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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 5, Winter 1944-1945
Page 83
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FANTASY COMMENTATOR 83 and guttered by a mysterious fire... The relentless aura of doom that saturates this tale is ably handled, making it one of the most memorable examples of horror to be found in the volume. In "When Time Stood Still" Wintle tells of a twist in the world's temporal fabric, with prehistoric monsters living and to be feared. This tale is quite similar in theme to the longer Croquet Player (1937) of H. G. Wells, which it preceded by over fifteen years in appearance. "Father Thornton's Visitor" tells of a disappearance of a set of mysterious footprints, and parallels the earlier "Father Martin's Tale" of Robert Hugh Benson so closely in theme that one suspects (barring a common foundation in folk-lore) that Wintle borrowed the plot from Msgr. Benson. The latter's story, insofar as quality is concerned, is somewhat superior to Wintle's, though no markedly so. Another effective tale in Ghost Gleams is "The Red Rosary." One Dr. David Wells, a collector of primitive fetishes, acquires a string of jewels, known as the Red Rosary, from a traveler who in turn has stolen it from a Tartary tribe. The jewels are roughly ground and scratched in imitation of a snake's scales, the pendant head being indeed carved into the shape of a serpent's head, with fanged jaws and eyes of yellow opals. Shortly after bringing it to the country the emissary who bore the rosary experienced a strange series of accidents which culminate in his death. Similar accidents befall the new owner of the rosary: his investments turn out badly; his pet dog is killed; the manuscript of his new book is lost in a fire; and a damaging libel suit is instituted against him. More, he is the victim of a series of disquieting dreams---in each of which his new fetish figures prominently. And the rosary itself seems odd. When handled, it frequently seems to give a snakelike twist, as though animated of its own volition. Left lying on a table, it appears often to crawl about when not under observation. Some weeks after locking it in his wall safe the doctor comes upon it coiled up behind a pile of papers in true serpentine fashion---outside the safe! The climax occurs several days later when servants come upon the doctor apparently asleep in his lounge-chair. But he is not sleeping: he is dead; and the Red Rosary, which was previously lying on the near-by table, is found coiled malevolently on the doctor's shoulder. The pathologist's opinion is that the symptoms point to alkaloidal poisoning, as from a snake-bite---but of course no snake could have gained access to the room... How a country garden is haunted by the spectre of a dead woman until a packet of love-letters buried there is found and destroyed is fairly well told in "The Haunted House on the Hill," and "The Light in the Dormitory" relates of a ghost leading to the discovery of a long-hidden relic in an ancient abbey. Although not badly written, these two tales do not leave lasting impressions since their plots scarcely enable Wintle to arouse the emotion of fear in the reader. The best story in the volume, however, is "The Spectre Spides," which tells of the horrible fate that overtakes Ephraim, an avaricious money-lender. The man has come to believe himself afflicted with a curious ocular disorder for he fancies he can see small ball-like shadows in his rooms; these shadows scurry to the walls and darker corners as he approaches. Yet an oculist's examination reveals nothing abnormal. Still, the delusion persists; and added to it is an extreme nervousness which frequently comes over him, a feeling that he is not alone in the room---though he frequently is obviously so. An overheard conversation of two neighbors does little to reassure him: they discuss a sudden plague of spiders which has stricken the vicinity---huge specimens, all of which apparently come from Ephraim's own grounds. A few nights later horrible dreams afflict the man, dreams in which he imagines himself fighting his way through tangled jungles of sticky, choking web, with numberless huge spiders stirring about unseen on all sides---he falls, enmeshed in web, and the great woolly creatures fling themselves upon him in suffocating numbers. He awakes screaming from te night-
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FANTASY COMMENTATOR 83 and guttered by a mysterious fire... The relentless aura of doom that saturates this tale is ably handled, making it one of the most memorable examples of horror to be found in the volume. In "When Time Stood Still" Wintle tells of a twist in the world's temporal fabric, with prehistoric monsters living and to be feared. This tale is quite similar in theme to the longer Croquet Player (1937) of H. G. Wells, which it preceded by over fifteen years in appearance. "Father Thornton's Visitor" tells of a disappearance of a set of mysterious footprints, and parallels the earlier "Father Martin's Tale" of Robert Hugh Benson so closely in theme that one suspects (barring a common foundation in folk-lore) that Wintle borrowed the plot from Msgr. Benson. The latter's story, insofar as quality is concerned, is somewhat superior to Wintle's, though no markedly so. Another effective tale in Ghost Gleams is "The Red Rosary." One Dr. David Wells, a collector of primitive fetishes, acquires a string of jewels, known as the Red Rosary, from a traveler who in turn has stolen it from a Tartary tribe. The jewels are roughly ground and scratched in imitation of a snake's scales, the pendant head being indeed carved into the shape of a serpent's head, with fanged jaws and eyes of yellow opals. Shortly after bringing it to the country the emissary who bore the rosary experienced a strange series of accidents which culminate in his death. Similar accidents befall the new owner of the rosary: his investments turn out badly; his pet dog is killed; the manuscript of his new book is lost in a fire; and a damaging libel suit is instituted against him. More, he is the victim of a series of disquieting dreams---in each of which his new fetish figures prominently. And the rosary itself seems odd. When handled, it frequently seems to give a snakelike twist, as though animated of its own volition. Left lying on a table, it appears often to crawl about when not under observation. Some weeks after locking it in his wall safe the doctor comes upon it coiled up behind a pile of papers in true serpentine fashion---outside the safe! The climax occurs several days later when servants come upon the doctor apparently asleep in his lounge-chair. But he is not sleeping: he is dead; and the Red Rosary, which was previously lying on the near-by table, is found coiled malevolently on the doctor's shoulder. The pathologist's opinion is that the symptoms point to alkaloidal poisoning, as from a snake-bite---but of course no snake could have gained access to the room... How a country garden is haunted by the spectre of a dead woman until a packet of love-letters buried there is found and destroyed is fairly well told in "The Haunted House on the Hill," and "The Light in the Dormitory" relates of a ghost leading to the discovery of a long-hidden relic in an ancient abbey. Although not badly written, these two tales do not leave lasting impressions since their plots scarcely enable Wintle to arouse the emotion of fear in the reader. The best story in the volume, however, is "The Spectre Spides," which tells of the horrible fate that overtakes Ephraim, an avaricious money-lender. The man has come to believe himself afflicted with a curious ocular disorder for he fancies he can see small ball-like shadows in his rooms; these shadows scurry to the walls and darker corners as he approaches. Yet an oculist's examination reveals nothing abnormal. Still, the delusion persists; and added to it is an extreme nervousness which frequently comes over him, a feeling that he is not alone in the room---though he frequently is obviously so. An overheard conversation of two neighbors does little to reassure him: they discuss a sudden plague of spiders which has stricken the vicinity---huge specimens, all of which apparently come from Ephraim's own grounds. A few nights later horrible dreams afflict the man, dreams in which he imagines himself fighting his way through tangled jungles of sticky, choking web, with numberless huge spiders stirring about unseen on all sides---he falls, enmeshed in web, and the great woolly creatures fling themselves upon him in suffocating numbers. He awakes screaming from te night-
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