Review of “The Dead Woman” by David H. Keller: Halloween Countdown

Plot:

The authorities find Mr. Thompson, a bookkeeper, “slightly confused, a trifle bewildered, but otherwise apparently normal.” He makes no effort to conceal his conduct, the knife in his hand, or “the pieces in the trunk.”

Rather than taking him directly to the slammer, the police bring him to a psychiatrist.

Mr. Thompson tells the psychiatrist that he and his wife were happy enough. They didn’t quarrel much. About a year earlier, he noticed his wife’s health begin to fail. She coughed and lost weight but refused to see a doctor. His mother-in-law laughed and told him that if he’d make Lizzie happy again, she’d soon be fat once more.

The coughing grew worse. It got so bad that he started sleeping in the spare room.

After one especially bad fit, she stopped coughing. The house was so quiet that Mr. Thomspon began to fear the worst had happened. He went into his wife’s room and turned on the light. On seeing her, he “just knew it was over.” He called a doctor.

The doctor came, listened to her heart, and took her pulse.

“She’s fine,” he said. “Just fast asleep. I wish I could sleep as soundly as that. You worry too much about her, Mr. Thompson.”

Mr. Thompson was dismayed. Though only a bookkeeper and not a doctor, he knew something was wrong. Why did no one take him seriously? Either he was wrong, and the rest of the world was right, or he was right, and the rest of the world was wrong. He was pretty sure he was right.

Mrs. Thompson got worse. It was not just the coughing, but her cheeks sank in. Later, flies appeared, to be followed by even worse things—

Thoughts:

The story is primarily sad. How reliable is the narrator? Perhaps he believes what he relates is the truth, but is it? Could Mr. Thompson actually be wrong about his wife’s deterioration and the rest of the world right? Could he have done this horrible deed under a delusion of sorts?

The horror in this piece is not that a woman could have somehow existed as a walking corpse, annoying and then repulsing her husband. That’s gross and sickening. The horror lies in a mentally ill man thinking his wife was dead and then killing and dismembering the perfectly healthy woman whom he loved.

The author leaves few mysteries. The reader knows in the first paragraphs that Mr. Thompson has killed. The unraveling of the circumstances and the motivations make up the rest of the story. Does it change the way the reader sees Mr. Thompson?

I liked this short read, even though it was so sad. As the reader, I want to know why he would do such a thing. He was narrating the story and would tell me what was on his mind—maybe.

Bio: David H. Keller, M.D. (1880-1966) was an American writer, physician, and psychiatrist. During WWI, he treated soldiers with PTSD, then known as shell shock. He is best known for his science fiction writing, but he also wrote fantasy and horror. In addition, he wrote a series involving occult detective Taine of San Francisco.


This story can be read here:

This story can be listened to here :(19:36)

Title: “The Dead Woman”
Author: David H. Keller (1880-1966)
First published: Fantasy Magazine, April 1935
Length: short story