Rattle of Bones (first draft)

Introduction

First published in Weird Tales, June 1929, “Rattle of Bones” is a tale set in Germany, where Solomon Kane, the somber Puritan adventurer, encounters a fellow traveler named Gaston L’Armon—whose face stirs vague recognition. Together, the two men take lodging at the ominously named Cleft Skull Tavern.

At the time he penned this story, Robert E. Howard was still an emerging professional writer. From early on, he took care to prepare carbon copies of his drafts, a habit likely born from experience—particularly after the loss of the typescript for “Wolfshead” by Weird Tales in 1926, for which he had not made a carbon. This precaution helped preserve a valuable record of his creative process.

The original draft of “Rattle of Bones” was seven pages long. Howard, after completing the story, decided it needed a stronger conclusion and rewrote the final two pages. He submitted this revised version—consisting of the original first five pages and two newly-written ending pages—to Weird Tales, and it became the version published in 1929.

The first version, however, survived in the form of the carbon typescript, which included the original seven pages. Though only the last two pages differ from the published version, this alternate ending offers rare insight into Howard’s revision process. The carbon draft was archived and remained unpublished for decades.

This first version finally appeared in print in the spring of 2007, in the inaugural issue of The Robert E. Howard Foundation Newsletter. More recently, it has been reproduced in full, with scans of the seven-page carbon, offering fans and scholars a fascinating glimpse into Howard’s evolving craftsmanship.

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