Review of “Celui-Là” by Eleanor Scott: Halloween Countdown

For October 9

Plot:

On his doctor’s advice, Maddox takes a vacation to a tiny fishing village on the Breton coast. He stays with an acquaintance of Dr. Foster, the local curé, Father Vétier.

Maddox goes for long walks on the beach in the evening, although the locals avoid being out at that time of day. One evening, he sees someone digging something in the sand. The figure runs off. Against all common sense, Maddox goes to see what the person was hiding and digs up a little box. What was he expecting? Pirate treasure?

He finds a scroll with Latin writing on it. Father Vétier says it’s an incantation and tells Maddox to stop reading it aloud. Realizing he’s a guest and Vétier has been good to him, Maddox puts the parchment away, albeit with some reluctance.

He continues his walks.

Thoughts:

“Celui-là,” for those readers who sat in high school French class in the more distant past than I did, translates as something like “that one.” While some foreign language is scattered throughout the story, the title probably demands the most of the reader’s translating skills.

This tale is M. R. James-ish in tone and flavor. A stranger walking along a beach finds a relic from a bygone age. A Latin inscription summons an unknown, ill-defined evil that threatens him in ways he cannot understand.

It is nicely atmospheric if a bit light on the explanations. There is evil in the world, and this is the evil that shows up in this part of the world, perhaps.

I liked it.

Bio: Helen Madeline Leys (1892-1965) was a British writer and teacher. In her forward to the anthology from which this above story is taken, she said the tale originated in dreams.


I was unable to find an easily accessible text version of this story.

This story can be listened to here: (48:42)


Title: “Celui-Là”
Author: Eleanor Scott (legal name: Helen Madeline Leys) (1892-1965)
First published: Randalls Round, 1929