Weird Westerns

**Zsinj** · December 3rd, 2007, 05:47 PM

I didn't know whether to put this under the fantasy or horror category as Weird Western tales are often classified as dark fantasy/horror. So I was wondering if someone could recommend to me some good weird westerns. You know, westerns with supernatural, fantasy, and horror elements to them. I'm talking stuff like Stephen King's Dark Tower Series, David Gemmell's Jerusalem Man, and the Priest manga series. Thanks in advance.

**estranghero** · December 3rd, 2007, 09:45 PM

You could try Mark Sumner's Devil books, of which there are two. In these books, magic inadvertantly infuses the world during the Wild West period and now it's really a wild, wild west out there.

There's also Tim Pratt's The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl: a modern-day girl-comic book artist has to confront chaos in form of the archetypal wild west villain.

For outright bizaare, try Richard Calder's The Twist where he combines the wild west, zombie venusian girls, and what-not.

**Eventine** · December 3rd, 2007, 09:50 PM

You may also want to try Cormac Mcarthy's Blood Meridian, which I consider to be a horror novel.

**Lowlander** · December 4th, 2007, 07:39 AM

Orson Scot Card has his famous Alvin Maker series. Alternative america with magic, Indians who have their own nations an resist white expansion. Good stuff but with strong christian elements. So not for everyone's taste.

Kurt A. Giambastiani : Fallen Cloud Series. I believe this is a quartet published by Roc. Mix of alternative history with fantasy elements. Set in 1886 in US where general Custer is president. The US is in war with Indian nations. And yes, dinosaurs are still roaming the USA !!

William Sanders : Journey to Fusang. Set in a world where the black plague killed almost all of Europe. So America was discoverd by China (West) and Arabs (East). An Irish bard travels from East to West and finds trouble with Indians. Great fun novel but out of print and very difficult to find.

A recent novel is Emma Bull's Territory. A fantasy retelling of the gunfight at OK Coral. Haven't read this one yet but this book really got good reviews.

If you're a fan of Robert Howard, the man also wrote a number of western stories. I believe Vultures of Whapeton collects some of his longer western stories.

**Ouroboros** · December 4th, 2007, 07:57 AM

It's a movie, but I think you'll like 'Near Dark'. One of the cleverest vampire movies ever made, as well as one of the most unusual contemporary westerns of the end of the last century.

**AuntiePam** · December 4th, 2007, 01:14 PM

Dead in the West by Joe Lansdale is a fun take on zombies.

The Flight of Michael McBride by Midori Snyder has horror/supernatural elements. It starts out in the east (NYC if I remember right) but moves west. Late 1800's time period.

Do the Preacher graphic novels qualify as westerns? Sorta?

Tim Lebbon's novellas -- Pieces of Hate and Dead Man's Hand -- excellent stuff.

**antitoxidote** · December 4th, 2007, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by Eventine

You may also want to try Cormac Mcarthy's Blood Meridian, which I consider to be a horror novel.

I don't know if I consider it horror, but it is really a great novel.

**theDood** · December 5th, 2007, 02:15 PM

Alan Dean Foster's collection Mad Amos fits the bill of western/fantasy. All of the stories include the character of Amos Malone, a sort of mountain man and his unicorn Worthless. It also deals with occult stuff.

**Osiris** · March 9th, 2008, 01:08 AM

Richard Matheson wrote a couiple of Westerns. As far as I know, they feature no supernatural elements, but given the author I'm sure they would be of interest to fantasy fans.

**GuruInDrag** · March 10th, 2008, 06:46 AM

Originally Posted by Lowlander

If you're a fan of Robert Howard, the man also wrote a number of western stories. I believe Vultures of Whapeton collects some of his longer western stories.

Not only westerns, but weird westerns as well. Don't know if they're collected in a single volume. "Pigeons From Hell" contains "The Man on the Ground" and "Old Garfield's Heart", both of which are ghost stories set in the old west, IIRC. That's what I've read. Guess there are more.

**Hedrigall** · March 11th, 2008, 05:56 PM

Iron Council by China Mieville is pretty much a western set in his Bas-Lag world (same as Perdido Street Station and The Scar)... that is, a western featuring many different fantasy races, golemry, nightmarish landscapes, a political-revolution subplot and a gay main character.

It's pretty awesome if you ask me

**Whiskeyjack** · October 24th, 2008, 06:31 PM

Frontier Earth by Bruce Boxleitner (the actor of Babylon 5 fame) was a pretty good shoot-em-up alternate history fantasy, in which alien invaders and humans go head-to-head in Tombstone, Arizona in 1881. Includes a pretty exciting Gunfight at O.K. Corral scene. There is also a sequel, Frontier Earth: Searcher, with more emphasis on the Apache indians of the old West.