The genius of Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Cimmerian, was only 30 years old when he committed suicide. His mother and he were buried at a double funeral. He created Conan when he was 26. But I am not posting to blog about his departure. Rather I wanted to acknowledge his genius, which I will share with in the form a very visual paragraph from his 7th Conan short story, BLACK COLOSSUS, which originally appeared in WEIRD TALES, June 1933:

“Whence came Natohk?” rose the Shemite’s vibrant whisper. “Out of the desert on a night when the world was blind and wild with mad clouds driven in frenzied flight across the shuddering stars, and the howling of the winds was mingled with the shrieking of the spirits of the wastes. Vampires were abroad that night, witches rode naked on the wind, and werewolves howled across the wilderness. On a black camel he came, riding like the wind, and an unholy fire played about him, the cloben tracks of the camel glowed in the darkness. When Natohk dismounted before Set’s shrine by teh oasis of Aphaka, the beast swept into the night and vanished. And I have talked with tribesmen who swore that it suddenly spread gigantic wings and rushed upward into the clouds, leaving a trail of fire behind it. No man has seen that camel since that night, but a black brutish man-like shape shambles to Natohk’s tent and gibbers to him in the blackness before dawn. I will tell you, Conan, Natohk is – look, I will show you an image of what I saw that day by Shushan when the wind blew aside his veil!”

The images of a night dominated by beasts and legendary creatures is pretty awesome. It’s no wonder Howard’s stories captured the imaginations of millions.