Episode 29: 'The Doll' by Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Blackwood is probably best known for two long(ish) horror stories, The Wendigo and The Willows, although his oeuvre stretched beyond horror to encompass weird fiction and fantasy, as well as stories for children. Like his contemporary Arthur Machen he was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society dedicated to the study and practice of the occult. He seemed to bristle against the religous and societal constrictions of his era, developing an interest in eastern philosophy and moving from job to job across Canada and the United States. He was outdoorsy, an interest that found its way into his fiction.
The Doll, however, a later example of Blackwood's work, finds its horror at home - with the "stirrings among the dead dry bones" hiding "behind villa walls" in sleepy English suburbs. The titular threat - the narrative suggests either an ordinary, unremarkable doll, or a particularly repulsive one; needless to say, when the story was adapted for the television series Night Gallery the doll was grotesque enough to inspire a generation's nightmares - is brought to the house by a mysterious "dark stranger", intended for one Colonel Masters - a retired military man, apparently haunted by colonial guilt. Instead, without his knowledge, it finds its way into the arms of his neglected young daughter.
Given Blackwood's powers of description, The Doll remains one of the archetypal creepy doll stories, but one made all the more interesting by its mode of delivery: the furtive whisperings of the Colonel's house staff and, in particular, the perspective of the resilient Polish governess Madame Jodzka.
Once again, as we find in these old stories, the original text uses some racial slurs that are shocking today and, while a kind interpretation would be to assume the author placed them in the mouths of certain characters to tell us something about their attitudes, they are jarring to the modern ear. For my reading I have drawn partially on a revised version included in more recent anthologies, while retaining some less direct references to race and ethnicity that seemed important to a story that very much concerns itself with British imperialism and post-war social hierarchies.
Yours playfully,
Jasper
******
Music used : " ROTTEN " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek" Music link : SOON SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://bit.ly/3qumnPH Follow on Facebook : https://bit.ly/33RWRtP Follow on Instagram : https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Music used : " THE DEMON " composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek" Music link : https://youtu.be/GvPpmJHub0Y SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://bit.ly/3qumnPH Follow on Facebook : https://bit.ly/33RWRtP Follow on Instagram : https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Music used : "The Curse" composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
Music link : https://youtu.be/I7UtT59AAbE
SUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DQQmmCl8crQ
Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/33RWRtP
Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV
Sound effects:
https://freesound.org/people/HukoSP/sounds/412756/*
*used under the following licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
All other sound effects sourced at Freesound.org
The recording was created using Audacity and BandLab. Podcast hosted by Anchor.
Video thumbnail:
https://pixabay.com/photos/doll-horror-halloween-toys-fear-4950865/
(colour adjusted). Image found on Pixabay. Image creator:
https://pixabay.com/users/tracygem-1908451/
Help my channel grow!
Comments
Post a Comment