Review of “The Striding Place” by Gertrude Atherton Halloween Countdown

27) The Striding Place by Gertrude Atherton

Plot:

Weigall, “continental and detached,” has tired of grouse shooting. He finds the company at his host’s estate boring and the women “a dull lot.” What’s really bothering him is that his friend, Wyatt Gifford, a guest on a neighboring estate, has been missing for two days.

This angers Weigall more than anything else. Gifford likes to pull pranks. The two friends met in college. There, a mutual friend went mad and had to be confined to a hospital, where he later died. The mutual friend’s experience inspired Weigall and Gifford to discuss the nature and destiny of the soul.

Weigall eventually goes out to look for his friend, unadvisedly at night and in the rain. He comes to a part of the River Wharfe known as the Strid. Here, the river narrows, almost to the point where an adventurous person can leap across it. The rocky, slippery banks are undercut, trapping air-breathing animals beneath them, making any leaping quite dangerous.

It all gives Weigall the willies. He’s about to turn away when he sees something white in the water—a hand thrashing. At the wrists are cufflinks Weigall recognizes as belonging to his friend Gifford.

Thoughts:

This is a sad, spooky little tale. The shock ending contrasts nicely with the bored young man in the beginning.

Atherton gives the reader some nice atmospheric build-up along the way—the woods at night are mysterious and conceal the daylit world—the danger Weigall experiences of slipping on the wet rocks around the river’s edge—the revulsion he feels at the slimy water.

The Strid is a real place along the River Wharfe and just as dangerous as the story makes it out to be. It is in a scenic walking area.

The dangers have been known for centuries. Stories of people drowning date from medieval times.

I can recommend this story as a quiet little horror story.

The story can be read here.

The story can be listened to here via Librivox:

Bio: Gertrude Atherton (1857-1948) was born in San Francisco, California. On her mother’s side, she was a descendant of Benjamin Franklin. She published about 50 books over her lifetime, plus short stories and articles. Her first fantasy novel was What Dreams May Come: A Romance (1888) under the pseudonym Frank Lin. In addition to supernatural tales, she published novels and what might now be considered creative nonfiction about her family. The latter scandalized her husband and mother-in-law when they realized she was the anonymous author.

Title: “The Striding Place”
Author: Gertrude Atherton (1857-1948)
First published: First published as “The Twins” in The Speaker, June 20, 1896

Review of “The Shadows on the Wall” by Mary E. Wilkins Halloween Countdown

26) The Shadows on the Wall by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

Plot:

“Henry had words with Edward in the study the night before Edward died,” Caroline Glynn tells her sisters.

Caroline and her two sisters, Rebecca Ann and Mrs. Stephen Brigham, are preparing for the funeral of their youngest brother, Edward, who lies in the house. They regret their brothers’ argument, but of course, Henry couldn’t have known that Edward was so near his end.

Rebecca Ann is the youngest of the sisters and weeps constantly. It becomes clear she is also terrified of something. Caroline, the eldest, is severe. She is writing letters, so neighbors have notice of the funeral. Mrs. Stephen Brigham (the author eventually gets around to calling her Emma) is sewing her funeral dress. “I can’t go to the funeral without it.”

As daylight wanes, they ask Rebecca Ann to get them a lamp. She hesitates, then puts it in a place that won’t do them much good. After she finally sets the lamp down in a satisfactory place, she runs from the room.

Emma looks up from her sewing to see an odd shadow on the wall, where one wouldn’t expect it. And it looks just like—but no, that’s impossible. When she asks Caroline if she sees the shadow, Caroline says, “I have eyes, don’t I?”

Henry thought Edward was freeloading, staying in the house without paying rent, although their parents left the house to all of them.

Rebecca Ann recounts part of the argument between the brothers she overheard. “[Edward said] that he would stay here as long as he lived and afterward, too, if he was of a mind to, and he would like to see Henry get him out.”

The siblings talk on but ignore a more sinister recollection of Rebecca Ann’s—something that might account for her tears and terror.

