The Watcher

by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

Born in Dublin in 1814, Sheridan Le Fanu came from a literary family of Huguenot origins; both his grandmother Alicia Sheridan Le Fanu and his greatuncle Richard Brinsley Sheridan were playwrights, and his niece Rhoda Broughton would go on to become a su

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Mystery, Classics, 19th Century

157 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M.R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are Uncle Silas, Carmilla and The House by the Churchyard.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pee-yew! My second stinker in a row from Le Fanu.
I didn't think he could write anything could be more boring than Green Tea but he managed it.
This time around, our main character is stalked by a small man.
Yes, you read that right.



Ok. So it starts with this guy, Captain Barton, a retired navy man who gets engaged to this pretty young woman. On the way home from her house one night, he gets stalked by someone invisible, then finds a sinister note the next day warning him to stay off of that street.
I should mention that he's an atheist. So. Yeah.
Now, he's going to learn the hard way that the spiritual stuff is REAL.



Things escalate when he sees this sinister looking small man a few days later while he's out with friends. He freaks out and goes home and everyone is all, what just happened, duuude?, but they assume he'll be fine.
He is not fine, as it turns out.
The small man is some sort of supernatural stalker.



Obviously, he's wronged someone (probably the small man) and this is his punishment.
Unfortunately, the spirit stalker never really does anything. He just kind of shows up every now and then. His old acquaintance and maybe someday father-in-law tries to help him, but everywhere they go this little guy pops up...and lurks.
And that's the part that I don't get.
THIS DUDE NEVER DOES ANYTHING THAT WOULD FRIGHTEN A READER.



I understand that it would be freaky as hell if you were literally being followed by a dead guy you had fucked over.
But that doesn't make for a scary story.
Small Man needed to reach out with his icy fingers and touch the back of Barton's neck while he was in a spooky house by himself. Or something!
It's just not all that chilling when this ghost dude goes and says things like “Monsieur is walking too fast; he will lose his sick comrade in the throng, for, by my faith, the poor gentleman seems to be fainting.” to the father-in-law.
What is he? The Spirit of Helpfulness?
Uuuuuugh. There was never a moment where I was interested in any part of this tale.
In case you're wondering, the moral of the story is that the guy learns to believe in God.



This story is also known as The Familiar and was read as part of the collection In a Glass Darkly.

[Λίνα Θωμάρεη · Rating 3 out of 5]

Λίγο λιγότερο φλύαρο να ήταν μπορεί και να του έβαζα παραπάνω από 3,5 αστεράκια...

[Tim Orfanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Είναι αρκετά γνωστό ότι ο Σέρινταν Λε Φανού είναι από τους πρώιμους εκπροσώπους της λογοτεχνίας του τρόμου και του μυστηρίου, ένα στοιχείο που μπορεί να ξενίσει το σύγχρονο αναγνωστικό κοινό λόγω της ενδεχομένως ξεπερασμένης θεματολογίας του ή της 'ρετρό' συγγραφικής τεχνοτροπίας του.

Αυτή η εντύπωση μπορεί κατά ένα μεγάλο βαθμό να σχηματιστεί και με την αναγνωστική ολοκλήρωση της συγκεκριμένης νουβέλας, γιατί, πολύ απλά, θα μπορούσε να πει κανείς ότι υπάρχει μια ηθελημένη αμφισημία ως προς τη διαλεύκανση του μυστηρίου, αλλά και αρκετές στιγμές που υπάρχει περισσότερη ανάλυση σε λιγότερο ουσιαστικές λεπτομέρειες, όπως και μια αδικαιολόγητη αργοπορία στη ροή της πλοκής του 2ου μέρους.

Από την άλλη πλευρά, όμως, αξίζει να αναφέρω ότι η απόδοση της εποχής, όπως και η μυστηριώδης γοτθική ατμόσφαιρα της νύχτας, η οποία στοιχειώνεται από μια σκιά-φιγούρα που καταδιώκει τον κεντρικό ήρωα 'ανεβάζει' τη νουβέλα στο επίπεδο του κλασικού. Η αμφιβολία του ήρωα για την ψυχική του υγεία και η αναμέτρηση με το παρελθόν του τον καθιστούν ένα τραγικό πρόσωπο.

Πρόκειται για μια κλασική νουβέλα τρόμου με αρκετά στοιχεία ψυχολογικού θρίλερ που αξίζει να διαβαστεί.

Υ.Γ.: O Χένρι Τζέιμς ήταν φαν του Λε Φανού.

Βαθμολογία: 3,9/5 ή 7,8/10.

[Ankur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regarded as one of his favorite horror story by M.R. James, The Watcher is one of the most intriguing tales of a supernatural entity stalking and surveying its victim, a ship captain, Barton, for his past deeds and eventually deciding on a cosmic punishment for him.

While J. Sheridan Le Fanu is mostly remembered for his famous vampire horror story "Carmilla" which became the inspiration for "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, his short stories still manage to evoke a sense of dread and tension and most of them were overshadowed by his novel.

In this story, the ship captain slowly realizes that he is being followed by someone when he crosses a particular street late at night. Initially he thinks of it as a prank but slowly letters start to arrive in his house which threaten his very existence and shake him with a sense of guilt and paranoia which reminds him of his past. Slowly, the stalking starts to take a toll on his mental and physical health as his condition deteriorates and he forced to flee his place of residence. But the hauntings do not stop there and he realizes that the entity has latched onto the physical presence of his body.

What I really liked about the story is how we feel sorry for Barton. He is a sympathetic character who had just got out of his past traumas and was ready to settle down in life and also found a nice lady to be his wife. But the agents of the supernatural thwart his plan and leave him in the ruins for his ultimate destruction of his mind and body. Also, the supernatural creature is ambiguous in its nature and it is never clearly stated why he latched onto Barton in this way, though careful readers can heavily imply the reason. There is a sense of cosmic and supernatural justice running in the story about past deeds coming back to haunt someone and the final confrontation of Barton on his deathbed with the actual face of the "Watcher" was truly terrifying.

(Read as part of "Classic Horror Stories" leatherbound edition of Barnes and Noble)

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐



AS IT PASSED HIM, HE THOUGHT HE HEARD IT SAY IN A FURIOUS WHISPER, “STILL ALIVE!”

Captain James Barton of Dublin who is soon to be married, is haunted by the shadowy small statured figure of a man who is believed dead. It is the father of a girl whom he was said to have wronged. The persistent pursuit of the Watcher, ever creeping closer, is one of the most convincing haunts in this genre. It is explained partly as delusion or hypostatized conscience which treats something abstract as concrete reality and also partly as manifestation.

[cat❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

mama a ghost behind you👻🫵

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this story would have been better if it was wayyy shorter. I was into it until it just seemed to drag on and on and was the same thing page after page. I like the idea though and it was definitely spooky.

[Vaios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετική νουβέλα ψυχολογικού τρόμου!

[Margarida Nunes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong "The Castle of Otranto" vibes ✨