife”
The White Jade Ringnever publishedfragment; features the Sonora Kid
Untitled:
“Gordon, the American whom the Arabs call El Borak ...”1987---
“When Yar Ali Khan crept into the camp of Zumal Khan ...”never publishedfragment




4.2 Dark Agnes de Chastillon

A red-haired peasant girl running from home to become a swordswoman in 1520s France.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(2) Blades for France1975novelette
(1) Sword Woman1975novelette
(3) Mistress of Death1971fragment; shortstory completed by Gerald W. Page




4.3 Cormac Fitzgeoffrey

An Anglo-Irish knight who served in the Third Crusade and afterwards stayed in the Middle East during the early to mid 1190s.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(2) The Blood of Belshazzar1931novelette
(3) The Slave-Princess1979synopsis & unfinished draft; shortfiction completed by Richard L. Tierney
(1) Hawks of Outremer1931novelette




4.4 Kirby O’Donnell

An American posing as a Kurdish mercenary in Central Asia during the early 20th Century, using the names El Shirkuh (the Mountain Lion) and Ali el Ghazi.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(1) The Curse of the Crimson God (aka The Trail of the Blood-Stained God)1976novelette; L. Sprague DeCamp edited it into the Conan story “The Blood-Stained God” (first published 1955)
(3) Swords of Shahrazar (aka The Treasure of Shaibar Khan)1934novella
(2) The Treasure of Tartary (aka Gold From Tartary)1935novelette




4.5 Cormac Mac Art

An Irish pirate during the Dark Ages. See here for further information. All four tales are collected in Tigers of the Sea (1974), with an introduction you can read here. (This is also the source from which I have taken the texts, so sadly it is not “pure Howard” but Tierney’s edited versions.)

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(3) The Night of the Wolf1974novelette
(2) Swords of the Northern Sea1931novelette
(4) The Temple of Abomination1974fragment/outline; shortstory completed by Richard L. Tierney
(1) Tigers of the Sea1974fragment & synopsis; novelette completed by Richard L. Tierney




4.6 Lal Singh

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Further Adventures of Lal Singh1985---
Lal Singh, Oriental Gentleman1985---
The Tale of the Rajah’s Ring1985---




4.7 Black Vulmea

An Irish pirate, Terence Vulmea, sailing the Caribbean in the 1600s. Note: wikipedia places “Isle of Pirate’s Doom” in this section, but I moved it to Other Historical stories since the protagonist is actually Stephen Harmer and there is not a single mention of Black Vulmea in the story.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Black Vulmea’s Vengeance1938novella
Swords of the Red Brotherhood1976novella; Howard re-wrote this from his unsold Conan story “The Black Stranger”
—then L. Sprague de Camp edited it into another Conan story, “The Black
Stranger” aka “The Treasure of Tranicos” (published under both names 1953)




4.8 Other Historical stories

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Gates of Empire (aka The Road of the Mountain Lion)1939novelette (Egypt, 1167)
Hawks Over Egypt1979novelette (Egypt, 1021); L. Sprague de Camp edited it into the Conan
story “Hawks Over Shem” (first published 1955); there is also a shorter
version
The King’s Service1975shortstory (India, late 450s)
Isle of Pirate’s Doom1975novelette
The Lion of Tiberias1933novelette (Middle East, 1123-1146)
Lord of Samarcand (aka The Lame Man)1932novelette (Central Asia, 1396-1405)
Red Blades of Black Cathay1931novelette (Central Asia, 1218); based on research by Tevis Clyde Smith
The Road of Azrael1976novelette (Middle East, 1109)
The Road of the Eagles1979novelette (Armenia, 1595); L. Sprague de Camp edited it into the
Conan story “Conan, Man of Destiny” (first published 1955, twice—the
second time with the same name as the original story)
The Shadow of the Vulture1934novelette (Austria, 1529); the only Howard story to feature Red Sonya
The Sowers of the Thunder1932novelette (Middle East, 1243-1244); references Cormac Fitzgeoffrey
(“Nearly half a century ago”)
Spears of the Eastearly 1920s---
The Track of Bohemund1979unfinished draft (Turkey, 1097)
Two against Tyre1970unfinished draft (Middle East, 853 BC)
Under the Great Tiger1923collaboration with Tevis Clyde Smith
Untitled:
“He knew de Bracy ...”2005fragment
“The wind from the Mediterranean wafted ...”1959fragment
“The Persians had all fled ...”2005draft



