Sat 10 Feb 2018
Pulp Fiction Stories I’m Reading: THORP McCLUSKY “The Crawling Horror.”
Posted by Steve under Pulp Fiction , Science Fiction & Fantasy , Stories I'm Reading[4] Comments
THORP McCLUSKY “The Crawling Horror.” First published in Weird Tales, November 1936. Reprinted in Avon Fantasy Reader #6, 1948, and The Macabre Reader, edited by Donald A. Wollheim (Ace D-353, 1959), among others.
This strange story is told by a farmer to a local doctor who in turn tells it to us. The farmer has rats in his house and barn, but when they begin to disappear, he gives the credit to his several cats. Then the cats start to vanish. Can his dogs be next?
He is sitting in front of his fireplace, reaches down to pet his dog and … I’ll quote:
“It was a slimy sort of stuff, transparent-looking, without any shape to it. It looked as though if you picked it up it would drip right through your fingers. And it was alive — don’t know how I knew that, but I was sure of it even before I looked. It was alive, and a sort of shapeless arm of it lay across the dog’s back, and covered her head. She didn’t move.”
What do you think? What would you do?
PS. Things get worse from here. This is only the beginning.
February 10th, 2018 at 9:17 pm
McClusky wrote a number of memorable stories for WEIRD TALES. I first read him in one of the AVON FANTASY READER reprints.
February 10th, 2018 at 10:52 pm
McClusky’s writing career stretched from 1936 to 1952 and produced a total of maybe two dozen stories, including one two-part serial, “Loot of the Vampire.” I haven’t checked into it to be sure, but I think all of these stories were for WEIRD TALES.
LOOT OF THE VAMPIRE was also the title of his only story collection, done by Bob Bob Weinberg as part of his “Lost Fantasy” series in 1975.
If he did any non-genre writing, I don’t know about it.
February 11th, 2018 at 7:07 am
Ooogh! You sent a chill up my spine.
February 11th, 2018 at 11:36 am
There’s more than one chill to be had in this one, Dan.