The Medusa in the Shield

Without even knowing what other stories this volume may contain, I recommend it wholeheartedly as being the place to find How Love Came to Professor Guildea by Robert Hichens. Guildea is one of the most original tales I have ever encountered. Hippolytus in legend was destroyed by Aphrodite for neglecting her rites, but the rites of Aphrodite are the rites of love in the full sexual sense. This tale is as completely asexual as has ever seen print, and whatever the strange entity is through which Guildea meets his end the transaction it demands is affection, in the way a pet animal demands that. You can cut the story as various kinds of parable, and what gives it a lot of its atmosphere is that it suggests several possibilities and comes down firmly on the side of none. Guildea encounters whatever it is he encounters around the time of his meeting with the equally chaste and celibate Father Murchison, and the friendship between them is one of intellectual respect and compatibility. Murchison deals in love of all mankind as enjoined by his Christianity, Guildea is contemptuous but innocent of hatred. The unseen visitation makes its demands solely on Guildea. What brought it to him? Why does it focus on Guildea and not at all on Murchison? There might be an erotic sub-plot, but I for one wouldn't bet on that. At 30 or so pages, 'Guildea' is more than a short story. It leaves me weighing up the possibilities and getting nowhere. Is it a lesson for atheists? A creature of this kind has nothing to do with Christianity that I can see, certainly not with the kind espoused by Murchison. To read it as some platitudinous morality-tale to the effect that one ought to love someone just seems to me to diminish a narrative with a remarkable sense of atmosphere and mystery. The precise meaning of it all may be clearer to some readers than it is to me, but for me clarity is the last thing I want from this weird little story. I sought it here, I sought it there. You'll find it here, I believe, but if you can find it anywhere I recommend whatever book you find it in.

The editor does an excellent job in collecting a wide variety of storys through-out the horror genre. Not only is each story presented, a small discussion on the contribution to field of horror writing is discussed.As a fan of true horor literature - I recommend this book. Nowadays it is difficult to find a good horror book or stories that don't involve mutilations, death and other unique ways to cause the reader to react on a few brief descriptions - as opposed to the entire content of the story.