The Great God Pan

The Great God Pan is one of the greatest works of weird horror and decadence ever committed to paper. Written in 1894, Machen develops the macabre the tale of a young girl cursed by her unnatural parentage to become a creature of shape-shifting poly-sexual demi-human evil. Its uncanny depiction of a monstrous half-human hybrid inspired the plot of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror, (which refers by name to Machen’s story). 




ARTHUR MACHEN (1863 – 1947) was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. His novella The Great God Pan has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror. Stephen King called it "Perhaps the best horror story in the English language. He went on to say, “How many sleepless nights has The Great God Pan caused? God knows, but a few of them were mine.” Machen's influence is not limited to genre fiction, however. Jorge Luis Borges recognized Machen as a great writer, and through him Machen has had an influence on magic realism.


Cosmic fear—raised to its most artistic pitch—few can hope to equal Arthur Machen. 

- H. P. Lovecraft