John Thunstone: occult detective

Manly Wade Wellman (1902-1986) wrote several occult detectives over the years.

His first was Judge Pursivant, who had four stories from 1938-41 in Weird Tales. He was published under the pen name of Gans T. Field. A former judge, Pursivant confronted occult evil with a special silver sword cane. We know he was a veteran of World War I.

In the 1980s, he made small appearances in a couple of novels by Wellman. One was “The Hanging Stones” (1982), which is a John the Balladeer novel, and then is mentioned in “The School of Darkness” (1985). This confirms that though they never met, John Thunstone and John the Balladeer are in the same “universe.” But we should have known that, as they both confronted the Shonokin.

The Judge would be replaced by John Thunstone, who had 15 stories in Weird Tales from 1943-51. A younger and tougher character then Pursivant, he would later have the silver sword cane given to him by Pursivant and it would soon become a signature item for him.

A rich playboy, Thunstone confronted occult evil that included the Shonokin race as well as evil humans like sorcerer Rowley Thorne. Thorne appeared in the first Thunstone story, along with love interest Countess Monteseco. Both would show up in future stories. Also interesting is that Seabury Quinn‘s occult detective Dr. Jules de Grandin is also mentioned in many stories, perhaps appropriate as he appeared in many issues of Weird Tales.

The Shonokin are an ancient humanoid race that inhabited America before the coming of humans. Reduced to a small area, they still hope to be restored to power. Having cat-like eyes, a ring finger that is longer than the rest, talon-like nails and sharp teeth, they dress in homespun clothes with wide-brimmed hats. They showed up in several stories, including one that is set in a whole town of Shonokins, left alone by the government. While wholly a creation of Wellman, he later claimed that some said that the legends of Shonokins predate him. Not sure if this is true or if he was just having fun, like those who try to claim the “Necronomicon” is real.

Thunstone would later be brought back in the 1980s. First there was a complete collection of the Pursivant and Thunstone stories put out by Carcosa Press in 1981: “Lonely Vigils.” Next, a new short story in 1982, and then two novels. “What Dreams May Come” (1983) had Thunstone traveling to England and confronting an evil there that involved ancient rituals. “The School of Darkness” (1985) had Thunstone involved with a small college in the south, and a return of both Thorne and the Countess. Nightshade Books’ collection “The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations” (2000) contains all the Pursivant and Thunstone short stories. Haffner Press has more recently come out with a complete collection of all the Thunstone stories, including the novels. It also includes all the artwork by George Evans from “Lonely Vigils.”

There was an episode of the TV series “Monsters” that adapted the last Thunstone short story, “Rouse Him Not,” in 1988. It’s pretty decent, though they took some liberties with the story, most likely due to limitations of the show’s budget. Alex Cord did a good job as Thunstone. And they did have him use his sword cane. The whole episode is on YouTube.

I find Thunstone one of the better occult detectives out there. It’s sad that there will probably not be any more stories of him, but at least we can enjoy the ones we do have.