We are going to turn The Eyrie this month entirely over to you, the readers. We feel that our stories are satisfying you, as each month shows a steady increase in circulation over the preceding months; but it is only through your continued interest in the magazine that we can keep it in accord with your wishes. So if you like any stories particularly well, let us know which ones. What is your favorite story in this issue? If there are any stories that you do not like, be sure to let us know; for Weird Tales belongs to its readers, and we want to give you the kind of stories that you like. And we are unable to tell what stories you like unless you let us know. Send in your suggestions as to what kind of stories you think Weird Tales should publish. Address your letter to The Eyrie, Weird Tales, 408 Holliday Building, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Robert E. Howard, of Cross Plains, Texas, writes concerning Mr. Quinn's stories of Jules de Grandin: "These are sheer masterpieces. The little Frenchman is one of those characters who live in fiction. I look forward with pleasurable anticipations to further meetings with him."
C. S. Baker, of Washington, D. C., writes: "Weird Tales is the only magazine that I buy regularly, and every story is a thriller."
August Derleth, Jr., of Sauk City, Wisconsin, writes: "Is it possible to get more stories by H. P. Lovecraft and to have one of David Baxter's nature tales in every issue? I find Frank Owen's tales delightfully fantastic, while Greye La Spina's stories are gems of sinister menace. I wish to repeat E. L. Middleton's plea for 'a few old-fashioned ghost stories' and the reprint of Algernon Blackwood's The Willows."
Paul Hern, of Manhattan, Kansas, writes: "I greatly enjoyed the bat story by David Baxter, Nomads of the Night. Get more of these."
Mrs. Lila Le Clair, of Templeton, Massachusetts, writes: "I never could get really interested in the popular magazines until I was in a store and happened to see Weird Tales on the stand. So I decided to try it, thinking I'd probably read a few pages and cast it aside. But believe me, every page was a thriller, and such chills of delighted horror as I had never had before chased up and down my spine. Give us more blood-curdling and ghost stories, and keep the magazine as it is, for it surely is a cracker jack."
"More pseudo-scientific stories and more H. G. Wells stories," writes Cecil Fuller, of Tulare, California. "I hope you will use The Time Machine as one of your reprints, as it is the best weird story Wells has written."
Miss Alton Davis, of Memphis, Tennessee, writes: "Seabury Quinn's story, The Horror on the Links, kept me hanging in suspense to the end, with a creepy chill up and down my back. But, dear editor, don't spoil your magazine with humorous tales like The Wicked Flea. Your magazine stands for the creepy, hair-raising stories, so please keep it that way. Give us more werewolf stories like The Werewolf of Ponkert—that was a winner."
R. P. Reebel, of Edinburgh, Pennsylvania, writes to The Eyrie: "To my mind the best story I have ever read in your magazine, in fact I might say the best story I have ever read, was The Wind That Tramps the World, by Frank Owen. I think this story deserves to live; in fact it is a classic. That one story, short as it was, was worth the price of a year's subscription to Weird Tales." The story appeared in last April's issue.
Harry Reade, of Easton, Pennsylvania, writes to The Eyrie: "Give us some more stories of adventures under the sea, on other planets, or in strange, out-of-the-way places on the earth, like The Lure of Atlantis in last April's issue, Planet Paradise, and The Sunken Land. I enjoy this kind of story more than any other. Don't forget, also, a few more scientific tales like B. Wallis's The Abysmal Horror."
Greye La Spina, herself a popular writer of weird tales, writes from Brooklyn: "Can not help sending you a line to tell you how fine I consider the December issue. It is one of the best, if not. the best, you've put out yet. The magazine gets better as it grows older. Mr. Quinn's story is corking. Lieutenant Burks' story is deeply touching, and a most original conception. Mr. Long has created a horrible monster in The Sea Thing, and made it appear logical, which is a feat. Mr. Colter, with The Deadly Amanita, has touched on mental processes with great delicacy and sureness. Mr. H. G. Wells is an established writer, but I do not think he stands out in this issue of Weird Tales any more than do these other writers of less prominence, which is saying something. Congratulations."
H. P. Lovecraft, another favorite author, writes: "I have lately read your December issue, and believe the general qualitative level is kept commendably high—we don't find any of the frank crudities that marked the earlier issues. Long's The Sea Thing strikes me as the best tale, with Owen's The Fan as a good second."