5. Horror Stories




5.1 Cthulhu Mythos

This combines wikipedia’s “John Kirowan” and “Other Cthulhu Mythos stories” sections, as there is really no need to separate them (especially since many of the “Other ...” stories are actually about Conrad and Kirowan). Oh, yes—I also renamed the “John Kirowan” stories back to Conrad & Kirowan, since they go together.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Arkham1932poem
The Black Bear Bites1974shortstory
Black Eons1967fragment, originally untitled; completed & titled version first published 1985
The Black Stone1931shortstory; it does not mention the narrator’s name but appears to be a Conrad & Kirowan story
Candles?poem
The Challenge from Beyond1935shortstory; “round robin” with C.L. Moore, A. Merritt, H.P. Lovecraft & Frank Belknap Long
The Children of the Night1931shortstory; Conrad & Kirowan; references Bran Mak Morn
Dagon Manor1986fragment, originally untitled; Conrad & Kirowan; completed by C. J. Henderson
Dig Me No Grave (aka John Grimlan’s Debt)1937shortstory; Conrad & Kirowan
The Door to the Garden (aka The Door to the World)1977fragment; shortstory completed by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
The Dwellers Under the Tombs (aka His Brother’s Shoes)1976shortstory; Conrad & Kirowan
The Fire of Asshurbanipal1936novelette; Howard edited it from an earlier complete draft, with no horror element (that version first published 1972)
The Haunter of the Ring1934shortstory; Conrad & Kirowan; references the Conan cycle
The House in the Oaks (aka The House)2003fragment; Conrad & Kirowan; version completed by August Derleth first published 1971
The Thing on the Roof1932shortstory
Usurp the Night (aka The Hoofed Thing)1970novelette
Untitled:
“Beneath the glare of the sun, etched in the hot blue sky, native laborers sweated and toiled.”1967fragment; references the Conan cycle




5.2 The Faring Town Saga

TitleFirst publishedNotes
A Legend of Faring Town1975poem
(1) Sea Curse1928shortstory
(2) Out of the Deep1967shortstory; references “Sea Curse”




5.3 De Montour

A Norman werewolf of the Middle Ages (according to Howard himself; but I would amend that to the very end of the Middle Ages, probably more like the early Renaissance, even).

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(1) In the Forest of Villefère1925shortstory
A Song of the Werewolf Folk1987poem
(3) Wolfsdung1988-
(2) Wolfshead1926novelette




5.4 Weird West

These stories are hybrids, a combination of a Western with another genre, usually horror, occult, or fantasy.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Black Canaan1936novelette
The Dead Remember1936shortstory
For the Love of Barbara Allen1966shortstory
The Haunted Hut1969short fiction
The Horror from the Mound (aka The Monster from the Mound)1932shortstory
A Horror in the Night1974---
Kelly the Conjure-Man1964---
The Man on the Ground1933shortstory
Old Garfield’s Heart (aka Old Garrod’s Heart)1933shortstory
Pigeons from Hell (aka The Whistler in the Dark)1938novelette
Secret of Lost Valley (aka The Valley of the Lost)1967novelette; not the same as Valley of the Lost (aka King
of the Forgotten People)
The Shadow of the Beast1977shortstory
The Shadow of Doom1966---




5.5 Other Weird Menace

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Black Hound of Death1936novelette
Black Talons (aka Talons in the Dark)1933shortstory
Black Wind Blowing1936novelette
The Brazen Peacock1975short fiction
Devils of Dark Lake1974---
The Grisly Horror (aka Moon of Zambebwei)1935novelette
Guests of the Hoodoo Room1984---
The Hand of Obeah1983---
The House of Om1984synopsis
The Return of Skull-Face (aka Taverel Manor)1977fragment, abandoned when Weird Tales went from monthly to bi-monthly
and stopped running serials; shortfiction completed by Richard A. Lupoff
Skull-Face1929novella
The Spell of Damballah1987---




5.6 Other Horror stories

I moved the Untitled Fragment (“Beneath the glare of the sun, ...”) to the Cthulhu Mythos section, since it explicitly mentions Howard’s contribution to that.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Black Country1973shortstory
The Cairn on the Headland1933shortstory
Casonetto’s Last Song1973shortstory
The Cobra in the Dream1968shortstory
Dermod’s Bane1967shortstory
The Devil’s Woodchopper1976completed from a fragment
The Dream Snake1928shortstory
The Fear-Master1984---
The Fearsome Touch of Death (aka The Touch of Death)1930shortstory
The Hyena1928shortstory
The Noseless Horror1970shortstory
People of the Black Coast1969shortstory
Restless Waters1969shortstory
The Return of the Sorcerer1976---
Serpent Vines1974---
Spectres in the Dark1974shortstory
The Supreme Moment1984---
A Thunder of Trumpets1938shortstory; with Frank Thurston Torbett
Untitled:
“The night was damp, misty, the air possessing a certain ...”1976fragment



6. Detective Stories




6.1 Steve Harrison

A police detective, often coming across weird cases on his River Street patrol (in the Chinatown of some unspecified city).

