The Supernatural Stories of H.G. Wells

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This article originally appeared in All Hallows, the journal of the Ghost Story Society, in 1996. As I don't have it in any usable format, I thought I'd simply scan in the proof copy. Let's see if it works. Click to enlarge and all that...









Comments

Aonghus Fallon said…
Interesting article, David! Re 'The Hole in the Wall'. I wonder if any of us would have behaved differently? The character steps through the door when he's ready to do so. Life is for living. Paradise - if you want to believe in such things - is for afterwards, just like pudding follows dinner.

My favourite story by Wells would be 'The Valley of Spiders', which could be classified as a commentary on the class system, sci-fi, horror or maybe an amalgam of all three.
16 April 2013 at 11:25:00 GMT
valdemar said…
One of the reasons I find 'The Door in the Wall' so moving is that, ever since I read it as a wee lad, I've never understood why he came back that first time. I didn't have a very happy childhood, obviously...

I'll have to re-read 'Spiders' - it's fascinating when someone spots something I've completely missed in a familiar story!
18 April 2013 at 18:15:00 GMT
Aonghus Fallon said…
You're right. I'd forgotten how he came back the first time!

Re 'The Valley of Spiders' - I guess my reading of the story is coloured by knowing Wells was a socialist. You got the master, his enforcer (the man with the scarred lip) and the ordinary citizen/underdog. Together they form a microcosm of a totalitarian state. The enforcer's blind loyalty only results in him being abandoned by his master. The underdog is clumsy and guileless and it is the master - as the ruthless, self-centred alpha male - who ultimately survives.
20 April 2013 at 12:19:00 GMT
valdemar said…
I suppose it's also evolutionary thinking - in harsh conditions the one most fitted to survive gets through. The master is, as I recall, chasing down a young woman, which is about as Darwinian as you can get.
20 April 2013 at 19:55:00 GMT
Aonghus Fallon said…
Ouch. I think your explanation might be better than mine!
21 April 2013 at 07:45:00 GMT
valdemar said…
I think a good story can bear several interpretations - that's why they stick in the mind. We keep turning them over, looking at different facets.
21 April 2013 at 14:34:00 GMT
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