Shadows in the Skull

Short story by Lyon Sprague de Camp

"Shadows in the Skull"
Short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter

Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Publication
Published in	Conan of Aquilonia
Publication type	Collection
Publisher	Ace Books
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Publication date	1977
Series	Conan the Barbarian

"Shadows in the Skull" is a short story by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in the February 1975 issue of the magazine Fantastic, and first appeared in book form by Ace Books in the paperback collection Conan of Aquilonia in May 1977,^[1]^[2] which was reprinted several times through 1994. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in October 1978.^[2]

Plot

Aided by Zembabwean Wyvern-riders and black Amazons, King Conan of Aquilonia and his son, Prince Conn, track their arch-foe, Stygian sorcerer Thoth-Amon, to the extreme southern end of the Hyborian continent.

The sorcerer has taken refuge with the last remnants of the evil Serpent Men, shape-changers who have menaced mankind throughout its prehistory. Conan's allies locate their skull-shaped hideout, only to fall victim to the Serpent Men's ploy of emulating beautiful Stygian women.

His final battle with Thoth-Amon in the sorcerer's own domain proves as hard-fought as their previous encounters, but is ultimately successful at ridding the world of the fiend. Conan's 13-years old son, Conn, deals the death blow to his father's old arch-enemy.

Notes

^ Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. p. 239.
^ ^a ^b Shadows in the Skull title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Preceded by

"Red Moon of Zembabwei"

Complete Conan Saga
(William Galen Gray chronology)

Succeeded by

Conan of the Isles

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

Books	Conan (books)
Original works by Robert E. Howard	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" The Hour of the Dragon "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in the Moonlight" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Slithering Shadow" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border"
Non-Howard works (some based on non- Conan Howard works)	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" "Black Tears" The Blood-Stained God "The Castle of Terror" "The City of Skulls" Conan and the Amazon Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza Conan and the Emerald Lotus Conan and the Gods of the Mountain Conan and the Grim Grey God Conan and the Manhunters Conan and the Mists of Doom Conan and the Shaman's Curse Conan and the Sorcerer Conan and the Spider God Conan and the Treasure of Python Conan at the Demon's Gate Conan, Lord of the Black River Conan of the Isles Conan of the Red Brotherhood Conan of Venarium Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Bold Conan the Buccaneer Conan the Champion Conan the Defender Conan the Defiant Conan the Destroyer Conan the Fearless Conan the Formidable Conan the Free Lance Conan the Gladiator Conan the Great Conan the Guardian Conan the Hero Conan the Hunter Conan the Indomitable Conan the Invincible Conan the Liberator Conan the Magnificent Conan the Marauder Conan the Mercenary Conan the Outcast Conan the Raider Conan the Rebel Conan the Relentless Conan the Renegade Conan the Rogue Conan the Savage Conan the Triumphant Conan the Unconquered Conan the Valiant Conan the Valorous Conan the Victorious Conan the Warlord "The Curse of the Monolith" "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" The Flame Knife "The Gem in the Tower" "Hawks over Shem" "The Ivory Goddess" "The Lair of the Ice Worm" "Legions of the Dead" "Moon of Blood" "The People of the Summit" "Red Moon of Zembabwei" The Return of Conan The Road of Kings "The Road of the Eagles" "Shadows in the Dark" "Shadows in the Skull" "The Star of Khorala" The Sword of Skelos "The Thing in the Crypt" "The Witch of the Mists"
Collections	Black Colossus The Bloody Crown of Conan The Coming of Conan The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian The Complete Chronicles of Conan Conan The Conan Chronicles (Howard, et al) The Conan Chronicles (Jordan) The Conan Chronicles, 1 The Conan Chronicles 2 The Conan Chronicles, 2 The Conan Chronicles II Conan of Aquilonia Conan of Cimmeria Conan the Adventurer Conan the Avenger Conan the Barbarian (1954) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Freebooter Conan the Swordsman Conan the Usurper Conan the Wanderer Conan the Warrior The Conquering Sword of Conan The Devil in Iron The Essential Conan The Further Chronicles of Conan Jewels of Gwahlur King Conan The People of the Black Circle The Pool of the Black One Queen of the Black Coast Red Nails Rogues in the House Sagas of Conan The Sword of Conan Tales of Conan The Tower of the Elephant The Treasure of Tranicos
Scholarship	The Blade of Conan The Conan Grimoire The Conan Reader The Conan Swordbook The Spell of Conan

