The Challenge From Beyond

In 1935, Fantasy Magazine was approaching its 3rd Anniversary and editor Julius Schwartz (later of DC Comics) wanted to do something special. He conceived of the idea of a “composite story” (round-robin story) to commemorate the event. Schwartz commissioned two such stories, both called “The Challenge from Beyond.” One story was in the Science Fiction genre and the other in the Weird Fiction genre.

The lineup of authors for the Weird Fiction story was: C.L. Moore (1911-1987), Abraham Merritt (1884-1943), H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), and Frank Belknap Long (1901-1994).

The Science Fiction version of the story was authored by Stanley Weinbaum (1902-1935), Donald Wandrei (1908-1987), E. E. “Doc” Smith (1890-1965), Harl Vincent (1893-1968), and Murray Leinster (1896-1975).

The two stories were originally published in the September, 1935 issue of Fantasy Magazine.