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Post by newbienew on Jan 14, 2011 21:52:12 GMT
Here's the short story as I remember it.
A couple buys an old house. There is one room which is very old and not part of the current house, but rather part of the original structure which has since been torn down and which had a shady past. The couple has a child. The child does not like being left in this room. The child cries and screams. The parents do not understand the child's hysteria. Finally, fed up with his behaviour, either the mother or both parents lock(s) the child in this room (cellar?). They will not open the door no matter how much the child cries. Perhaps they go out, come back, find the child mutilated beyond recognition. The parents board the room/cellar entrance, never to step foot in there again. Perhaps they put the house up for sale.
Sound familiar? (fingers crossed)
It appeared in a collection of horror stories used in some Canadian schools during the 1970's. The book also included Saki's story "The Interlopers". I do not know whether this was a Canadian or an American publication; though I'm fairly certain the publisher wasn't British.
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Post by jamesdoig on Jan 14, 2011 21:58:33 GMT
Surely David H. Keller's "The Thing in the Cellar" - a Weird Tales classic.
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 15, 2011 11:01:30 GMT
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Post by newbienew on Jan 15, 2011 20:33:58 GMT
Thanks jamesdoig and Dr Strange.
Yes, that is the story.
Thank you Dr Strange for the link. I almost fell out of my chair when I read the website owner's accompanying blurb which is almost word-for-word my own case history. Funny how things work in life.
"I first encountered the story you are about to read when I was 12 years old, in a paperback collection of horror stories. At the time, to be perfectly honest, the story scared the pants off of me and led to a couple of sleepless nights (even today, it still gives me a bit of a shiver). The details of the story have stayed crystal clear in my mind all these years, even though the title of the anthology is long forgotten, as were, until recently, the title of the story and the name of the author. Fortunately, for both you and me, I have found that the source of my sleepless nights was a tale entitled, "The Thing in the Cellar" and that the author was a man by the name of David H. Keller. So, what is it about this story by a nearly forgotten author that has dogged me for over 35 years? Is it my inner child: the easily frightened twelve year old who liked to read at night? Is it the matter of fact tone that Keller uses throughout the piece, which forces the reader to ponder the tale long after it has been read? Or, might it be the memories I have of my aunt's house, where her ironing board was stored on the back porch in such a way that it was firmly wedged against the cellar door?"
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Post by monker on Jan 17, 2011 4:59:33 GMT
Surely David H. Keller's "The Thing in the Cellar" - a Weird Tales classic. I would have prefaced that one with "Here we go, Newbienew!"  |
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