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Silhouette profile portrait of Herbert J. Mangham, author, facing right against a dark background.

Herbert J. Mangham

1896–1967

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Herbert J. Mangham (1896–after 1954) was an American journalist and fiction writer whose name appeared in the inaugural issue of Weird Tales in 1923. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, and raised in Kansas, he worked as a newspaperman, contributing to publications such as the Kansas City Star, Life, Judge, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. In his early years, he supported himself as a pianist in theaters and restaurants before pursuing a career in writing. Though he published only a single story in Weird Tales, Mangham maintained a long career in journalism, describing his life as one marked less by fame than by travel, friendship, and varied experience.

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Stories (1)

The Basket An Odd Little Tale

Herbert J. Mangham·1923·9 min read

"The Basket" is a subtle, atmospheric tale of mystery and mortality set in a San Francisco rooming house. Herbert J. Mangham crafts a quietly unsettling narrative about Dave Scannon, a peculiar lodger who lives a withdrawn, methodical existence before his sudden death goes largely unnoticed. The story explores themes of urban isolation and the mysterious nature of those we share space with but never truly know, building to an ambiguous conclusion that blurs the line between the mundane and the eerie.