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The Red Room
"It's your own choosing," said the man with the withered arm once more. I heard the faint sound of a stick and a shambling step on the flags in the passage outside. The door creaked on its hinges as a second old man entered, more bent, more wrinkled, more aged even than the first. He supported himself by the help of a crutch, his eyes were covered by a shade, and his lower lip, half averted, hung pale and pink from his decaying yellow teeth. He made straight for an armchair on the opposite side of the table, sat down clumsily, and began to cough.
26 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1894
53 people are currently reading
1215 people want to read
About the author
H.G. Wells
5,088 books11k followersHerbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).
Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.
He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.
More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...
http://www.online-literature.com/well...
http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells
Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.
He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.
More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...
http://www.online-literature.com/well...
http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
November 25, 2021
The frame story with the characters (e.g. man with the withered arm) was good but the following horror in the haunted room was rather candlelight horror. Nice ingredients, a protagonist not believing in ghosts and some gothic atmosphere. Nothing too extraordinary. Something for mild nights.
July 10, 2017
The original Red Room, not a place of sexual kinks, but instead a place of terror. The name of this room just sounds like an ominous place, I sure as hell wouldn't spend a night in it.
This story has amazing imagery and the tension built in it makes your heart race! Being very short sighted, at night when I have to take my glasses off, everything becomes a dark, menacing blur, so this novel played on my fear of the dark really well.
Very scary, I'm glad I didn't read this before bed.
This story has amazing imagery and the tension built in it makes your heart race! Being very short sighted, at night when I have to take my glasses off, everything becomes a dark, menacing blur, so this novel played on my fear of the dark really well.
Very scary, I'm glad I didn't read this before bed.
January 10, 2025
H.G. Wells was prolific in so many genres - including writing dozens of short stories - but the horror element usually comes from his scientific “romances” or his political imaginings.
The Red Room is unusual, being an almost formulaeic gothic tale, and one I tend to feel H.G. Wells might have written with his tongue in his cheek. He wrote it in 1894, and it was first published in 1896 in “The Idler” magazine. Then it was included in “The Plattner Story and Others” in 1897, and has been much anthologised ever since. This review is in response to its inclusion as the eleventh in “The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories” which I am listening to on audio.
“Aha!” you say, “Then it’s a ghost story!”
Well, the reader must decide that for themselves. There is an element of ambiguity, although it begins with the 28-year old narrator scoffing at the very idea:
“”I can assure you,“ said I, ”that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me.” And I stood up before the fire with my glass in my hand.
“It is your own choosing,” said the man with the withered arm, and glanced at me askance.”
So we have an “everyman” sort of main character, who has chosen to defy all the warnings and spend the night in a room which is reputed to be haunted, in Lorraine Castle. Despite the vague and ominous predictions by the pair of “old crones” as he calls them, who have lived there all their lives yet never put foot inside the dreaded room, the young man intends to disprove the legends surrounding it.
“The door creaked on its hinges as a second old man entered, more bent, more wrinkled, more aged even than the first. He supported himself by a single crutch, his eyes were covered by a shade, and his lower lip, half averted, hung pale and pink from his decaying yellow teeth. He made straight for an arm-chair on the opposite side of the table, sat down clumsily, and began to cough.”
We now have three ancient and decrepit custodians, seeking to protect the unwise and impetuous young man. The three Fates, perhaps, or hags from “Macbeth” with their witches’ warnings …
“I must confess I had scarce expected these grotesque custodians. There is to my mind something inhuman in senility, something crouching and atavistic; the human qualities seem to drop from old people insensibly day by day. The three of them made me feel uncomfortable, with their gaunt silences, their bent carriage, their evident unfriendliness to me and to one another.
They seemed to belong to another age, an older age, an age when things spiritual were different from this of ours, less certain; an age when omens and witches were credible, and ghosts beyond denying.“
H.G. Wells seems to be enjoying himself, and the thrilling language and atmosphere of this story make a welcome contrast to the previous story (by Henry James) in the collection:
“The long, draughty subterranean passage was chilly and dusty, and my candle flared and made the shadows cower and quiver. The echoes rang up and down the spiral staircase, and a shadow came sweeping up after me, and one fled before me into the darkness overhead. I came to the landing and stopped there for a moment, listening to a rustling that I fancied I heard; then, satisfied of the absolute silence, I pushed open the baize-covered door and stood in the corridor.”
