On the Influence of Arthur Machen | Wales Arts Review Shorts

On the Influence of Arthur Machen | Wales Arts Review Shorts

The Wales Arts Review Shorts are a new series of videos exploring major figures and significant moments in Welsh cultural life. Ranging from John Cale to National Theatre Wales, our aim is to give you an insight into the deep and rich creative people that have shaped our nation. For the full catalogue in the Wales Arts Review Shorts, follow the link here.

Arthur Machen wrote some of the influential horror stories of the modern era from his home in the town of Caerleon in Gwent, built upon ancient Roman ruins. Machen (3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) was the pen-name of Arthur Llewellyn Jones, a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His novella The Great God Pan (1890; 1894) has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror, with Stephen King describing it as “Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language.” He is also well known for “The Bowmen”, a short story that was widely read as fact, creating the legend of the Angels of Mons. Novelist, broadcaster, and WAR editor Gary Raymond, talks about the lasting legacy of Wales’s great horror writer.

Wales Arts Review would like to thank the Arts Council of Wales for their invaluable support and without whose help this project would not have been possible.

Arthur Machen Arts Council of Wales