Christine Thomson British writer, author of horror literature. Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Christine Thomson
2. Not at Night Series
3. Pseudonym and Other Works
4. Personal Life and Other Works
5. Final Works and Legacy

Biography of Christine Thomson

Christine Hartley, better known as Christine Campbell Thomson, was a British writer and author of horror literature. She was one of the influential figures who impacted the popularity of horror and supernatural fiction, although she did not gain the same recognition as the "father of ancient monster stories," H.P. Lovecraft.

Not at Night Series

Thomson is most remembered by readers for her horror anthologies published in the 1920s and 1930s. Her first work, "Not at Night," gave its name to an entire horror series that consisted of eleven volumes. The series concluded with "Nightmare by Daylight" in 1935 and "Omnibus" in 1937. In total, she wrote 170 stories, with 100 of them making their way into the legendary magazine, "Weird Tales." All the books from the "Not at Night" series were published by Selwyn & Blount. These anthologies were well-liked by readers and became a significant series in the history of horror short stories, as noted by bibliographer Mike Ashley.

Pseudonym and Other Works

Using the pseudonym Flavia Richardson, Thomson published two stories in the British magazine "Hutchinson's Mystery Story Magazine" in the 1920s. The first story, "Out of the Earth," was published in January 1925, followed by "When Hell Laughed" in January 1926. She also collaborated with "Weird Tales" under the same pseudonym. Her story "The Red Turret," initially published in her own anthology "Switch on the Light" in 1931, was reprinted in the significant anthology "A Century of Creepy Stories" in 1934.

Personal Life and Other Works

Thomson was married to editor and author Oscar Cook, who also contributed his works to "Weird Tales," including his story "Si Urag of the Tail." They divorced in 1938. For most of her life, Christine worked as a literary agent and was the director of the firm Thomson and McLaughlin. She wrote several novels, none of which were associated with the horror genre. Additionally, Thomson compiled a guide for writers titled "The Right Way to Write Successful Fiction."

Final Works and Legacy

Thomson's horror story titled "Message for Margie" became the only story published under her real name. It appeared in anthologies such as "The Fifth Pan Book of Horror Stories" in 1964, "Terrors, Torments and Traumas" in 1978, and "Realms of Darkness" in 1985. Some of her stories from the "Not at Night" series were reprinted in various other anthologies edited by Charles Birkin, Mary Danby, and Herbert Van Thal. As an occultist and a friend of Dion Fortune, Christine became a member of the "Inner Light Brotherhood" founded by Fortune and her husband, Penry Evans. Thomson also wrote two non-fiction occult works, "The Western Mystery Tradition" in 1968 and "A Case For Reincarnation" in 1972, both published under the name Christine Hartley after her second marriage in 1945.

Thomson published her autobiography, "I Am A Literary Agent," in 1951. She passed away on September 29, 1985, at the age of 89. Just six weeks later, on November 8, another horror writer, Charles Birkin, who was ten years younger than Thomson, also passed away. These two writers likely left behind two of the most intriguing horror anthologies published in England between the First and Second World Wars.