Edward Page Mitchell (1852–1927)

The stories within are very simply structured and run an average of about 10 pages in length. Most are somewhat boring and seem to me as satirical pieces valid in their day but very obtuse now. There were a few stories that did peak my interest though. These mentionable stories being: The Crystal Man, the Balloon Tree, the Facts in the Ratcliffe Case, An Uncommon Sort of Spectre, The Case of the Dow Twins, and An Extraordinary Wedding.
The Crystal Man is only notable (aside from its potential historical significance) because its single twist, most of these tales have only a single twist near the end mind you, is just weird depending on the lone female character dumping the invisible man because he’s a freak thus prompting his suicide. The Balloon Tree is just weird, a group of men track through the jungle in the hopes of discovering a semi-mythical tree and one becomes lost only to lose consciousness and wake up back at the beach with his comrades who had given up the search and hope. Together they see the balloon tree floating away off in the distance.
The Facts in the Ratcliffe Case involves some lady with a poisonous or drugging gaze but the real centerpiece here is a scene in an 1880’s medical theater involving an old woman’s calcified knee, utterly gross but definitely worth the read. I truly wish all of these stories had a scene like that; they would have been much improved. An Uncommon Sort of Spectre is definitely interesting and deals with a strange conversation about the logistics of ghosts from the future. The Case of the Dow Twins was readable, it was okay overall and involves a mysterious spiritual/mental link between a good and evil twin type thing. An Extraordinary Wedding was definitely interesting with its single twist at the very end and made for a fun a little capper to this odd story involving spirit mediums and an art exhibit.
What I really did not like about this book was the tedious introductory essay. The Biographical Perspective by Sam Moskowitz was 63 pages long and really did not have much to do with Edward Page Mitchell until the last dozen pages only mentioning him briefly at the beginning and about halfway through. It was very uninteresting throwing out names and dates rapid-fire style especially near the beginning. To be honest, you can skip it unless you really, really have to know some basic details about Edward Page Mitchell and the place his work occupies in the bigger picture of early American science fiction according to Moskowitz.
I would not really recommend this book but for maybe experiencing the roots of science fiction and weird tales. However, The Facts in the Ratcliffe Case should be read just to experience that medical theater scene which is more akin to a straight gothic horror tale. Was it worth reading in the first place? I think so. It definitely felt different from most things I’ve read but that could be due to the stories’ origin as 100-year old newspaper filler.… (mere)