And what? Now that the narrator has ascended the stairs, braved the dark passages, and is about to enter the Red Room to start his vigil, what will happen? Whatever it is, we know it won’t be good! Will it be the old earl who … or the poor young countess who …? And will our narrator survive the night with his sanity intact?
You will have to read the story to find that out. Or here’s a reminder, if you think you have read this before at some time.
The Red Room remains at my default of three stars. Nevertheless it is a most enjoyable story, which ticks all the boxes in the gothic genre. The heightened language satisfies our expectations, and the building of tension is nicely controlled. Our primal fears will never change, and we never tire of dwelling on imagined horrors in the dark. The Red Room deals with how our inner striving for rationality conflicts with our irrational fear of the unknown.
The Red Room is unusual, being an almost formulaeic gothic tale, and one I tend to feel H.G. Wells might have written with his tongue in his cheek. He wrote it in 1894, and it was first published in 1896 in “The Idler” magazine. Then it was included in “The Plattner Story and Others” in 1897, and has been much anthologised ever since. This review is in response to its inclusion as the eleventh in “The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories” which I am listening to on audio.
“Aha!” you say, “Then it’s a ghost story!”
Well, the reader must decide that for themselves. There is an element of ambiguity, although it begins with the 28-year old narrator scoffing at the very idea:
“”I can assure you,“ said I, ”that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me.” And I stood up before the fire with my glass in my hand.
“It is your own choosing,” said the man with the withered arm, and glanced at me askance.”
So we have an “everyman” sort of main character, who has chosen to defy all the warnings and spend the night in a room which is reputed to be haunted, in Lorraine Castle. Despite the vague and ominous predictions by the pair of “old crones” as he calls them, who have lived there all their lives yet never put foot inside the dreaded room, the young man intends to disprove the legends surrounding it.
“The door creaked on its hinges as a second old man entered, more bent, more wrinkled, more aged even than the first. He supported himself by a single crutch, his eyes were covered by a shade, and his lower lip, half averted, hung pale and pink from his decaying yellow teeth. He made straight for an arm-chair on the opposite side of the table, sat down clumsily, and began to cough.”
We now have three ancient and decrepit custodians, seeking to protect the unwise and impetuous young man. The three Fates, perhaps, or hags from “Macbeth” with their witches’ warnings …
“I must confess I had scarce expected these grotesque custodians. There is to my mind something inhuman in senility, something crouching and atavistic; the human qualities seem to drop from old people insensibly day by day. The three of them made me feel uncomfortable, with their gaunt silences, their bent carriage, their evident unfriendliness to me and to one another.
They seemed to belong to another age, an older age, an age when things spiritual were different from this of ours, less certain; an age when omens and witches were credible, and ghosts beyond denying.“
H.G. Wells seems to be enjoying himself, and the thrilling language and atmosphere of this story make a welcome contrast to the previous story (by Henry James) in the collection:
“The long, draughty subterranean passage was chilly and dusty, and my candle flared and made the shadows cower and quiver. The echoes rang up and down the spiral staircase, and a shadow came sweeping up after me, and one fled before me into the darkness overhead. I came to the landing and stopped there for a moment, listening to a rustling that I fancied I heard; then, satisfied of the absolute silence, I pushed open the baize-covered door and stood in the corridor.”
And what? Now that the narrator has ascended the stairs, braved the dark passages, and is about to enter the Red Room to start his vigil, what will happen? Whatever it is, we know it won’t be good! Will it be the old earl who … or the poor young countess who …? And will our narrator survive the night with his sanity intact?
You will have to read the story to find that out. Or here’s a reminder, if you think you have read this before at some time.
The Red Room remains at my default of three stars. Nevertheless it is a most enjoyable story, which ticks all the boxes in the gothic genre. The heightened language satisfies our expectations, and the building of tension is nicely controlled. Our primal fears will never change, and we never tire of dwelling on imagined horrors in the dark. The Red Room deals with how our inner striving for rationality conflicts with our irrational fear of the unknown.
September 4, 2024
Story 2 stars**
Audio 3.5 stars**
Narrator Nigel Patterson
Audio 3.5 stars**
Narrator Nigel Patterson
February 19, 2022
This is a little ghost story. Not to scarey though. I was expecting more from it.
October 19, 2016
a good, creepy ghost story. there is some beautiful writing in this story.
