"A Work That Would Have Made a Wonderful Hitchcock Film"

Except for the fact that Charles Wadsworth Camp was the father of the far-more-famous fantasist Madeleine L'Engle, he is now almost completely forgotten. As Bill Ectric has written: "Is Charles Wadsworth Camp’s minimal Internet presence due to lack of interest in his work, or is the lack of interest due to his minimal Internet presence?" Why this should be is a little baffling, as he says: "Camp’s The Abandoned Room (Public Domain) is a little gem of a murder mystery with supernatural overtones. The story is briskly paced, for the most part, with a sustained atmosphere of spookiness. The denouement is no less satisfying than many of the Sherlock Holmes adventures. The Gray Mask is a fun crime serial, part Dick Tracy and part Green Hornet."

THE ABANDONED ROOM. 
By Wadsworth Camp (1879-1936).
W. R. Caldwell.
1917. 348 pages. $1.35
Online HERE, HERE, and HERE.
First serialized in Every Week, July 30th, August 6th, August 13th, September 17th, September 24th, and October 1st, 1917.
Originally published as by "Tory Hageman" as THE SECRET ROOM MURDERS. Go HERE for more.

“A murder is solved by Carlos Paredes, the Panamanian Sherlock Holmes.” — Allen J. Hubin, CRIME FICTION IV (Part 19)

[Excerpt] . . . I really enjoyed this novel and thought the descriptions of the unhappy house and its run down grounds were excellent. The suggested supernatural element is conveyed beautifully, making this a work that would have made a wonderful Hitchcock film, in particular because of a terrific shock near the end when the explanation begins to be revealed.  . . .  — Mary Reed, MYSTERY*FILE (1 July 2008)

Other Camp titles:

SINISTER ISLAND.
By Wadsworth Camp (1879-1936).
Dodd, Mead & Co.
1915. 309 pages.
Online HERE and HERE.

[Excerpt] . . . The whole story is a rather clever study of the insidious workings of superstition, and at the same time a serious [sic] of adventures sufficiently thrilling to make you quite indifferent as to the plausibility of it all. — Frederic Taber Cooper, "A Group of First Novels," THE BOOKMAN (May 1915; go to page 315, top left)

THE HOUSE OF FEAR.
By Wadsworth Camp (1879-1936).
Doubleday, Page.
1916. 342 pages.
Online HERE. See also HERE.
[a.k.a. THE LAST WARNING]

THE GRAY MASK.
By Wadsworth Camp (1879-1936).
Doubleday, Page & Co.
1920. 301 pages.
Online HERE, HERE and HERE.

Collection of seven connected novelets, untitled. “Mystery novel of a detective who falls in love with the chief of police’s daughter.” — Allen J. Hubin, CRIME FICTION IV (Part 19)

THE HIDDEN ROAD.
By Wadsworth Camp (1879-1936).
Doubleday, Page & Co.
1922. 334 pages.
First appeared in Collier's, March 11, 1922.

THE COMMUNICATING DOOR.
By Wadsworth Camp (1879-1936).
Doubleday, Page & Co.
1923. 297 pages.
Collection: 7 stories. Ghost tales.

Contents:
(1) "The Communicating Door" [The Popular Magazine, September 15, 1913]
(2) "Hate" [Collier's, April 3, 1920]
(3) "The Dangerous Tavern"
(4) "The Haunted House"
(5) "Defiance"
(6) "Open Evidence"
(7) "The Obscure Move" [Adventure, May 1915; reprinted in EQMM, January 1943]

THE BARBARIAN.
By Wadsworth Camp (1879-1936).
Doubleday.
1925. 367 pages.
First serialized in Collier's, October 4th, November 15th, and November 29th, 1924.
NOTE: This could be a mainstream novel.

Resources:
- Background about Camp is HERE; his famous daughter is discussed HERE.

Category: Horror/fantasy, Crime fiction