[PW] ?short story id

[Dennis Lien]

At 09:52 AM 1/29/2007, you wrote:
>  From perhaps fifty years ago I remember a story called "The Ultimate
>Catalyst", in which people were turned into plants by a substance that
>replaced the iron in their bodies with copper [?]. It was published in,
>I believe, "Amazing Stories".

Close; THRILLING WONDER STORIES.

TAINE, JOHN; pseudonym of Eric Temple Bell, (1883-1960) (books) (chron.)

    * * The Ultimate Catalyst, (nv) Thrilling Wonder Stories Jun 1939
           o Best of Science Fiction, ed. Groff Conklin, Crown 1946
           o My Best Science Fiction Story, ed. Leo Margulies & Oscar J. 
Friend, Merlin Press 1949
           o My Best Science Fiction Story, ed. Leo Margulies & Oscar J. 
Friend, Pocket 1954
           o The Great SF Stories 1 (1939), ed. Isaac Asimov & Martin H. 
Greenberg, DAW 1979
           o Isaac Asimov Presents The Golden Years of Science Fiction, ed. 
Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg, Bonanza/Crown 1983



I don't recall the story very well, and don't know offhand if it was
reprinted in one of the Hitchcock anthologies, but will check.


>Pam McLaughlin wrote:
>
> >This question was given to me by another staff member:
> >
> >
> >
> >A patron asked after a short story by Alfred Hitchcock that involves
> >people in a jungle, and the plants start growing on them.  That's all
> >I've got to go on; the patron has been searching through anthologies,
> >but doesn't have a title.  I poked around on the internet without any
> >luck, but also found that Hitchcock compiled a bunch of short story
> >collections--so I wonder if he's even the author at all.  Does this ring
> >any bells with either of you?  Thanks for wracking your brains along
> >with me.


Actually, Hitchcock didn't even compile his own anthologies; various
ghost editors did that for him -- Robert Arthur did most (?) of them.
He may have written the introductions to some of those anthologies
(though I'd not be surprised if those were ghosted too), but I'm
virtually sure he never published any fiction, or had any published
under his name as alleged author.

There's a number of "plants growing on people" stories out there;
I'll see if I can identify one that was reprinted in a Hitchcock
anthology.


Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // d-lien at umn.edu