Nick of the Woods The novel is set in Kentucky in the 1780s and revolves around the mysterious figure of "Nick of the Woods", dressed as a monster, who seeks to avenge the death of his family by killing numerous Indians, carving a cross on the body of all he slays. "Nick" is revealed to be Nathan Slaughter, a Quaker by day who should by nature and creed avoid all violence. Bird's brutal depiction of Native Americans (the Shawnee) was very hostile, and in part a reaction to the more positive representation of Indians by James Fennimore Cooper in the Leatherstocking Tales. The novel
Weird Tales the magazine, and Seabury Quinn's series of stories about Jules de Grandin, a detective who specialized in cases involving the supernatural, was very popular with the readers. Other well-liked authors included Nictzin Dyalhis, E. Hoffman Price, Robert Bloch, and H. Warner Munn. Wright published some science fiction, along with the fantasy and horror, partly because when "Weird Tales" was launched there were no magazines specializing in science fiction, but he continued this policy even after the launch of magazines such as "Amazing Stories" in 1926. Edmond Hamilton wrote a good deal of science fiction for "Weird Tales", though after a