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

Review of “The Night Wire” by H. F. Arnold Halloween Countdown

17) The Night Wire by H. F. Arnold

Plot:

Told by a night manager at newspaper in a western seacoast town, this is set in the days when news came in by telegraph. The narrator describes John Morgan as a “doubler,” that is, someone who can listen to two feeds and type their contents on two different typewriters. He doesn’t have to do this often. Nights are slow. On the night of the sixteenth, however, a second line opens, and John Morgan is doing his thing. The copy from the first machine is the usual stuff. The copy from the second draws the narrator’s attention.

First, it’s from a town called Xebico, a place the narrator has never heard of. It mentions a thick fog settling over the area, halting traffic. It’s unlike anything the weather bureau has seen before.

Thoughts:

This builds suspense nicely. The narrator and John Morgan don’t talk. The narrator just picks up the copy in neat stacks by the typewriters. The news comes in bits and pieces. What is happening? Is it just an unusual fog—annoying—or is something more sinister going on? Alternatively, is someone playing a prank?

The reader doesn’t know. The two characters in the story are divorced from the action at Xebico.

My own guess is since the Great War was so recent a memory, the fog might recall mustard gas, either consciously or not. The story’s creepiness would account for its continued popularity among generations with no memory of the horrors of that war. It was one of the most popular stories in Weird Tales and has been anthologized often since then.

I liked this short yarn, both for its archaic setting and for its action.

The story can be read here:

The story can be listened to here:

Bio: Henry Ferris Arnold (1902-1963) published at least three speculative fiction pieces, all in Weird Tales. His bio is the subject of much doubt, but what seems to be the case is that he was born in Galesburg, Illinois, graduated from Knox College, and served in the military in WWII. At some point in his life, he may or may not have worked in public relations for the movie business, as a realtor, and as a businessman. He spent the latter part of his life in Laguna Beach, California.

Title: “The Night Wire”
Author: Henry Ferris Arnold (1902-1963)
First published: Weird Tales, September 1926

Review of “The Golden Bough” by David H. Keller Halloween Countdown

16) The Golden Bough by David H. Keller

Plot:

Newlyweds Paul and Constance (Martin) Gallien are on a road trip through Europe to find the house in a forest that Constance dreamed of the first night they were married. Paul is “of royal blood,” something not important as it once was, but he apparently still has money. Constance’s background is not discussed.

Once they find the house and move in, Constance decides she really wants to stay. She makes Paul push his car off a cliff. They’re stranded at their dream house. But that’s okay.

Constance hears pipe-playing in the middle of the night and gets up out of bed while Paul sleeps to go dance with the piper. He convinces her to grow mistletoe over Paul’s side of the bed, watering it every day from a particular sacred pond.

Yeah, nothing weird about that.

Thoughts:

Granted, they’re in love, and Paul is willing to give Constance anything she wants—but just the practical problems that arise from stranding themselves in their dream house should make him think twice. What if one of them were hurt or got sick? What if Constance ran out of flour while baking? What if the stork dropped by? But “he’s in love” just doesn’t cut it. And hey— cars don’t grow on trees, ya know!

Because the author tells the reader the pipe-played interloper is Pan—not that it was a surprise—I don’t feel that I’m giving much away by mentioning it.

This is a downer of a little fairy tale. If a man is held in sway by love for a woman tragedy strikes because women are by nature without a lick of common sense or judgment, let alone concern for the well-being of others. The gods are capricious beings without feeling for human suffering or frailties.

The title refers to James Frazier’s work of the same title, first published in the late nineteenth century, treating comparative religions and mythologies.

While this at times strained credulity, it worked well enough, but brother, how depressing.

The story can be listened to here:

Bio: David H. Keller (1880-1966) was an American author, physician, and psychiatrist. According to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (SFE), his psychiatric practice focused on what was then called shell shock—better known as PTSD now—among those coming out of WWI and thereafter. Among his best-known stories is “The Revolt of the Pedestrians,” a 1928 story which posits people evolving to become one with their cars.

Title: “The Golden Bough”
Author: David H. Keller (1880-1966)
First published: Marvel Tales, Winter 1934

Review of “The Secret of Kralitz” by Henry Kuttner Halloween Countdown

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

Review of “Gabriel-Ernest” by Saki Halloween Countdown

14) “Gabriel-Ernest” by Saki

Plot:

On their way to the train station, the artist Cunninghan warns Van Cheele there is a wild beast in his woods. It’s the only thing he’s been able to say on the drive. Van Cheele has chattered the whole time.

“A stray fox or two and some resident weasels. Nothing more formidable,” Van Cheele says.

Not until they’re standing on the platform does he ask Cunningham, “What did you mean about a wild beast?”

“Nothing. My imagination. Here is the train.”

Later, while Van Cheele takes a walk through the woods, as was his habit. He comes across a boy of about sixteen sunning himself after an apparent swim. The boy is nude and unapologetic. Van Cheele talks to the boy and tells him he can’t live in the woods.

The next day, he finds the boy has turned up at his house, welcomed by his aunt as a poor boy who has lost his way and his memory. After all, Van Cheele told him he can’t live in the woods. The dog won’t go near him.

Thoughts:

It is apparent to the reader that the lost boy is a threat. Van Cheele sees him as a nuisance rather like a dog who digs in the yard. His aunt is completely blind to the danger the boy poses and merely wishes to take him under her wing. She even gives him a Christian name.