October 10, 2022
ها نحن مع عدد جديد من روايات عالمية للجيب
وهذه المرة مع الكاتب الانجليزى الرائع ه ج ويلز (هربرت جورج ويلز)
مع مجموعة من القصص الغريبة المشوقة بعضها يتميز بمسحة من الرعب واغلبها بها جانب عالى من التشويق يجعلك ترغب فى معرفة بقية القصة و مواصلة القراءة للنهاية
حقيقة لم اتخيل ان قصصا كتبت منذ اكثر من قرن وربع تكون بمثل هذه المتعة وهذا الجمال لم اشعر بالوقت وانا اقرأها و تخيلت العوالم الاستوائية و الغرائب التى تحدث فيها التى اوصلها الكاتب لى بكلماته المعبرة وحمدت الله اننى لست هناك لاواجه هذه الصعاب
عدد مميز وترجمة جيدة مميزة
شكرا دكتور احمد خالد توفيق لتوفير تلك الروائع لنا
رحم الله دكتور احمد خالد توفيق واسكنه فسيح جناته
وهذه المرة مع الكاتب الانجليزى الرائع ه ج ويلز (هربرت جورج ويلز)
مع مجموعة من القصص الغريبة المشوقة بعضها يتميز بمسحة من الرعب واغلبها بها جانب عالى من التشويق يجعلك ترغب فى معرفة بقية القصة و مواصلة القراءة للنهاية
حقيقة لم اتخيل ان قصصا كتبت منذ اكثر من قرن وربع تكون بمثل هذه المتعة وهذا الجمال لم اشعر بالوقت وانا اقرأها و تخيلت العوالم الاستوائية و الغرائب التى تحدث فيها التى اوصلها الكاتب لى بكلماته المعبرة وحمدت الله اننى لست هناك لاواجه هذه الصعاب
عدد مميز وترجمة جيدة مميزة
شكرا دكتور احمد خالد توفيق لتوفير تلك الروائع لنا
رحم الله دكتور احمد خالد توفيق واسكنه فسيح جناته
September 8, 2023
مجموعة قصصية للكاتب هربرت چورچ ويلز.. قصص خيالية مسلية تدور حول الأساطير الغريبة، مع لمسة من الرعب والغموض، خاصةً الخوف من المجهول.
September 10, 2021
في رحلتي مع ه. ج. ويلز وخياله الفذ الذي تجسد في مجموعة القصص القصيرة هاته ... طريقة ممتعة ومشوقة تلك التي وجدتها في هذه المجموعة
November 1, 2021
Having heard of H. G. Wells when I was a kid and having watch his "Time Machine" portrayed on film, I had yet read him until this extremely short horror story, "The Red Room". ( I have many of his stories on my list.) Why did I choose this short story first? After hearing another author's works on OTR (old time radio), I could not find his story anywhere on Kindle except with the horror collection, "The Greatest Horror and Ghost Stories Ever Written, Volume 6". So I saw "The Red Room" there and the title intrigued me. If interested you can look on my "horror" shelf, if interested in any highlights of quotes.
After reading the story, I was thinking of the ending and had my ideas but decided to Google and Wikipedia to get a run down. I was certain of "fear" being the main culprit but that does not answer all. It seems too coincidental for the happenings in the room but it certainly plays a big role. There is something there that can not just be dismissed. I wonder if H. G. Wells meant it that way. I had read this story again to see if my thoughts still stand which they did. He does bring up past thoughts on the unknown as an age of unreasonable the quote below but that being true, I think to dismiss some reasons of the past as not credible is just as unreasonable. To many things are uncertain and unanswerable but human beings strive for less darkness.
"They seemed to belong to another age, an older age, an age when things spiritual were different from this of ours, less certain; an age when omens and witches were credible, and ghosts beyond denying. Their very existence was spectral; the cut of their clothing, fashions born in dead brains. The ornaments and conveniences of the room about them were ghostly — the thoughts of vanished men, which still haunted rather than participated in the world of today."
The story in brief; A man for unknown reason wants to stay in The Red Room which is said to be haunted and he goes to disprove this all alone.
“I have lived, and never a ghost have I seen as yet.” The old woman sat staring hard into the fire, her pale eyes wide open. “Ay,” she broke in; “and eight-and-twenty years you have lived and never seen the likes of this house, I reckon. There’s a many things to see, when one’s still but eight-and-twenty.” She swayed her head slowly from side to side. “A many things to see and sorrow for.”
