William Hope Hodgson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids William Hope Hodgson
Born	(1877-11-15)15 November 1877 Blackmore End, Essex, England
Died	19 April 1918 (1918-04-20) (aged 40) Ypres salient, Belgium
Occupation	Author, sailor, soldier
Nationality	British
Genre	Fantasy, horror, weird fiction
Notable works	The House on the Borderland, The Night Land
Spouse	Betty Farnworth ​ (m. 1913)​

William Hope Hodgson (born November 15, 1877 – died April 19, 1918) was an English writer. He wrote many stories, essays, and novels. His works covered different types of fiction, like horror, fantasy, and science fiction.

Hodgson used his time as a sailor to make his horror stories feel real. Many of these stories are set on the ocean, including his "Sargasso Sea Stories". His novels, such as The House on the Borderland (1908) and The Night Land (1912), explored bigger, more mysterious ideas. Some of his novels also focused on scary things connected to the sea. Early in his career, Hodgson wrote poetry, but not many poems were published while he was alive. He was also known as a photographer and a bodybuilder. He died at age 40 during World War I.

William Hope Hodgson's Early Life and Sea Adventures

Growing Up and Becoming a Sailor

William Hope Hodgson was born in Blackmore End, a small village in Essex, England. His father, Samuel Hodgson, was an Anglican priest. William was the second of 12 children. Sadly, three of his siblings died when they were babies. The idea of a child's death appeared in some of Hodgson's stories, like "The Valley of Lost Children."

His father moved often for his job, serving in 11 different churches in 21 years. One of these places was in Ardrahan, Ireland. This location later appeared in Hodgson's novel The House on the Borderland.

When he was 13, Hodgson tried to run away from boarding school to become a sailor. He was caught and sent home. But later, his father allowed him to become a cabin boy in 1891. He started a four-year training period. Soon after, his father died from throat cancer. This left his family very poor. While William was away at sea, his family often relied on help from others. After his training ended in 1895, Hodgson studied in Liverpool for two years. He then passed his tests to become a mate and continued working as a sailor for several more years.

Facing Challenges and Building Strength at Sea

Life at sea was tough for Hodgson. He faced bullying from other sailors. This made him start a personal training program. He wanted to be able to defend himself. Even though he wasn't very tall, he became very strong. People said he was one of the strongest men in England for his size.

The theme of bullying and getting revenge appeared often in his sea stories. While at sea, Hodgson did more than just exercise. He also practiced photography. He took pictures of the aurora borealis (Northern Lights), cyclones, lightning, sharks, and even maggots in the sailors' food. He also collected stamps, practiced shooting, and kept journals about his experiences. In 1898, he was given a medal for bravery. He had saved another sailor who fell into shark-filled waters off New Zealand.

Hodgson's Fitness Career and Writing Beginnings

Opening a Fitness School

In 1899, at age 22, Hodgson opened a "School of Physical Culture" in Blackburn, England. He claimed to have a special system to help with digestion. His school offered custom exercise plans. Even members of the Blackburn police force were his customers. In 1902, Hodgson even appeared on stage with Harry Houdini, the famous escape artist. Hodgson put handcuffs on Houdini, who had some trouble escaping them. Houdini complained that Hodgson had hurt him and jammed the locks.

Hodgson liked publicity. In another event, he rode a bicycle down a very steep street with stairs. This was reported in the local newspaper. Despite his fame, he found it hard to make enough money from his fitness business. It was busy only at certain times of the year, so he closed it down.

Becoming a Writer

Instead, he started writing articles. One of his first was "Physical Culture versus Recreative Exercises" in 1903. Another article, "Health from Scientific Exercise," showed photos of Hodgson doing his exercises. But there wasn't a big market for these articles.

Inspired by writers like Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Arthur Conan Doyle, Hodgson decided to write fiction. His first short story, ""The Goddess of Death"," was published in 1904. This was followed by "A Tropical Horror" in 1905. He also wrote an article arguing against joining the merchant navy. In this piece, he shared his bad experiences at sea, including details about low salaries. This led to another article about sailor apprenticeships. Hodgson also gave paid talks about his sea adventures, using colorized slides of his own photographs.