The satire practically screams; Van Cheele is too busy talking to hear Cunningham’s warning. Miss Van Cheele is convinced of her power to do good that she can’t see the menace. When the foreseeable tragedy strikes, the townspeople misunderstand it.

An underlying cruelty runs through the story as well, as if to say that these people are stupid and deluded enough to deserve what comes to them. Unfortunately, the victims (overlooking Van Cheele’s inconvenience) are all children.

This story is short and can easily be read in a single sitting with time left over to spare.

An audio version of the story can be heard here via Librivox.

Bio: H. H. Munro (1870-1916), who wrote under the pseudonym Saki, was a British author and journalist who is now best remembered for his epigrammatic short stories often satirizing the upper crust of British society. Many of his stories dealt with talking animals and few of them ended happily. Munro was gay at time when same-sex relations were considered a crime. Though he was over age, he enlisted for service in WWI and died in 1916 at the Battle of Ancre. Supposedly, his last words were, “Put that bloody cigarette out!”

Title: “Gabriel-Ernest”
Author: Saki (legal name Hector Hugh Munro) (1870-1916)
First published: The Westminster Gazette, May 29, 1909.

Review of “The Frontier Guards” by H. Russell Wakefield Halloween Countdown

13) “The Frontier Guards” by H. Russell Wakefield

Plot:

While playing golf, James Brinton asks his old friend William Lander about a charming little cottage they pass by.

Lander concedes that it’s charming on the outside, but it’s haunted by whole pack of ghosts who are lethal to those who rent it.

Over dinner, Lander gives his friend the particulars. The cottage, Pailton, has been rented five times in the last twelve years. Each time, someone died.

“It should be razed to the ground,” he concludes.

He has never set foot in the building.

Skeptic Brinton doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he’d like to see one. Would his old friend allow him to visit the cottage?

Lander won’t let him go alone. He’s a psychic and sees ghosts all the time. He recites a list of warnings, asking, “Still want to go?” Brinton accedes to each condition. The men agree to go after their round of golf the next day.

What could go wrong?

Thoughts:

This short tale is a set-up for two guys exploring a haunted house, where there are sure to be ghosts with bad attitudes who have killed innocent people before.

Lander gives Brinton (…and the reader) the history of the house, due warning that regular time and space don’t work there. He agrees to take his friend if only to show him ghosts are real, and then they can leave.

On the one hand, this is atmospheric with real danger for the characters. On the other, the reader is almost waiting for Brinton to take off screaming through the woods while Lander stands locking the door. “Yep. Told ya, pal.”

How serious is this? On the last page, the author pulls off an ending that lets you know. Unfortunately, it’s a little confusing. I had to read it a couple of times before it sank in. But it’s cool. It works.

audio version: via HorrorBabble: here.

Bio: H. Russell Wakefield (1888 or 1890-1964) was an English short-story writer, novelist, publisher, and civil servant chiefly remembered today for his ghost stories. He served with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in France and the Balkans during WWI. M. R. James and Algernon Blackwood influenced his supernatural work. His short story collections include Imagine a Man in a Box (1931), A Ghostly Company (1935), and Strayers from Sheol (1961). He also wrote non-fiction and a few mystery novels.

Title: “The Frontier Guards”
Author: H. Russell Wakefield (1888 or 1890-1964)
First published: November 25, 1929

Review of “The Dream-Gown of the Japanese Ambassador” by Brander Matthews Halloween Countdown

12) “The Dream-Gown of the Japanese Ambassador” by Brander Matthews

Plot:

World traveler Cosmo Waynflete has just returned to New York, having amassed a collection of curiosities from nearly every corner of the globe. Exhausted, he dons the elaborately embroidered silk robe of the title—one he bought “in a little curiosity-shop in Nuremberg”—and stares into the sunlight hitting a crystal ball he found in a shop within sight of “Fugiyama.” He believes he sees people in the crystal ball. This strikes him as perfectly natural.

He finds himself among the people, no longer Cosmo Waynflete, but a samurai, seeking vengeance for the death of his beloved master. He lies, waiting… and finds himself no longer in Japan, but in ancient Persia, pursued by a dragon. If his steadfast horse were less attentive, it would have been curtains for Cosmo.

These two are just the beginning of Cosmo’s heroic visions/dreams. None of them is resolved.

Thoughts:

Half the fun of this story is Cosmos’s adventures. What is happening? What will happen? It doesn’t have to make sense. It’s one good yarn after another. By the time a friend arrives to wake Cosmo—interrupting one dream—it’s a letdown. That friend then goes on to give routine explanations for every adventure Cosmo had.

Spoilsport.

While this one was enjoyable, the ending was disappointing. A final trick tries to redeem the spirit of the piece. While it was cute, it didn’t quite make up for the letdown.

The story can be read here.

Bio: Brander Matthews (1852-1929) was an American essayist, drama critic, novelist, and first U.S. professor of dramatic literature. He was admitted to the bar but never practiced law. He was a professor of literature at Columbia University and a critic for The New York Times. His best remember novel is A Confident Tomorrow (1899). He also wrote biographies of French playwright Molière and English playwright Shakespeare.

Title: “The Dream-Gown of the Japanese Ambassador”
Author: Brander Matthews (1852-1929)
First published: Tales of Fantasy and Fact, 1896