Robert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."
He is well known for having created the character Conan the Barbarian. This collection includes HowardÕs short horror and fantasy stories, including the masterpiece ÒPigeons from Hell,Ó which Stephen King calls Òone of the finest horror stories of century,Ó a tale of two travelers who stumble upon the ruins of a Southern plantationÐand into the maw of its fatal secret. In ÒBlack CanaanÓ even the best warrior has little chance of taking down the evil voodoo man with unholy powersÐand none at all against his wily mistress, the diabolical High Priestess of Damballah. In these and other lavishly illustrated classics, such as the nightmare ÒThe Cairn on the Headland,Ó Howard spins tales of unrelenting terror, the legacy of one of the worldÕs great masters of the macabre.