Stories

The Abbey is a fragment of a story that probably were never finished by Howard. It was published for the first time in Fantasy Crossroads in 1975.

This is probably part of some of Howard’s school work. Adventures in Arabia. 

After the game was written for The Yellow Jacket the student paper. Published in volume XIII, no. 7, October 1926.

A fragment first published (in French) in La Tomb Du Dragon (NeO, 1990). First English language publication in The New Howard Reader #7, Spring 2000.

First published in The Tattler, the Brownwood High School paper, March 1, 1923. Inspired by Gus Mager’s Hawkshaw the Detective.

A fragment with an alternative title ‘The Tower of Time’.

Featuring Dennis Dorgan but was originally a Costigan story. Since Howard also had ‘The Shadow of the Vulture’ in the same issue, they used the pseudonym, Patrick Ervin. Alternate title ‘Alleys of Singapore’. First published in Magic Carpet Magazine, January 1934. Howard wrote the story in May, 1933.

Featuring Steve Costigan. Alternate title ‘Leather Lightning’. First published in Fight Stories, volume 3, number 8 January, 1931.

Featuring Steve Costigan. Synopsis of Alleys of Peril

Featuring Dennis Dorgan. Written under the pseudonym, Patrick Ervin. Alternate title ‘Alleys of Singapore’.

Featuring Dennis Dorgan. Written under the pseudonym, Patrick Ervin. Alternate title ‘The Mandarin Ruby’.

Almuric is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert E. Howard. It was originally serialized in three parts in the magazine Weird Tales beginning in May 1939. The novel was first published in book form in 1964 by Ace Books.

Never published in Howard’s lifetime. This was first published in ‘King Kull’ by Lanser books in 1967.

First published in ‘The Juno volume 1 number 10’ in January 1929 as ‘Ambition in the Moonlight’.

First published in ‘The Juno volume 1 number 10’ in January 1929.

A tale about Breckinridge Elkins from 1935. First published in Actions Stories December, 1935.

The first appearance of this was in the Robert E. Howard Foundation Newsletter volume 7, number 4.

There exists two typescripts for this story. The first corresponds to the final version submitted to FIGHT STORIES and ARGOSY. It is written in the third person and the ghostly elements are less marked.
The second typescript is written in the first person and the supernatural element is more pronounced. Howard used the name John Taverel for this story. Alternate title: The Spirit of Tom Molyneaux.

Alternative title is ‘The Strange Case of Josiah Wilbarger’.

Unfinished story. 4800 words written.

A short autobiography Howard wrote about himself on November 29, 1921.

A play.

An incomplete story featuring Steve Costigan.

About cats and Howard’s relationship with them. An insight into Howard’s love and respect for cats.

“Beyond the Black River” is one of the original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian. First published in Weird Tales magazine, May-June 1935. The story was republished in the collections King Conan (Gnome Press, 1953) and Conan the Warrior (Lancer Books, 1967). It has since been published a numerous times in many languages. It’s set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan’s battle against a savage tribe of Picts in the unsettled lands beyond the infamous Black River.

A boxing tale, featuring Bill Smalley. Alternative title: ‘The Power of the Human Eye’. Never published in Howard’s lifetime.

An unfinished work of REH. Lin Carter finished it, starting with Chapter 3, titled “Black Abyss”.

Considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos. Alternative title: Black John’s Vengeance.

“Black Canaan” is a short story originally published in the June 1936 issue of Weird Tales. It is a regional horror story in the Southern Gothic mode, one of several such tales by Howard set in the piney woods of the ArkLaTex region of the Southern United States.

“Black Canaan” is a short story originally published in the June 1936 issue of Weird Tales. It is a regional horror story in the Southern Gothic mode, one of several such tales by Howard set in the piney woods of the ArkLaTex region of the Southern United States.

An unfinished work of REH. Lin Carter finished it, starting with Chapter 3, titled “Black Abyss”.

“Black Colossus” is one of the original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian. First published in Weird Tales magazine, June1935. It has since been published a numerous times in many languages. During the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age, Conan leads the army of Khoraja against an evil sorcerer named Natohk, “the Veiled One.”

This story formed part of the basis for the later Conan novel, The Hour of the Dragon.

Alternative title: Black-Country

Alternative title: Beneath the glare of the sun…

First published in Weird Tales, November 1936. A tale of horror in the Deep South Piney Woods. Featuring Kirby Garfield, Tope Braxton, Adam Grimm, and Richard Brent, and his niece Miss Gloria Brent. Black devil-monks of Yahlgan are also involved.

Alternative title: The Black Bear Bites. Considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos tales.

Featuring Steve Harrison.

“The Black Stone (Early Draft)” is a facsimile of a Howard typescript, with a pair of handwritten comments by the author.

“The Black Stone” is a horror short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, first published in the November 1931 issue of Weird Tales. The story introduces the mad poet Justin Geoffrey and the fictitious Unaussprechlichen Kulten by Friedrich von Junzt. The story is part of the Cthulhu Mythos, follows the same pattern, and has the same features as much of H. P. Lovecraft’s classic work.

Synopsis A. “The Black Stranger” is a fantasy short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, one of his works featuring the sword & sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in the 1930s, but not published in his lifetime. When the original Conan version of his story failed to find a publisher, Howard rewrote “The Black Stranger” into a piratical Terence Vulmea story entitled “Swords of the Red Brotherhood”.

Synopsis B. “The Black Stranger” is a fantasy short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, one of his works featuring the sword & sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in the 1930s, but not published in his lifetime. When the original Conan version of his story failed to find a publisher, Howard rewrote “The Black Stranger” into a piratical Terence Vulmea story entitled “Swords of the Red Brotherhood”.

“The Black Stranger” is a fantasy short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, one of his works featuring the sword & sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in the 1930s, but not published in his lifetime. When the original Conan version of his story failed to find a publisher, Howard rewrote “The Black Stranger” into a piratical Terence Vulmea story entitled “Swords of the Red Brotherhood”. This story was also not accepted.

Alternative title and variant of: Talons in the Dark.

The story ‘Black Vulmea’s Vengeance’ first appeared in the magazine Golden Fleece in 1938.

Terence Vulmea, aka Black Vulmea, who was born a 17th-century Irish peasant, and carried his vendetta with the English oppressors of his country to the waters of the Caribbean. He is one of Robert E. Howard’s lesser known characters; more of his exploits were later added by David C. Smith.  Robert E. Howard only wrote two tales about Vulmea. 

Howard’s second and final appearance in Thrilling Mystery was in the June 1936 issue. The story was “Black Wind Blowing” a mystery adventure.

Dark Agnes de Chastillon (also known as Agnes de Chastillon, Dark Agnes, Agnes de la Fere and The Sword Woman) is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard and the protagonist of three stories set in 16th Century France, which were not printed until long after the author’s death.

This story was originally written in 1929, titled ‘The Blue Flame of Vengeance’, and featured Solomon Kane. Howard failed to sell it, perhaps because it had no weird element, and hence WEIRD TALES would likely not take it. Howard rewrote it in 1932, changing the hero to Malachi Grim, changing the title to ‘Blades of the Brotherhood’, and shortening the story by a couple of pages. There is no record to show to which magazines this story was offered, if any. 

This story was originally written in 1929, titled ‘The Blue Flame of Vengeance’, and featured Solomon Kane. Howard failed to sell it, perhaps because it had no weird element, and hence WEIRD TALES would likely not take it. Howard rewrote it in 1932, changing the hero to Malachi Grim, changing the title to ‘Blades of the Brotherhood’, and shortening the story by a couple of pages. There is no record to show to which magazines this story was offered, if any. 

