Weird Tales, Vol. II, No. 2

"The People of the Comet" by Austin Hall opens a serial novel about a mysterious visitor who claims to come from an ancient civilization that existed millions of years ago at Earth's poles. He describes a world where life first emerged near the poles when the planet was cooling, and how his people—the Sansars—built a great metropolis with millions of inhabitants near the Arctic. He reveals that the moon once harbored advanced civilization before cooling, and that modern humanity descends from his ancient race. The narrative explores theories of planetary evolution and human origins through dialogue between the visitor and a skeptical narrator examining a globe. Also featured: "The Black Patch" by Julian Kilman, described as "an odd little tale"; "The Soul of Peter Andrus" by Hubert La Due, described as stark tragedy involving Oriental philosophy; and "The Case of Dr. Johnstone" by Burton Peter Thom, a horror story in which a scientist conducts an experiment exchanging souls between a man and an ape using an electrical apparatus, with tragic consequences when the apparatus is destroyed during a violent struggle between the two creatures.