"There is to my mind something inhuman in senility, something crouching and atavistic; the human qualities seem to drop from old people insensibly day by day. The three of them made me feel uncomfortable, with their gaunt silences, their bent carriage, their evident unfriendliness to me and to one another."
“If,” said I, “you will show me to this haunted room of yours, I will make myself comfortable there.”
“If,” I said a little louder, “if you will show me to this haunted room of yours, I will relieve you from the task of entertaining me.”
After reading the story, I was thinking of the ending and had my ideas but decided to Google and Wikipedia to get a run down. I was certain of "fear" being the main culprit but that does not answer all. It seems too coincidental for the happenings in the room but it certainly plays a big role. There is something there that can not just be dismissed. I wonder if H. G. Wells meant it that way. I had read this story again to see if my thoughts still stand which they did. He does bring up past thoughts on the unknown as an age of unreasonable the quote below but that being true, I think to dismiss some reasons of the past as not credible is just as unreasonable. To many things are uncertain and unanswerable but human beings strive for less darkness.
"They seemed to belong to another age, an older age, an age when things spiritual were different from this of ours, less certain; an age when omens and witches were credible, and ghosts beyond denying. Their very existence was spectral; the cut of their clothing, fashions born in dead brains. The ornaments and conveniences of the room about them were ghostly — the thoughts of vanished men, which still haunted rather than participated in the world of today."
The story in brief; A man for unknown reason wants to stay in The Red Room which is said to be haunted and he goes to disprove this all alone.
“I have lived, and never a ghost have I seen as yet.” The old woman sat staring hard into the fire, her pale eyes wide open. “Ay,” she broke in; “and eight-and-twenty years you have lived and never seen the likes of this house, I reckon. There’s a many things to see, when one’s still but eight-and-twenty.” She swayed her head slowly from side to side. “A many things to see and sorrow for.”
"There is to my mind something inhuman in senility, something crouching and atavistic; the human qualities seem to drop from old people insensibly day by day. The three of them made me feel uncomfortable, with their gaunt silences, their bent carriage, their evident unfriendliness to me and to one another."
“If,” said I, “you will show me to this haunted room of yours, I will make myself comfortable there.”
“If,” I said a little louder, “if you will show me to this haunted room of yours, I will relieve you from the task of entertaining me.”
September 15, 2023
I actually had a little booklet called a Greeting book and within this was three stories.
Three Ghosts introduced by William Strode:
The Red Room by H.G Wells
Rats by M.R James
The Return Of Imray by Rudyard kipling.
This is from 1947 and is illustrated by Laurence Searfe.
Three short horror stories that are very slight in horror but still a nice read. The ball point pen style illustrations are very elegantly done and the colour plates are marvellous. Interesting stories from very talented writters.
Three Ghosts introduced by William Strode:
The Red Room by H.G Wells
Rats by M.R James
The Return Of Imray by Rudyard kipling.
This is from 1947 and is illustrated by Laurence Searfe.
Three short horror stories that are very slight in horror but still a nice read. The ball point pen style illustrations are very elegantly done and the colour plates are marvellous. Interesting stories from very talented writters.
October 11, 2013
Classic Gothic Horror - or maybe a subversion of the genre. I listened to a reading of this on the SFF Audio podcast. Simon Vance was excellent as the narrator and he also participated in the discussion on the podcast.
One of the things I really liked about this book (apart from it only taking 24 minutes to get through) is the horror is all or maybe almost all psychological. The story succeeds at building a mental tension and atmosphere that I usually only get in film of the same genre. The feeling that there is something sinister lurking in the shadows. It doesn't have a defined shape or face and so serves to generate the same sort of childhood terror of the "thing" hiding in the closet, or under the bed, or whatever is making that creaking noise in the hallway. It's that fear of the unknown that a lot of books just get wrong. Once you can see the monster, no matter how terrible it might be, most of the scariness evaporates.
The other thing I liked is that the story is left open for interpretation. There is enough "real" phenomena going on that one might say there must be something paranormal involved - but on the other hand there is enough room for doubt that one may choose to rationalize the phenomena down to natural causes exaggerated by the fear of an unreliable narrator.