Thoughts:

A quick pass through this story will not serve the reader well. There are a lot of subtle and, frankly, tedious things that hide the true horror of this piece. The shadow on the wall does not move or threaten. It reminds. It haunts, and it does not look away.

The sisters know what occurred but will not acknowledge it. It’s too monstrous.

All this makes no sense until the end of the story, which is hard to pin down.

The story inspired a Night Gallery segment, “Certain Shadows on the Wall.”

The story can be read here:

The story can be listened to here via Librivox:

Bio: Mary E. Wilkins (1852-1930) began writing children’s literature as a teenager. Most of her two hundred stories for adults are realistic, such as “A New England Nun.” She also wrote ghost and supernatural stories.

Title: “The Shadows on the Wall”
Author: Mary E. Wilkins (1852-1930)
First published: Everybody’s Magazine, March 1903

Review of “Lazarus” by Leonid Andreyev Halloween Countdown

25) “Lazarus” by Leonid Andreyev

Plot:

According to the Bible story, Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha were friends of Jesus. Lazarus died and was buried while Jesus was in another town. He returned to find Mary and Martha in mourning, asked someone to roll the stone away from Lazarus’ tomb, and brought him back from the dead, much to the joy of his sisters. Not much is said about what happened to Lazarus after this. This story speculates about a possibility.

The story begins just after Lazarus has come back home to his sisters. He still looks like a corpse—sunken cheeks, blue lips, long fingers—and doesn’t say much. Before, he was a cheerful person who loved a joke, one of the reasons Jesus liked his company.

His friends and neighbors rejoice and dress him in the finest clothes they can find so that he looks like a bridegroom—except, of course, for the corpse-like appearance of his body, which will fade with time but never disappear.

One of the guests asks, “Why dost thou not tell us what happened Yonder?”

The party is over.

Thoughts:

The Bible story is often told as one of great joy, a precursor to Jesus’ resurrection. Andreyev turns all this on its head and offers the reader a portrait of something beyond despair. Is Lazarus sad? That’s impossible to say. People who look into the black discs of his eyes are no longer capable of joy. Lazarus says nothing about the Yonder, nor of his journey. They see it in his eyes.

Lazarus appears to experience neither sorrow nor joy.

The author tells the reader:

“For three days had he been dead: thrice had the sun risen and set, but he had been dead; children had played, streams murmured over pebbles, the wayfarer had lifted up hot dust in the highroad,—but he had been dead. And now he is again among them,—touches them,—looks at them,—looks at them! and through the black discs of his pupils, as through darkened glass, stares the unknowable Yonder.”

Interestingly enough, while most people are devastated by a glance into his eyes, not everyone reacts the same. Innocent children don’t seem bothered, nor is a particular artist.

Lazarus sits in the heat of the desert sun because he can no longer get warm. Some wounds don’t heal.

The piece is atmospheric and heavy with relentless despair.

The story can be read here.

The story can be listened to here via Librovox.

Bio: Author Leonid Andreyev (1871-1919) was born in the city of Orel, located about 229 miles (368 km) outside Moscow. While working as a police court reporter, he published a few poems which came to the attention of Russian literary great Maxim Gorky, who encouraged him to pursue literature. Among Andreyev’s best-known works are the 1908 novella The Seven Who Were Hanged and 1915 play He Who Gets Slapped. His horror short story works, published in translation in Weird Tales, influenced H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian.

Title: “Lazarus”
Author: Leonid Andreyev (1871-1919)
First published: First published in Russian in 1906; in English in 1918 in the anthology I Lazarus / The Gentleman from San Francisco; translator Abraham Yarmolinsky

Review of “Out of the Deep” by Walter de la Mare Halloween Countdown

24) “Out of the Deep” by Walter de la Mare

Plot:

Jimmie’s Uncle Timothy has left him the house he grew up in as a neglected and unwanted child. After exhausting all alternatives, Jimmie moves in. He has no happy memories of living there. Relegated to an attic room without heat or light, he was reassured by his Aunt Charlotte that he could ring for Soames, the butler, for anything he needed. The self-righteous Soames (perhaps an out-of-wedlock or unfortunate relative of Uncle Timothy) enjoyed boxing Jimmie’s ears when no one was looking.

