The Silver John stories are an interesting mix of folk-lore, music and Appalachian culture. This story features a pair of druids as villains who are trying to mix old and new world powers.

re-read 6/23/2023 ( )

The Old Gods Waken is the first of the five novels Manly Wade Wellman wrote about John the Balladeer, also known as Silver John. John is a wandering folk singer and guitar-player (the guitar has silver strings) in Southern Appalachia. He also featured in a number of short stories over the years. In this book, he is visiting Luke Forshay when Luke's father, Creed, discovers that the new neighbors, the Voths, who have English accents, are trying to claim some of his land as their own. When Creed objects, the Voths respond negatively, but then John apparently has success convincing them to withdraw their claim. However, John recognizes that something unusual is in the air, and calls on his friend, Holly Christopher, a folklorist at Chapel Hill. Holly comes to visit and is immediately intrigued by the Voths. She recommends that the Forshays get in touch with Chief Reuben Manco, also a folklorist, and a Cherokee medicine man. It quickly becomes evident that all Reuben Manco's powers are needed to overcome the Voths' plans.

The story is told in a mountain dialect, and much folklore is included. It's something of a mix of fantasy and horror. ( )

Re-reading. I've always loved this character: Simple, honest, hardworking, intelligent man roaming the hills of Appalachia, interacting with it's people and their music; and with just a touch of mystery & magic. ( )

"In the wilds of Southern Appalachia lies Wolter Mountain -- a sacred place for the Indians and for their predecessors. But the land atop the mountain, taken over by two Englishmen, Brummitt and Hooper Voth, is undergoing frightening changes.

"Strange and evil rumblings begin to happen around the mountain -- man-like creatures prowling around, mysterious voices reciting evil incantations that terrorize Luke and Creed Forshay who live at the foot of the mountain. Then a wandering minstrel, known only as John, learns that the Voths are Old World druids who are hell-bent on reawakening the pre-Indian spirits that sleep at the summit of Wolter Mountain. Armed with his own arsenal of mystical powers, John and an Indian medicine man must fight their way through the druid's sorcerous defenses to rescue their friends from certain death at the hands of the blood-sacrificing priests.

"A tale of mysticism and terror featuring the author's famous wanderer-hero."
~~front & back flaps

I've loved this series since I read the first book, Who Fears the Devil? a good 30 or more years ago. Silver John wanders the Appalachias, his guitar strung with silver strings, and comes upon situations that prove the truth of the old folk songs: "In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines ..." Eerie, haunting songs. And Silver John wrestling against evil, vanquishing it with his silver strings.

The first stories of John were collected in Who Fears the Devil? This book is the first Silver John novel, written 16 years later. It differs by being a novel rather than a collection of stories, and also because John takes second place in the final battle against the evil at the summit of Wolter Mountain. A bit of research informs me there are other books in the Silver John series that I haven't read. It will be interesting to see how they compare with these two. ( )

This is the first of 5 "Silver John" books, plus a short story collection. What attracted me to this series is that it's LOADED with folklore, folk-magick, and backwoods legends -- real ones from the hills, not just made up ones. Wellman was a folklorist, so nearly all the folktales, superstitions, ballads, and legends are all real Appalachian lore. Silver John arms himself with a guitar strung with silver strings to ward off evil. Like all Wellman's books, I only wish it wasn't so short. ( )