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Black Moon1983---
Fangs of Gold (aka People of the Serpent)1934novelette
Graveyard Rats1936novelette
The House of Suspicion (aka House of Fear)1976novelette
Lord of the Dead (aka Dead Man’s Doom)1978novelette/shortfiction
The Mystery of Tannoemoe Lodge1981fragment; shortfiction completed by Fred Blosser
Names in the Black Book1934novelette/shortfiction; references “Lord of the Dead”
The Silver Heel1984---
The Tomb’s Secret (aka Teeth of Doom)1934shortfiction; main character changed to “Brock Rollins” for
first publication
The Voice of Death1984---
Untitled:
“Steve Harrison received a wire from Joan Wiltshaw ...”1984synopsis only




6.2 Butch Gorman & Brent Kirby

Private detectives.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Hand of the Black Goddess (aka Scarlet Tears)1983novelette
Sons of Hate1984---




6.3 Steve Bender, Weary McGraw and the Whale

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Ghost with the Silk Hat1986novelette
Westward Ho!never publishedfragment
The Wild Mannever publishedfragment
Untitled:
“William Aloysius McGraw’s father was red-headed and ...”never publishedfragment



7. Comedy Stories

TitleFirst publishedNotes
After the Game1926play in one act
Aha! or The Mystery of the Queen’s Necklace1923Hawkshaw the Detective
Cupid vs. Pollux1927shortstory
Eighttoes Makes a Play1971shortfiction; it has two endings
Halt! Who Goes There?1924Hawkshaw the Detective
Musings of a Moron1968shortfiction
The Reformation: A Dream (aka The Reformation of a Dream)1927---
The Sheik1923satire on the book of the same name
Sleeping Beauty1926playlet
The Thessalians1927shortstory
Unhand Me, Villain: A Romance1923Hawkshaw the Detective
Weekly Short Story1926---
West Is West1922shortfiction
Ye College Days1927shortstory



8. Spicy Stories

According to wikipedia, “The ‘Spicy’ pulp magazines printed stories that were almost pornography (usually limited to nudity and implied sex rather than anything more explicit).” However, Howard’s spicy stories seem to have about the same amount of “pornography” as any Conan story involving a girl. (Ingredients: a beautiful young woman, scantily clad or nude, add bondage, stir with kisses.) Part of this “lack of sex” could perhaps be attributed to the fact that most issues of Spicy-Adventure Stories from late 1935 through late 1937 appeared in two different versions—one uncensored and the other self-censored. The censored version was identifiable by a star within a box located at the top of the cover. Little information is known about the differences between these issues but some, at least, contained different stories and possibly had different covers.




8.1 Wild Bill Clanton


“Wild Bill Clanton, sailor, gun-runner, blackbirder, pearl-poacher, and fighting man de luxe.” With only two stories to go on, I guess all I can say is that he sort of reminds me of a smarter Sailor Steve Costigan, roaming the Pacific at some random time (1870s-1920s). The stories are numbered by publication dates, but I doubt it matters very much in which order they are read.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(2) Desert Blood (aka Revenge by Proxy)1936shortfiction
(3) The Dragon of Kao Tsu1936shortfiction
(5) Murderer’s Grog (aka Outlaw Working)1937shortfiction
(4) The Purple Heart of Erlik (aka Nothing to Lose)1936shortstory
(1) She Devil (aka The Girl on the Hell Ship)1936shortfiction; written as “Sam Walser”
Ship in Mutiny1983shortfiction




8.2 Other Spicy stories

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Bastards All!1987play
Daughters of the Feud1976shortfiction (Daughters of Feud?)
Guns of Khartum1975shortstory
Miss High-Hat1986---
She-Cats of Samarcand1999---
Songs of Bastards1987play



9. “True Adventure” Stories

Note: wikipedia places “Wild Water” in this section, but I moved that story to Other Western stories since that is what it really is, despite its Depression-era setting. (The only reason it was placed here is because it features a fictional version of the 1932 bursting of a dam near Howard’s home town.) Also, wikipedia has “The Ideal Girl” both here and below in Essays and Articles—I deleted this duplicate. Then I moved “Musings of a Moron” to the Comedy Stories, since that is where it should be.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Block1986---
The Curse of Greed1977---
The Devil in His Brain1986---
Diogenes of Today1971shortfiction; with Tevis Clyde Smith
Le Gentil Homme le Diable1925---
The Heathen1970shortstory
The Loser1975---
A Matter of Age1986---
Midnight1929---
Nerve1986---
The Nut’s Shell1986---
Pay Day1986---
Post Oaks & Sand Roughs1990semi-autobiographical novel
The Sophisticate1986---
The Stones of Destiny1989---
Sunday in a Small Town1969shortfiction
A Touch of Color1986---
The Voice of the Mob1986---