Presently, the only other person in the house is “his one funny charwoman,” Mrs. Thripps, who goes home at night.

Half-asleep in the same bed his uncle once used, he pulls the bell rope. An unobtrusive valet—a young man—appears. He appears the next morning as well. Jimmie refers to him as Soames Jr.

Later, a young girl appears, bringing the bowl of primroses Jimmie requested. He verbally abuses her and throws the bowl over the railing, smashing it. Mrs. Thripps is unable to find a trace of it in the morning.

Soams Jr. and the young girl are not the only members of the “Night Shift”—as Jimmie calls them—who appear when he pulls the bell rope.

Thoughts:

The reader sympathizes with Jimmie. He grew up sleeping in an unheated attic room with no lights, terrified of the unseen things that came out in the dark, yet even more terrified of calling for help from Soames.

Yet, when he spoke, I wanted to slap him. In selling some of the items from the house, he asks for a price well below their worth, like a thief. He says to the dealer (“nicely slurring his r’s,” the reader is told):

“Really, Mr. So-and-so, it is impossible. No doubt the things have an artificial value, but not for me. I must ask you to oblige me by giving me only half the sum you have kindly mentioned. Rather that [sic] accept your figure, you know, I would—well, perhaps it would be impolite to tell you what I would prefer to do. Dies irae, dies ila, and so on.”

Jimmie still has trouble sleeping, though he is no longer the little boy who lay awake at night terrified of the things in the dark, and those who abused him are dead. Mrs. Thripps asks him to allow her to call a doctor, but he brushes her off, sweetly.

While there are no great moments of terror or jumps, the horror is always present, like the memory of an abusive childhood, perhaps. Jimmie cuts himself off from all his former friends for reasons he doesn’t quite understand. He just wants to be alone.

This takes a bit of close reading. I had to read it a couple of times.

This story can be listened to here:

Bio: Author Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) worked as a clerk in the Department of Statistics for Standard Oil. Upon retirement, his pension allowed him to write full-time. He wrote fantasy primarily for children but also some works for adults. Among his most well-known works are the children’s fantasy poem, “The Listeners” and the novel, Memoirs of a Midget. He was influenced by the Christian fantasy writer George MacDonald.

Title: “Out of the Deep”
Author: Walter de la Mare (1873-1956)
First published: The Riddle and Other Stories, May 1923

Review of “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady” by Vernon Lee Halloween Countdown

23) “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady” by Vernon Lee

Plot:

Prince Alberic grows up as the heir and ward of his grandfather, Duke Balthasar Maria. The Prince is closer to his nurse than to the Duke. In his room, he has a faded tapestry that he barely understands, but he’s intrigued by the border. The nurse tells him the names of some of the plants and flowers. She also tells him those animals are called “rabbits.” The couple in the center are his ancestors, Alberic the Blond and the Snake Lady Oriana. They seem very much in love.

He’s all the more intrigued.

The Duke, however, says he wants nothing to do with the nonsense on the tapestry and replaces it with one depicting Susana and the Elders. Alberic destroys the new tapestry. Rearrangement of the furniture later reveals that the Snake Lady Oriana is part beautiful woman and part snake. Alberic doesn’t care.

The news of destruction of the perfectly good tapestry does not immediately reach the Duke, who is busy composing ballets and spending the ducal treasury on a magnificent mausoleum for himself in a grotto. When he does at last hear of what Alberic has done, he banishes the Prince to the Castle of Sparkling Waters, a ruined ancestral palace inhabited only by a peasant family.

Or so he thinks. For there, Alberic meets a snake he takes for a pet. He also meets a beautiful woman who tells him she is his godmother. She will come to him every day, but he must never tell the Duke about her.

Thoughts:

This is a fairy tale, albeit a dark one. The reader hopes for the best for the little dreamer Alberic. He’s lost his mom and dad, and he’s an afterthought to his grandfather. Even banishment doesn’t break his spirit. With the help of the *cough* godmother, he reads the classics, learns how to ride, and handle a sword. When his grandfather recalls him, he’s already quite the accomplished young gentleman.

