Welcome back to the fireside, where we endeavor to bring weird literature back to life through (hopefully) captivating audiobook presentations. In this latest installment, we continue our odyssey through E F Benson's The Room in the Tower and other stories with "Between the Lights."
This story was first published in this collection in 1912. I have already uploaded three other tales from the anthology; "The Dust Cloud," "Caterpillars," and "The Bus-Conductor." Still to come are the following:
"Gavon's Eve," "The Confession of Charles Linkworth," "At Abdul Ali's Grave," "The Shootings of Achnaleish," "How Fear Departed From the Long Gallery," "The Cat," "The Man Who Went Too Far," "Outside the Door," "The Terror by Night," "The Other Bed," "The Thing in the Hall," and "The House with the Brick-Kiln."
In "Between the Lights," a Christmas gathering of old friends culminates in an exchange of ghost stories, in which some of the tales told prove as weird as they are horrifying. The host of this party tells his own true story.
This is a rather unusual and subtle gothic horror yarn and a prime example of the British tradition of Christmas ghost stories. Although it can be enjoyed at any time of the year for sure. It is a creepy, atmospheric tale of terror in the vein of Lovecraft.
I've heard it said that the story is somewhat dated and doesn't translate well into modern horror fiction. But I like the bizarre creepiness of the setup and the weird and subtle (possibly anti) climax.
To paraphrase the great man:
"These stories have been narrated in the hopes of giving some pleasant qualms to the listener or viewer. If, by chance, anyone is occupying a leisure half-hour before they go to bed when the night and the house are still, they may, by some chance, cast a wary glance into the corners and dark places of the room where they sit to make sure that nothing unusual lurks in the shadows. This is the object of horror stories and tales that deal with dim, unseen forces that sometimes disturbingly manifest themselves. The narrator, therefore, fervently wishes his listeners a few uncomfortable moments."
I hope you enjoy this presentation, and thank you, as always, for watching/listening.
We'll catch up soon on the next one.