The Thing in the Cellar - David H. Keller

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Author: David H. Keller

Genre: Horror
Rating: 5 stars.

One of the first horror short stories I had read in my life! And one of the absolute best! It's a classic for a reason.

I had asked my horror-loving friend for scary short-fic recommendations and of the three names she had provided, this is the one that created the maximum impact. The haunting aftereffect still stays with me.

Little Tommy Tucker has always been unhappy in the kitchen, and his parents don’t know why. Right from when he was a baby, he did all he could to get out of the kitchen – cry or crawl or complain. When he learns to talk, he tries explaining his reasons to his parents, but they consider it foolish. After a few years, when his behaviour shows no signs of changing, his parents resort to calling the neighbourhood physician to rid Tommy of his irrational fear. What happens next? You have gotta read and find out!

Such tales are the perfect example of how horror can be written by using nothing but atmosphere. There’s no gore on the page, nor are there any paranormal entities jumping out of corners. And yet, the ending will leave you chilled. I have read this story thrice, and a small part of me still hopes for a different finale each time. The writing is spot on in generating a sense of fear without penning anything openly scary. In fact, it starts off very innocently, but soon it seems like only two people know something is drastically wrong – Tommy and the reader.

This isn’t a story for the faint-hearted. It is creepy. It is macabre. It is disturbing. It is brilliant. It is, by far, my favourite horror short. The ending doesn’t offer any closure.

This story first appeared in Weird Tales Magazine in March 1932, and is in the public domain. As such, it can be read for free online. I read it HERE.

A fifteen-minute audio version is available HERE, but I haven't tried it out. I prefer reading paranormal stories. :)

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