The reader never finds out what the Snake Lady’s intentions are. Does she fall in love and want to be human, like the little mermaid? Or does she want to lead a soul to perdition?

The chapters are short, but this takes a while to get through. I enjoyed it, but it would probably appeal to a narrow audience.

Bio: Vernon Lee is a pseudonym for Violet Paget (1856-1935). Paget is best known as a writer of supernatural fiction. She was born in France to British parents but lived in Italy, where much of her fiction is set. She also wrote essays on art, music, and travel.

The story can be listened to here.

Title: “Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady”
Author: Vernon Lee (legal name: Violet Paget) (1856-1935)
First published: The Yellow Book, July 1896

Review of “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs Halloween Countdown

22) The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs

Plot:

In turn-of-the-20^th-century Great Britain, an older couple, the Whites, live in a remote area with their son, Herbert. On a stormy night, a visitor, Sergeant-Major Morris, an acquaintance of Mr. White’s, arrives and regales the family with tales of his time in India. He brings a talisman, a mummified monkey’s paw. ICK.

Morris says, “An old fakir—a very holy man—put a spell on it.” Three men can have three wishes. “He wanted to show that fate ruled people’s lives, and that those who tried to change it would be sorry.”

He says he’s gotten his three wishes, and he’s sorry. No surprise that he leaves the monkey’s paw with the White family. Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds.

Thoughts:

This is a gloomy little piece, with the bad weather around the Sergeant-Major’s arrival, his continued warnings about the monkey’s paw, and his obvious relief to be rid of it.

The greater tragedy is that the family is a happy one. They are not rich, but they love one another and enjoy teasing each other. The punishment far outweighs the crime.

So, is the point to never want more than you have? That seems a bit harsh. The 200 pounds is not an indulgence. It is the amount needed to pay off the house, that is, to get out of debt. Mr. White’s wish is not extravagant. When the family is debating what they want, he says at one point, “I have all I want.” Greed is not involved, yet the family receives a horrible punishment.

Don’t mess with fate. Be careful what you wish for because you might get it.

The story is often anthologized. It is short and can easily be read in one sitting.

The story can be read here.

The story can be listened to as a radio drama here.

Title: The Monkey’s Paw
Author: W.W. Jacobs (1863-1943)
First published: Harper’s Monthly Magazine, September 1902

Review of “The Messenger” by Robert W. Chambers Halloween Countdown (…late…)

21) “The Messenger” by Robert W. Chambers

Plot:

In 1896 on the Breton coast where Dick Darrel has settled down with his beloved Lys, a gruesome discovery of a mass grave, the remains of English invaders is revealed in a wheatfield. The men of Bannalaec retrieve thirty-eight skulls with bullet holes, plus other human bones, weapons, military badges, and a brass cylinder with a scroll written not in French but in Breton dated 1760.

Only a few people wrote in Breton at that date. One of them was l’Abbé Sorgue, commonly known as the Black Priest, who betrayed the fort to the English invaders. He forced a local girl to give him the password. In the scroll, he curses her and her descendants, one of whom is Dick’s wife, Lys. He also says he will return when an Englishman touches his remains. His captors branded his forehead with an arrowhead so severely it marked his skull.

Darrel, being the understanding sort he is, mocks those who tremble at the words of the Black Priest and want to bury the scroll with his remains. Why would any of those people believe this in the year of grace 1896? Darrel kicks a stone into the pit. He’s surprised it’s still there. It’s a skull. With an arrow brand on its forehead.

Nah.

Now where’s Môme? Where’s that dog gotten to? And is that stone following him home?

Thoughts:

This is the third in the Dick Darrel series, so there are mentions of the first two adventures, one of which involve butterflies. The “messenger” of the title is a moth referred to as “death’s head messenger” because its markings resemble a skull. Seeing one in one’s house is supposed to portend a death. Of course, Darrel scoffs at the notion. He scoffs a lot.

