David Henry Keller was an American writer who worked for pulp magazines in the mid-twentieth century, in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. He was also a psychiatrist and physician to shell-shocked soldiers during World War I and World War II, and his experience treating mentally ill people is evident in some of his writing, which contains references to mental disorders. He initially wrote short stories as a hobby and published his first science fiction story in Amazing Stories in 1928. He continued to work as a psychiatrist while publishing over sixty short stories in science fiction and horror genres. Technically, his stories were not well-written, but focused on the emotional aspects of imaginative situations, which was unusual for stories at the time.
Keller, as pictured in the July 1929 issue of Science Wonder Stories.
The conclusion of Keller's two-part "Life Everlasting" was cover-featured on the August 1934 issue of Amazing Stories
Keller's "Tiger Cat" was the cover story in the October 1937 Weird Tales
Keller's "Lords of the Ice" was the cover story in the December 1939 Weird Tales, illustrated by Hannes Bok
Amazing Stories is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances in other magazines, including some published by Gernsback, but Amazing helped define and launch a new genre of pulp fiction.
First issue of Amazing Stories, art by Frank R. Paul. This copy was autographed by Hugo Gernsback in 1965.
September 1928 issue. This sober design sold poorly and Gernsback returned to lurid action covers.
June 1947 issue of Amazing Stories, featuring the Shaver Mystery.
March 1961 cover by Leo Summers, featuring Blish's "A Dusk of Idols".