A very short story about misunderstandings. The title refers to what a slave thought was a chopping block but was a block where slaves were whipped. It’s not easy to make some sense of the few pages of this story.

Published after Howard’s death for the first time in Avon Fantasy Reader #12, 1950. Alterantive title: ‘The Gods of Bal-Sagoth’.

‘The Blood of Belshazzar’ is a story in the Cormac Fitzgeoffrey series about a knight fighting in the Crusades. Cormac Fitzgeoffrey only appears in two of these tales: Hawks of Outremer and The Blood of Belshazzar, both written in 1931. In the latter, Cormac seeks help in rescuing his leader from barbarians even more fierce and evil than those that hold his friend captive.

“Blood of the Gods” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the July 1935 issue of the pulp magazine Top-Notch. 

A group of soldiers of fortune seek a set of matched rubies called the Blood of the Gods, owned by al Wazir. To find it, they capture an Arab who they believe knows the location of al Wazir, who has become a desert hermit. After the Arab agrees to help them, despite his fear of el Borak, a friend of al Wazir who leads the caravan to al Wazir’s hermitage and reveals al Wazir’s location at the Caves of El Khour, the Arab is shot by one of el Borak’s other allies, Salim.

Originally a Kirby O’Donnell story titled ‘The Trail of the Blood-Stained God’. It was re-written by L. Sprague de Camp into a Conan story titled ‘The Bloodstained God’. De Camp changed the names of the characters, added the sorcery elements, and recast the setting into Howard’s Hyborian Age. The story was first published in the hardbound collection Tales of Conan (Gnome Press, 1955), and subsequently appeared in the paperback collection Conan of Cimmeria (Lancer Books, 1969), as part of which it has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Italian. The stories elements were used on the 1976 Peter Pan Records audio drama record: Conan the Barbarian, entitled The Jewel of the Ages.

A 579 words long poem.

‘Blow the Chinks Down!’ is a Sailor Steve Costigan short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the October 1931 issue of Action Stories.

The ‘Blue Flame of Death’ is the title of an earlier draft of ‘The Blue Flame of Vengeance’.

This story was originally written in 1929, titled ‘The Blue Flame of Vengeance’, and featured Solomon Kane. Howard failed to sell it, perhaps because it had no weird element, and hence WEIRD TALES would likely not take it. Howard rewrote it in 1932, changing the hero to Malachi Grim, changing the title to ‘Blades of the Brotherhood’, and shortening the story by a couple of pages. There is no record to show to which magazines this story was offered, if any. 

First published in French in Steve Costigan Le Champion, (Nouvelles Editions Oswald, March 1987). First published in English in The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval (Paradox Enertainment, March 2007). Featuring Steve Costigan. 

An article published by Robert E. Howard circa March/April 1925. There is only one copy known, although there may have originally been four of each.
A facsimile reproduction of this can be seen in Austin, volume 3 number 2 and REH: The Power of the writing mind.

This story is a collaboration with Chandler Whipple. Whipple’s pen-name is Robert Enders Allen. Whipple attempted to write the story, but got stuck and couldn’t figure out what to do for an ending. His agent suggested letting REH finish it. REH did, and they split the profits 50/50. Chapters 1-6 are by Chandler Whipple, the rest is by REH.

A short story first published in ‘The Collected Letters of REH volume 1’, the first printing. It’s not in the ultimate edition.

‘A Boy, a Beehive, and a Chinaman’ is a hand-written high school paper by Howard. Written on December 1st, 1920.

In the original untitled typescript, the character is called Brachan, but in the published appearances it is Brachen.

A Bran Mak Morn synopsis.

Handwritten manuscript of the play ‘Bran Mak Morn’ published for the first time by Cryptic Publications in 1983.

An unfinished story with 6200 words.

Two of Howard’s stories, ‘Dig Me No Grave’ and ‘The Brazen Peacock’, feature the worship of a devilish peacock deity, alternately called Malik Tous and Melek Tous.

‘Breed of Battle’ is a Sailor Steve Costigan short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the November 1931 issue of Action Stories. It is now in the public domain. Alternative titles are: ‘The fightin’est pair’ and ‘Samson had a soft spot’.

Short fiction by Robert E. Howard featuring The Sonora Kid.

‘The Bull Dog Breed’ is a Sailor Steve Costigan short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the February 1930 issue of Fight Stories. Alternative titles: ‘You got to kill a bulldog’ published with the pseudonym Mark Adam.

Featuring Steve Costigan.

‘By This Axe I Rule!’ is a fantasy short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, the last of his Kull stories, set in his fictional Thurian Age. It was first published in the Lancer Books paperback King Kull in 1967.

This story was rejected by the pulp magazines Argosy and Adventure in 1929, after which Howard rewrote it as the Conan story ‘The Phoenix on the Sword’, substituting a new secondary plot and adding elements of supernatural horror. The main shared elements of the two stories are the conspiracy and the king’s defeat of it. The Conan story was published in December 1932.

This typescript of ‘The Cairn on the Headland’ draft is free of modifications made to the published story by Strange Tales editor Harry Bates.

A short story with elements of fantasy and horror. As often in Howard’s stories, there is a link to the Cthulhu Mythos, in this case, mixed also with elements of both Norse Mythology and Catholic Christianity.

It has a rather convoluted history, being in effect an adaptation of Howard’s earlier story Spears of Clontarf, a historical adventure story by Howard focusing on the Battle of Clontarf (1014) and featuring Turlogh Dubh O’Brien or Black Turlogh, a fictional 11th Century Irishman created by Howard. Howard later rewrote “Spears” as “The Grey God Passes”, which was very similar to Spears of Clontarf, but with added fantasy elements. Howard failed to sell the story in either version during his lifetime.

Published under the pseudonym Mark Adam. Alternative title: Fist and Fang.

A detective parody. From a letter to Tevis Clyde Smith, cirka February 1929. 

About a Satanic cult and a haunted record. A record is sent to Stephen Gordon after the death of Casonetto. Also featuring his friend Steve Costigan who might or might not be the boxer sailor Steve Costigan.

First published in Red Shadows, Grant, 1968. In the Black Forest Kane tells John Silent, an English mercenary, that he cut down a boy from the local Baron’s gibbet. Both men head to the Baron’s castle for a reckoning.

A draft. This is a variant of ‘Delcardes’ Cat’. Thulsa Doom is described by Howard in “The Cat and the Skull” as having a face “like a bare white skull, in whose eye sockets flamed livid fire”. He is seemingly invulnerable, boasting after being trampled by one of Kull’s comrades that he feels “only a slight coldness” when being injured and will only “pass to some other sphere when [his] time comes”.

This originally was the untitled essay “. . . which is characterized . . .”, followed by six pages of general notes on all things Celtic, tentatively titled “Notes on the Celts”; the essay was handwritten, the rest of the pages typed, all facsimile reproduction of original REH pages; was reprinted completely in THE NEW HOWARD READER; just the essay in BRAN MAK MORN.

The challenge from beyond is a round-robin (collaboration) 1935 horror short story written by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Frank Belknap Long, Robert E. Howard, C. L. Moore, and Abraham Merritt. It was published in Fantasy Magazine and is part of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Featuring Steve Costigan. The alternate titles are ‘The Champion of the forecastle’ and ‘Champ of the seven seas’. First published in Fight Stories, volume 3, number 6 November 1930. Published under the pseudonym Mark Adams in Fight Stories volume 5, number 8.

Featuring Steve Costigan. The alternate titles are ‘Champ of the forecastle’ and ‘Champ of the seven seas’.

Featuring Steve Costigan. The alternate titles are ‘Champ of the forecastle’ and ‘Champ of the seven seas’.

An unfinished story. Kane comes across a lost city of Assyrians. Howard completed parts I through III (Part III ends on page 129 of Bantam edition, The Hills of the Dead). This information was given in The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane. Ramsey Campbell completed the rest of the story.

‘The Children of the Night’ is a 1931 short story by Robert E. Howard, belonging to the Cthulhu Mythos. It was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in the April/May 1931 issue. Howard earned $60 for this publication.

The story starts with six people sitting in John Conrad’s study: Conrad himself, Clemants, Professor Kirowan, Taverel, Ketrick and the narrator John O’Donnel. O’Donnel describes them all as Anglo-Saxon with the exception of Ketrick. Ketrick, although he possesses a documented pure Anglo-Saxon lineage, appears to have slightly Mongolian-looking eyes and an odd lisp that O’Donnel finds distasteful.

A complete story. 650 words. Not published in Howard’s lifetime.

Featuring Steve Costigan. Alternative title: Slugger Bait. First published in Fight Stories December 1931.

First published in Weirdbook One (W. Paul Ganley, 1968).

Alternative title and variant of: A student of Sockology.

“The Coming of El Borak” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. First printed in English in the chapbook The Coming of El Borak (September 1987), it was not published in Howard’s lifetime.

“The Coming of El Borak” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. This draft was first presented in The Robert E. Howard Foundation Newsletter Winter 2009 as a typescript.

As a young man in the late 20s and into the early 30s, Howard contributed to The Junto, a circulating publication written by a group of his friends and himself. During circulation, the group would write comments about the content, which was then typed up and distributed with the following issue of The Junto. 

There was probably only one copy of each issue. It was mailed to each person on the mailing list, who would read the contributions and make comments. These comments would then be typed up by the editor and included in a future mailing under the heading “The Commentary.” “The Commentary” collects such comments made by Howard, edited by Rob Roehm.

Alternative titles: ‘The way of the swords’ and ‘The Road of the Eagles’.

‘The Road of the Eagles’ is an REH story and title for which two drafts presently exist. It’s an unpublished historical adventure store that de Camp turned into a Conan story.

Alternative title: ‘The Hour of the Dragon’.

The Hour of the Dragon, also known as Conan the Conqueror, is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert E. Howard features his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was one of the last Conan stories published before Howard’s suicide, although not the last to be written.

The original title of ‘The Conquerin’ Hero of the Humbolts’ is ‘Politics at Blue Lizard.’ However, Howard undoubtedly meant “Politics at Lonesome Lizard” which is the name of the town in the story.
(Glenn Lord – THE LAST CELT).

Alternative titles: ‘Politics at Blue Lizard’ and ‘Politics at Lonesome Lizard’

First published in Fight Stories volume 2 number 10 March, 1930 as ‘Sailor’s Grudge’. It was published again in Fight Stories volume 5 number 7 in 1938 under the name Mark Adam and with the changed title.

“Country of the Knife” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the August 1936 issue of the pulp magazine Complete Stories. The story is also known as “Sons of the Hawk”.

One of Howard’s boxing stories which didn’t develop into an ongoing series.

‘Cultured Cauliflowers’ is an unpublished manuscript by Patrick Ervin found after Howard’s death. ‘Cultured Cauliflowers’ was edited and retitled ‘In High Society’. Cross Plains Library has one original draft of this story and a retyped draft by the Otis Adelbert Kline Agency.

This short story was altered slightly to become Chapter 9 of the novel, A Gent From Bear Creek. Featuring Breckinridge Elkins.

The version titled “The Curly Wolf of Sawtooth” features Bearfield Elston. The version titled “A Elkins Never Surrenders” comes from an earlier draft, and features Breckinridge Elkins.
The appearance in THE SUMMIT COUNTY JOURNAL had the name changed to “Breckenridge” to be like the town it was published in.

Otis Adelbert Kline (REH’s agent) first listed the title of the story as “A Elkins Never Surrenders”. He offered it to V. I. Cooper, when he declined, Kline returned the story to REH. A month later it hits the logs again with a new title “A Elston to the Rescue”, and is then sold to Miller for STAR WESTERN. The published title is likely from the magazine editors.

A short story categorized under Confessionals and Other Contemporary Fiction.

Alternative titles: ‘The Bloodstained God’ and ‘The Trail of the Blood-stained God’. Cross Plains Library has an original draft of this story.

Originally a Kirby O’Donnell story titled ‘The Trail of the Blood-Stained God’. It was re-written by L. Sprague de Camp into a Conan story titled ‘The Bloodstained God’. De Camp changed the names of the characters, added the sorcery elements, and recast the setting into Howard’s Hyborian Age. The story was first published in the hardbound collection Tales of Conan (Gnome Press, 1955), and subsequently appeared in the paperback collection Conan of Cimmeria (Lancer Books, 1969), as part of which it has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Italian. The stories elements were used on the 1976 Peter Pan Records audio drama record: Conan the Barbarian, entitled The Jewel of the Ages.

First published in The Howard Collector, Spring 1967, “The Curse of the Golden Skull”, by Robert E. Howard, resembles a prose poem in the same vein as Clark Ashton Smith’s “Chinoiserie”.

Incomplete fragment, 300 words.

According to Rusty Burke “Dagon Manor” was obviously a first fumbling attempt at “The Children of the Night.” In just 300 words you have Conrad introduced (but Kirowan unnamed), and two characters named Tavarel and Ketric (“I never liked the fellow. There was something about his bare, high skull, his cold light eyes and thin hooded nose which was unpleasantly reminiscent of a vulture or some foul bird of prey.”). In “The Children of the Night” we’re in Conrad’s study, and we find characters named Taveral (or Taverel, which is how it’s spelled after its first appearance) and Ketrick. Of the latter, we quickly learn that “to me the man always seemed strangely alien.” The only possible conclusion is that “Dagon Manor” was a false start on the story that became “The Children of the Night.”

It would then also belong to the Cthulhu Mythos.

The Dark Man (first published in Weird Tales, December 1931) – Turlogh rescues the daughter of King Brian Boru from a tribe of Vikings. This story features a cameo of another Howard character, Bran Mak Morn. This story can be found on Wikisource. It was adapted as a Conan story by Marvel Comics.

Originally a story featuring Mike Dorgan and Bill McGlory. The story was published in ACTION STORIES as “Dark Shanghai.” and Mike Dorgan was changed to Steve Costigan.

REH wrote three stories featuring Mike Dorgan and Bill McGlory. “One Shanghai Night” was the second of the three stories. It was submitted to Fiction House and accepted. 

“The Daughter of Erlik Khan” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the December 1934 issue of the pulp magazine Top-Notch.

First published after Howard’s death in Fantasy Crossroads #8.

In a drunken argument, a cowboy kills an old man and is cursed by his wife. She pledges to return from the grave to take revenge.

Unfinished story. The typescript is presented in the Robert E. Howard Newsletter volume 7 number 2.

An unfinished fragment featuring Solomon Kane. It is set in a forest, rather than the African jungle, but where and when (in Kane’s lifetime) is hard to say.

The Draft for Delcardes’ Cat. Thulsa Doom first appeared (as Thulses Doom) at the end of the short story “Delcardes’ Cat” by Robert E. Howard, which featured the character Kull as the protagonist. Howard later edited the text to include foreshadowing/references to Thulsa Doom (as he had been rechristened) throughout the story and changed the title to The Cat and the Skull to reflect this.

Thulsa Doom is described by Howard in “The Cat and the Skull” as having a face “like a bare white skull, in whose eye sockets flamed livid fire”. He is seemingly invulnerable, boasting after being trampled by one of Kull’s comrades that he feels “only a slight coldness” when being injured and will only “pass to some other sphere when [his] time comes”.

