The Horla

We all know the shows always voted as the scariest for Halloween, as they come up year after year. So this year I thought I'd introduce you to creepy shows which, although don't ever seem to make the top five, shouldn't be overlooked...

The first I have chosen is The Horla, from the series Mystery in the Air.

The series was broadcast during the summer of 1947, and was a mystery anthology of classic crime tales, strange and unusual, dark and compelling, all masterpieces carved from the four corners of world literature, in which Peter Lorre, with his unique voice and delivery, both hosted and performed. 

I always say that there are two kinds of stories, those you can take to bed with you and relax at ease, and then there’s the other kind. The Horla is the 'other kind'. I think it was perhaps the best of the series and it's pretty close to the original story written by Guy de Mauppassant in 1887. 

The story begins with our main character of the story waving impulsively to a "superb three-mast" Brazilian boat, unconsciously inviting a supernatural being aboard the boat, to haunt his home.

From that moment, all around him, he senses the presence of this being which he calls the "Horla." 

The torment that the Horla causes manifests in several different ways, and throughout the story, the man's sanity is put into question, with the presence of the Horla becoming more and more intolerable "watching…looking at… and dominating" him.

I still don't know if it was the shadow of the madness to which the author himself so tragically succumbed, or if there really was an evil summoning that could not be seen or described. You should listen and decide for yourself...

Happy listening my friends,