The Horror from the Mound

Introduction

Robert E. Howard’s “The Horror from the Mound,” a pioneering “Weird Western” story, was first submitted to the Clayton magazine group on July 9, 1931, but faced rejection. Howard then sent it to Weird Tales, leading to its publication in the May 1932 issue. The story, notable for its early draft and final typescript with carbon, shows no significant differences between these versions. This consistency is evident in the edition used today, marking its significance in the genre’s history.

In the letter (#173) To H.P. Lovecraft, ca. Mid to Late-August, after August 16, 1931, we learn that the story was first rejected by Weird Tales also, but later accepted:

I’m surprized to learn that the Claytons rejected your stories. I notice that many of the old Weird Tale writers have found a berth there. The editor rejected a couple of my yarns; he gave no reason for the rejection of one, but he objected to the other on the grounds of thin plot and light action. Later Mr. Wright accepted this yarn for Weird Tales, though he had formerly rejected it.

This genre acted as a bridge between his early “weird” stories (a contemporary term for horror and fantasy) and his later straight western tales. Featuring Steve Brill.

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…

It was finally published in the May 1932 issue of Weird Tales.

In another letter (#203) to HPL he mentions the story (circa April 1932):

I also placed another yarn with Strange Tales — “The Valley of the Lost” — a horror tale in an early Texan setting. I’m trying to invest my native regions with spectral atmosphere, etched against a realistic setting; “The Horror from the Mound” in the current Weird Tales was a feeble effort of the sort.

The story is also mentioned in a letter (#206) to Tevis Clyde Smith, circa May 1932:

P.S. I’ve gotten some more letters from that fool Olson, in Iowa.9 I could endure his lunacy, but his illiteracy gets on my nerves. This time he’s frothing at the mouth on account of my “Horror from the Mound”. He lashed himself into a perfect frenzy because I said a vampire was really dead. He says that there is no death in the first place, and that Christ was a vampire. Also that a vampire is in “reallity” an idealist, with an earth-gravity of 50 per cent. Whatever the hell that means. He says that I ought to be ashamed “tweesting” the facts around and “making the allmighty God look like the dirtiest devil from Hell.”

After receiving a letter from Lovecraft, Howard answers (letter #208) on May 24, 1932:

Thank you very much for your comments on “People of the Dark” and “The Horror from the Mound.” Your remarks concerning the latter story especially encourages me.

and later in the same letter:

Poor Olson — what you say of him clinches my conclusion that he is completely insane. I first heard from him a long time ago when he wrote commenting on my “Hills of the Dead”; favorably, by the way. “The Horror from the Mound” seems to have enraged him. He hasn’t pulled any “C-Space” or “vectors” on me, though he has had considerable to say about “Ramas” A,B,C, etc.. Neither has he given me the secret of immortality, though he has hinted darkly at it. I’ve never answered any of his letters, though the impulse has been strong to reply with a missive that would make his ravings sound like the prosaic theorizings of a professor fossilized in conventions. But it would be a poor thing to make game of the unfortunate soul.

The story

“The Horror from the Mound” by Robert E. Howard is a gripping Weird Western tale. Set in Texas, it follows Steve Brill, a cowboy turned unsuccessful farmer. When his neighbor, Juan Lopez, avoids a strange mound on Brill’s property, superstitions and tales of horror are unveiled. Brill’s excavation of the mound unleashes a terrifying supernatural entity, leading to a climactic and deadly confrontation. This story masterfully blends Western elements with horror, showcasing Howard’s skill in merging genres.

The Horror from the Mound

The characters

  • Steve Brill: The main character, a cowboy and farmer who unwittingly unleashes the horror.
  • Juan Lopez: Brill’s Mexican neighbor, knowledgeable about the mound’s curse but bound to secrecy.
  • Don Santiago de Valdez: The undead vampire entombed within the mound.
  • Hernando de Estrada: A historical figure mentioned in the tale, part of the backstory of the mound.
  • Porfirio Lopez: An ancestor of Juan Lopez, involved in the historical backstory.

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