William Chambers Morrow (July 7, 1854 – April 3, 1923) was an American writer, now noted mainly for his

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

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 * ...

and suspense. He is probably best known for the much-anthologised story "His Unconquerable Enemy" (1889), about the implacable revenge of a servant whose limbs have been amputated on the orders of a cruel rajah.

Biography

W. C. Morrow was born in

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...

on July 7, 1854. His father was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister and the owner of a farm and of a hotel in Mobile. The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

meant that the family lost its

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and by 1876 the young Morrow was running the hotel, having graduated from Howard College (now

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

) in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

at the age of fifteen. Morrow moved west to California in 1879 and began selling stories to ''

The Argonaut ''The Argonaut'' was a newspaper based in San Francisco, California from 1878 to 1956. It was founded by Frank Somers, and soon taken over by Frank M. Pixley, who built it into a highly regarded publication. Under Pixley's stewardship it was ...

'', where

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the ...

was just terminating a two-year period of employment. Bierce was an enthusiast of Morrow's stories (in one of his squibs, a nervous reader declares, "I have one of Will Morrow's tales in my pocket, but I don't dare to go where there is light enough to read it"), and in 1887 probably recommended

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

to approach Morrow for material for the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

''. Several of Morrow's most notable tales appeared in this newspaper. Morrow married Lydia E. Houghton in 1881. They had one child, which was either stillborn or died in infancy. His first novel, ''Blood-Money'' (1882), about the

Mussel Slough Tragedy The Mussel Slough Tragedy was a shootout over disputed land titles between settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP). It took place on May 11, 1880, on a farm located northwest of Hanford, California, in the central San Joaquin Valley. Se ...

, was an indictment of the conduct of California railroad companies which were forcing settlers off their land. It gained little attention, and in fact Morrow took a position in the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

department of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

some nine years later. A mystery/suspense novel, ''A Strange Confession'', was serialized in the ''Californian'' in 1880-81, but was never published in book form. His stories were collected in ''The Ape, the Idiot and Other People'' in 1897, but he published few stories thereafter. The book is now a much sought-after collectors' item. By 1899 Morrow had begun a school for writers, and in 1901 he produced a pamphlet, ''The Art of Writing for Publication''. Bierce commented that: Morrow published two romantic adventure novels, ''A Man; His Mark'' (1900) and ''Lentala of the South Seas'' (1908); an apparently journalistic work called ''Bohemian Paris of Today'', from "notes by Edouard Cucuel", and a short travel booklet, ''Roads Around Paso Robles'' (1904). He died in

Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...

on April 3, 1923. A critical essay on Morrow's work can be found in

S. T. Joshi Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. Career His literary critic ...

's book ''The Evolution of the Weird Tale'' (2004), from which the above information is taken.

Bibliography

Short story collections

*''The Ape, the Idiot and Other People'' (1897) *''The Monster Maker and Other Stories'' (ed. S. T. Joshi and Stefan Dziemianowicz) (2000)

Novels

*''A Strange Confession'' (1880–81; newspaper serial) *''Blood-Money'' (1882) *''A Man; His Mark: A Romance'' (1900) *''Lentala of the South Seas'' (1908)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrow, W. C. 1854 births 1923 deaths People from Selma, Alabama 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists American horror writers American male novelists American mystery writers American male short story writers 19th-century American short story writers 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers