readers' imagination. These difficulties I think Mr. Long has overcome with unusual skill. In addition, I like the way he has put his story into words. There is personality in his style. In short, I think this story an unusually good tale of its kind, and I feel that it is no more than fair that, when he does a good piece of work, he should be told that it is good work. Hence this letter. Congratulations on your 'new' Weird Tales. Success!!"
We are always glad to get such letters as this. But we are equally glad to get letters of frank criticism, for it is only by constant touch with you, the readers, that we can know what type of stories you want to read. We will give you what you want. And do not fear that the magazine is going to lose its "weird" quality merely by being kept clean. Read "Out of the Long Ago," "The Ocean Leech," and "Luisma's Return," in this issue, and you will see that the magazine completely lives up to its name.
The new, handy form of the magazine seems to have taken the fancy of the readers. It is half the page size of the old Weird Tales but has double the number of pages.
Elwin J. Owens, of Cloquet, Minnesota, comments briefly: "Several changes you have made in the magazine are highly commendable. To enumerate briefly: "Its size is far more convenient, whether on the reading table, placed in a traveling grip, or tucked in one's pocket; the cover page (as are the headings and tailpieces) by Mr. Andrew Brosnateh is thoroughly in keeping with the other excellent features; your table of contents is considerably more attractive to the reader groping for entertainment, on account of its not being so congested, and being in the front, handy for the searching eye; the stories—twenty-two in all, variety, and not a poor one—comprize a masterful piece of editorial art; and the headings add much to the balance. Weird Tales is now a 'Magazine Distinctive'."
Some of our readers write that they have had considerable trouble in obtaining copies of Weird Tales on the news stands. If you are one of these, please ask your news dealer to order a supply of this magazine from his branch of the American News Company.
Several readers have asked us to give them more stories (such as "The Brain in the Jar") which combine both science and horror. Others ask for more electrical stories. To those readers who want electrical stories we will call attention to "Radio V-Rays," a remarkable pseudo-scientific story by Jan Dirk in the March issue; Will Smith's utterly fascinating "Wanderlust by Proxy" in next month's issue; and "The Electronic Plague," by Edward Hades, which is coming soon. Also, J. Schlossel, author of "Invaders From Outside" in this issue, has written a remarkable radio story for you, called "A Message From Space." Such stories plumb the future with the eye of prophecy, and the vision of these authors may stimulate the imagination of inventors and scientists to the practical benefit of mankind, just as Jules Verne's remarkable tales bore rich fruit in actual inventions made by readers of his fantastic fiction. Norman Elwood Hammerstrom, in a letter to The Eyrie, expresses this thought when he says: "All things are possible. We live in a weird universe, whose surface we have barely scratched. The wildest miracles are perfectly possible. As people learn more and more, such stories as mine ('The Brain in the Jar') will seem more plausible."
And don't forget to mail in your vote for the best story in this issue. Send it to The Eyrie, Weird Tales, 325 N. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis. We want to know what stories you prefer, so that we can give you more of the same kind.