Thulsa Doom first appeared (as Thulses Doom) at the end of the short story “Delcardes’ Cat” by Robert E. Howard, which featured the character Kull as the protagonist. Howard later edited the text to include foreshadowing/references to Thulsa Doom (as he had been rechristened) throughout the story and changed the title to The Cat and the Skull to reflect this.

Thulsa Doom is described by Howard in “The Cat and the Skull” as having a face “like a bare white skull, in whose eye sockets flamed livid fire”. He is seemingly invulnerable, boasting after being trampled by one of Kull’s comrades that he feels “only a slight coldness” when being injured and will only “pass to some other sphere when [his] time comes”.

This is a tale of historical fiction with supernatural elements, focusing on Genseric, the King of the Vandals as he sails from Carthage to Rome around 455 A.D.

This is a tale of historical fiction with supernatural elements, focusing on Genseric, the King of the Vandals as he sails from Carthage to Rome around 455 A.D.

One of Howard’s spicy stories published with the name Sam Walser. Alternative title: Revenge by Proxy. Featuring Wild Bill Clanton.

One of Howard’s spicy stories was published under the name Sam Walser. A list of characters.

Short fiction by Robert E. Howard featuring The Sonora Kid.

Featuring Dennis Dorgan. Written under the pseudonym, Patrick Ervin. Alternate titles: ‘Sailor Dorgan and the Destiny Gorilla’ and ‘Sailor Costigan and the Destiny Gorilla’. The Cross Plains Library has one original draft of this story and a retyped draft by the Otis Adelbert Kline Agency. 

The Devil in His Brain a short story by Robert E. Howard.

‘The Devil in Iron’ is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian, first published in Weird Tales in August 1934. Howard earned $115 for the publication of this story.

The plot concerns the resurrection of a mythical demon, the theft of a sacred dagger, and an unrelated trap that lures Conan to the island fortress roamed by the demon. The story borrowed elements from ‘Iron Shadows in the Moon’.

Alternative titles: ‘The Devil’s Joker’ and ‘Outlaw Trails’.

Featuring the Sonora Kid. Alternative titles: ‘The Devil’s Jest’ and ‘Outlaw Trails’.

Alternate version of ‘The Devil’s Joker’.

An incomplete story completed by Tevis Clyde Smith.

Cross Plains Library has an original draft of this story. A horror story.

The Diablos Trail, featuring Pike Bearfield.

This horror story appeared in Weird Tales in 1937 after Howard’s death in 1936.

In “Dig Me No Grave”, the story is narrated by Kirowan, an approach Howard abandoned for the later stories, in which he kept the first person perspective but had an unnamed narrator. Kirowan is awakened by Conrad in the middle of the night. Conrad has just left the side of John Grimlan, who has died in a most unpleasant manner. Years earlier Grimlan had made Conrad swear to follow the instructions in a sealed envelope after his death. Conrad was to follow these instructions no matter how much Grimlan might change his mind. As he was dying Grimlan begged Conrad not to follow the instructions but to burn the envelope.

Considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos. Alternative title: ‘John Grimlan’s Debt’.

‘Diogenes of Today’ is a contemporary story. It is a collaboration by Robert E. Howard and Tevis Clyde Smith.

Complete, 1900 words.

‘The Dook of Stork’ (parody, included in REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, 7 July 1923), is subtitled ‘A Dramma by Willie Shakesbeer.’

Alternative title: ‘The Door to the Garden’.

Alternative title: ‘The Door to the Garden’.

First published in Bran Mak Morn: A Play and Others (Cryptic Publications, 1983).

A 160 words unfinished story. Alternate title: untitled story (It was a strange experience, and I don’t expect anyone . . .)

She came from high society and she should have known she had no business associating with a gorilla like Wild Bill Clanton. However, the job she wanted done was plain burglary, and her code of honor wouldn’t let her turn thief!

Howard wrote some spicy adventure tales. For this one, he used the pseudonym, Sam Walser.

Featuring Kid Allison. First published in The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval (Paradox Press, March 2007).

Originally, this story appeared in a letter to HPL ca. December 1930 (As always, your letter proved highly . . .) and was untitled.

In this story, first published in the February 1928 edition of Weird Tales Magazine, a terrified individual recounts the details of a strange, recurring nightmare. The Dream Snake is a terrifying tale of a man who has had a recurring dream about being pursued by a sinister, unseen giant snake that gets nearer and nearer to him every night….

1400 words, incomplete.

Alternative title: Riders of the sunset. Drums of Sunset was published in eight parts in the Cross Plains Review. The Cross Plains Review has been the newspaper for Cross Plains, Texas since 1909.

“Drums of Tombalku” is an American fantasy short story, one of the original ones written in the 1930s by Robert E. Howard featuring Conan the Cimmerian. Howard left it as an untitled synopsis that was not published in his lifetime. The tale was finalized by L. Sprague de Camp and in this form first published in the collection Conan the Adventurer (1966). It has first been published in its original form in the collection The Pool of the Black One (Donald M. Grant, 1986) and later in The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz, 2000) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Two (1934) (Del Rey, 2005).

Fragment and a synopsis. The fragment in The Pool of the Black One was bowdlerized when it appeared.

A factual report on the Kid Dula – Duke Tramel bout, Fort Worth, July 13, 1928.

“The Dwellers under the Tombs, Draft A” is a facsimile of Howard’s typescript, the earlier and shorter of two drafts that survive. Published in the Robert E. Howard Foundtaion Newsletter, summer 2008.

Alternative title: His Brother’s Shoes.

First published in Howard’s amateur press publication, The Right Hook volume 1, number 3, 1925.

This short story was altered slightly to become Chapter 11 of the novel, A Gent From Bear Creek. The original version is unpublished. 

Eighttoes makes a play, short story by Robert E. Howard and Tevis Clyde Smith. Written with two different endings. This is a dog-team racing story set during the Alaskan gold rush.

Never published in Howard’s lifetime. Alternate Title: UNTITLED STORY (“I emptied my revolver . . .”)

A team-up of different Howard characters. Today we would probably call them crossovers. El Borak teams up with the Sonora Kid. Never published in Howard’s lifetime. The opening line is “Were you ever stranded . . .”

The version titled “The Curly Wolf of Sawtooth” features Bearfield Elston. The version titled “A Elkins Never Surrenders” comes from an earlier draft, and features Breckinridge Elkins.
The appearance in THE SUMMIT COUNTY JOURNAL had the name changed to “Breckenridge” to be like the town it was published in.

Otis Adelbert Kline (REH’s agent) first listed the title of the story as “A Elkins Never Surrenders”. He offered it to V. I. Cooper, when he declined, Kline returned the story to REH. A month later it hits the logs again with a new title “A Elston to the Rescue”, and is then sold to Miller for STAR WESTERN. The published title is likely from the magazine editors.

Alternative title: “The Curly Wolf of Sawtooth”. Features Bearfield Elston. The version titled “A Elkins Never Surrenders” comes from an earlier draft, and features Breckinridge Elkins.
The appearance in THE SUMMIT COUNTY JOURNAL had the name changed to “Breckenridge” to be like the town it was published in.

Otis Adelbert Kline (REH’s agent) first listed the title of the story as “A Elkins Never Surrenders”. He offered it to V. I. Cooper, when he declined, Kline returned the story to REH. A month later it hits the logs again with a new title “A Elston to the Rescue”, and is then sold to Miller for STAR WESTERN. The published title is likely from the magazine editors.

In its first appearance, it was part of a bundle of works titled “Sketches”, published in The Junto.

