Thoughtful, Creeping, Slow-Burn Dread: Review of "A Revenant," by Walter de la Mare!

I wanted to do a reading of this one, but I think it's still under copyright! So, a review instead.

I was looking through Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature" looking for authors or stories to read and talk about, and one of those authors is better known as a poet and a writer of children's stories. Still, Walter de la Mare did jot down the occasional creepy story, often with a strong focus on characters.

Lovecraft recommends "Seaton's Aunt," but I read part of it and found it kind of meh. On the other hand, I saw the title "A Revenant" in one of de la Mare's story collections, and was surprised at how good it was. I expected a dull, trite ghost story and got something much more thought-provoking instead.

This story is an excellent example of a slow buildup and "subtleties of character," to quote Lovecraft's essay where he talks about de la Mare.

It starts simply, with a professor giving a talk about Edgar Allan Poe, and paints a gripping picture as the professor talks, and then as he is questioned by a strange interloper in the audience. The description is terse but effective. The professor's state of mind is handled vividly and sympathetically. We get a mixture of creepy solitude and scoffing positivity, creating a fun and unique mix for the tone.

The professor is philosophical, but at the same time he is judgmental without realizing he's being judgmental. His lofty tone combines with talk of damnation to make a believable contrast.

The story pushes in the direction of fear without ever "jumping out at you." Instead you get a persistent, growing dread and a fascinating argument.

I can't recommend it enough. It's still under copyright in the U.S. I think, but one of the collections it appears in looks to be out of copyright in Canada.

Read it here:
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.182320/page/n279/mode/2up