Authors

Creator	Robert E. Howard
Later authors	Poul Anderson Leonard Carpenter Lin Carter L. Sprague de Camp Roland J. Green John C. Hocking Robert Jordan Sean A. Moore Björn Nyberg Andrew J. Offutt Steve Perry John Maddox Roberts Michael A. Stackpole Roy Thomas Harry Turtledove Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

Films

Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Related films	Red Sonja (1985) Kull the Conqueror (1997) Red Sonja (2024)

Television

Conan the Adventurer (1992)
Conan and the Young Warriors (1994)
Conan the Adventurer (1997)

Comics

Conan (comics)
Conan (Dark Horse Comics)
Conan (Marvel comics)
The Savage Sword of Conan

Games

Tabletop	Unchained! Against Darkness! Role-Playing Game (1985) GURPS The Roleplaying Game (2004) Collectible Card Game Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of
Video	Hall of Volta The Mysteries of Time The Cimmerian Conan (2004) Conan (2007) Age of Conan Rise of the Godslayer Exiles
Other	Hyborian War

Setting

Characters	Bêlit Conan the Barbarian Kulan Gath Red Sonja Serpent Men Thulsa Doom Valeria
Chronology	Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age Conan chronologies

Related articles
"The Shadow of the Vulture" Red Sonja Cerebus the Aardvark Conan the Librarian The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular

L. Sprague de Camp

Viagens
Interplanetarias

Krishna	"Finished" (1949) The Queen of Zamba (1949) The Hand of Zei (1950) "Perpetual Motion" (1950) "Calories" (1951) The Virgin of Zesh (1953) The Tower of Zanid (1958) The Hostage of Zir (1977) The Prisoner of Zhamanak (1982) The Bones of Zora (1983) The Swords of Zinjaban (1991)
Kukulkan	The Stones of Nomuru (1988) The Venom Trees of Sunga (1992)
Other	"The Animal-Cracker Plot" (1949) "The Colorful Character" (1949) "Git Along!" (1950) "The Inspector's Teeth" (1950) "Summer Wear" (1950) The Continent Makers (1951) "The Galton Whistle" (1951) Rogue Queen (1951)

Harold Shea

Pusadian

Novarian

Neo-Napolitanian

The Incorporated Knight (1987)
The Pixilated Peeress (1991)

Conan

Novels

Conan and the Spider God (1980)
Conan of the Isles (1968)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Conan the Buccaneer (1971)
Conan the Liberator (1979)
The Return of Conan (1957)

Short stories

"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" (1973)
"The Treasure of Tranicos" (1953)
"Black Tears" (1968)
"The Blood-Stained God" (1955)
"The Castle of Terror" (1969)
"The City of Skulls" (1967)
"The Curse of the Monolith" (1968)
"Drums of Tombalku" (1966)
The Flame Knife (1955/81)
"The Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan (1953)
"The Gem in the Tower" (1978)
"The God in the Bowl" (1952)
"The Hall of the Dead" (1967)
"Hawks Over Shem" (1955)
"The Ivory Goddess" (1978)
"The Lair of the Ice Worm" (1969)
"Legions of the Dead" (1978)
"Moon of Blood" (1978)
"The People of the Summit" (1970/78)
"Red Moon of Zembabwei" (1974)
"The Road of the Eagles" (1955)
"Shadows in the Dark" (1978)
"Shadows in the Skull" (1975)
"The Snout in the Dark" (1969)
"The Star of Khorala" (1978)
"The Thing in the Crypt" (1967)
"The Witch of the Mists" (1972)
"Wolves Beyond the Border" (1967)

