Gothic Short Stories (Tales of Mystery & The Supernatural)

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The narrator tells the story of his parents. His father manufactured dog oil and his mother disposed of unwanted babies. The narrator would assist his father by procuring neighborhood dogs and his mother by carrying away the remains of her work. One day, he inadvertently improves his parents’ businesses. ( Summary) David Stuart Davies looks at our collection of chilling tales from the Gothic genre now in its fourth century.

A promise that CHARACTER A and CHARACTER B made when they were children is not really what they think it to be. They can’t be considered the hero of the story because of this, but they are still the main character. Therefore they become the antihero. Joly, a visitor in Venice, is reading when he is approached by an older man, Sanborn, who admires the book. He invites Joly for a drink where he is introduced to another man, Zuichini, a skilled bookbinder. Joly is leery of his companions but accepts their hospitality. “The Desire to Be a Man” by Auguste Villiers de I’Isle-AdamAs you might expect, this plot twist shows up most often in the genres of science fiction, horror, and sometimes cosmic horror (which blends the two). However, it will sometimes make its way into the mainstream, with M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense being a prime example.

Read “The Lame Priest” “A Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu A man goes to a curiosity shop looking for a paperweight. He buys a mummified foot that is supposedly the four-thousand-year-old foot of Egyptian princess Hermonthis. Later that night he has a strange episode. The narrator and Vollmer are orbiting earth during World War III, collecting information on the enemy. Vollmer has many possessions with him while the narrator doesn’t. The narrator is bothered by Vollmer’s voice, his conversation, and his happiness. “The Door” by E. B. WhiteGothic novels tend to create a feeling of uncertainty, by making the characters and the reader question what they believe and what is real. A man who lives in the wilderness prepares his wife’s body for burial. There is an incident that night, which the narrator claims explains the mystery of why his cabin had a boarded window. ( Summary) This story can be read in the preview of Complete Lovecraft. (select in table of contents) “Born of Man and Woman” by Richard Matheson This story can be read in the preview of Psychos: Serial Killers, Depraved Madmen and the Criminally Insane. (75% in) “The Green Letter” by Steven Hall The Walking Dead, “Heads Up.” Glenn Rhee plunges straight into a mass of bloodthirsty walkers but miraculously survives and makes a return in the third episode of the sixth season.