Until he finds one banging at his window.

Darrel, who narrates the story, is a snob and a know-it-all. Such an unpleasant person makes the reading unpleasant at times. His wife ultimately shows him up but remains suitably humble about it.

The resurrected Black Priest is creepy and terrifying even if the idea of rolling skull following Darrel home is a bit ludicrous. Darrel is especially worried about his wife after he finds her embroidering clothing far too small for her.

“Will we need it?” he asks.

She tells him yes.

Dick Darrel is a materialist. It’s the nineteenth century after all! None of this medieval nonsense about ghosts and curses. A second look would have saved him some trouble.

Other characters are given silly or annoying traits. For example, the mayor of Bannalaec, in whose wheatfield the remains were discovered, speaks with a high, whistling voice. Darrel refers to the town pharmacist (chemist) and “the little chemist.”

Having said that, this was a fun read, though frankly I wasn’t interested as much in the Black Priest getting his comeuppance as I was in watching someone take Darrel down a peg or two.

The story can be found on YouTube:

Bio: Robert W. Chambers (1865-1933) was a playwright, artist, and illustrator who turned to writing supernatural and weird fiction. His best-known book is The King in Yellow, which was influenced by Ambrose Bierce and in turn influenced H. P. Lovecraft. Told in vignettes that jump forward and backward in time, it describes a play that drives its readers mad.

Title: “The Messenger”
Author: Robert W. Chambers (1865-1933)
First published: The Mystery of Choice, October 15, 1897

Review of “The Demon of the Flower” by Clark Ashton Smith Halloween Countdown

20) The Demon of the Flower by Clark Ashton Smith

Plot:

On the planet Lophai, humans are subject to plants, which “[resemble] fields of rooted serpents that dance eternally to an other-world music.” Humans and all flora and fauna pay tribute to the supreme flower known as Voorqual, in which a demon more ancient than the twin suns made its immortal avatar. Or so they believe.

A human priesthood serves the Voorqual. From this priesthood, it draws its sacrifices. Lunithi, king of the realms about Lospar and high priest of the Voorqual, is the last (and maybe the first) to rebel. His promised bride, Nala, a priestess of the Voorqual, is chosen for sacrifice. Lunith sets off to find the Occlith, a demon coeval with the Voorqual, who was said to have given an ancient king good advice. Lunithi wishes to ask if it’s possible to kill the Voorqual.

Thoughts:

The language of this is artificially old-timey and a little stilted, but it works, lending the tale an otherworldly aura. A world where plants rule and demand human sacrifice is odd, and the reader is told little about it other than what’s necessary for the story. We read nothing about what they eat, for example.

Lunithi knows what he’s doing when he heads out to learn if the Voorqual can be killed. He knows that a dead Voorqual would throw society as he knows it into chaos. Yet, he loves Nala. Nothing can take her away from him. Even overturning every norm in society is not going too far. Granted, there are some pretty lousy norms in that society.

No happy endings loom on the horizon, I’m afraid. Some may argue that it’s more science fiction than horror, and maybe that’s true. But the horror is present from the beginning. Poor Nala is going to get sacrificed, and Lunithi is going to lose the woman he loves.

I enjoyed this story.

The story can be read here.

Bio: Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961), an American poet, writer, and artist, was born near Auburn, California, where his parents had a farm. His first publication came at seventeen with short stories, but his earliest fame came from poetry. He became friends with the poet George Sterling. Later, H. P. Lovecraft encouraged him to submit fiction to Weird Tales. Among his best-known works are “The Hashish-Eater; Or, The Apocalypse of Evil” and “The City of the Singing Flame.”

Title: “The Demon of the Flower”
Author: Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961)
First published: Astounding Stories, December 1933

Review of “Green Tea” by Joseph S. Le Fanu Halloween Countdown

19) “Green Tea” by Joseph S. Le Fanu

Plot:

As recorded by the medical secretary of (the fictional) Martin Hesselius, the German physician, this is one of the doctor’s many cases, beginning with a meeting of a country clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Jennings in London. Hesselius and Jennings seem to hit it off well enough. Jennings mentions being unable to obtain a book Hesselius wrote, Metaphysical Medicine. It has yet to be translated into English.