Other
speculative
fiction

Novels

The Carnelian Cube (1948)
Genus Homo (1950)
The Glory That Was (1960)
The Great Fetish (1978)
Land of Unreason (1942)
Lest Darkness Fall (1941)
None but Lucifer (1939)
Solomon's Stone (1942)

Short stories

"Aristotle and the Gun" (1958)
"The Blue Giraffe" (1939)
"The Command" (1938)
"The Contraband Cow" (1942)
"Cornzan the Mighty" (1955)
"Divide and Rule" (1939)
"The Egg" (1956)
"Employment" (1939)
"The Gnarly Man" (1939)
"The Guided Man" (1952)
"A Gun for Dinosaur" (1956)
"The Hardwood Pile" (1940)
"The Hibited Man" (1949)
"Hyperpilosity" (1938)
"In-Group" (1952)
"Internal Combustion" (1956)
"The Isolinguals" (1937)
"Judgment Day" (1955)
"Let's Have Fun" (1957)
"Living Fossil" (1939)
"The Merman" (1938)
"Nothing in the Rules" (1939)
"The Reluctant Shaman" (1947)
"The Saxon Pretender" (1952)
"The Space Clause" (1952)
"The Stolen Dormouse" (1941)
"Throwback" (1949)
"The Wheels of If" (1940)

Historical fiction

Fiction edited

The Wolf Leader (1950)
Swords and Sorcery (1963)
The Spell of Seven (1965)
Conan the Warrior (1967)
The Fantastic Swordsmen (1967)
Conan the Conqueror (1967)
Warlocks and Warriors (1970)
3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1972)
Tales Beyond Time (1973)

Nonfiction

Science and
history

Inventions and Their Management (1937)
The Evolution of Naval Weapons (1947)
Antarctic Conquest (1949)
Engines (1959)
The Heroic Age of American Invention (1961)
Man and Power (1961)
Energy and Power (1962)
The Ancient Engineers (1963)
Ancient Ruins and Archaeology (1964)
Elephant (1964)
Spirits, Stars, and Spells (1966)
The Story of Science in America (1967)
The Day of the Dinosaur (1968)
The Great Monkey Trial (1968)
Darwin and His Great Discovery (1972)
Great Cities of the Ancient World (1972)
The Ragged Edge of Science (1980)
The Fringe of the Unknown (1983)
The Ape-Man Within (1995)
Rubber Dinosaurs and Wooden Elephants (1996)

Lit crit and
biography

Blond Barbarians and Noble Savages (1975)
The Conan Reader (1968)
Dark Valley Destiny (1983)
Lands Beyond (1952)
Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers (1976)
Lost Continents (1954)
Lovecraft: A Biography (1975)
The Miscast Barbarian (1975)
Science-Fiction Handbook (1953/75)
Time and Chance (1996)

Nonfiction edited

Poetry

Collections

The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens (1953)
The Virgin of Zesh & The Tower of Zanid (1983)
The Incomplete Enchanter (1941)
Wall of Serpents (1960)
The Compleat Enchanter (1975)
The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989)
The Enchanter Reborn (1992)
The Exotic Enchanter (1995)
The Mathematics of Magic (2007)
The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales (1953)
The Reluctant King (1985)
Conan (1967)
The Conan Chronicles (1989)
The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990)
Conan of Aquilonia (1977)
Conan of Cimmeria (1969)
Conan the Adventurer (1966)
Conan the Avenger (1968)
Conan the Freebooter (1968)
Conan the Swordsman (1978)
Conan the Usurper (1967)
Conan the Wanderer (1968)
Sagas of Conan (2004)
Tales of Conan (1955)
The Treasure of Tranicos (1980)
Aristotle and the Gun (2002)
The Best of L. Sprague de Camp (1978)
Divide and Rule (1948)
Footprints on Sand (1981)
A Gun for Dinosaur (1963)
The Purple Pterodactyls (1980)
The Reluctant Shaman (1970)
Rivers of Time (1993)
Scribblings (1972)
Sprague de Camp's New Anthology (1953)
Tales from Gavagan's Bar (1953/78)
The Undesired Princess (1951)
The Virgin & the Wheels (1976)
The Wheels of If (1948)
Years in the Making (2005)