10. Other Stories

Note: wikipedia places “Aha! or The Mystery of the Queen’s Necklace” and “Unhand Me, Villain” in this section, but I moved them to Comedy Stories to keep all three Hawkshaw the Detective stories in one place.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Abbey1975fragment; shortfiction completed by C. J. Henderson first
published 2001
Ambition by Moonlight (aka Ambition in the Moonlight)1929---
A Dream1971originally untitled
Etched in Ebony1929---
Etchings in Ivory1968shortfiction
The Ghost in the Doorway1969---
The Gondarian Man1975---
The Hashish Land1978---
The Last Laugh1976---
The Last White Man1964fragment
Spanish Gold on Devil Horse1925shortfiction



11. Essays and Articles

Note: wikipedia places “The Hyborian Age” here, but I moved it to the Conan section to keep that stuff together.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Beast from the Abyss?---
The Galveston Affair1928---
The Ghost of Camp Colorado?---
The Ideal Girl1925---
Kid Dula Due To Be Champion1928article
Midnight1928apparently not the same as in “True Adventure” Stories despite
being in the same paper (at least the dates differ)
More Evidences of the Innate Divinity of Man1928---
Them1928---
To a Man Whose Name I Never Knew1928---
With a Set of Rattlesnake Rattles1937shortfiction



12. Poetry

Main article: List of poems by Robert E. Howard. (This links directly to the wikipedia article.)


There are so many poems that I would almost have to make a separate master file like this one just to enumerate them all, but because I’m lazy I put them all in a single document. Note that poems belonging to a specific fiction series (like the Solomon Kane poems, etc) are linked from here, and are not found in the Poetry document. Also, I have ignored the various “epigraphs” (short poems placed as chapter headings in various stories), since as far as I know they were not published separately from the stories in which they appeared.




13. Other Fragments

  • The Atavist
  • Age Lasting Love (first published 1990)
  • The Battling Sailor
  • Blue River Blues
  • A Boy, a Beehive, and a Chinaman
  • The Brand of Satan
  • Circus Charade
  • The Dominant Male
  • The Drawing Card
  • The Drifter
  • A Faithful Servant
  • Fate is the Killer
  • The Feminine of the Species
  • The Ferocious Ape
  • The Fishing Trip
  • Fistic Psychology
  • The Folly of Conceit
  • Friends
  • The Funniest Bout
  • The Ghost Behind the Gloves
  • The Ghost of Bald Rock Ranch
  • In His Own Image
  • Incongruity
  • The Influence of the Movies
  • The Ivory Camel
  • The Land of Forgotten Ages
  • The Lion Gate
  • Lobo Volante
  • Man
  • A Man and a Brother
  • A Man of Peace
  • The Man Who Went Back
  • Mr. Dowser Buys a Car
  • Over the Rockies in a Ford
  • Pigskin Scholar
  • The Punch
  • The Recalcitrant
  • The Red Stone
  • The Slayer (never published)
  • A South Sea Storm (never published)
  • The Splendid Brute (never published)
  • Tallyho!
  • Ten Minutes on a Street Corner
  • Through the Ages
  • The Treasure of Henry Morgan
  • A Twentieth-Century Rip Van Winkle
  • A Unique Hat
  • The Weeping Willow
  • What the Deuce?
  • The Wheel Turns
  • The White Jade Ring
  • The Wild Man
  • The Wings of the Bat
  • Yellow Laughter

 

 


 