In either case this is a great story of a haunted room which the skeptical protagonist decides to spend the night in to disprove there are any ghosts or spirits within. The reader has to decide if the room was haunted by spirits or merely haunted by a fear of the dark.
4 stars
One of the things I really liked about this book (apart from it only taking 24 minutes to get through) is the horror is all or maybe almost all psychological. The story succeeds at building a mental tension and atmosphere that I usually only get in film of the same genre. The feeling that there is something sinister lurking in the shadows. It doesn't have a defined shape or face and so serves to generate the same sort of childhood terror of the "thing" hiding in the closet, or under the bed, or whatever is making that creaking noise in the hallway. It's that fear of the unknown that a lot of books just get wrong. Once you can see the monster, no matter how terrible it might be, most of the scariness evaporates.
The other thing I liked is that the story is left open for interpretation. There is enough "real" phenomena going on that one might say there must be something paranormal involved - but on the other hand there is enough room for doubt that one may choose to rationalize the phenomena down to natural causes exaggerated by the fear of an unreliable narrator.
In either case this is a great story of a haunted room which the skeptical protagonist decides to spend the night in to disprove there are any ghosts or spirits within. The reader has to decide if the room was haunted by spirits or merely haunted by a fear of the dark.
4 stars
January 13, 2019
It's strange. I enjoyed this story immensely, but at the same time, if I were to ever pick a scary story to adapt into a Donald Duck cartoon. . .
Anyway, I have arranged my takeaway thoughts into a haiku:
"The cracks fear exploits
Need only a faceless touch
That speaks of purpose."
Anyway, I have arranged my takeaway thoughts into a haiku:
"The cracks fear exploits
Need only a faceless touch
That speaks of purpose."
Read
October 12, 2018ذكرها أحمد خالد توفيق في أسطورة أسطورتها. لطيفة. جميلة.
December 29, 2021
The Red Room of Lorraine Castle is rumoured to be haunted but our narrator thinks otherwise. He is determined to enter the cursed room and prove that there are no such things as ghosts or supernatural beings. Or are there?
December 19, 2021
Very unlike Wells in its total break-up with the world of sci-fi literature, this brilliant short story combines the Gothic traditions of horror with the psychological terrors that had glided into Man's notice by the turn of the century on account of the era's alienists, and the increasing interest harbored in regard to psychology and psychoanalysis.
The latter field had come into being with the sweeping effect of a wildfire under the administration of Freud as soon as his first works were published in the 1890s.
The Red Room follows the Freudian school of thought, and builds upon it an incredible amount of suspense culminating in an unexpected, yet very satisfying manner. Set upon the task of investigating an allegedly haunted room in a vacant castle, where a young duke had recently died succumbing to apoplexy, the nameless narrator of the tale guides his reader one step at a time towards his own fears. While the shadows of what had seemed to him at first crouching men failed to numb his logical reasoning, the fear of the dark had soon conquered, and the rest of the narrative can easily fit in as a set of hallucinations reported by a terrorized unreliable narrator. It is fear itself that had killed the young duke, lamed the narrator, and turned him out of the haunted room. In a word, ghosts haunt are thoughts not our rooms.
The latter field had come into being with the sweeping effect of a wildfire under the administration of Freud as soon as his first works were published in the 1890s.
The Red Room follows the Freudian school of thought, and builds upon it an incredible amount of suspense culminating in an unexpected, yet very satisfying manner. Set upon the task of investigating an allegedly haunted room in a vacant castle, where a young duke had recently died succumbing to apoplexy, the nameless narrator of the tale guides his reader one step at a time towards his own fears. While the shadows of what had seemed to him at first crouching men failed to numb his logical reasoning, the fear of the dark had soon conquered, and the rest of the narrative can easily fit in as a set of hallucinations reported by a terrorized unreliable narrator. It is fear itself that had killed the young duke, lamed the narrator, and turned him out of the haunted room. In a word, ghosts haunt are thoughts not our rooms.
December 3, 2023
First off, Wells has historically been my go-to for Sci Fi since I was a child. The War of the Worlds (1895) had me hooked, and, along with The Time Machine (1895) and Island of Dr. Moreau(1896) tied Wells with Jules Verne in my, then, 8 year old mind as awesome.
And The Red Room?
Not so much.