Hesselius agrees to bring him a copy of it.

Jennings later consults him. As much as he would like to, he is unable to perform his duties in his parish. He’s been hallucinating that a monkey follows him. The monkey first appeared harmless but became more sinister over time.

Thoughts:

To the modern reader, this will seem slow-moving—and a lot of ramblings about 18th century mystic Emanuel Swedenborg—but the time spent describing Jennings is to show (…again…) that he is not a wingnut. Jennings thinks; he reads and has traveled. After a brief conversation with him, Hesselius is able to tell their mutual friend, Lady Mary Heyduke, many striking things about Rev. Jennings. For example, he states (and Lady Mary confirms) that one of Rev. Jennings’ parents saw a ghost.

The narrative is creepy and atmospheric. Despite his best efforts, poor Rev. Jennings is pursued by some hostile spirit he can do nothing about. Hesselius listens.

It’s quite Sherlock-Holmesy, but Le Fanu wrote this some eighteen years before the first published Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet.” If Martin Hesselius sounds a bit like Abraham Van Helsing of Dracula fame, it is because the character is believed to have been one of the inspirations for Stoker’s professor of the occult.

Le Fanu was widely read in his day, and inspired Stoker among other writers. Some of his stuff is funny and holds up well. Outside of Carmilla (1871-1872), Le Fanu’s lesbian vampire story, most modern readers ignore his writings.

This story left me with mixed feelings. The genuinely creepy elements are fun, but it moves slowly, and the ending is tragic and silly.

The story can be read here.

The story can be listened to here. (approx. 1 hour, 45 minutes)

Bio: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish writer of Huguenot descent. His early writings include a group of short stories initially published anonymously in The Dublin University Magazine in the guise of the literary remains of the (fictional) Father Frances Purcell (“The Purcell Papers” 1838-1850). These rage from the creepy (“Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter”) to the silly (“The Quare Gander.”)

His writings influenced such authors as M. R. James. The vampire novella, “Carmilla,” influenced Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Title: “Green Tea”
Author: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873)
First published: All Year Round, October 23, 1869

Review of “In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka Halloween Countdown

18) In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka

Plot:

The Officer of the Penal Colony eagerly shows off and explains a complicated torture and execution device to the Traveler. Nearby stands the Condemned Man, guarded by the Solider. Neither the Condemned Man nor the Soldier speak French and don’t understand the conversation between the Traveler and the Officer.

The device is the brainchild of the Old Commandant. The Officer remains one of his few followers and believes the Traveler will advocate for him and the machine with the New Commandant.

It is an expensive and complicated machine, with many parts not always easily replaced. It intended to carve the sentence into the condemned person’s flesh repeatedly, deeper with each pass, until the man dies, which usually takes about twelve hours.

Thoughts:

There are no supernatural elements in this novelette, though some read it as a religious allegory. IMseldomHO, I see that as a stretch, particularly given the ending. I see it as a depiction of human cruelty. The Condemned Man doesn’t know his sentence. He doesn’t even know he’s condemned but regards the machine as something of a curiosity. Not understanding what’s going on doesn’t really make a difference. No one would tell him if he did understand. The chains the Soldier holds tell him he’s in hot water, of course. That’s all he needs to know.

The Condemned Man’s crime was failing in his assigned duty, which was to rise every hour throughout the night and salute his superior. He got caught sleeping.

Life is absurd, and you catch no breaks.

This is another downer of a tale.

The story can be read here:

Bio: Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a German-speaking Czech born in Prague, at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He trained as a lawyer and took a job at an insurance company. In general, his writing deals with absurdity, bureaucratic black holes, and alienation. His best-known works include Der Prozess (1925; The Trial) and the story Die Verwandlung (1915; The Metamorphosis). He died in obscurity.

Title: “In the Penal Colony”
Author: Franz Kafka (1883-1924)
First published: October 1919 in German: the present translation published in 1948