13.1 Other untitled stories

  • “As he approached the two, he swept off his feathered hat ...”
  • “Better a man should remain in kindly ignorance, than ...”
  • “Between berserk battle-rages, the black despair of melancholy ...”
  • “Franey was a fool.”
  • “From the black, bandit-haunted mountains of Kang ...”
  • “Help! Help! They’re murderin’ me!”
  • “I,” said Cuchulain, “was a man, at least.”
  • “I’m writing this with a piece of pencil on the backs of old ...”
  • “It was a strange experience, and I don’t expect anyone ...”
  • “A land of wild, fantastic beauty; of mighty trees ...”
  • “The lazy quiet of the mid-summer day was shattered ...”
  • “A man,” said my friend Larry Aloysius O’Leary ...”
  • “The matter seemed so obvious that my only answer ...”
  • “Maybe it doesn’t seem like anything interesting and ...”
  • “Mike Costigan, writer and self-avowed futilist, gazed ...”
  • “The next day I was sluggish and inefficient in my work ...”
  • “Old Man Jacobsen crunched his powerful teeth through ...”
  • “So I set out up the hill-trail as if on a hunt and ...”
  • “So there I was ...”
  • “Spike Morissey was as tough a kid as ever came ...”
  • “The tale has always been doubted and scoffed at ...”
  • “That is, the artistry is but a symbol for the thought!”
  • “Thure Khan gazed out across the shifting vastness ...”
  • “Trails led through dense jungle ...”
  • “Two men were standing in the bazaar at Delhi ...”
  • “ ‘You,’ said Shifty Griddle, pointing his finger at me ...”
  • “Joe Rogers had been working the stock markets ...”



14. Introductions

This section contains a number of “extras” taken from collections of stories—introductions, essays, biographies, and assorted other stuff not written by Howard but still of interest.




14.1 The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard

A series from Wildside Press.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(1) Shadow Kingdoms2004collection
(2) Moon of Skulls2005collection
(3) People of the Dark2006collection
(4) Wings in the Night2007collection
(5) Valley of the Worm2006collection
(6) The Garden of Fear2006collection
(7) Beyond the Black River2007collection
(8) Hours of the Dragon2007collection




14.2 The Works of Robert E. Howard

A series from Bison Books / University of Nebraska Press.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Lord of Samarcand and Other Adventure Tales of the Old Orient2005collection
The Black Stranger and Other American Tales2005collection
The Riot at Bucksnort and Other Western Tales2005collection
Boxing Stories2005collection
Dark Tales of American Fantasy2005?collection
The End of the Trail: Western Stories2005collection




14.3 The Best of Robert E. Howard

A series from Del Rey Books.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(1) Crimson Shadows2007collection
(2) Grim Lands2007collection




14.4 Conan: Wandering Star/Del Rey editions

A three-volume collection of Howard’s original stories, published by Wandering Star in the United Kingdom and Del Rey (a division of Random House) in the United States. These editions contain notes, rough drafts, and other miscellanea by Howard.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
(1) The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian2003collection of the stories written 1932-33
(2) The Bloody Crown of Conan2004collection of the stories written 1934
(3) The Conquering Sword of Conan2005collection of the stories written 1935-36




14.5 Conan: Gollancz editions

A new edition of Howard’s original stories purporting to feature all of Howard’s Conan fiction in the two volumes, and to present only Howard’s writings. Includes all the classic stories, apparently in their unrevised form (The Black Stranger is quite different from its De Camp cognate The Treasure of Tranicos); uncompleted or fragmentary tales have been left in that state. The two parts were put together in 2006 to form one stand-alone Centenary Edition to celebrate the 100 years since the birth of Howard.

TitleFirst publishedNotes
The Conan Chronicles, 12000collection of fifteen stories, two drafts, one synopsis, one fragment, and the first part
of an essay on Howard
The Conan Chronicles, 22001collection of eight stories, one poem, one draft, a Note on Various Peoples of the
Hyborian Age, and the second part of an essay on Howard




14.6 Other Robert E. Howard Collections

Various collections of stories not belonging to any series above (though The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard is a Del Rey title basically identical in format to the “Best of” series above).

TitleFirst publishedNotes
Swords of Shahrazar1976collection of all three Kirby O’Donnell stories; no introduction in my version
Sword Woman1977collection of all three Dark Agnes de Chastillon stories, plus two other stories; no introduction in my version
Black Canaan1978collection of ten horror/dark fantasy stories; no introduction in my version
Tigers of the Sea1979collection of all four Cormac Mac Art stories
Worms of the Earth1979collection of seven Bran Mak Morn and Pict-related stories
The Complete Action Stories2001collection of five Sailor Steve Costigan and eighteen Breckinridge Elkins stories; the title is of course wildly inaccurate
Graveyard Rats and Others2003collection of four Steve Harrison stories, plus two other weird menace stories
Gate of Empire and Other Tales of the Crusades2004collection of two Cormac Fitzgeoffrey stories, and four other historical stories
Treasures of Tartary and Other Heroic Tales2004collection of five stories (a strange mix of Black Vulmea, El Borak, Kirby O’Donnell and westerns)
A Gent from Bear Creek and Others2005collection of three stories, one from each of Howard’s humorous western series
The Horror Stories of Robert E Howard2008collection of around fifty horror/dark fantasy stories, poems, and fragments