THE DEEP ONES: "Randalls Round" by Eleanor Scott

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THE DEEP ONES: "Randalls Round" by Eleanor Scott

2gwendetenebre
Edited: Apr 2, 2025, 9:58 am

Well, this pretty much provides a blueprint for what we've come to think of as "folk horror" in the 21st century, although recent anthologies prove that the tradition goes waaay further back. I thought the finish was brilliant in that, rather than having our protagonist meet his end at the claws and teeth of the bull-thing, he only hears the sounds of a horrible feast (love the crunching of the bones) and is so overcome with fear that he can only run away. It's a nice touch that the creature doesn't actually appear at this point, and instead the story uses sound to convey the horror.

I could swear that I've seen a short film version of this somewhere, but so far, no luck finding it.

3gwendetenebre
Apr 2, 2025, 10:01 am

Really like this British Library cover!

4AndreasJ
Apr 4, 2025, 1:34 pm

Finally got around to this one now. It 's nicely told, if perhaps not very original. (Maybe seemed more so in 1929?)

Not letting us see the critter was a good, move, yes.

5RandyStafford
Apr 14, 2025, 6:15 pm

Not many surprises here given, as >2 gwendetenebre: says, this is sort of a path followed by many other stories over a near century.

The biggest surprise was that Heyling lives to tell the tale. Perhaps his impressions, if he relates them, will be attributed to overwork. I too like the rite's culmination being unseen by Heyling.