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

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