Plot:Retired Captain Braddock has come to live in his late cousin Luke Pratt’s house. Cousin Luke was a doctor. His wife pre-deceased him. Their son was killed (in the Boer War?) in South Africa. Braddock isn’t nervous—so he keeps telling his unnamed houseguest, who is also an old sailor. He’s heard the skull scream often.Continue reading “Review of “The Screaming Skull” by F. Marion Crawford: Halloween Countdown”
Tag Archives: horror
Review of “Schalken the Painter” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: Halloween Countdown
For October 22 Plot:The painting by the artist Godfrey Schalken is a family heirloom. A woman in a white dress, part of which forms a veil. She holds a lamp, lighting her features, an effect at which its creator excelled. It shows her “arch smile,” as if she’s pulled off some prank. Behind her, inContinue reading “Review of “Schalken the Painter” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Repairer of Reputations” by Robert W. Chambers: Halloween Countdown
For October 21 Plot: As envisioned from 1895, the year 1920 looks good. The tariff and labor questions have been settled. New architecture replaces old. The war with Germany, occasioned by the latter’s seizure of the Samoan Islands, has left no visible mark on the republic. And we won’t mention the ridiculous plight of GeneralContinue reading “Review of “The Repairer of Reputations” by Robert W. Chambers: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Open Door” by Mrs. Margaret Oliphant: Halloween Countdown
For October 20 Plot: On his return from India in 18—, Colonel Mortimer takes a house called Brentwood for his family. Edinburgh is within reach so his daughters can have the masters and lessons they need, and his boy, Roland, whose education has been neglected, can now receive the proper education for a lad hisContinue reading “Review of “The Open Door” by Mrs. Margaret Oliphant: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Mysterious Maisie” by Wirt Gerrare: Halloween Countdown
For October 19 Plot: With her father recently deceased and her mother in failing health, seventeen-year-old Laura must earn a living. She is not (her sister Maggie writes) fit to be a teacher. Even if she were, hearing what Maggie has to say about her own post as an assistant mistress of a high schoolContinue reading “Review of “Mysterious Maisie” by Wirt Gerrare: 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 “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 Gorgon” by Clark Ashton Smith: Halloween Countdown
For October 13 Plot: Traveling after the death of the only woman he loved, the grieving main character in this short tale comes across an odd character in the crowded streets of London. The old man reminds him of Charon, ferrying souls to the Underworld. The modern-day Charon locks eyes with him. “I can seeContinue reading “Review of “The Gorgon” by Clark Ashton Smith: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen 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 Allen Poe: Halloween Countdown”
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 