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Manly Wade Wellman




Three of Wellmen's most famous reappearing protagonists are Silver John aka John the Balladeer, the wandering backwoods minstrel who owns a silver-stringed guitar, the elderly 'occult detective' Judge Pursuivant and the playboy/adventurer John Thunstone .

Wellman was born in Angola . After graduating from Wichita Municipal University (now Wichita State University ) in Kansas , he went on to receive a bachelor of laws degree from Columbia University . Wellman was a long-time resident of North Carolina . In 1955 he earned the Edgar Allan Poe Award for nonfiction.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • ''Dictionary of North Carolina Biography'', Vol. 6, William S. Powell, Ed. (1996) at 160-161 (Article by William S. Powell)

  • ''Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction'', L. W. Currey, G. K. Hall & Co., 1979


=Works=

SF/WEIRD FICTION


Nightshade Books edition, ''The Collected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman'':
# ''The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations'' (2000) (John Thunstone and Lee Corbet stories)
# ''The Devil is Not Mocked and Other Warnings'' (2001)
# ''Fearful Rock and Other Precarious Locales'' (2001) (Judge Pursivant and Sergeant Jaeger stories)
# ''Sin’s Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances'' (2003)
# ''Owls Hoot in the Daytime and Other Omens'' (2003) (John the Balladeer stories)


SILVER JOHN STORIES & NOVELS

  • '' Who Fears The Devil? '' (1963) (collection of short stories)

  • ''The Old Gods Waken'' (1979)

  • ''After Dark '' (1980)

  • ''The Lost and Lurking'' (1981)

  • ''The Hanging Stones'' (1982)

  • ''Voice of the Mountain'' (1984)

  • ''John the Balladeer'' (1988) (Ed. Karl E. Wagner, revised collection of short stories)



JOHN THUNSTONE STORIES & NOVELS

  • ''Lonely Vigils'' (1981) (Thunstone and Judge Pursuivant short stories)

  • ''What Dreams May Come'' (1983)

  • ''The School of Darkness '' (1985)



YOUNG ADULT

  • The Lion Roared. (Thrilling Tales) 1927.

  • The Sleuth Patrol. 1947.

  • The Mystery of Lost Valley. 1948.

  • The Raiders of Beaver Lake. 1950.

  • The Haunts of Drowning Creek. 1951.

  • Wild Dogs of Drowning Creek. 1952.

  • The Last Mammoth. 1953.

  • Gray Riders: Jeb Stuart and His Men. 1954.

  • Rebel Mail Runner. 1954.

  • Flag on the Levee. 1955.

  • To Lands Unknown. 1956.

  • Young Squire Morgan. 1956.

  • Lights over Skelton Ridge. 1957.

  • The Master of Scare Hollow. 1957.

  • Third String Center. 1960.

  • Rifles at Ramsour's Mill: A Tale of the Revolutionary War. 1961.

  • Battle for King's Mountain. 1962.

  • Clash on the Catawba. 1962.

  • The South Fork Rangers. 1963.

  • The River Pirates. 1963.

  • Settlement on Shocco: Adventures in Colonial Carolina. 1963.

  • Mystery at Bear Paw Gap. 1964.

  • The Specter of Bear Paw Creek. 1966.

  • Battle at Bear Paw Gap. 1966.

  • Jamestown Adventure. 1967.

  • Brave Horse: The Story of Janus. 1968.

  • Carolina Pirate. 1968.

  • Frontier Reporter. 1969.

  • Mountain Feud. 1969.

  • Fast Break Five. 1971.

  • ---The Ghost Battalion: A Story of the Iron Scouts. 1958.

  • ---Ride, Rebels!: Adventures of the Iron Scouts. 1959.

  • ---Appomattox Road: Final Adventures of the Iron Scouts. 1960.



OTHER NOVELS

  • ''Cahena'' (1986) (historical novel)

  • ''Candle of the Wicked'' (1960)

  • ''A Double Life'' (movie tie-in) (1947)

  • ''Find My Killer'' ( Mystery ) (1947)

  • ''Fort Sun Dance'' ( Western ) (1955)

  • ''Not At These Hands'' (mystery)



NON-FICTION

  • Giant in Gray: A Biography of Wade Hampton III of South Carolina. 1949.

  • Dead and Gone: Classic Crimes of North Carolina. 1954. (Winner, Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, 1956)

  • Rebel Boast: First at Bethel, Last at Apppomattox. 1956.

