Stefan Grabiński (26 February 1887 – 12 November 1936) was a Polish writer of fantastic literature and horror stories. He was very interested in parapsychology, magic and demonology and in the works of the German Expressionist filmmakers. He is sometimes likened to Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft, although his works are often surreal or explicitly erotic in a way that sets him apart from both.

Biography

Grabiński was born in Kamionka Strumiłowa, then part of Poland (present-day Kamianka-Buzka, Ukraine), situated by the Bug River. His family was well off as his father, Dionizos, was a local judge, but Stefan's childhood was marred because of his proneness to various illnesses. He often read while lying in bed, which made him slightly reclusive and nurtured his bias in favor of dark fantasy and mysticism. After his father's death, the family moved to Lviv.

He graduated from the local high school in 1905, then studied Polish Literature and philology at the former Jan Kazimierz University, which is presently the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. While a student there, he discovered that he had tuberculosis, which was common in his family.

left|thumb|215px|page=5|Demon Ruchu (1919)

As he was an ardent pantheist, fond of Christian mysticism and Eastern religious texts, as well as Theosophy and demonology, this discovery only enhanced his occult worldview and approach to writing. Upon graduating in 1911, he began work as a secondary school teacher in Lviv. During this time, he also traveled extensively, visiting Austria, Italy, and Romania. From 1917 to 1927, he was a teacher in Przemyśl.

He first began to write short fiction in 1906 and his mother was his first reader and critic. A collection of short stories, Exceptions: In the Dark of Faith (), written under the pen name Stefan Żalny (Żalny means 'doleful') became his self-published debut in 1909. These tales have never been judged highly. The general opinion being that his hyperbolical, at times anachronistic literary style couldn't be appreciated by the majority of his readers. His second volume of short stories, On the Hill of Roses (), was published nine years later, and received modest critical approval. Later his stories were promoted by the science-fiction critic, and some appeared in the , published by Wydawnictwo Literackie. In an interview, Lem admits the influence of Grabiński's horror stories on his early works, including "Terminus".

In the 1980s some of his works were translated to German. Further stories of his have been translated since: In Sarah's House: Stories (2007), The Motion Demon (2005), On the Hill of Roses (2012) and Masters of the Weird Tale: Stefan Grabinski (2021).

He has been referred to as "Polish Poe" or "Polish Lovecraft".

His story "Szamota's Mistress" was adapted to film as part of a B Movie trilogy called Evil Streets.

Bibliography

Novels

  • (Salamander) (1924)
  • (Baphomet's Shadow) (1926)
  • (The Cloister and the Sea) (1928)
  • (Itongo Island) (1936)

Short stories

  • "" (The Tawny Owl) (1906)
  • "" (The Frenzied Farmhouse) (1908)
  • "" (The Vampire) (1909)
  • "" (The Earth's Revenge) (1909)
  • "" (The Curse) (1909)
  • "" (Death Knell) (1909)
  • "" (On the Hill of Roses) (1909)
  • "" (The Orchard of the Dead) (1909)
  • "" (At the Villa by the Sea) (1912)
  • "" (Shadow) (1913)
  • "" (Fumes) (1913)
  • "" (At Sara's House) (1915)
  • "" (The Grey Room) (1915)
  • "" (On a Tangent) (1918)
  • "" (Strabismus) (1918)
  • "" (The Problem of Czelawa) (1918)
  • "" (The Siding) (1918)
  • "" (Projection) (1919)
  • "" (The Lady from the White Castle) (1919)
  • "" (Ksenia) (1919)
  • "" (Engine Driver Grot) (1919)
  • "" (The Wandering Train) (1919)
  • "" (Signals) (1919)
  • "" (The Sloven) (1919)
  • "Ultima Thule" (Ultima Thule) (1919)
  • "" (Saturnin Sektor) (1920)
  • "" (False Alarm) (1920)
  • "" (King Nenufar) (1920)
  • "" (The Miracle of Zywia) (1921)
  • "" (Too Soon) (1921)
  • "" (White Wyrak) (1922)
  • "" (The Museum of Purgatorial Spirits) (1922)
  • "" (The Strange Station) (1922)
  • "" (Vengeance of the Elementals) (1922)
  • "" (Szamota's Mistress) (1922)
  • "" (The Attic) (1930)
  • "" (Reconciliation) (1930)
  • "" (Nightmare) (1930)
  • "" (Projections) (1930)

Collections

  • (From the Unusual. In the Shadows of Belief) (1909)
  • (On the Hill of Roses) (1918)
  • (The Motion Demon) (1919)
  • (Mad Pilgrim) (1920)
  • (An Eerie Tale) (1922)
  • (The Book of Fire) (1922)
  • (Passion) (1930)

Plays

  • (Dark Forces)
  • (All-Souls' Day)

Titles in English

Translated by Mirosław Lipinski:

  • The Dark Domain, Dedalus Classics (1993)
  • On the Hill of Roses, Hieroglyphic Press (2012)
  • The Motion Demon, CreateSpace (2013)
  • Passion, NoHo Press (2014)
  • Masters of the Weird Tale (2022)

Translated by Wiesiek Powaga:

  • In Sarah's House, CB Editions (2007)
  • The Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy (2006) Contains two stories by Grabiński

Translated by Anthony Sciscione:

  • Orchard of the Dead and Other Macabre Tales (2023)

Translated by Ian Stephenson:

  • The Salamander, Stelaro Editions (2026)
  • The Shadow of Baphomet, Stelaro Editions (2026)

See also

  • List of horror fiction authors

References

  • Page at Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  • The Motion Demon
  • Grabinski on Facebook
  • 101 Weird Writers #45 — Stefan Grabiński
  • Stefan Grabiński
  • In search of Stefan Grabinski
  • China Miéville bemoans the dearth of translations of Stefan Grabinski's pioneering horror fiction