15) The Secret of Kralitz by Henry Kuttner

Plot:

As his father was dying, he warned Franz, now the twenty-first Baron of Kralitz, that the House of Kralitz was cursed. He couldn’t tell him how it was cursed and warned him against trying to seek out the nature of the curse. When it was time for him to learn it, warders would come to him and lead him down to the cavern below the castle and reveal all.

The dying baron pointed out the ruins of an old monastery nearby. The first Baron Kralitz burned it. He had a falling out with the abbot who was sheltering a girl he wanted. The abbot cursed him and unborn generations.

Thoughts:

This horror tale is nicely gothic—old castle, ancient curse of uncertain make-up, a long trip down to the cavern beneath the castle, scary old dead things, etc. It’s often also classified as a Cthulhu tale perhaps because of a brief mention of the same. The cavern is crowded, and there’s a party going on.

While the ending might not be a surprise to the reader, poor old Franz is a bit slower in coming around.

IMseldomHO, it’s worth a single read. It’s better as a listen, though.

The story can be read here.

The story can be listened to here.

Bio: Henry Kuttner (1915-1958) was an American author of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. An early admirer of Weird Tales and H. P. Lovecraft, he corresponded with the author and had some stories published in the magazine. He was married to author C. L. Moore (“Shambleau”). The two often collaborated. Kuttner used many pseudonyms, including Lawrence O’Donnell and Lewis Padgett. One of the writers his later SF work influenced was Ray Bradbury.

Title: “The Secret of Kralitz”
Author: Henry Kuttner (1915-1958)
First published: Weird Tales, October 1936