About de Camp

GURPS Planet Krishna (1997)
The Enchanter Completed (2005)

Works by Lin Carter

Callisto

Green Star

Mars

The Flame of Iridar (1967)
"The Martian El Dorado of Parker Wintley" (1976)
The Valley Where Time Stood Still (1974)
The City Outside the World (1977)
Down to a Sunless Sea (1984)
The Man Who Loved Mars (1973)

Zarkon

Zanthodon

Journey to the Underground World (1979)
Zanthodon (1980)
Hurok of the Stone Age (1981)
Darya of the Bronze Age (1981)
Eric of Zanthodon (1982)

Thongor

The Wizard of Lemuria (1965/69)
Thongor and the Dragon City (1966/70)
Thongor Against the Gods (1967)
Thongor in the City of Magicians (1968)
Thongor at the End of Time (1968)
Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus (1970)
Young Thongor (2012)
The Sword of Thongor (Robert M. Price) (2016)

Conan

Novels	Conan of the Isles (1968) Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Buccaneer (1971) Conan the Liberator (1979)
Short works	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" (1973) "Black Tears" (1968) "The Castle of Terror" (1969) "The City of Skulls" (1967) "The Curse of the Monolith" (1968) "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" (1972) "The Gem in the Tower" (1978) "The Hand of Nergal" (1967) "The Ivory Goddess" (1978) "The Lair of the Ice Worm" (1969) "Legions of the Dead" (1978) "Moon of Blood" (1978) "Red Moon of Zembabwei" (1974) "Shadows in the Dark" (1978) "Shadows in the Skull" (1975) "The Snout in the Dark" (1969) "The Thing in the Crypt" (1967) "The Witch of the Mists" (1972)
Collections	Conan (1967) The Conan Chronicles (1989) The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990) Conan of Aquilonia (1977) Conan of Cimmeria (1969) Conan the Swordsman (1978) Conan the Wanderer (1968) Sagas of Conan (2004)

Kull

"Exile of Atlantis" (1967)
King Kull (1967)

Gondwane

Terra Magica

Kesrick (1982)
Dragonrouge (1984)
Mandricardo (1987)
Callipygia (1988)

Kylix

Other

Tara of the Twilight (1979)
The Tired Tailor of Oz (2001)
The Merry Mountaineer of Oz (2004)

Collections

Beyond the Gates of Dream (1969)
Lost Worlds (1980)
The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter (1997)
Lin Carter's Simrana Cycle (2018)

Anthologies
edited

BAFS and Doubleday anthologies	Dragons, Elves, and Heroes (1969) The Young Magicians (1969) Golden Cities, Far (1970) New Worlds for Old (1971) The Spawn of Cthulhu (1971) Double Phoenix (1971) Discoveries in Fantasy (1972) Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy I (1972) Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy Volume II (1973) Kingdoms of Sorcery (1976) Realms of Wizardry (1976)
Flashing Swords!	Flashing Swords! #1 (1973) Flashing Swords! #2 (1973) Flashing Swords! #3: Warriors and Wizards (1976) Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians (1977) Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers (1981) Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #6 (2020/21) Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #7 (2023) Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #8 (2023)
Year's Best Fantasy	The Year's Best Fantasy Stories (1975) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 2 (1976) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 3 (1977) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 4 (1978) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 5 (1980) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 6 (1980)
Weird Tales	Weird Tales #1 (1980) Weird Tales #2 (1980) Weird Tales #3 (1981) Weird Tales #4 (1983)
Other	The Magic of Atlantis (1970)