SOURCE: Ashley, Mike. “Blood Brothers: The Supernatural Fiction of A. C. Benson.” In Discovering Classic Horror Fiction. Vol. 1, pp. 100-10. San Bernardino: The Borgo Press, 1992.

In the following essay, Ashley examines the supernatural in the fiction of Benson and his brothers.

It is not unusual for several members of a family to be writers, the Waughs being a typical example, but it is perhaps a little unusual when three brothers should find solace and even a morbid fascination in occult and supernatural fiction. It's even more unusual when those three should be the sons of an archbishop of Canterbury. But such was the case with the Bensons: Arthur Christopher (1862-1925), Edward Frederic (1867-1940, known usually as Fred) and Robert Hugh (1871-1914, known always as Hugh). All three became prolific writers, and though none achieved his fame predominantly in the supernatural field, it is their horror fiction that has...