A collection of six prose poems, “Proem,” “Flaming Marble,” “Skulls and Orchids,” “Medallions in The Moon,” “The Gods That Men Forget,” and “Bloodstones and Ebony.”

Featuring Breckinridge Elkins.First published in Action Stories, June 1936.

Featuring Breckinridge Elkins. Incomplete synopsis.

Exile of Atlantis is titled by Glenn Lord. Alternative title: Untitled story, starting with “The sun was setting. A last crimson…”.

Alternative title: ‘The Killing of Yellow Donory’.

Written when Howard attended Cross Plains High School. Date February 9, 1921. First published in The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval (Paradox Entertainment, March 2007).

By “John Starr”. Published in Fight Stories, June 1938. Alternate titles: “The Iron Man” and “Iron Men”.

Featuring Steve Harrison. Alternate title: “People of the Serpent”.

The February 1934 issue of STRANGE DETECTIVE STORIES carried two stories by REH: “The Tomb’s Secret” and “Fangs of Gold.”
It appears that the story titles were inadvertently switched.
Howard’s agent, Otis Adelbert Kline, kept a list of titles and the magazines that purchased them.
Above “The Teeth of Doom” on Kline’s list, someone added “The Tomb’s Secret.”
Above “The People of the Serpent” on Kline’s list, someone added “Fangs of Gold.”

Alternate Titles: ‘The Yellow Cobra’, ‘Sailor Dorgan and the Yellow Cobra’, ‘Sailor Costigan and the Yellow Cobra’, ‘A Night Ashore’ and ‘A Korean Night’. Featuring Sailor Steve Costigan.

“The Fangs of the Yellow Cobra” is the earliest complete draft of the story “The Yellow Cobra”.

A rediculous pastiche story from a young Howard. 

1900 words, unfinished story.

Glenn Lord came up with the title of “Restless Waters” for the untitled typescript, but then later came across a letter from REH to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. February 1929 (“Salaam:/ Ancient English Balladel”), in which REH mentions a story he wrote titled “The Fear at the Window,” and Glenn said he thought this might be the correct title.

First published in ‘Crypt of Cthulhu #22’ in 1984.

Old Adam Farrel lay dead in the house wherein he had lived alone for the last twenty years. A silent, churlish recluse, in his life he had known no friends, and only two men had watched his passing… little did they know the Fearsome Touch of Death had not left the house…

In this tale, first published in the February 1930 edition of Weird Tales Magazine, a man spends a night alone with a corpse.

Unfinished story. 2800 words written.

A boxing story by Howard.

A tale about Breckinridge Elkins from 1935. First published in Actions Stories June, 1935. This short story was altered slightly to become Chapter 6 of A Gent From Bear Creek.

Notes prepared by REH while writing historical fiction for ORIENTAL STORIES / MAGIC CARPET in the early 1930s.

‘The Fightin’est Pair’ is a Sailor Steve Costigan short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the November 1931 issue of Action Stories as ‘Breed of Battle’. It is now in the public domain. Alternative titles are: ‘Breed of Battle’ and ‘Samson had a soft spot’.

The Fighting Fury.

Kid Allison version. “Fighting Nerves” was originally written as a Kid Allison story and submitted to the magazine SPORT STORY. It was rejected because SPORT STORY was all stocked up with fight stories and REH was asked to hold it for several months and resubmit. Not wanting to wait that long, REH rewrote the story changing the character’s name to Jim O’Donnel, and submitted it to FIGHT STORIES.

“Fighting Nerves” was originally written as a Kid Allison story and submitted to the magazine SPORT STORY. It was rejected because SPORT STORY was all stocked up with fight stories and REH was asked to hold it for several months and resubmit. Not wanting to wait that long, REH rewrote the story changing the character’s name to Jim O’Donnel, and submitted it to FIGHT STORIES.

“The Fire of Asshurbanipal” was originally written early in the 1930’s like a straight adventure story. There is no record of where this version of the story was submitted. REH later revised the story to have a supernatural ending. The version with the supernatural ending was submitted to WEIRD TALES after Howard’s death by his father. Glenn Lord discovered the original (straight adventure story) version of the story in a trunk and it was first published in THE HOWARD COLLECTOR #16, Spring 1972.

“The Fire of Asshurbanipal” was first published in Weird Tales in December 1936, almost six months after Howard’s death. It is one of three completed stories that the author’s father, Isaac Howard, submitted to Weird Tales after his son’s death (this is according to a letter he sent to Howard’s literary agent, Otis Adelbert Kline). The other two stories are “Dig Me No Grave,” and “The Black Hound of Death.” All saw print in the Weird Tales in late 1936 and early 1937. However, “The Fire of Asshurbanipal” may have been written earlier, possibly around the time of “The Black Stone” in late 1930 (both reference the name ‘Xuthltan’) when Howard was experimenting with H. P. Lovecraft’s themes and concepts. A second, non-fantasy version of the story exists, which suggests to me that Howard was considering selling it to Adventure or a similar magazine.

Considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos.

“The Fire of Asshurbanipal” was originally written early in the 1930’s like a straight adventure story. There is no record of where this version of the story was submitted. REH later revised the story to have a supernatural ending. The version with the supernatural ending was submitted to WEIRD TALES after Howard’s death by his father. Glenn Lord discovered the original (straight adventure story) version of the story in a trunk and it was first published in THE HOWARD COLLECTOR #16, Spring 1972.

375 words.

First published in FIGHT STORIES May 1930. Published again in Winter 1938-1939 but under the name of Mark Adam and the title: “Cannibal Fists”.

Featuring Kid Allison.

Alternative title: Iron-Jaw.

Fists of the Revolution.

Originally an El Borak story titled “Three Bladed Doom” had a short (24.000 words) and a long (42.000 words) version.

The Flame Knife is a 1955 fantasy novella by American writers Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard’s sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was revised by de Camp from Howard’s original story, a then-unpublished oriental tale featuring Francis X. Gordon titled “Three-Bladed Doom”. De Camp changed the names of the characters, added the fantastic element, and recast the setting into Howard’s Hyborian Age. The story was first published in the hardbound collection Tales of Conan (Gnome Press, 1955), and subsequently appeared in the paperback collection Conan the Wanderer (Lancer Books, 1968), as part of which it has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Italian. It was published itself in paperback book form by Ace Books in 1981, in an edition profusely illustrated by Esteban Maroto.

Alternative title: Untitled (“I carved a woman out of marble when”). Published in Poet’s Scroll January 1929. 14 lines.

A short poetic story starting with (“This is a dream that comes to me often…”)

Alternate Title: untitled story (A sailorman ain’t got no business … ). Featuring Steve Costigan.

Unfinished story. 6300 words written.

The story opens with Kane coming across the body of a young black woman. The corpse is fresh, and there are marks where whips and shackles have torn her flesh. It doesn’t take long for Kane to catch up with the slavers who killed her. He sees a train of blacks being led away by a group of armed Arabs and other blacks who have allied with them. They’re taking their captives to a slave market. They’re also driving them hard, neither giving them rest breaks nor providing them with ample water.

First published in Weird Tales, September 1931.

Authorship uncertain. First published in the Yellow Jacket volume XIII number 10, Howard Payne College.

For the Love of Barbara Allen is a ghost/love story, considered by some as one of REH’s twenty best stories.

Undated school work. 650 words.

Authorship uncertain. First published in the Yellow Jacket volume XIII number 25, Howard Payne College.

Originally written by REH as a Conan story “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” (REH1).  The story was not accepted, so REH rewrote it with a different hero (Amra), and changed the title to “The Frost King’s Daughter” (REH2).

When published by The Fantasy Fan, they changed the title to “Gods of the North”. L. Sprague de Camp found the original manuscript, but extensively rewrote it, and called it “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” (REH/LSDC).