He wrote many poems, but only a few were published while he was alive. Some, like "Madre Mia" (1907), appeared as dedications in his novels. He even wrote an article joking that poets could make money by writing tombstone inscriptions. Many of his poems were published after his death by his wife.

William Hope Hodgson's Fiction Career and Marriage

First Stories and Novels

Hodgson's first short story, "The Goddess of Death" (1904), was about a Hindu statue that came to life to get revenge. The Royal Magazine published it in April 1904.

In 1906, an American magazine published ""From the Tideless Sea"," the first of his Sargasso Sea stories. Hodgson continued to sell stories to both American and British magazines. He carefully managed his rights to earn the most money.

Even though he and his mother were still quite poor, his first novel, The Boats of the "Glen Carrig", was published in 1907. It received good reviews. That same year, he also published "The Voice in the Night" and ""Through the Vortex of a Cyclone"." The latter was a realistic story based on his sea experiences and included his own photos. Hodgson had used these photos in a lecture called "Through the Heart of a Cyclone." He also wrote about ships and cyclones in ""The Shamraken Homeward-Bounder" (1908).

In 1908, his second novel, The House on the Borderland, also got good reviews. He also published a strange science fiction story called ""Date 1965: Modern Warfare"." It was a satire suggesting that wars should be fought with knives in pens and bodies used for food. However, Hodgson himself wrote letters showing strong patriotic feelings.

Later Works and Marriage

In 1909, Hodgson published ""Out of the Storm"," a horror story about the scary side of the sea. It showed how much Hodgson actually disliked and feared the ocean, even though it inspired much of his writing.

Also in 1909, he published another novel, The Ghost Pirates. He wrote that this book completed a "trilogy" of his ideas. The Bookman magazine hoped he would continue writing similar works, saying there was nothing else like his books in literature.

Despite his novels being praised, Hodgson remained relatively poor. To earn more money from short stories, he created his famous character, Thomas Carnacki. Carnacki was a "detective of the occult," partly inspired by another writer's detective. The first Carnacki story, ""The Gateway of the Monster"," came out in 1910. Hodgson also published ""The Captain of the Onion Boat"" in 1910, a unique story combining a sea tale with romance. He kept publishing many stories and non-fiction pieces, sometimes reusing ideas, which annoyed his publishers.

His last novel, The Night Land, was published in 1912. He also wrote a shorter version of it, called The Dream of X (1912). He explored different types of stories, including a Western adventure, mystery stories, and the science fiction story "The Derelict" (1912). He even wrote war stories, some featuring his character Captain Gault.

In 1912, Hodgson married Betty Farnworth, also known as Bessie. She was 35, and worked for a women's magazine. They married on February 26, 1913, in London. They moved to the south of France because it was cheaper to live there. Hodgson started a new work called "Captain Dang." He continued to publish stories, but still struggled financially. When World War I began in Europe, the Hodgsons returned to England.

William Hope Hodgson's Later Life and World War I

Hodgson in uniform

Hodgson joined the University of London's Officers' Training Corps. Even though he had a lot of experience at sea and a Third Mate's certificate, he refused to work on ships. He became a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on July 3, 1915. In 1916, he fell from a horse and broke his jaw, also suffering a serious head injury. He was honorably discharged from the army on June 10, 1916, and went back to writing.

However, Hodgson did not want to stay out of the war. He recovered enough to re-enlist. He received a new commission as second lieutenant on March 18, 1917. On October 10, 1917, he was promoted to lieutenant. His articles and stories from this time showed his experiences in the war.

His Death in Battle

William Hope Hodgson was killed by an artillery shell during the Fourth Battle of Ypres in April 1918. He was remembered in The Times newspaper on May 2, 1918. The American magazine Adventure, where Hodgson's stories had appeared, also published an obituary. It included a note from his wife, describing how Hodgson bravely led a group of NCOs to safety under heavy enemy fire.

William Hope Hodgson's Most Famous Works

Hodgson is best known for two of his novels. The House on the Borderland (1908) was praised by writer H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft called it a "classic" despite some parts being a bit too sentimental. The Night Land (1912) is a much longer novel. It is written in an old-fashioned style and describes a dark, sunless world far in the future. Lovecraft called it "one of the most powerful pieces of macabre imagination ever written." These books mix science fiction with horror and mysterious elements.

