It is perhaps not so coincidental that he went throughout his life by his middle name: Hope.It might never have been so, were it not for his intense determination.
For in his brief but feverish writing career that ended in mid-April 1918, Hodgson churned out the novels and stories that would make him one of the undisputed masters of twentieth-century terror. Rather, Hodgson’s reputation is built on his output as a fiction writer, and while he is hardly a household name, devotees of weird fiction, horror, or early science fiction will recognize him at once. Nor would his earlier attempts to cultivate a school for “physical culture” (the Edwardian equivalent of bodybuilding), which would help embroil him in a dispute with the legendary Harry Houdini. He joined the army in the Great War well into his thirty-seventh year and insisted on returning to combat even after sustaining injuries, a decision which ultimately led to his untimely death.īut despite his evident courage, Hodgson’s valor is not what would commend his name to posterity.
Hodgson had spent his youth apprenticing at sea, and though he came to despise the mariners’ life, the experience molded him into a physically powerful and tireless fighter. It’s not surprising that he was on the battlefield.
Subscribe to Christ and Pop Culture Magazine by becoming a member and receive a host of other benefits, too.Ī century ago, somewhere in Ypres, Belgium, William Hope Hodgson was killed, just a few months before the end of World War I. This post is featured in the CAPC Magazine Issue 2 of 2021: Hope from Horror issue of Christ and Pop Culture Magazine.
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