Originally written by REH as a Conan story “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter”(REH1). The story was not accepted, so REH rewrote it with a different hero (Amra), and changed the title to “The Frost King’s Daughter” (REH2).

When published by The Fantasy Fan, they changed the title to “Gods of the North”. L. Sprague de Camp found the original manuscript, but extensively rewrote it, and called it “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” (REH/LSDC).

Originally written by REH as a Conan story “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” (REH1). The story was not accepted, so REH rewrote it with a different hero (Amra), and changed the title to “The Frost King’s Daughter” (REH2). When published by THE FANTASY FAN, they changed the title to “Gods of the North.”

225 words.

The Further Adventures of Lal Singh is a short story by Robert E. Howard. First printed in English in the chapbook The Adventures of Lal Singh (1985). It was not published in Howard’s lifetime.

As part of a collection of stories titled “Sketches”. Published in the Junto, December 1928.

“The Garden of Fear” explores reincarnation, anthropology, theology and evolution, through the quest of James Allison as Hunwulf, living a life that was once his own.

First published in GOLDEN FLEECE volume 2, number 1 in January 1939. Alternative title: ‘The Road of the Mountain Lion’. Set during the Crusades.

“General Ironfist” is a Sailor Steve Costigan short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the June 1934 issue of Jack Dempsey’s Fight Magazine. Howard earned $35 for the sale of this story which is now in the public domain. 

This is a round-robin, 17-chapter story, based on the first chapter by REH. All but the REH portion was written in the 1970s. Originally scheduled to be published serially in several episodes in Fantasy Crossroads, only 12 of the 17 got published. The Necronomicon Press edition is the first complete publication of the story.

Written by Robert E. Howard, Karl Edward Wagner, Joseph Brennan; Richard L. Tierney; Michael Moorcock; Charles R. Saunders; Andrew J. Offutt; Manly Wade Wellman; Darrell Schwietzer; A. E. Van Vogt; Brian Lumley; Frank Belknap Long; Adrian Cole; Ramsey Campbell; H. Warner Munn; Marion Zimmer Bradley; Richard A. Lupoff

This is a round-robin, 17-chapter story, based on the first chapter by REH. All but the REH portion was written in the 1970s. Originally scheduled to be published serially in several episodes in Fantasy Crossroads, only 12 of the 17 got published. The Necronomicon Press edition is the first complete publication of the story.

Alternate titles: GENSERIC’S FIFTH BORN SON; Untitled (“Long, long ago a son was born . . .”); GHOR, KINSLAYER

For appearances of this story, refer to the main story listing under GENSERIC’S FIFTH BORN SON.

The draft for “A Gent from Bear Creek”.

“A Gent from Bear Creek” is the title of both an original short story, as well as a novel created by combining several previous short stories with some new material; the previously published short stories were altered a little to create chapters with a continuous storyline, and new material was added as additional chapters.

“A Gent from Bear Creek” is the title of both an original short story, as well as a novel created by combining several previous short stories with some new material; the previously published short stories were altered a little to create chapters with a continuous storyline, and new material was added as additional chapters.

This short story was altered slightly to become Chapter 5 of the novel, A Gent From Bear Creek.

A Gent from the Pecos, featuring Pike Bearfield. Alternate title: ‘Shave that Hawg!’.

Gents in Buckskin.

Gents on the Lynch, featuring Pike Bearfield. 

Gents on the Rampage.

This is a round-robin, 17-chapter story, based on the first chapter by REH. All but the REH portion was written in the 1970s. Originally scheduled to be published serially in several episodes in Fantasy Crossroads, only 12 of the 17 got published. The Necronomicon Press edition is the first complete publication of the story.

For appearances of this story, refer to the main story listing under GENSERIC’S FIFTH BORN SON.

The Ghost Behind the Gloves. Incomplete, 700 words.

By “Patrick MacConaire”. 

Written by Howard when he attended Cross Plains High School. The date was December 13, 1921. The Ghost of Bald Rock Ranch featuring Bill Smalley.

The Ghost of Camp Colorado. An article Howard wrote for the Texaco Star Company. This was a magazine that was published monthly for employees and stockholders. It appeared on pages 13-15 and contained 5 photographs.

The Ghost of Jacksonville. 550 words. Written by Howard on November 3, 1920, when he attended High School. 

“The Ghost with the Silk Hat” was originally published in WRITER OF THE DARK by Dark Carneval Press. Nearly three dozen changes were made to the text. The text included in THE MAN FROM CROSS PLAINS was taken from the typescript and a few corrections are noted at the back of the book.

The Girl on the Hell Ship draft. Howard used the name Sam Walser.

The Girl on the Hell Ship. Howard used the name Sam Walser. Alternate title: SHE DEVIL.

A Glass of Vodka – A Play

“The God in the Bowl” is one of the original short stories featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard but not published during his lifetime. Set during the fictional Hyborian Age, the plot sees Conan robbing a temple museum only to become the prime suspect in a murder mystery. The story first saw publication in September 1952 in Space Science Fiction and has been reprinted many times since.

In the Nemedian municipality of Numalia, the second largest city of Nemedia, Conan enters a museum and antique house called the Temple of Kallian Publico.

While robbing the museum, Conan becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. The strangled corpse of the temple’s owner and curator, Kallian Publico, is found by a night watchman. Though the Cimmerian is the prime suspect, the investigating magistrate, Demetrio, and the prefect of police, Dionus, show forbearance. The two allow Conan to remain free and keep his unsheathed sword while their men search the premises. A combination of Conan’s physique, his glare, and his insistence that he’ll disembowel the first person who tried to apprehend him keeps the guards at bay.

First published in Weird Tales in October 1931. Featuring Turlogh Dubh O’Brien.

Gods of the North. Originally written by REH as a Conan story “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” (REH1). The story was not accepted, so REH rewrote it with a different hero (Amra), and changed the title to “The Frost King’s Daughter” (REH2). When published by THE FANTASY FAN, they changed the title to GODS OF THE NORTH.

Poem.

A Kirby O’Donnell tale.

A Kirby O’Donnell tale.

A story Howard wrote when he attended Brownwood High School. Published in the Tattler on December 22, 1922. 

Golnor the Ape. Unfinished. Listed as “Golnar” in the Last Celt. Appeared as “Golnor” in Crypt of Cthulhu and The New Howard Reader.

The Gondarian Man.

The Good Knight.

Graveyard Rats. Published in the February 1936 issue of STRANGE DETECTIVE STORIES. Featuring Steve Harrison.

Graveyard Rats draft. Featuring Steve Harrison.

An article Howard wrote. The Great Munney Ring.

Howard’s first version (as Spears of Clontarf) finally saw print in a chapbook in 1978, and his Grey God Passes version was also published posthumously in the anthology collection titled Dark Mind, Dark Heart in 1962.

The Grisly Horror. Alternate title: MOON OF ZAMBEBWEI. Published for the first time in Weird Tales, February 1935.

The Grove of Lovers. 2100 words, unfinished.

The Guardian of the Idol (synopsis)

The Guardian of the Idol (fragment). Originally an unfinished 700-word manuscript, with a synopsis. There is also a version completed by Gerald W. Page.

First published in Shudder Stories #1 (Cryptic Publications, June 1984). Cross Plains Library has an original draft of this story.

Gunman’s Debt.

Page for of Gunman’s Debt. A synopsis.

Three synopses of Gunman’s Debt.

Guns of Khartum.

Guns of the Mountains.

“The Hall of the Dead” is a fantasy short story by American Robert E. Howard, one of his tales featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. A fragment began in the 1930s but was not finished or published in Howard’s lifetime. L. Sprague de Camp wrote an entire story based on this untitled synopsis.

