From Eerie Cases to Early Graves: 5 Short-Lived Occult Detective Series

Occult detective characters specialize in investigations that confirm the reality of ghosts, demons, vampires, and similar beings. Some of these sleuths rely on their own paranormal powers to fight crime or evil. As this genre developed, a few great authors created characters who appear in more than one story — but not enough stories to fill a book. Among the very best of these short-lived occult detectives are:

Fitz-James O’Brien’s Harry Escott
Arthur Machen’s Dyson
Algernon Blackwood’s Jim Shorthouse
L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace’s Diana Marburg
Allen Upward’s Alwyne Sargent and Jack Hargreaves

From Eerie Cases to Early Graves: 5 Short-Lived Occult Detectives Series presents these exciting characters in seventeen otherworldly adventures! Editor Tim Prasil includes a well-researched introduction, enlightening footnotes throughout, and an 1893 non-fiction article about how to banish ghosts!

READ THE INTRODUCTION

To get a sense of this book, here’s a .pdf version of the introduction:

From Eerie Cases to Early Graves Introduction

(Scholars: despite appearances, the pagination here is different from the actual book, so cite this source as a .pdf retrieved online.)

EXPLORE THE SURPRISING HISTORY
OF OCCULT DETECTIVE FICTION

Follow the rise and evolution fictional supernatural sleuths prior to 1925 with the Chronological Bibliography of Early Occult Detectives. At first, many of the characters appeared in only single works, be it in one novel or one short story. With time, though, series characters appearing in multiple episodes made their mark.

Occult detectives from the 1800s.
Occult detectives from the early 1900s.

DIG DEEPER INTO THE ROOTS
OF OCCULT DETECTIVE FICTION

If this kind of fiction interests you, consider purchasing Ghostly Clients & Demonic Culprits: The Roots of Occult Detective Fiction. It serves as a nice companion volume to From Eerie Cases to Early Graves. Discover the details here.

PHANTOM TRADITIONS LIBRARY

From Eerie Cases to Early Graves is the sixth volume in the Phantom Traditions Library, a series of anthologies featuring unusual and forgotten genres of fiction that flourished in the 1800s.

The other volumes are:

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