Andrew's Comments on Le Revenant by Henry Thomson

"There are but two classes of persons in the world—those who are hanged, and those who are not hanged; and it has been my lot to belong to the former." Those haunting words are the preamble to Le Revenant by Henry Thomson and set the stage for the tale that I have picked as the 15th best scary short story from 1800-1849. The title means "The Ghost" in English, but this is misleading since it is about a man who lives through a hanging due to a malfunction. Afterward he watches his coffin being filled with rocks and buried. This is a tale of sensation and in it Thomson gives us one of the best descriptions of a person being led from a jail to the gallows.

I felt the transition from these dim, close, hot, lamp-lighted subterranean passages, to the open platform, and steps, at the foot of the scaffold, and to day. I saw the immense crowd blackening the whole area of the street below me. The windows of the shops and houses opposite, to the fourth story, choaked with gazers. I saw St Sepulchre's church through the yellow fog in the distance, and heard the pealing of its bell. I recollect the cloudy, misty morning; the wet that lay upon the scaffold— the huge dark mass of building, the prison itself, that rose beside, and seemed to cast a shadow over us—the cold, fresh breeze, that as I emerged from it, broke upon my face. I see it all now—the whole horrible landscape is before me. The scaffold—the rain— the faces of the multitude—the people clinging to the house-tops—the smoke that beat heavily downwards from the chimneys—the waggons filled with women, staring in the innyards opposite—the hoarse low roar that ran through the gathered crowd as we appeared. I never saw so many objects at once, so plainly and distinctly, in all my life, as at that one glance; but it lasted only for an instant.

It was first published anonymously in the April 1827 issue of Blackwood's Magazine, then later ascribed to Henry Thomson. The fine writing and compelling storyline ensure that it is one of the best scary stories for the first half of the nineteenth century.

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The 15th Best Scary Short Story 1800-1849 is Le Revenant by Henry Thomson

For the 15th best scary short story in the English language for the period 1800-1849, I pick Le Revenant by Henry Thomson. This is a tale of sensation and I will comment on it later in the week. Enjoy!

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Author of the 15th Best Scary Short Story 1800-1849 is Henry Thomson

Henry Thomson is not well known among readers of scary short stories because he didn't write many of them. Yet Thomson gave us one gem of a scary story that I will provide a link to in my next post. It is a tale of sensation and is one of the best of the bunch for this fifty year period.

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Andrew's Thoughts on "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe

The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe was first published in the May 1842 issue of Graham's Magazine. The horror short story tells of a disease ravaging the land, a disease with no cure. Here Poe calls it the Red Death in a play on the term Black Death that previously invaded Europe.

The seven differently colored rooms in the palace represent the seven stages of life, with the last being the black room, or death. Poe may have drawn on the famous lines from Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It.” All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. As, first the infant, mewling and pewking in his nurse’s arms. And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping like snail unwillingly to school. And then the lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then the soldier, full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, seeking the bubble reputation even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice in fair round belly with good capon lined, with eyes severe and beard of formal cut, full of wise saws and modern instances; and so he plays his part. The six age slips into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon, with spectacles on nose and pouch on side; his youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide for his shrunk shrank; and his manly voice, turning again toward childish treble, pipes and whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, that ends this strange eventful history, is second childishness and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. Here Prince Prospero (also the name of a character in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”) chases the figure. Note the first room is on the east end of the abbey and the final death room is on the west end, mirroring the birth and death of the sun each day as though life is short.

Poe is also saying that no matter how rich one is and no matter what lengths one goes to avoid death, it is inevitable; just as he knew it was inevitable for his wife Virginia to die of tuberculosis that she contracted in 1842, the year this horror story was written.

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The 16th Best Scary Short Story 1800-1850 is the Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe

I pick as the 16th best scary short story for the first half of the nineteenth century Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death. Enjoy the free link and I will give some thoughts on the classic story later in the week. 

 

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Author of the 16th Best Scary Short Story 1800-1849 is Edgar Allan Poe

In my view Edgar Allan Poe is the king of scary stories from 1800-1849. This is the third time he has appeared on my Top 40 countdown and it not be his last. Tomorrow I will post a link to the 16th best scary short story that was written by him. I will give you a hint: It deals with the color red.

In other news, I now have an author profile on Goodreads where I post what I am reading, etc. Since it is brand spanking new, I am looking for friends on the site and would love to hear from other Goodreads members who read my blog: Andrew Barger's Goodreads Page. Thanks! 

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Review of The Singular Trial of Francis Ormiston by George Soane

The scary short story that George Soane titled The Singular Trial of Francis Ormiston was first published in Volume 9 of Fraser's Magazine for 1834. This was a February issue and the scary story was published anonymously. In it the protagonist is visited by a creature that is his destiny. It changes his entire disposition and life from that point forward.

I know not how long I slept— perhaps a few hours, for the moon was nigh when I was awakened from this delicious slumber by an unknown voice calling on me by name. I looked around my chamber, and in the farthest part saw a dusky figure, almost too undefined in its outlines to be described, and wrapt about with loose robes that resembled nothing so much as the palest moonlight on a dark ground. Upon the brow of the creature was a star, and the brightness of it glanced from his pale features like the cold, watery sunbeams from a rock of ice. It was as if winter had suddenly come into the room, so chilling was the air; and there I lay, numbed by frost, my teeth chattering, my limbs immovable, and the very marrow of my bones aching with intense cold. At length I managed to stammer out, Who art thou?

He is now predestined to be "a man of blood." After this visit by the creature it is not long before the protagonist fulfills his destiny and murders. First, however, he must decide on the victim. He struggles between killing a person that the world will not miss and one who will go "pure and innocent into the grave." He picks the later.

This is the first scary short story from 1800-1849 where the protagonist must chose his own murderous destiny. One feels for the characters and the writing excels. In "The Singular Trial of Francis Ormiston" George Soane has written one of the Top 20 scary stories from this fifty year period.

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