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Post by mrpelham on Aug 11, 2012 0:16:13 GMT
About four years ago, I came across this extraordinary little gem in my Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories anthology. It couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 pages long, and yet I maintain to this today that, despite my having read hundreds upon hundreds of weird tales, this is one of the few tales that genuinely afforded me goose flesh. It is a morsel of spooky perfection. Apparently the American comedian Patton Oswalt is a huge fan of this short story too, and he has even read it in public in various bookstores. Here's what he wrote about it on his personal website: I'm going to start this list of 31 with the super-short "The Clock". It's rendered in the style of a dopey, well-meaning schoolgirl -- a sort of turn-of-the-century Jessica Simpson -- writing a letter to her aunt in Italy. Of course, this is a woman remembering something that happened -- or didn't happen -- twenty years ago. Thus, we're dealing with one of those sad people who realized life was easiest when they were young and stupid, and so decided to stay that way.
The first paragraph suggests that the aunt's letter -- which the girl is now responding to -- contained a mention of some sort of supernatural occurence. It's clear, however, that the "supernatural activity" was some old houseguest sleepwalking, and bumping into furniture.
So, of course, Little Miss Dopey has to counter with her OWN strange tale. "...you will laugh if this letter reaches you by morning post..." But once you're finished with the brief 12 paragraphs of this creepy little number, you won't be laughing. At all.
W.F. Harvey -- famous for writing "The Beast With Five Fingers" -- was a master at producing spook tales told by narrators who were too dumb to realize the darkness they'd brushed against. This, of course, forces you to fill in WAY more details than are actually there. Or are they, and we're breathing a sigh of relief that we can see them better than our protagonists? Although, if we heard what Little Miss Dopey hears in the hallway of the abandoned house she's investigating, would we do anything different than what she does? Sometimes, stupidity if the only shield from the spectral. The last thing I'll say about The Clock, without going into any of the story's details, is that it's best to read this one alone and at night. Amazingly enough the second or third time I read this was the most enjoyable. It definitely holds up. Your thoughts?
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Post by jamesdoig on Aug 11, 2012 3:44:23 GMT
About four years ago, I came across this extraordinary little gem in my Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories anthology. It couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 pages long, and yet I maintain to this today that, despite my having read hundreds upon hundreds of weird tales, this is one of the few tales that genuinely afforded me goose flesh. It is a morsel of spooky perfection. It's also in Gahan Wilson's Favorite Tales of Horror. He writes "I think that for sheer menace this is the most powerful story I have ever read."
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Post by Dr Strange on Aug 13, 2012 13:03:33 GMT
That opening paragraph of The Clock, which refers to a certain 'Miss Cornelius', takes on a rather different aspect if you've read another story by Harvey with the title Miss Cornelius...
I would strongly recommend the recent (2009) Wordsworth collection of Harvey's short stories, The Beast With Five Fingers.
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Post by ripper on Dec 2, 2012 10:13:15 GMT
I first read this in Harvey's Midnight Tales, and imho it is a first-rate example of how to pack a lot of shudders into a few pages. The part where the narrator picks up the clock to check if it is wound up always sends a shiver down my spine. A simple story, masterly written.
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Post by ripper on Jun 1, 2021 10:56:19 GMT
After a break of 8+ years I re-read The Clock during a dip into Midnight Tales. Still think it is a great piece of fiction, one of my favourite of Harvey's stories. There's just something about how the author builds up the tension. Imagine walking around an old country house supposedly locked up for weeks, then gradually becoming aware that someone or something may be in there with you, and how something so mundane as winding up a clock can be so chilling. I've said it before and it's worth repeating: Harvey packs so many shudders into just a few pages that it is, I believe, a masterclass of how to write supernatural fiction with economy. Anyone not familiar with the story I would highly recommend reading it.
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Post by pbsplatter on Jan 13, 2023 18:22:37 GMT
I just read it. . . truly masterful.
And Harvey even ties one hand behind his back at the beginning by making it clear that the narrator is alive today to write the letter, but it still can't alleviate any of the suspense once she's in that house.
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