Written in 1894 and published 2 years later, The Red Room is a big meh for me as an adult and likely attributable to the fact that its heyday was during a much more innocent / simpler time. There did not exist, as of yet, many other books in the still undefined & uncategorized horror genre that didn't include a creepy backstory about an even creepier room.
Plus ça va, plus c'est pareil.
Too many titles of same to list here but you can start with pretty much any old skool writer from Edwardian to Victorian eras and find a story about a spooky ass room in a Dracula's castle-like estate whose residents and waitstaff are scared shitless of it.
Wells' Red Room is about as terrifying as Scrooge's ghosts were, including Jacob Marley, the likes of which, even as a child, when I had very little else to compare them to, never bothered me. Except maybe the ghost of Christmas future who was always depicted as the grim reaper. But back then, I knew some kids whose parents and/or extended family creepers were a thousand times more frightening than an unseen force that knocked over candelabras and/or rattled window shutters.
While it was fun while it lasted, and I'm still a big fan of Wells, I'm just over the room thing.
And The Red Room?
Not so much.
Written in 1894 and published 2 years later, The Red Room is a big meh for me as an adult and likely attributable to the fact that its heyday was during a much more innocent / simpler time. There did not exist, as of yet, many other books in the still undefined & uncategorized horror genre that didn't include a creepy backstory about an even creepier room.
Plus ça va, plus c'est pareil.
Too many titles of same to list here but you can start with pretty much any old skool writer from Edwardian to Victorian eras and find a story about a spooky ass room in a Dracula's castle-like estate whose residents and waitstaff are scared shitless of it.
Wells' Red Room is about as terrifying as Scrooge's ghosts were, including Jacob Marley, the likes of which, even as a child, when I had very little else to compare them to, never bothered me. Except maybe the ghost of Christmas future who was always depicted as the grim reaper. But back then, I knew some kids whose parents and/or extended family creepers were a thousand times more frightening than an unseen force that knocked over candelabras and/or rattled window shutters.
While it was fun while it lasted, and I'm still a big fan of Wells, I'm just over the room thing.
October 22, 2020
This short story is about a man who does not believe in the paranormal, so he stays overnight in an allegedly haunted room to debunk the strange occurrences that go on in there. The premise sounds rather familiar because there are so many other horror stories that start off this way. One that I can think of off the top of my head is the movie 1408. It has a very similar vibe to that. (Also, not gonna lie, that movie was my jam back in the day. 😂) However, The Red Room takes a unique approach, and I quite enjoyed how the ending turned out. I will admit, the beginning is a little bland, but the story does pick up once the main character starts his journey to the room. The writing is well done, and H.G. Wells does a fantastic job of creating a spooky atmosphere, where you feel like you are there with the main character. Overall, this is a great short story and one that I would recommend reading. I would rate The Red Room 3-stars, possibly more like 3.5 stars.
June 18, 2012
فقرة واحدة من إحدى القصص أبرر بها حبي لهربرت جورج ويلز:
نقل عينيه إلى ضفة النهر، حيث الغابة بغموضها تنيرها من حين لآخر ذبابة مضيئة، ويدوي في جوها صوت نشاطات غامضة تجري بها.
كان يعرف أن السماء خالية من البشر، مساحة شاسعة من الخواء، ويعرف أن المحيط هائل غير قابل للترويض، لكنه في (إنجلترا) تعلَّم أن البَرّ هو مِلك خاص للإنسان، حتى في أطلس الجغرافيا كان يرى البر ملونا كأنما يؤكد حق الإنسان فيه، على النقيض من لون البحر الأزرق المستقل الممتد.
وكان يؤمن وقتها أن يد الإنسان ستمتد بالزراعة والمحاريث والضوء الكهربائي والطرق والترام إلى كل بقعة في هذه الأرض، لكنه الآن يشك في هذا. هذه الغابة بلا نهاية. ومن المؤكد أنها لا تُقهر. وليس الإنسان سوى متطفل أحمق عليها.
نقل عينيه إلى ضفة النهر، حيث الغابة بغموضها تنيرها من حين لآخر ذبابة مضيئة، ويدوي في جوها صوت نشاطات غامضة تجري بها.
كان يعرف أن السماء خالية من البشر، مساحة شاسعة من الخواء، ويعرف أن المحيط هائل غير قابل للترويض، لكنه في (إنجلترا) تعلَّم أن البَرّ هو مِلك خاص للإنسان، حتى في أطلس الجغرافيا كان يرى البر ملونا كأنما يؤكد حق الإنسان فيه، على النقيض من لون البحر الأزرق المستقل الممتد.