“Halt! Who goes there?” A story Howard wrote for the Yellow Jacket (Howard Payne College).

“The Hand of Nergal” is one of the original short stories by American author Robert E. Howard starring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, an untitled fragment begun in the 1930s but not finished or published in Howard’s lifetime. It was completed and titled by Lin Carter.

The Hand of Obeah

Hand of the Black Goddess. Featuring Gorman and Kirby.

Hard-Fisted Sentiment. Featuring Steve Costigan.

I will not seek to express my appreciation of “The Hashish-Eater”. I lack the words. I have read it many times already; I hope to read it many more times.
– Robert E. Howard to Clark Ashton Smith, 22 Jul 1933, CL3.97

Robert E. Howard himself dabbled in hashish-vision literature with a piece titled “The Hashish Land,” first published Fantôme #1 (1978) by The Great Bhang Press, as a collection of fantastic cannabis literature. 

The Haunted Hut

The Haunted Mountain.This short story was altered slightly to become Chapter 10 of the novel, A Gent From Bear Creek.

“The Haunter of the Ring” is a 1934 short story Howard, belonging to the Cthulhu Mythos. It was first published in Weird Tales in the June 1934 issue. Howard earned $60 for this publication. This story is set in the modern age but includes a relic from the Hyborian Age of the Conan stories, the ring of Thoth-Amon.

The Hawk of Basti. Not published when Howard was alive. Featuring Solomon Kane.

“The Daughter of Erlik Khan” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the December 1934 issue of the pulp magazine Top-Notch.

‘Hawks of Outremer’ is a story in the Cormac Fitzgeoffrey series about a knight fighting in the Crusades. Cormac Fitzgeoffrey only appears in two of these tales: Hawks of Outremer and The Blood of Belshazzar, both written in 1931. In the latter, Cormac seeks help in rescuing his leader from barbarians even more fierce and evil than those that hold his friend captive.

First published in Oriental Stories (Spring 1931) after being accepted by that magazine in October 1930. “Outremer” (literally, “Oversea”) was what the Crusader states were often called.

The story is set in Egypt in 1021 AD. Diego de Guzman, a Castillian, is in Cairo on a mission of personal vengeance. Disguised as a Moor, he seeks a man responsible for the deaths of his comrades and his own imprisonment. He learns that this man is now a high-ranking officer in the army of the Caliph, al Hakim, and learns that the Caliph, believing himself to be God Incarnate, plans to launch a jihad against Spain. De Guzman, with the aid of a Turkish ally, is able to take advantage of court intrigues and simmering rebellion among the Caliph’s subjects to prevent the jihad.

“Hawks over Shem” is a fantasy short story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Conan the Barbarian and published in 1955. It’s based on the story “Hawks over Egypt” by Robert E. Howard and it is usually credited to both authors.

The Cross Plains Library has an original draft of this story. L. Sprague de Camp rewrote “Hawks Over Egypt” into a Conan story “Hawks Over Shem”.

The Heathen

A list of heavyweight champions published by REH himself in THE GOLDEN CALIPH, circa August 1923. Only one copy known. This was REH’s own amateur magazine.

High Horse Rampage.

First published in Weird Tales, August 1930. In Africa again, Kane’s old friend N’Longa (the witch doctor from “Red Shadows”) gives the Puritan a magic wooden staff, the Staff of Solomon, which will protect him in his travels. Kane enters the jungle and finds a city of vampires.

His Brother’s Shoes. Alternate title: THE DWELLERS UNDER THE TOMB.

His War Medals was posted in THE YELLOW JACKET volume XIII number 15. There is apparently an uncertainty about the authorship.

“The Honor of the Ship”. Featuring Steve Costigan. 

The Hoofed Thing. Considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos. Cats, dogs, babies, children, and tramps successively and mysteriously disappear from the neighborhood. Alternate title: USURP THE NIGHT.

Howard wrote one of the first “Weird Western” stories ever created, “The Horror from the Mound,” published in the May 1932 issue of Weird Tales. This genre acted as a bridge between his early “weird” stories (a contemporary term for horror and fantasy) and his later straight western tales.

There is a secret held inside an Indian burial mound, only a few know the secret and they have been sworn to secrecy… until someone became greedy, deciding that there must be treasure hidden in the mound…

A Horror in the Night.

Alternative title: ‘The Hour of the Dragon’.

The Hour of the Dragon, also known as Conan the Conqueror, is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert E. Howard features his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was one of the last Conan stories published before Howard’s suicide, although not the last to be written.

Various notes about The Hour of the Dragon.

The House is an unfinished story by Howard. August Derleth finished the incomplete REH draft. Derleth’s portion begins with the second sentence of the paragraph that begins “We had passed through the circling . . .”; Derleth added a verse heading which was from an early draft of “The Children of the Night,” as well as the poems “Arkham” and “An Open Window”. The alternate title is: THE HOUSE IN THE OAKS.

The House is an unfinished story by Howard. August Derleth finished the incomplete REH draft. Derleth’s portion begins with the second sentence of the paragraph that begins “We had passed through the circling . . .”; Derleth added a verse heading which was from an early draft of “The Children of the Night,” as well as the poems “Arkham” and “An Open Window”. The alternate title is: THE HOUSE IN THE OAKS.

First published as “Witch From Hell’s Kitchen” in Avon Fantasy Reader #18, Avon, 1952.

The typescript draft of The House of Arabu.

The House of Om. A synopsis.

REH wrote three stories featuring Mike Dorgan and Bill McGlory. “The House of Peril” was the first of the three stories. It was submitted to Fiction House and accepted. However, Mike Dorgan was changed to Steve Costigan, his ship China Moon became The Sea Girl, and a line was added referencing Costigan’s bulldog Mike. The story was published in ACTION STORIES as “Blow the Chinks Down!.”

In the Otis Adelbert Kline logs, the original title listed was “The House of Suspicion”, then “Suspicion” is struck out, and “Death” written above it; offered by OAK to STRANGE DETECTIVE, not sold; 

REH did three known drafts of his essay The Hyborian Age. These three were presented by the Robert E. Howard Foundation in a chapbook presented to the Legacy Circle members. Drafts A through C are from REH’s original typescripts, furnished by Glenn Lord, and sent to the REH Foundation by Patrice Louinet.

REH did three known drafts of his essay The Hyborian Age. These three were presented by the Robert E. Howard Foundation in a chapbook presented to the Legacy Circle members. Drafts A through C are from REH’s original typescripts, furnished by Glenn Lord, and sent to the REH Foundation by Patrice Louinet.

REH did three known drafts of his essay The Hyborian Age. These three were presented by the Robert E. Howard Foundation in a chapbook presented to the Legacy Circle members. Drafts A through C are from REH’s original typescripts, furnished by Glenn Lord, and sent to the REH Foundation by Patrice Louinet.

“The Hyborian Age” is an essay by Robert E. Howard pertaining to the Hyborian Age, the fictional setting of his stories about Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in the 1930s but only partly published during Howard’s lifetime. Its purpose was to maintain consistency within his fictional setting.

The essay sets out in detail the major events of Howard’s pseudohistorical prehistory, both period before and after the time of the Conan stories. In describing the cataclysmic end of the Thurian Age, the period described in his Kull stories, Howard links both sequences of stories into one shared universe. The names he gives his various nations and peoples of the age borrow liberally from actual history and myth. The essay also sets out the racial and geographical heritage of these fictional entities, making them progenitors of modern nations. For example, Howard makes the Gaels descendants of his own Cimmerians.

The Hyena is a horror story first published in Weird Tales in March 1928.

