20) “Wake Not the Dead” by Ernst Raupach (often attributed to Johann Ludwig Tieck) Plot: Walter, a powerful lord in Burgundy, marries a beautiful woman named Brunhilda. They are very much in love. Alas! Brunhilda dies, leaving Walter heartbroken. He eventually remarries a wonderful, beautiful woman named Swanhilda. They have two children, a boy andContinue reading “Review of “Wake Not the Dead” by Ernst Raupach: Halloween Countdown”
Tag Archives: short story
Review of “Unseen—Un[f]eared” by Francis Stevens: Halloween Countdown
19) “Unseen—Un[f]eared” by Francis Stevens Before I proceed, I would like to offer a few content warnings, specifically about suicide and some racially and ethnically insensitive elements of the story. About the latter: the narrator is ill and not himself, so it could reflect a paranoid, altered state of mind. Or he may just beContinue reading “Review of “Unseen—Un[f]eared” by Francis Stevens: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros” by Clark Ashton Smith: Halloween Countdown
18) “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros” by Clark Ashton Smith Plot: Satampra Zeiros of Uzuldaroum writes about all that happened to him and his friend and partner, Tirouv Ompallios, in the shrine of Tsathoggua. Satampra and Tirouv live by thieving and adventuring. They’ve enjoyed some glorious times, but right now, they’re down on their luck.Continue reading “Review of “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros” by Clark Ashton Smith: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Spurs” by Todd Robbins: Halloween Countdown
17) “Spurs” by Todd Robbins Plot:In early 20th-century France, Jacques Courbé is a dwarf who performs in Copo’s Circus, riding his “gallant charger”—a dog—St. Eustache, like a knight of old. The crowd laughs and throws orange and banana peels at him, for he is a parody of the circus bareback horse riders. Only by dreamsContinue reading “Review of “Spurs” by Todd Robbins: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Shining Pyramid” by Arthur Machen: Halloween Countdown
16) “The Shining Pyramid” by Arthur Machen Plot: The Welshman Vaughn visits Dyson, an occult investigator in London at the turn of the 20th century. The two have met before. Vaughn mentions an unfortunate girl, Annie Trevor, who disappeared while walking a couple of miles to a relative’s house. Locals say the fairies took her.Continue reading “Review of “The Shining Pyramid” by Arthur Machen: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Portrait” by Margaret Oliphant: Halloween Countdown
15) “The Portrait” by Margaret Oliphant Plot:Our hero, Philip Canning, tells the reader that he lived with his father at The Grove, a Queen Anne-style place, “a large old house in the immediate neighborhood of a little town,” that is being torn down as he writes to make way for townhouses. Philip’s mother died duringContinue reading “Review of “The Portrait” by Margaret Oliphant: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Passing of a God” by Henry S. Whitehead: Halloween Countdown
14) “Passing of a God” by Henry S. Whitehead Plot: Gerald Canevin is an American writer living in the Virgin Islands. While visiting his friend, Dr. Pelletier of the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, he hears the story of the doctor’s patient, Arthur Carswell. The 45-year-old American Carswell sought treatment two years earlier in Port-au-Prince for anContinue reading “Review of “Passing of a God” by Henry S. Whitehead: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka: Halloween Countdown: Halloween Countdown
13) “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka Plot:Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself transformed into some form of vermin. This doesn’t provoke the panic that one might think. Gregor has more important things on his mind—first, he has to get out of bed, and that’s difficult to do with a domed back and a bunchContinue reading “Review of “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka: Halloween Countdown: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Master of Hollow Grange” by Sax Rohmer: Halloween Countdown
12) “The Master of Hollow Grange” by Sax Rohmer Plot:Jack Dillon arrives at Hollow Grange seeking rest and quiet while a storm is brewing. He’s recovering from a war wound. No one appears to greet him. He tells the taxi driver to leave his baggage at the gate and walks up the winding, confusing driveContinue reading “Review of “The Master of Hollow Grange” by Sax Rohmer: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Circumstance” by Harriet Prescott Spofford: Halloween Countdown
Note: The story reviewed below deals with violent imagery and sublimated sexual violence as well as not so sublimated racism. 2) “Circumstance” by Harriet Prescott Spofford Plot: Walking home from visiting a sick neighbor, through a “wilderness untrod save by stealthy native of deadly panther tribes,” our heroine sees a winding sheet fluttering in theContinue reading “Review of “Circumstance” by Harriet Prescott Spofford: Halloween Countdown”
