FT269


In 1887, Guy de Maupass­ant’s short horror story ‘The Horla’ was published, describing an encounter with an invisible being able to exert some kind of control over the human mind. Although short, it’s a tale full of unusual ideas, such as the suggestion that the Horla might come from a distant world other than our own: “There was no moon, but the stars darted out their rays in the dark heavens. Who inhabits those worlds?” the doomed protagonist mutters.

Eleven years later, in 1898, the short story ‘The Damned Thing’ by Ambrose Bierce saw the light of day. Bierce, himself the source for the myth of the mystery vanishings that at some point entered forteana (see FT194:43–44), describes the fate of two hunters, one of whom is killed by an invisible something, leaving the other to tell the tale.