August William Derleth was born in Sauk City, Wisconsin on February 24, 1909, to William Julius Derleth and Rose Louise (nee Volk) Derleth.

He attended school in Sauk City, was writing fiction by the age of thirteen, and began selling short stories to pulp magazines at the remarkably young age of fifteen. He became acquainted, probably while still in his teens, with H. P. Lovecraft, author of science fiction, supernatural tales, and horror stories. Lovecraft was very generous with his time and advice to young writers, and he helped Derleth become a thoroughly professional writer. Derleth was establishing himself by his early twenties as a master of several types of fiction, including the genre of supernatural horror for which young adult readers best know him today.

When he wrote "The Thing That Walked on the Wind," he sent a copy of the manuscript to Lovecraft, who...