John Thunstone

John Thunstone is the hero of a series of stories by author Manly Wade Wellman. Thunstone is a scholar and playboy who investigates mysterious supernatural events. Thunstone originally appeared in short stories published in the pulp magazines.

Description
He has the typical attributes of a heroic character being physically large and strong, intelligent, handsome, and wealthy. He is also well-read in occult matters and has access to several weapons that are especially potent against vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures. The name Thunstone is meant to evoke that of Saint Dunstan, patron saint of silversmiths and a noted opponent of the Devil. Thunstone has a sword-cane with a silver blade said to have been forged by the saint. The blade is inscribed with a text from Judges chapter 5 in the Vulgate, "Sic pereant omnes inimici tui" — "thus perish all your enemies". The sword-cane had also been used by Wellman's earlier character, Judge Pursuivant, who passed it on to Thunstone when his advanced age made him too weak to effectively wield it. In addition to the ghosts and other traditional supernatural beings, several of Thunstone's enemies are Wellman's unique creations. These include the shonokins, a race of human-like creatures who claim to have ruled North America before the coming of humans. Thunstone's most persistent foe is a sorcerer named Rowley Thorne, who appears in a number of the stories. Thorne was loosely based on the real occultist Aleister Crowley.

Novels

 * What Dreams May Come(1983)


 * The School of Darkness(1985)

Short story collections

 * The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations(2000).

Other
In 1988, John Thunstone appeared in an episode, entitled Rouse Him Not, of the anthology TV series Monsters. He was played by the actor Alex Cord.