Serapion and Other Stories

Serapion and Other Stories (1920) is a collection of stories by Francis Stevens. Using her well-known pseudonym, Gertrude Barrows Bennett published some of the twentieth century’s greatest science fiction stories and novels. “Serapion” been recognized as a powerful tale of dark fantasy for investigation of demonic possession and the occult, and remains central to Stevens’ reputation as a pioneering author of fantasy and science fiction. “‘Get! Get out!’ adjured that brutally vulgar voice. Then it changed to a whining, female treble: ‘You are young, Clayton Barbour; young and soft to the soft, cruel hand that would mold you. You are easy to mold as clay-clay-Clayton-clay! Evil hangs over you--black evil! Flee from the damned Clayton Barbour. Go home--you!’” Against his better judgment, Clay Barbour ignores the advice of his friend Nils Berquist and attends a séance at the home of well-known spiritualists James and Alicia Moore. In the dim, candlelit room, a “fifth presence” named Serapi