The life-eaterHarold WardOmniClassics · Literature
The life-eater
Harold WardUnexplained deaths in a Louisiana village force its doctor toward an explanation outside ordinary medicine.
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About the book
La Foubelle, at the edge of the swamps, is overwhelmed by deaths that leave the community frightened and unable to name the cause. A witness's account of a shadowy presence is dismissed because of his reputation, but Doctor Lamontaine's reading in occult subjects makes him increasingly certain that normal treatment will not suffice. When Evelyn l'Brest is stricken, the schoolmaster Noel Pelletier's concern gives the investigation an immediate personal urgency. Ward builds the short horror tale through the disagreement between recognizable illness and a suspected predatory influence from beyond ordinary life. Its language and characterization belong to 1930s pulp fiction. The narrative asks how the threat might be confronted without revealing at the outset which observations or beliefs can be trusted.
- Communal fear
- Occult investigation
- Love and danger
Why read it
The suffering village gives the supernatural mystery a shared atmosphere of urgency rather than an isolated haunted-house setting.
English story from Weird Tales, June 1937