Critics agree that even with his sometimes difficult language, Hodgson's works are very powerful. They create a feeling of terror and show how thin the line is between our normal world and a strange, scary reality.

The Ghost Pirates (1909) is not as famous as The House on the Borderland. But it is an exciting horror story about a ship attacked by supernatural creatures and dragged into the sea. The book is told as if it's the story of the only survivor. Its style is easier to read than The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" (1907) and The Night Land, which use older language.

Hodgson is also known for his short stories featuring special characters. These include Thomas Carnacki, the "detective of the occult," and Captain Gault, a smuggler. The Carnacki story ""The Whistling Room"" has been printed in many collections. Hodgson's most famous short story is probably "The Voice in the Night" (1907), which has been made into a film twice. Another story highly regarded by critics is ""The Shamraken Homeward-Bounder"."

Hodgson's work is said to have influenced H.P. Lovecraft, even though Lovecraft didn't read his books until 1934. Some believe that the idea of scary "tentacles" in horror stories might have come from Hodgson's The Boats of the "Glen Carrig".

William Hope Hodgson's Literary Influence

After his death, Hodgson's writings were mostly forgotten. However, in the 1930s, his supernatural stories were included in collections like They Walk Again (1931) and A Century of Horror Stories (1935). This helped bring new attention to his work.

Hodgson's stories inspired many science fiction and fantasy writers. In Britain, writers like Adrian Ross, Olaf Stapledon, and Dennis Wheatley were influenced by him. In America, Clark Ashton Smith and Henry S. Whitehead also found inspiration in his writings. Modern authors who say Hodgson influenced them include Iain Sinclair, Gene Wolfe, Greg Bear, China Miéville, Simon Clark, Elizabeth Massie, Tim Lebbon, and Brian Keene.

William Hope Hodgson's Literary Legacy

Hodgson's wife, Bessie, worked hard to keep his books available. She also published works that he couldn't get published during his lifetime, including two books of his poetry. After Bessie Hodgson died in 1943, Hodgson's sister Lissie took care of his literary estate.

The first six Carnacki stories were put into a collection while Hodgson was alive. But "The Haunted Jarvee" was published after his death in 1929. Two more Carnacki stories, "The Find" and "The Hog," were published in 1947.

One Captain Gault story, "The Plans of the Reefing Bi-Plane," was not published until 1996. It was included in the short story collection Terrors of the Sea. Some of Hodgson's poems were first published in 2005 in The Lost Poetry of William Hope Hodgson.

Many of Hodgson's other works have been reprinted for the first time since their original publication in a five-volume series called Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson. Most of Hodgson's work is now out of copyright, meaning anyone can publish it.

William Hope Hodgson's Novels

• The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" (1907)
• The House on the Borderland (1908)
• The Ghost Pirates (1909)
• The Night Land (1912)
• The Dream of X (1912) (a shorter version of The Night Land)
• The House on the Borderland and Other Novels (1946) (a collection of his four main novels, published after his death)
• Captain Dang (unfinished)

When His Novels Were Written vs. Published

Some experts, like Sam Gafford, believe that Hodgson's four main novels might have been published in the opposite order of when he wrote them. If this is true, then The Night Land was actually his first novel, where he let his imagination run wild.

This idea is important because it suggests Hodgson moved from the wild science fiction of The Night Land to the more straightforward adventure style of The Boats of the "Glen Carrig". If The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" was written last, it shows how Hodgson improved his writing style, making it his easiest novel to read.

Even though his earlier works have an old-fashioned writing style that can be hard to get into, they are still considered masterpieces today. It makes us wonder what other amazing and imaginative stories like The Night Land might have been lost because people didn't appreciate them at the time.