وكان يؤمن وقتها أن يد الإنسان ستمتد بالزراعة والمحاريث والضوء الكهربائي والطرق والترام إلى كل بقعة في هذه الأرض، لكنه الآن يشك في هذا. هذه الغابة بلا نهاية. ومن المؤكد أنها لا تُقهر. وليس الإنسان سوى متطفل أحمق عليها.
August 4, 2015
انتصارات دباغ !!
مفهمتهاش ..
حقيقة بايكرافت , مضحكة ولذيذة
الغرفة الحمراء , فكرتها حلوة
في مرصد آفيو , كانت مرعبة شوية
باقي القصص مستواها متوسط
في مُجملها كويسة :)
مفهمتهاش ..
حقيقة بايكرافت , مضحكة ولذيذة
الغرفة الحمراء , فكرتها حلوة
في مرصد آفيو , كانت مرعبة شوية
باقي القصص مستواها متوسط
في مُجملها كويسة :)
July 12, 2020
The story and narration was ok, but I liked the point it made. Fear does consumer us on ways we can't imagine.
March 10, 2021
Well, sometimes you get exactly what you pay for when you get a free book on Amazon. Very short and very...nondescript.
January 6, 2023
ايها العراب العزيز رحمك الله. ورغم الحملة الممنهجة لتشويه صورتك تبقى الاديب والكاتب الرائع لبساطتك و ذكاءك وإبداعك
لولا العراب رحمه الله وترجمته لما تعرفنا على المبدع هيربرت .ج. ويلز
ما الفرق بين كاتب تشويق في الماضي و نعظم كتاب اليوم؟!
حسنا دعك من الاسلوب فهذا وحده كاف لترجح كفة كتاب الماضي
هناك مدرسة رعب وتشويق وهناك روادها وهناك من اتبعها كأسلوب
ويلز أظنه الاب الروحي لمدرسة التشويق وافلام الخيال
ولا أستغرب ان يكون المخرج هيتشكوك قد تاثر به وألهمت قصص ويلز خياله وصنع افلامه بناءا على ذلك
كل الاقصوصات لطيفة مشوقة وفيها نهايات معلقة لكن بصفة مرضية فلا تتركك معلقا معها
هو فقط يحدثك بالامر على لسان فلان وليكون امينا لا يبدي رأيه او يفرض إستنتاجا او يتخيل نهاية ويكتبها بدل من نقل له الاحداث...هو لا يتعنت
كتاب اليوم يكتب لك فيلم رعب مستهلك ولان الإبداع لا يزوره إلا نادرا يظطر أن يوغل في مشاهد العنف او الدموية او المشاهد المقززة التي توحي بافتقاره للأسلوب فيعوض ذلك باستدعاء ابشع الصور
متناسيا ان كل الامر يقتصر على المخيلة .. وان التشويق لا يسترعي أن يصل بنا الكاتب لحدود النفور
كلمة بسيطة مع حبكة حلوة مع خيال كاتب مبدع تصل بك لجمالية القصة ..
ويلز كان له ذلك واكثر
لولا العراب رحمه الله وترجمته لما تعرفنا على المبدع هيربرت .ج. ويلز
ما الفرق بين كاتب تشويق في الماضي و نعظم كتاب اليوم؟!
حسنا دعك من الاسلوب فهذا وحده كاف لترجح كفة كتاب الماضي
هناك مدرسة رعب وتشويق وهناك روادها وهناك من اتبعها كأسلوب
ويلز أظنه الاب الروحي لمدرسة التشويق وافلام الخيال
ولا أستغرب ان يكون المخرج هيتشكوك قد تاثر به وألهمت قصص ويلز خياله وصنع افلامه بناءا على ذلك
كل الاقصوصات لطيفة مشوقة وفيها نهايات معلقة لكن بصفة مرضية فلا تتركك معلقا معها
هو فقط يحدثك بالامر على لسان فلان وليكون امينا لا يبدي رأيه او يفرض إستنتاجا او يتخيل نهاية ويكتبها بدل من نقل له الاحداث...هو لا يتعنت
كتاب اليوم يكتب لك فيلم رعب مستهلك ولان الإبداع لا يزوره إلا نادرا يظطر أن يوغل في مشاهد العنف او الدموية او المشاهد المقززة التي توحي بافتقاره للأسلوب فيعوض ذلك باستدعاء ابشع الصور
متناسيا ان كل الامر يقتصر على المخيلة .. وان التشويق لا يسترعي أن يصل بنا الكاتب لحدود النفور
كلمة بسيطة مع حبكة حلوة مع خيال كاتب مبدع تصل بك لجمالية القصة ..
