For October 18 Plot: It’s New Year’s Eve in India during the Raj. Strickland of the police; Fleete, newly arrived and unfamiliar with native customs; and the unnamed narrator are tying one on—especially Fleete. His family’s property is in the hinterlands, so he usually doesn’t come into town. He ends up staggering home because hisContinue reading “Review of “The Mark of the Beast” by Rudyard Kipling: Halloween Countdown”
Tag Archives: Halloween Countdown
Review of “The Listener” by Algernon Blackwood: Halloween Countdown
For October 17 Plot: In a series of diary entries, the unnamed narrator tells the reader how he took new rooms in a less-then-affluent part of town. The lodgings lack “modern conveniences,” presumably running water and electricity. He’s a writer with several irons in the fire, and—whaddya know—he’s poor. Not that he had to be.Continue reading “Review of “The Listener” by Algernon Blackwood: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Kecksies” by Marjorie Bowen: Halloween Countdown
For October 16 Plot:Two young gentlemen (so to speak) are returning from Canterbury quite drunk and obnoxious. The reader gets the impression they annoy even their horses with their attempts at singing. They’ve miscalculated, however. A storm blows up. Nothing to worry about. Sir Edward Crediton is the local landowner, and one of his tenantsContinue reading “Review of “Kecksies” by Marjorie Bowen: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Horla” by Guy de Maupassant: Halloween Countdown
For October 15 Plot:The story is presented in a series of journal entries. Things start happily. The narrator appears wealthy enough to have servants and something of an estate. He contemplates the invisible though our are senses too poor to perceive it: “we can see neither the inhabitants of a star nor of a dropContinue reading “Review of “The Horla” by Guy de Maupassant: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Great God Pan” by Arthur Machen: Halloween Countdown
For October 14 Plot: Dr. Raymond wants to show his friend Clarke his new method of seeing “beyond the veil.” The physical world as we know it is an illusion, but with a little bit of brain surgery, one can see reality, or as he claims the ancients referred to it, “seeing the god Pan.”Continue reading “Review of “The Great God Pan” by Arthur Machen: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe: Halloween Countdown
For October 12 Plot: The unnamed narrator arrives at the home of a childhood friend, Roderick Usher, after receiving a letter requesting that he come and cheer the friend up. Usher is not well and appears anxious and depressed. The narrator’s first glance of the house is dispiriting. It is old and covered with mossContinue reading “Review of “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Face” by E. F. Benson: Halloween Countdown
For October 11 Plot:Hester Ward is a happily married mother of two small children. Still young, she’s good-looking (and aware of it), healthy, and prosperous. Yet after a dream like those she had when she was younger, she senses catastrophe approaching. She sees no point in telling her husband, Dick, about anything so silly. TheyContinue reading “Review of “The Face” by E. F. Benson: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Death of Halpin Frayser” by Ambrose Bierce: Halloween Countdown
For October 10 Plot: Halpin Frayser has been living rough, sleeping in the forest around Napa in California. After waking from a dreamless sleep one morning, he mutters, “Catherine LaRue.” The reader receives no further explanation. Things haven’t always been so unfortunate for Halpin. He was raised in the South by an indulgent mother andContinue reading “Review of “The Death of Halpin Frayser” by Ambrose Bierce: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Celui-Là” by Eleanor Scott: Halloween Countdown
For October 9 Plot:On his doctor’s advice, Maddox takes a vacation to a tiny fishing village on the Breton coast. He stays with an acquaintance of Dr. Foster, the local curé, Father Vétier. Maddox goes for long walks on the beach in the evening, although the locals avoid being out at that time of day.Continue reading “Review of “Celui-Là” by Eleanor Scott: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Casting the Runes” by M. R. James: Halloween Countdown
For October 8 Plot: The story opens with an exchange of letters in which the secretary of the “—Association” tells Mr. Karswell the Association has, after careful consideration, declined to accept his paper, “The Truth of Alchemy.” Mr. Karswell wants to know who’s responsible for the decision. The secretary tells him that he cannot possiblyContinue reading “Review of “Casting the Runes” by M. R. James: Halloween Countdown”