William Hope Hodgson's Short Stories

Various Stories

• ""The Goddess of Death" (1904)
• "A Tropical Horror" (1905)
• ""The Valley of Lost Children" (1906)
• ""Through the Vortex of a Cyclone" (1906)
• ""Terror of the Water-Tank" (1907)
• "The Voice in the Night" (1907)
• ""The Shamraken Homeward-Bounder" (1908)
• ""Date 1965: Modern Warfare" (1908)
• ""Out of the Storm" (1909)
• ""The Captain of the Onion Boat" (1910)
• ""My House Shall Be Called the House of Prayer" (1911)
• ""Bullion" (1911)
• ""The Mystery of the Water-Logged Ship" (1911)
• ""The Ghosts of the Glen Doon"" (1911)
• ""Mr. Jock Danplank" (1912)
• "The Derelict" (1912)
• ""Judge Barclay's Wife" (1912)
• ""The Mystery of Captain Chappel" (1917)
• ""The Home-Coming of Captain Dan" (1918)
• "Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani" (published as "The Baumoff Explosive" in 1919)
• ""Merciful Plunder" (1925)
• ""The Haunting of the Lady Shannon"" (1975)
• ""The Heathen's Revenge" (1988)

Sargasso Sea Stories

These stories are set in the mysterious Sargasso Sea.

• ""From the Tideless Sea Part One" (1906)
• ""From the Tideless Sea Part Two: Further News of the Homebird"" (1907)
• ""The Mystery of the Derelict" (1907)
• ""The Thing in the Weeds" (1912)
• ""The Finding of the Graiken"" (1913)
• ""The Call in the Dawn" (1920)

Carnacki Stories

These stories feature Thomas Carnacki, a detective who investigates strange and supernatural events.

• ""The Gateway of the Monster" (1910)
• ""The House Among the Laurels" (1910)
• ""The Whistling Room" (1910)
• ""The Horse of the Invisible" (1910)
• ""The Searcher of the End House" (1910)
• ""The Thing Invisible" (1912)
• ""The Haunted Jarvee"" (1929)
• ""The Find" (1947)
• ""The Hog" (1947)

Captain Gault Stories

These stories follow the adventures of Captain Gault, a clever smuggler.

• ""Contraband of War" (1914)
• ""The Diamond Spy" (1914)
• ""The Red Herring" (1914)
• ""The Case of the Chinese Curio Dealer" (1914)
• ""The Drum of Saccharine" (1914)
• ""From Information Received" (1914)
• ""The German Spy" (1915)
• ""The Problem of the Pearls" (1915)
• ""The Painted Lady" (1915)
• ""The Adventure of the Garter" (1916)
• ""My Lady's Jewels" (1916)
• ""Trading with the Enemy" (1916)
• ""The Plans of the Reefing Bi-Plane" (1996)

Selected Short Story Collections

• Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder (1913)
• Men of the Deep Waters (1914)
• The Luck of the Strong (1916)
• Captain Gault, Being the Exceedingly Private Log of a Sea-Captain (1917)
• Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder (1947) (an expanded version of the 1913 book)

William Hope Hodgson's Poems

Hodgson wrote many poems, often about the sea or deep emotions.

• "Beyond the Dawning"
• "Billy Ben"
• "The Calling of the Sea"
• "Down the Long Coasts"
• "Eight Bells"
• "Grey Seas are Dreaming of My Death"
• "The Hell! Oo! Chaunty" (found in The Ghost Pirates)
• "I Come Again"
• "I Have Borne My Lord a Son"
• "Listening"
• "Little Garments"
• "Lost"
• "Madre Mia" (a dedication in The Boats of the "Glen Carrig")
• "The Morning Lands"
• "My Babe, My Babe"
• "Nevermore"
• "The Night Wind"
• "O Parent Sea"
• "The Pirates"
• "The Place of Storms"
• "Rest"
• "The Ship"
• "The Sobbing of the Freshwater" (1912)
• "The Song of the Great Bull Whale" (1912)
• "Song of the Ship"
• "Speak Well of the Dead"
• "Storm"
• "Thou Living Sea"
• "To My Father"
• "The Voice of the Ocean"
• "Shoon of the Dead" (found in The House on the Borderland)
• "Who Make Their Bed in Deep Waters"

Poetry Collections

• The Calling of the Sea (published after his death in 1920)
• The Voice of the Ocean (published after his death in 1921)
• Poems of the Sea (1977) (collected poems from the two earlier books)
• The Lost Poetry of William Hope Hodgson (2005) (included 43 poems never published before)

Images for kids

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  William Hope Hodgson

See also

• List of horror fiction authors