  • Fastest on the River: The Great Race Between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee. 1957.

  • The Life and Times of Sir Archie. With Elizabeth A. C. Blanchard. 1958.

  • The County of Warren, 1586-1917. 1959.

  • They Took Their Stand: The Founders of the Confederacy. 1959.

  • The Rebel Songster: Songs the Confederates Sang. 1959.

  • Harpers Ferry, Prize of War. 1960.

  • The County of Gaston. With Robert F. Cope. 1961.

  • The County of Moore, 1947-1947. 1962.

  • Winston-Salem:The Founders. 1966.

  • Napoleon of the West: A Story of the Aaron Burr Conspiracy. 1970.

  • The Kingdom of Madison: A Southern Mountain Fastness And Its People. 1971.

  • The Story of Moore County. 1974.

  • A City's Culture: Painting, Music, Literature. 1976.



AWARDS



ADAPTATIONS


Two of Wellman's short stories which have been adapted as television productions are "The Valley Was Still", made into an Episode of The Twilight Zone starring Gary Merrill , and "Rouse Him Not", made into an episode of Monsters starring Alex Cord as John Thunstone.

The Silver John stories were the inspiration for "Who Fears the Devil", a 1994 recording by Joe Bethancourt that featured both traditional Appalachian folksongs that Silver John would've known, and Wellman's original lyrics that were in many of the Silver John stories, set to the traditional melodies that Wellman used as models.

Wellman in TV and Film
This section is taken word for word from Mark Cannon's very extensive bibliography of Manly Wade Wellman.























Larroes Catch Meddlers:-
Adapted for television for Lights Out as “The Meddlers”.
1952 (Aired:- 7 July 1951)
Director:-Unknown
Screenwriter:- Douglas Wood Gibson, Richard E Davis
Starring:- John Carradine, E G Marshall, Dan Morgan























School for the Unspeakable:-
Adapted for television for Lights Out as “The School for the Unspeakable”.
1952 (Aired:- 7 January 1952)
Director:-Unknown
Screenwriter:- Richard E Davis
Starring:- Donald Buka, Don Hanmer, Leon Tokatyan, Dick Kallman, Maurice Kenney, Jason Jonson, John Gerstad, Harold Webster























The Valley Was Still:-
Adapted for television for The Twilight Zone as “Still Valley”
1961 (Originally aired:- 24 November 1961)
Director:- James Sheldon
Screenwriter:- Rod Serling
Starring:- Gary Merrill (Paradine), Vaughn Taylor (Old Man), Ben Cooper (Dauger), Addison Myers (Sentry); Mark Tapscott (Lieutenant), Jack Mann (Mallory)























The Devil is Not Mocked:-
Adapted for television for Night Gallery.
1971 (Originally aired:- 27 October 1971)
Director:- Gene Kearney
Screenwriter:- Gene Kearney
Starring:- Helmut Dantine (General), Francis Lederer (Master), Hank Brandt (Kranz)























Who Fears The Devil? 1972 (Jack Harris) film
(edited and re-released as The Legend of Hillbilly John 1973) - 89 minutes
Producer:- Barney Rosenzweig
Director:- John Newland
Screenwriter:- Melvin Levy
Editor:- Russell Schoengarth
Cinematographer:- Flemming Olsen
Composer:- Roger Kellaway
Starring:- Hedge Capers (John), Susan Strasberg (Poly Wiltse), Denver Pyle (Grandpappy John), Severn Darden (Mr Marduke), Percy Rodriguez (Capt Lojoie H Desplain IV), R G Armstrong (Bristowe); Sharon Henesy (Lily); Sidney Clute (Charles); William Traynor (Rev. Millen); Harris Yulin (Zebulon Yandro); Alfred Ryder (O J Onselm); Chester Jones (Uncle Anansi); Val Avery (Cobart); “White Lightnin’” (themselves); “Honor Hound” (himself).

Film based on the character of John. Two segments of the film were based on the stories O Ugly Bird and The Desrick on Yandro.























Rouse Him Not:-
Adapted for TV for Monsters, 1988 (Originally aired:- December 1988)
Director:- Mark Shostrom
Writer:- Michael Parry
Starring:- Laraine Newman, Alex Cord, Terrance Evans























School for the Unspeakable
(on tape with Unfortunate Obsession by Matthew Costello)
Audio Cassette
Brilliance Corp 1997
























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