Friday from the Archives: “Frances Garfield: A Teller of Horror Tales but Not for Women Only” by Bertie E. Fearing in NCLR 1993
By Samantha Higgins, Intern
Our 1993 issue contains a section dedicated to Manly Wade Wellman, including an interview with his wife, noted writer in her own right, Frances Wellman. From 1939 to 1991, Frances wrote “deliciously diabolical” horror stories, published under the name Frances Garfield after her “collateral ancestor” President James Garfield, to avoid being confused with another Frances Wellman, a well-known lawyer and author in New York.
As the first family of science fiction/fantasy/horror writers in North Carolina, according to Fearing, a lot of the couple’s conversations began with Frances approaching Manly with an idea, to which he would often respond, “Those are women’s stories. Go write them yourself.” Most of the time she didn’t, but a few of these “small ideas” she did write – and publish – and thus her career as a fledgling horror writer. Her first four stories were published in the vanguard Weird Tales and Fantastic Stories, pulp magazines that published the the best writers of the day.
Fearing includes in the interview both the loving details of Frances and Manly’s multi-decade marriage and the friendships the Wellmans had formed from writing. She talks about how they attended conventions and workshops, and how they moved to Chapel Hill, NC, which Frances believed turned out to be a center for horror writers. North Carolina’s reputation as the “writingest state” includes many genres and horror continues to be a popular category, including contemporary authors such as T. Kingfisher, Nathan Ballingrud, and Dale Bailey.
Read Fearing’s complete piece here. If you would like to read more about Frances (Garfield) and Manly Wade Wellman, visit our online store to purchase the 1993 issue.
