The Considerate Hosts

December issue 1939.

Thorp McClusky wrote The Considerate Hosts. It first appeared in 1939 in the December issue of the pulps’ “Weird Tales.” McClusky was a free-lance writer who published 40 short stories in the 1930s and 40s.

His stories were often published in The Pulps, which I write about here.

McClusky wrote in the horror genre and most of his stories were about zombies, vampires, and ghosts. He also occasionally wrote westerns and mysteries.

His most well-known titles include: Loot of Vampires--published in book form in 1975, The Crawling Horror, 1936, The Considerate Hosts, 1936, and White Zombies Walked, 1939, which the film Revenge of the Zombies, 1943 starring John Carradine was based upon.

I first read The Considerate Hosts in Bennett Cerf’s The Modern Library collection of ghost stories entitled, Famous Ghost Stories. I share some of Cerf’s quotes from this book, here.

McClusky avoids the flowery language that many of The Pulps writers indulged in.

The Considerate Hosts is a story that the reader remembers. McClusky’s writing is effortless which reflects a writer who mastered his craft.

Stranded in a Storm

Marvin, the main character in this story is driving home at midnight in torrential rain. A patrolman stops him and tells him the bridge up ahead is washed out.

He then takes a detour on an unknown dirt road that has turned to mud. His car engine dies and he is forced to seek shelter.

He spots an old house with its lights on and knocks on the door.

There is something odd about the couple that answers, their cold rudeness, their antiquated phone, and then their confession...

What ensues next is a story with many plot twists, which includes: ghosts seeking revenge, redemption and a surprise ending that provides justice for all.

This story has been published numerous times. It can be found in the following two collections:

The Big Book of Ghost Stories, By Otto Penzler, here.

Short & Scary Thrillers, by Rebecca Rizzo, here.

The Bennett Cerf collection Famous Ghost Stories published in 1944 is still available for purchase but it is expensive. 

Bennett Cerf’s Ghost Quotes

Cerf standing with Arlene Francis.
Dorothy Kilgallon and
the host John Daly.

Bennett A. Cerf was an American humorist and publisher. He was one of the co-founders of the publishing firm Random House. 

He became known to most Americans in his generation from his appearances as a panel member on the television game show, What’s My Line from 1951 to 1967.

As a part of Random House’s The Modern Library series, Cerf published an anthology entitled, Famous Ghost Stores in 1944. Cerf, who was known for his wit, includes an Introductory Note in this book that captures the reader’s attention.

A few books from The Modern Library

Cerf admits that he always kept a stack of ghost stories near his bed to distract him from the world’s troubles. Here are some of his most memorable quotes and stories from this introduction.

“Do I believe in ghosts? Of course, I do. So do you. Deep in the souls of the most sophisticated of us is lurking a fear of the supernatural which all the discoveries of scientists cannot eradicate.”

The most exceptional skeptic I ever met was asked point-blank if he would sleep alone in a house that had been haunted, according to common belief, for a hundred years or more. “No, sirree, not on your life,” said the skeptic. “Why should I take a chance?”

A lady once asked President Coleridge if he believed in ghosts. “No, Madam,” was the reply. “I have seen too many of them to believe in them.”

“The fundamental difference between the mystery story and the ghost story is the fact that a mystery demands a solution for its effectiveness; a ghost story is necessarily unsolvable; the reader must be willing to accept the fact that nothing is proved.”

Have you heard the story about the timid soul who was hurrying down a dark, dark corridor, when he suddenly collided with a stout and shadowy personage whom he certainly had not seen approaching him. "My, my," said the timid one. “You gave me a start. For a moment I could have sworn you were a ghost.”

“What my friend,” answered the other, “makes you believe I’m not?”--and then he promptly disappeared.

                                                              Bennett Cerf

                                                              New York, 1943

Another favorite ghost quote comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act l scene v.

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio.

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Hamlet is telling Horatio this because they are both educated men who are having a hard time believing in something they cannot prove. They both have seen the ghost of Hamlet’s father, which has turned their belief system upside down. Hamlet discovers that education and philosophy cannot explain everything.