Abraham Merritt was not a full-time pulp-slinger like many of the greats. He wrote in the early days of the Pulps, like Edgar Rice Burroughs, for weekly magazines like Argosy and All-Story. Merritt was a full-time editor at American Weekly and wrote only as a hobby. Despite this, almost every story he contributed was a gem and influential with several generations of writers including C. L. Moore, Hannes Bok and Robert E. Howard. Merritt’s antiquated style harkens back to a day when writing was to be enjoyed in itself and not merely as a vehicle for a story. This stylistic flavor is either enthusiastically enjoyed or found distasteful. Merritt readers fall into two groups: lovers and haters.
 

THE MOON POOL

Merritt’s first novel is The Moon Pool. This book was written in two parts. The first was called “The Moon Pool” (read the first portion here.) and appeared June 22, 1918 in All-Story Weekly. Merritt followed up the successful tale with a longer sequel, "The Conquest of the Moon Pool".  It appeared in six installments starting February 15, 1919.  The complete novel (1919) can be read here. This tale of ancient evil in Ponape inspired Lovecraft's Deep Ones.

THE METAL MONSTER

Throckmartin is the hero of  “The Moon Pool” and he returns in Merritt’s next novel, The Metal Monster, which appeared in eight installments in Argosy-All-Story beginning August 7, 1920. It was originally entitled "The Metal Emperor". Read it here.

THE FACE IN THE ABYSS

With his next serial, Merritt enters the genre of Lost World fiction with "The Face in the Abyss" on September 8, 1923 in Argosy-All-Story. Like, The Moon Pool, the story was continued in a longer sequel, "The Snake Mother" in seven installments beginning October 25, 1930.  The book version appeared in 1931 under the first title. Read it here. The Snake Mother from this novel is one of the great tragic goddess figures.

THE SHIP OF ISHTAR

The Ship of Ishtar is considered a fantasy classic by many. It appeared  in a six installments beginning November 8, 1924 in Argosy-All-Story. The book version appeared in 1926. Read it here.

SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO SATAN

Merritt shows his versatility again in "Seven Footprints to Satan", a five installments beginning July 2, 1927 Argosy-All-Story. A modern day horror story, The Seven Footprints to Satan appeared in book form the following year. Read it here.
 

THE DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE

The Dwellers in the Mirage combines a Lost World scenario with Lovecraftian evil. "The Dwellers in the Mirage" began  January 23, 1932 in  Argosy and appeared in book form the same year. The gap between Merritt’s magazine appearances and his book dates grew smaller and smaller as his popularity increased. Read it here.

BURN, WITCH, BURN!

Merritt returned to modern day horror with  "Burn, Witch, Burn!", beginning on October 22, 1932 in  Argosy. There is a film with the same title but it is not based on Merritt’s book but H. P. Lovecraft. (Loosely based.) An actual film version was made entitled Devil Doll, featuring Lionel Barrymore as a female witch. The book followed in 1933. Read it here.

CREEP, SHADOW!

Creep, Shadow! is a sequel to Burn, Witch, Burn. They often appear together in paperback. It was the last work to appear while Merritt lived. A book version was published in 1934 called Creep, Shadow, Creep! to match the first volume. Read it here.

THE FOX WOMAN & OTHER STORIES

The Fox Woman is a collection of all of Merritt’s short stories and fragments. "The Fox Woman" is an Oriental tale of a were-fox, a woman who can change into a fox. The story is actually incomplete. Hannes Bok, the artist and pasticher, finished the tale in "The Blue Pagoda"(1946) (which is not included in this volume). The Fox Woman also features classics like Merritt’s first story and a favorite, "Through the Dragon Glass" (November 24, 1917) All-Story Weekly. It also contains the influential "The People of the Pit" (January 5, 1918) All-Story Weekly, "Three Lines of Old French" (August 9, 1919) All-Story Weekly (a WWI war ghost story), "The Woman in the Woods", Merrit’s only story to appear in Weird Tales "(August 1926) , a magazine that saw so many of his imitators and admirers. It also has "The Drone"(1934) Fantasy Magazine, "The Last Poet and the Robots"(1934), and two fragments, "The White Road" and "When the Old Gods Wake".  Read it here.

THE BLACK WHEEL

The Black Wheel (1948) is another fragment finished by Hannes Bok. Merritt wrote Chapter I-VII (fragment) and Bok the majority, Chapters VIII – XXVII. It is a haunted ship tale in the tradition of the Flying Dutchman.

UNCOLLECTED STUFF

"Challenge from Beyond" was written in collaboration with by H. P. Lovecraft, C. L. Moore, A. Merritt, Robert E. Howard, and Frank Belknap Long. It appeared in Fantasy Magazine in August 1935. It is Merritt's only true inclusion in the Cthulhu Mythos. Read it here.

"The Pool of the Stone God" (September 23, 1923) was published as by W. Fenimore  in  American Weekly Merritt used the pseudonym 'W. Fenimore'because he was a descendent of James Fenimore Cooper. Read it here.

Don't miss "A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine" here.