Review of “The Thing from ‘Outside’” by George Allan England: Halloween Countdown

Plot:

A party of Americans traveling in the Canadian wilderness finds themselves deserted by their Indigenous guides after they come across a “circular print on a rock-ledge.” They hear the guides scream, fire shots, and conclude they’re dead and “out of harm’s way.” On the other hand, the present company is “two hundred and fifty wicked miles from the C. P. R. rails.”

After an uncomfortable night, Jandron, the geologist, discovers another circular print. Out of sight and hearing of the womenfolk, who are busy by the fire, he shows it to Marr, the journalist, and Professor Thorbrun. Both are dismissive. What’s the big deal?

Jandron knows. He’s seen things like this before. The guides knew. Things… happen.

The impression in the ground is cold enough to freeze water that will never melt.

The next morning, Jandron wakes with a splitting headache. He finds Marr in a foul mood, also with a headache. They discover new prints all over their campsite, as if someone/something were watching them in their sleep. Whatever arguing Jandron and Marr might start is interrupted by Professor Thorbrun. His wife… She’s dying. Her sister, Vivian, kneels beside her.

Thoughts:

This story is atmospheric right out of the gate, with our heroes sitting around a campfire talking about the guides running off and dying. The skeptical Marr sneers. The Professor appeals to reason. His wife echoes him. The reader never learns her given name. Her sister, Vivian, does her best; Jandron vows to look after her.

In content and tone, I thought this story was indebted to Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows.” In both stories, the protagonists face an unseen, unknown, relentless menace. Both stories also involve depressions in the ground.

England writes chillingly of the surroundings (as did Blackwood): “Pale, cold stars watched down from spaces infinitely far beyond man’s trivial world.”

After several tragedies, England writes of Jandron’s internal life: “His thought drifted to better days, when all had been health, sanity, optimism; when nothing…had troubled him. Days when the sizzle of the frying-pan over friendly coals had made friendly wilderness music; when the wind and the northern star, the whirr of the reel, the whispering vortex of the paddle in clear water had all been things of joy. Yes, and when a certain happy moment had, through some word or look of the girl, seemed to promise his heart’s desire.”

This is a horror story in the traditional sense. That is, it relies on dread rather than blood and guts, though there is a rather high body count. It was effective but not enjoyable. “The Willows” works better, perhaps in that sense, but this story is much more accessible.

Bio: George Allan England (1877-1936) was a U.S. explorer, translator, and prolific author. According to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, he published more than 330 magazine stories, including five serialized novels, between 1901 and 1935. Many of his writings dealt with socialist themes. In 1912, he ran for governor of Maine on the Socialist ticket, garnering (OUCH) about 1.5% of the vote.


This story can be read here:

This story can be listened to here:(45:28)


Title: “The Thing from ‘Outside’”
Author: George Allan England (1877-1936)
First published: Science and Invention, April 1923
Length: short story