Helen L. Keys, of New York City, writes: "I am a great admirer of your magazine and the stories you publish. Most editors seem to fear to give their readers an unusual or gruesome story. You are to be congratulated on your courage. The name of H. G. Wells on the cover caught my attention this month and I bought your magazine. I found several stories equal to or better than the Wells story. Mr. Quinn|'s long story was fine, and also The Waning of a World. And what a horrible, gruesome, wonderful story was The Sea Thing! Please give us more by Mr. Quinn and Mr. Long."
Carl F. Ester, of San Francisco, writes to The Eyrie: "As a constant reader of Weird Tales, I beg to take this liberty and your valuable time to thank you for your delightful stories in the past and the ones to come. But of all stories I ever read, the one I most appreciated is the one by Lieutenant Arthur J. Burks in the December issue: When the Graves Were Opened, the most perfect, clear, clean and mystifying story I have read for many days. and here is one reader's appreciation of it in that I wish the author all success possible, and may he continue this kind of writing."
Walter Sammis, of Placerville, California, writes: "Honest, I don't know what I would do if! did not have W. T. to look forward to each month. I read the first issue ever published, and that led to the others, so now I am a Weird Tales addict. My favorites are stories like The Eternal Conflict and stories of the worlds beyond. I think it's just about impossible to improve this magazine."
Lewis F. Ball, of Havre de Grace, Maryland, writes to The Eyrie: "I am surely an enthusiastic reader of Weird Tales and think it is the best magazine on the market, only it isn't published often enough for me. My favorite story in the December issue is When the Graves Were Opened. It is so different from the ordinary stories, and so well told. But for goodness' sake publish some more stories by H. P. Lovecraft very soon or I'll die of disappointment. My favorite authors are H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur J. Burks, and C. M. Eddy, Jr. Keep Weird Tales weird."
Dr. C. R. Scheffer, of Delavan, Wisconsin, writes: "The short little yarn, The Fading Ghost, has real literary merit, and one is led to the finish believing the 'ghost' is the real thing, to meet with a genuine surprize. It's a cleverly conceived idea."
Arthur Thatcher, author of the Teeheemen stories, writes: "I have been intending every month to write and express my admiration for the constantly increasing excellence of the material appearing in Weird Tales. The past three months have been splendid in the superlative degree, in my estimation. The Tenants of Broussac is one of the best tales I have read in a long time. The Horror on the Links was another good one, and The Gargoyle was excellent."
Harold S. Farnese, of Los Angeles, writes: "The Waning of a World I have enjoyed tremendously, but with the introduction of earthlike intrigues and earthlike beings on Mars, the climax is somewhat passed and the story seems to pass into the channel of other love-tales. The story by Louise Garwood in last month's issue was wonderful. Somebody ought to tell this lady that she has talents to write a good play, for in all her stories the dramatic element stands foremost. In my opinion she is a born playwright. I vote for The Sea Thing by Long and the reprint of What Was It? by O'Brien as the best stories in the December issue. Keep the magazine weird."
A reader from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, who signs himself with a flock of initials, J. A. E. B. P., writes: "I have been trying for the last five years or so to find some fiction magazine that would suit my taste. Of course I have tried every magazine on the market, and each in its turn has managed to hold my interest for a while. But the sameness of the stories from week to week was appalling. When yon have read one, you have read practically all. It wasn't until last April, when walking into a news stand, that I found Weird Tales. It was new to me, so I thought I would give it a trial. Well, that first number got me interested, and since that time I have not missed a copy. I have no intention of missing a copy as long as I can, dig up twenty-five cents. It is the only magazine from which I get any real satisfaction. Let us have more from the pen of Seabury Quinn, H. Thompson Rich, H. G. Wells and Eli Colter. As the best of your writers, Seabury Quinn has my vote by about ten laps."
Well, readers, in the voting for favorite story in the December issue, three stories lead all the rest, but they are so nearly even in votes that it would be unfair to name one and leave out the other two. Here they are: 1. The Sea Thing, by Frank Belknap Long, Jr.; 2. The Tenants of Broussac, by Seabury Quinn; 3. When the Graves Were Opened, by Lieutenant Arthur J. Burks.