“The Ideal Girl” A 95-word essay by Howard written for the Tattler (Brownwood High School):

In the first place, she should be at least six feet tall and weigh about two hundred pounds, so she could take in washing or coal heaving at wharfs, while I took a vacation. As beauty is apt to make a woman vain, she should have a face that resembled a female crocodile with hippopotamus ancestors. As to hair, eyes and so on, I have no especial preference, but if she squinted with one ye and goggled with the other, it would be all right. Also, she should have a strong Swedish accent.

Published in FIGHT STORIES Fall 1940. Published under the name of Mark Adam. “Includin’ the Scandinavian” previously appeared in FIGHT STORIES V4N9, February 1932 as “Vikings of the Gloves”

Unfinished, 1500 words.

The Influence of the Movies. A 550 words complete piece.

‘Cultured Cauliflowers’ is an unpublished manuscript by Patrick Ervin found after Howard’s death. ‘Cultured Cauliflowers’ was edited and retitled ‘In High Society’. Cross Plains Library has one original draft of this story and a retyped draft by the Otis Adelbert Kline Agency.

2200 words, article.

First published in Weird Tales, August 1925, In the Forest of Villefère tells of de Montour’s passage through a supposedly haunted forest. There he comes upon a most unusual traveling companion.

“Intrigue in Kurdistan” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. It was not published in Howard’s lifetime.

Published in Fight Stories, June 1930. Alternate titles: “Fall Guy” and “Iron Men”.

REH completed the first version of “Iron Men” (draft a) in March or April 1929. That version was sent to FIGHT STORIES and apparently considered too long. Two successive drafts (drafts b & c) condensed the story. Draft c was eventually submitted to FIGHT STORIES, but the published version was heavily edited. . Alternate titles: “Fall Guy” and “The Iron Man”.

REH completed the first version of “Iron Men” (draft a) in March or April 1929. That version was sent to FIGHT STORIES and apparently considered too long. Two successive drafts (drafts b & c) condensed the story. Draft c was eventually submitted to FIGHT STORIES, but the published version was heavily edited. . Alternate titles: “Fall Guy” and “The Iron Man”.

“Iron Shadows in the Moon” is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine in April 1934. But then under the name “Shadows in the Moonlight”. Howard originally named his story “Iron Shadows in the Moon”. It’s set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan escaping to a remote island in the Vilayet Sea where he encounters the Red Brotherhood, a skulking creature, and mysterious iron statues.

“The Iron Terror” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. First printed in English in the chapbook The Coming of El Borak (September 1987), it was not published in Howard’s lifetime.

Howard used Patrick Ervin as a pseudonym. Alternative title: “A Knight of the Round Table”.

First published for DIME SPORTS MAGAZINE in April 1936. Alternative title: Fists of the Desert.

Irony. A play where the scene is set in a confectionery shop.

Actors: Costigan; a writer, Gross; the manager, Gloria; a girl and Tommy; a youth.

Perhaps not as well known as Valeria and Belit, Helen Tavrel is a also notorious female pirate and adventuress. She appeared in Howards story ‘The Isle of Pirates’ Doom written in 1928. The story did not sell.

The Isle of the Eons. First appearance comprised of edited together sections from the drafts b1, b2, and a3.

The Isle of the Eons. Outline.

The Isle of the Eons. Draft a1.

The Isle of the Eons. Draft a2.

The Isle of the Eons. Draft a3.

The Isle of the Eons. Draft b1.

The Isle of the Eons. Draft b2.

The Ivory Camel. 1800 words, unfinished.

The Jade God. First published in Unaussprechlichen Kulten #2 (Editions Samarcande, July 1992). 1400 words, unfinished. Originally an untitled story (“I started up . . .”), the title was likely by Glenn Lord.

The Jade Monkey. REH used Patrick Ervin as a pseudonym. For appearances of this story, refer to the main story listing under SAILOR COSTIGAN AND THE JADE MONKEY.

Alternate titles: SAILOR COSTIGAN AND THE JADE MONKEY or SAILOR DORGAN AND THE JADE MONKEY

A short history of Jazz Music published by REH himself in THE GOLDEN CALIPH, circa August 1923. Only one copy is known. This was REH’s own amateur magazine.

Jeffries versus Dempsey. A variant of Untitled story (“John L. Sullivan knocked out Ryan…”)

“Jewels of Gwahlur” is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard. Set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age, it concerns several parties, including Conan, fighting over and hunting for the eponymous treasure in Hyborian Africa. The tale was first published in the March 1935 issue of Weird Tales. Howard’s original title for the story was “The Servants of Bit-Yakin”.

The Jinx, featuring Kid Allison.

John Grimlan’s Debt. Alternate title: “Dig me no grave”. This horror story appeared in Weird Tales in 1937 after Howard’s death in 1936.

Jottings. Verbal doodles.

The Judgement of the Desert. Alternate title: Showdown at Hell’s Canyon. 

In Howard’s following letter to Lovecraft, he responds to the latter’s suggestion that he make use of Kelly in his fiction; “Kelly the conjure-man was quite a character, but I fear I could not do justice to such a theme as you describe”. However, despite Howard’s reticence, Kelly did begin to find a way into his writing.

“Khoda Khan’s Tale” features El Borak and is a short story by Howard. First printed in English in the chapbook The Coming of El Borak (September 1987), it was not published in Howard’s lifetime.

Kid Galahad. Alternate Title: THE GOOD KNIGHT.

The Killer’s Debt is an untitled fragment; ( . . . fabulous amount stated in the exaggerated legend,)

Alternative title: ‘The Killing of Yellow Donory’.

King Bahthur’s Court

King Hootus

King of the Forgotten People. Alternate title: THE VALLEY OF THE LOST (1)

Kings of the Night (first published in Weird Tales, November 1930). The first story to feature Bran as a king and describes him as a direct descendant of another Howard character, Brule the Spear-Slayer, companion of the Atlantean King Kull.

The King’s Service with Donn Othna a Celt.

Knife, Bullet and Noose. Short fiction by Robert E. Howard featuring The Sonora Kid.

Knife, Gun and Noose. Short fiction by Robert E. Howard featuring The Sonora Kid. Alternate title: KNIFE, BULLET AND NOOSE.

Knife-River Prodigal. Featuring Buckner J. Grimes. Alternate title: A TEXAS PRODIGAL.

A Knight of the Round Table. Howard used Patrick Ervin as a pseudonym. Alternative title: IRON-CLAD FISTS.

“A Korean Night” is a slightly different, earlier original draft of the Costigan version.

Lal Singh, Oriental Gentleman.

The Lame Man. Alternative title: LORD OF SAMARCAND.

The Land of Forgotten Ages. Unfinished story. 500 words written.

The Land of Mystery. A team-up of different Howard characters. Today we would probably call them crossovers. El Borak teams up with the Sonora Kid. Never published in Howard’s lifetime.

The Last Laugh. Alternate title: Untitled story (The rising sun was behind the wild figure.)

The Last Man. Alternate Title: untitled (The flaming sun of the year 2000 . . .)

“The Last Ride” is co-authored by Chandler Whipple (aka Robert Enders Allen). The exact contribution of each author is unknown

The Last White Man. 6400-word unfinished manuscript.

Law Guns of Cowtown.  Alternative title: LAW-SHOOTERS OF COWTOWN. 

Law-Shooters of Cowtown. Alternative title: LAW GUNS OF COWTOWN.

Published with the name Mark Adam. The alternate title is ‘Alleys of Peril’. First published in Fight Stories, volume 3, number 8 January 1931. Originally this was a Mike O’Brien story. It was rewritten as a Costigan after a rejection.