ويلز كان له ذلك واكثر
September 10, 2025
If you are/were afraid of the dark, you know exactly the feeling when you enter a dark space and the paranoia of what potentially lurks beneath the shadows. This short story perfectly captures that experience and the sentences here are absolutely delicious!
Favourite quote? "In one place there was a distinct echo to my footsteps, the noises I made seemed so little that they enhanced rather than broke the silence of the place."
Favourite moment? The parallel with the old tale of the young Duke.
Favourite quote? "In one place there was a distinct echo to my footsteps, the noises I made seemed so little that they enhanced rather than broke the silence of the place."
Favourite moment? The parallel with the old tale of the young Duke.
August 7, 2024
Strašno je bez struje
October 9, 2019
You can definitely tell that this story was written a long time ago, and for me it did kind of distract me from the story. The story itself kind of disappointed me as well. Whether it was the old-fashioned language or not, I did not find this story spooky or scary at all.
If you want to read a short story about a haunted room, that is actually scary, I would recommend reading 1408 by Stephen King. Way spookier that this one, and it has kind of the same concept.
If you want to read a short story about a haunted room, that is actually scary, I would recommend reading 1408 by Stephen King. Way spookier that this one, and it has kind of the same concept.
February 25, 2025
4 stars.
YouTube - https://youtu.be/Y-eUSgkmhgI?si=cHmUd...
I was curious how this was going to come together in the end and I was not disappointed.
It's one of those that linger around in your mind because it's something that applies to every human being.
YouTube - https://youtu.be/Y-eUSgkmhgI?si=cHmUd...
I was curious how this was going to come together in the end and I was not disappointed.
It's one of those that linger around in your mind because it's something that applies to every human being.
December 28, 2015
مجموعة قصصية ظريفة ل اتش جى ويلز...
من الواضح انه قديما و لكثرة مجالات القصص الخيال العلمى او حتى الرعب الغير مطروقة كان الكتاب خاملين كمن يبحث عن الذهب فى اول المنجم و لا يكلف نفسه عناء الدخول عميقا....لما يبحث عن افكار معقدة اكثر ؟ان كانت الافكار الخام الغير مطروقة سهلة امامه....
قصص هذه المجموعة القصصية:
- بولوك و رجل البواروه 7/10
-جزيرة الايبورنيس 8/10
-الغرفة الحمراء 9/10
- حقيقة بايكرافت 10/10
-امبراطورية النمل 4/10
- فى مرصد افيو 7/10
- انتصارات دباغ 6/10
51/70
الكتاب القادم : الغابة _ مصطفى محمود
من الواضح انه قديما و لكثرة مجالات القصص الخيال العلمى او حتى الرعب الغير مطروقة كان الكتاب خاملين كمن يبحث عن الذهب فى اول المنجم و لا يكلف نفسه عناء الدخول عميقا....لما يبحث عن افكار معقدة اكثر ؟ان كانت الافكار الخام الغير مطروقة سهلة امامه....
قصص هذه المجموعة القصصية:
- بولوك و رجل البواروه 7/10
-جزيرة الايبورنيس 8/10
-الغرفة الحمراء 9/10
- حقيقة بايكرافت 10/10
-امبراطورية النمل 4/10
- فى مرصد افيو 7/10
- انتصارات دباغ 6/10
51/70
الكتاب القادم : الغابة _ مصطفى محمود
February 7, 2017
I received a free kindle copy of The Red Room by H.G. Wells in an Amazon promotion. I gave it four stars.
It's a haunting tale & deals with fear of ghosts. It also deals with the element of fear itself. H.G. Wells has a masterful touch in making the ordinary furnishings seem frightening.
Link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Room-Herber...
It's a haunting tale & deals with fear of ghosts. It also deals with the element of fear itself. H.G. Wells has a masterful touch in making the ordinary furnishings seem frightening.
Link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Room-Herber...
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