Mary Elizabeth Counselman
Encyclopedia
Mary Elizabeth Counselman (November 19, 1911 – November 13, 1995) was an American
writer
of short stories and poetry.
, Georgia
where her father was a faculty member at the Riverside Military Academy. She attended Alabama College (now Montevallo University).
Ms. Counselman's work appeared in Weird Tales
, Collier's
, The Saturday Evening Post
, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal and other magazines. Her stories were dramatized on General Electric Theater
and other national television programs in the USA, Canada, the British isles and Australia. For example, “Parasite Mansion,” was broadcast in 1961 as part of the Thriller television series.
Her tale "The Three Marked Pennies," written while she was in her teens, and published in Weird Tales in 1934, was one of the three most popular in all of Weird Tales history. This oft-reprinted classic tells of a small town whose inhabitants awaken one morning to find anonymous notices posted throughout their city. The posts read, "During this day of April 15, three pennies will find their way into the pockets of the city. On each penny will be a well-defined mark. One is a square; one is a circle; and one is a cross. These three pennies will change hands often, as do all coins, and on the seventh day after this announcement (April 21) the possessor of each marked penny will receive a gift. To the first: $100,000 in cash. To the second: A trip around the world. To the third: Death."
Later, Counselman worked as a reporter for The Birmingham News. Counselman taught creative writing classes at Gadsden State Junior College (now the Wallace Drive Campus of Gadsden State Community College) and at the University of Alabama.
She completed a novel about witchcraft, and in 1976 received a $6000 National Endowment for the Arts grant.
The late August Derleth
anthologised her poems in Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre
and Fire and Sleet and Candlelight
.
In later years she resided in Gadsden, AL with her husband, Horace B. Vinyard, and a large entourage of cats.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
of short stories and poetry.
Biography
Mary Elizabeth Counselman was born on November 19, 1911 in Birmingham, AL and began writing poetry as a child. She later moved to GainesvilleGainesville, Georgia
-Severe Weather:Gainesville sits on the very fringe of Tornado Alley, a region of the United States where severe weather is common. Supercell thunderstorms can sweep through any time between March and November, but are concentrated most in the spring...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
where her father was a faculty member at the Riverside Military Academy. She attended Alabama College (now Montevallo University).
Ms. Counselman's work appeared in Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
, Collier's
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
, The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal and other magazines. Her stories were dramatized on General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
and other national television programs in the USA, Canada, the British isles and Australia. For example, “Parasite Mansion,” was broadcast in 1961 as part of the Thriller television series.
Her tale "The Three Marked Pennies," written while she was in her teens, and published in Weird Tales in 1934, was one of the three most popular in all of Weird Tales history. This oft-reprinted classic tells of a small town whose inhabitants awaken one morning to find anonymous notices posted throughout their city. The posts read, "During this day of April 15, three pennies will find their way into the pockets of the city. On each penny will be a well-defined mark. One is a square; one is a circle; and one is a cross. These three pennies will change hands often, as do all coins, and on the seventh day after this announcement (April 21) the possessor of each marked penny will receive a gift. To the first: $100,000 in cash. To the second: A trip around the world. To the third: Death."
Later, Counselman worked as a reporter for The Birmingham News. Counselman taught creative writing classes at Gadsden State Junior College (now the Wallace Drive Campus of Gadsden State Community College) and at the University of Alabama.
She completed a novel about witchcraft, and in 1976 received a $6000 National Endowment for the Arts grant.
The late August Derleth
August Derleth
August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
anthologised her poems in Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre
Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre
Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre is a poetry anthology edited by August Derleth and published in 1947 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,634 copies...
and Fire and Sleet and Candlelight
Fire and Sleet and Candlelight
Fire and Sleet and Candlelight was a poetry anthology edited by August Derleth, and published in 1961 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,026 copies. The title was suggested to Derleth by Lin Carter and is taken from the Lyke-Wake Dirge...
.
In later years she resided in Gadsden, AL with her husband, Horace B. Vinyard, and a large entourage of cats.
Books
- Half in ShadowHalf in ShadowHalf in Shadow is a collection of stories by author Mary Elizabeth Counselman. It had first been published as a fourteen story collection as a Consul paperback by World Distributors, UK, in 1964...
: A Collection of Tales for the Night Hours (short stories) (UK edition, Consul paperback/World Distributors, 1964; contains 14 tales, 6 not in the later US edition; Arkham House edition, 1978; contains 14 tales, 6 not in the earlier UK edition). Reprint: London: William Kimber, 1980. - African Yesterdays:A Collection of Native Folktales. Centre, Ala.: Coosa Printing Co., 1975 (enlarged ed 1977)
- Move Over - It's Only Me (verse) (1975)
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Supernatural - but Are Afraid to Believe (1976)
- SPQR: The Poetry and Life of CatullusCatullusGaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
(1977) - The Eye and the hand (verse) (1977)
- New Lamps for Old (1978)
- The Face of Fear and Other Poems (Pensacola, FL: Eidolon Press, 1984)(Compiled by Steve Eng; intro by Joseph Payne BrennanJoseph Payne BrennanJoseph Payne Brennan was an American writer of fantasy and horror fiction, and also a poet. He lived most of his life in New Haven, Connecticut, and worked at the Yale Library for over 40 years....