William John Metcalfe (6 October 1891 – 31 July 1965) was an English teacher, short story writer and novelist from

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, who twice emigrated to the United States."Metcalfe, John" by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whi ...

ed., ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers''. London: St. James Press, 1998, , pp. 405–406.

Early life and education

John Metcalfe was born in

Heacham Heacham is a large village in West Norfolk, England, overlooking The Wash. It lies between King's Lynn, to the south, and Hunstanton, about to the north. It has been a seaside resort for over a century and a half. History There is evidence of ...

, Norfolk, on 6 October 1891.Stefan R Dziemianowicz, "Metcalfe, (William) John", in S. T. Joshi and Dziemianowicz, eds, ''Supernatural literature of the world: an encyclopedia''. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. , pp. 802–803. He studied philosophy at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, graduating in 1913. He then taught in Paris until 1914.

War and teaching

During

the First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Metcalfe served in the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who w ...

, the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

, and then in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. After the war, Metcalfe taught for five years at Highgate Junior School in London, and began writing. His first book, ''The Smoking Leg and Other Stories'', published in 1925, contains several stories, including the title story "The Bad Lands", "Nightmare Jack" and "The Double Admiral". After its publication, he abandoned teaching for writing full-time.

Emigration

Metcalfe emigrated to the United States in 1928, where he wrote ''Arm's Length'' while serving as a barge captain on the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

. On 17 March 1930, he married the American novelist Evelyn Scott. His second collection, ''Judas and Other Stories'' features several horror stories. They include "Mortmain", about a man who believes he is being haunted by the ghost of his wife's first husband. After service in World War II in the British Royal Air Force, Metcalfe taught in schools in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

before returning to the United States, where he was a teacher in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and New York. In the 1950s, Metcalfe discussed with

August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. He was the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. He made contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the Lovecraftian horror, cosmi ...

the possibility of having a third collection of his fiction published by

Arkham House Arkham House was an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had ...

. This collection (to be entitled ''The Feasting Dead and other Stories'') never appeared, but Arkham published ''The Feasting Dead'' as a standalone novel. Derleth also included several Metcalfe stories in his anthologies.

Death in UK

Evelyn died in August 1963, after heart disease, a lung tumour and mental illness. He was subsequently hospitalised for a nervous breakdown. On his release in October 1964 he returned to England, where he died on 31 July 1965, after a fall.

Horror, novels and poetry

Although Metcalfe is best known as a writer of

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

stories, he also wrote novels and poetry. T. E. D. Klein described him as a "writer of subtle, finely crafted supernatural tales, many of them about lonely misfits out of step with their times".T. E. D. Klein, "John Metcalfe", Jack Sullivan, ed., ''

The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural'' is a reference work on horror fiction in the arts, edited by Jack Sullivan. The book was published in 1986 by Viking Press. Editor Sullivan’s stated purpose in compiling the volume, ...

'', Viking Press, 1986, , p. 290 ff. Brian Stableford noted how his stories "build up a unique sense of unease".

Works

Novels

*''Brenner's Boy'' (1932) *''Arm's Length'' *''Spring Darkness'' (US title: ''Mrs Condover'') *''Foster-Girl'' (US title: ''Sally'') *''All Friends Are Strangers'' *'' The Feasting Dead'' (1954) (reprinted 2014 by

Valancourt Books Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction", in particular gay titles, Gothic novels a ...

)

Collections

*''The Smoking Leg, and Other Stories'' (1925) *''Judas, and Other Stories'' (1931) *''Nightmare Jack and Other Tales'' (1998)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe, John 1891 births 1965 deaths Military personnel from Norfolk English fantasy writers English horror writers English science fiction writers Alumni of the University of London Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II People from Heacham English male poets English male short story writers English short story writers English male novelists 20th-century English poets 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English short story writers 20th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers English emigrants to the United States