Ancient Lights, by Algernon Blackwood (1912)

 A walk in the woods with Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) must have been quite the thing.  I often wonder to myself if he was a man who truly loved the outdoors, or feared them.  Much has been made of his fascination with the outdoors, and his horror tales dealing with natural forces, forests, natural phenomena, and the beings that call the wilds their home are without question the finest ever written, but how did the man himself truly feel about being surrounded by trees, by desolate silence, or by the near endless expanses of wilderness we know he saw during his time here in Canada?  Modern readers suggest that Lovecraft had an aversion to seafood tantamount to a phobia, that he allegedly feared the sea, and that gazing at the endless stars simply must have filled him with dread based on his writings (though these opinions are rarely, if ever, bolstered by reading his actual letters or looking up his true feelings of things).  If that’s the case, then how must Blackwood have felt about a walk in the woods?  Or the wind in the trees?  Or the babble of a brook?

We may never truly know, as surely his own letters wouldn’t give us any insight (…), but based on today’s story it may as well have been a laugh as a shriek.

Ancient Lights (1912) continues themes Blackwood previously visited in The Willows (1907) and The Man the Trees Loved (also 1912), that of a potential sentience among plant life that may or may not be hostile towards man, but invariably is willing to protect itself should it need to.  That’s not to say the stories are in any way connected, nor do they seem to suggest any overarching mythology, but rather an interesting fascination the author had with the outdoors and the seemingly innocent, though massively outnumbering denizens which sway with the breeze and just may have an intellect all their own.

In this very short tale (a “ten minute” tale written by Blackwood for magazines) a surveyor is called to the English countryside to meet with a homeowner about having a copse of trees removed that is blocking the view from his home.  Upon arriving the surveyor is in a gay mood and, seeing that the stand of trees seems a little less than an acre, is set between two large fields, and offers a full view of the man’s house on the other side, decides to take the path through the trees to see what he’ll soon be dealing with.

At first all is good and fun, the sun is shining and the little wood seems to be a lovely spot full of flowers, sweet smells, and a charming atmosphere.  He bends to pick at some flowers and a stray oak branch knocks off his hat – then does it again when the hat is replaced.  From there the forests seems to take on a sinister air as the man becomes hopelessly lost, sees odd shapes moving in the sun-dappled glades, and is continually turned around, being pushed further and further away from the fields and the red house that stands beyond the woods.

Blackwood does an expectedly amazing job of bringing the forest to life, turning everyday natural occurrence sinister, breathing life into shadows and rustling leaves and the fear that we all experience at becoming lost, even in so small a space.  He introduces potentially spectral figures, footsteps, and even the suggestion of the fae as the man is forced from the woods and told, in no uncertain terms, that “Trespassers will be Prosecuted”.

A message that becomes all the more true when we learn from the homeowner at the end of the tale that the ancient copse is known locally as “The Fairy Wood”.

There’s also a great line within the story as the surveyor reads his note from the homeowner stating:  “There is a short cut through the wood – the wood I want cut down – if you care to take it.”  The “c” in care, of course, is smudged and could be read as a “d”.

Blackwood does a masterful job with Ancient Lights, blending some subtle humor with increasing terror as he once again turns the innocent and prosaic sinister.  Too short to really reach the heights of the likes of The Willows or The Wendigo, Ancient Lights is nevertheless a great addition to Blackwood’s nature stories and the clever bits with the signage and the surveyor’s note stick with the reader long after.

The story ends with the homeowner asking the surveyor (who has just arrived at his home after the ordeal) if he’s quite ready to go out and have a look at the stand of trees, inviting the reader as well along for another walk in the woods with Algernon Blackwood, for good or evil.