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August Heat
August Heat (in Short Ghost and Horror Collection 024 )
August 20th, 190-. I have had what I believe to be the most remarkable day in my life, and while the events are still fresh in my mind, I wish to put them down on paper as clearly as possible.
Let me say at the outset that my name is James Clarence Withencroft.
I am forty years old, in perfect health, never having known a day's illness.
By profession I am an artist, not a very successful one, but I earn enough money by my black-and-white work to satisfy my necessary wants.
My only near relative, a sister, died five years ago, so that I am independent.
I breakfasted this morning at nine, and after glancing through the morning paper I lighted my pipe and proceeded to let my mind wander in the hope that I might chance upon some subject for my pencil.
The room, though door and windows were open, was oppressively hot, and I had just made up my mind that the coolest and most comfortable place in the neighbourhood would be the deep end of the public swimming bath, when the idea came.
I began to draw. So intent was I on my work that I left my lunch untouched, only stopping work when the clock of St. Jude's struck four.
The final result, for a hurried sketch, was, I felt sure, the best thing I had done.
It showed a criminal in the dock immediately after the judge had pronounced sentence. The man was fat -- enormously fat. The flesh hung in rolls about his chin; it creased his huge, stumpy neck. He was clean shaven (perhaps I should say a few days before he must have been clean shaven) and almost bald. He stood in the dock, his short, clumsy fingers clasping the rail, looking straight in front of him. The feeling that his expression conveyed was not so much one of horror as of utter, absolute collapse.
There seemed nothing in the man strong enough to sustain that mountain of flesh.
I
August 20th, 190-. I have had what I believe to be the most remarkable day in my life, and while the events are still fresh in my mind, I wish to put them down on paper as clearly as possible.
Let me say at the outset that my name is James Clarence Withencroft.
I am forty years old, in perfect health, never having known a day's illness.
By profession I am an artist, not a very successful one, but I earn enough money by my black-and-white work to satisfy my necessary wants.
My only near relative, a sister, died five years ago, so that I am independent.
I breakfasted this morning at nine, and after glancing through the morning paper I lighted my pipe and proceeded to let my mind wander in the hope that I might chance upon some subject for my pencil.
The room, though door and windows were open, was oppressively hot, and I had just made up my mind that the coolest and most comfortable place in the neighbourhood would be the deep end of the public swimming bath, when the idea came.
I began to draw. So intent was I on my work that I left my lunch untouched, only stopping work when the clock of St. Jude's struck four.
The final result, for a hurried sketch, was, I felt sure, the best thing I had done.
It showed a criminal in the dock immediately after the judge had pronounced sentence. The man was fat -- enormously fat. The flesh hung in rolls about his chin; it creased his huge, stumpy neck. He was clean shaven (perhaps I should say a few days before he must have been clean shaven) and almost bald. He stood in the dock, his short, clumsy fingers clasping the rail, looking straight in front of him. The feeling that his expression conveyed was not so much one of horror as of utter, absolute collapse.
There seemed nothing in the man strong enough to sustain that mountain of flesh.
I
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First published January 1, 1910
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About the author
W.F. Harvey
214 books31 followersWilliam Fryer Harvey was an English writer of short stories, most notably in the macabre and horror genres. Among his best-known stories are "August Heat" and "The Beast with Five Fingers", described by horror historian Les Daniels as "minor masterpieces".
Born into a wealthy Quaker family in Yorkshire, he attended the Quaker schools at Bootham in Yorkshire and at Leighton Park in Reading before going on to Balliol College, Oxford. He took a degree in medicine at Leeds. Ill health dogged him, however, and he devoted himself to personal projects such as his first book of short stories, Midnight House (1910).
In World War I he initially joined the Friends' Ambulance Unit, but later served as a surgeon-lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and received the Albert Medal for Lifesaving.[4] Lung damage received during the rescue leading to the award troubled him for the rest of his life, but he continued to write both short stories and his cheerful and good-natured memoir We Were Seven.
Harvey was a practicising Quaker.
Before the war he had shown interest in adult education, on the staff of the Working Men's College, Fircroft, Selly Oak, Birmingham. He returned to Fircroft in 1920, becoming Warden, but by 1925 ill-health forced his retirement. In 1928 he published a second collection of short stories, The Beast with Five Fingers, and in 1933 he published a third, Moods and Tenses. He lived in Switzerland with his wife for much of this time, but nostalgia for his home country caused his return to England. He moved to Letchworth in 1935 and died there in 1937 at the age of 52. After a funeral service at the local Friends Meeting House Harvey was buried in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Old Letchworth.
The release of the film The Beast with Five Fingers (1946), directed by Robert Florey and starring Peter Lorre, inspired by what was perhaps his most famous and praised short story, caused a resurgence of interest in Harvey's work. In 1951 a posthumous fourth collection of his stories, The Arm of Mrs Egan and Other Stories, appeared, including a set of twelve stories left in manuscript at the time of his death, headed "Twelve Strange Cases".
In 2009 Wordsworth Editions printed an omnibus volume of Harvey's stories, titled The Beast with Five Fingers, in its Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural series (ISBN 978-1-84022-179-4). The volume contains 45 stories and an introduction by David Stuart Davies.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._F....]
Born into a wealthy Quaker family in Yorkshire, he attended the Quaker schools at Bootham in Yorkshire and at Leighton Park in Reading before going on to Balliol College, Oxford. He took a degree in medicine at Leeds. Ill health dogged him, however, and he devoted himself to personal projects such as his first book of short stories, Midnight House (1910).
In World War I he initially joined the Friends' Ambulance Unit, but later served as a surgeon-lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and received the Albert Medal for Lifesaving.[4] Lung damage received during the rescue leading to the award troubled him for the rest of his life, but he continued to write both short stories and his cheerful and good-natured memoir We Were Seven.
Harvey was a practicising Quaker.
Before the war he had shown interest in adult education, on the staff of the Working Men's College, Fircroft, Selly Oak, Birmingham. He returned to Fircroft in 1920, becoming Warden, but by 1925 ill-health forced his retirement. In 1928 he published a second collection of short stories, The Beast with Five Fingers, and in 1933 he published a third, Moods and Tenses. He lived in Switzerland with his wife for much of this time, but nostalgia for his home country caused his return to England. He moved to Letchworth in 1935 and died there in 1937 at the age of 52. After a funeral service at the local Friends Meeting House Harvey was buried in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Old Letchworth.
The release of the film The Beast with Five Fingers (1946), directed by Robert Florey and starring Peter Lorre, inspired by what was perhaps his most famous and praised short story, caused a resurgence of interest in Harvey's work. In 1951 a posthumous fourth collection of his stories, The Arm of Mrs Egan and Other Stories, appeared, including a set of twelve stories left in manuscript at the time of his death, headed "Twelve Strange Cases".
In 2009 Wordsworth Editions printed an omnibus volume of Harvey's stories, titled The Beast with Five Fingers, in its Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural series (ISBN 978-1-84022-179-4). The volume contains 45 stories and an introduction by David Stuart Davies.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._F....]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
February 26, 2019
F.A.T.E.........it can be a killer.
First published back in 1910, an oldie and a real shortie.
January 21, 2018
A short story set in early 1900's. At the beginning it's like a normal story but as we read ahead it does give you a creepy feeling.
As a reader you wait for things to go wrong because there is this heavy feeling in the air you know somehow that it may not be a happy ending.
The day starts as every other day but you never know the turn of events that a normal day can take.
The most horrifying bit of this story is it can happen to anyone at anytime because destined it maybe but for the folks who are living it, it can be as unpredictable as it can get.
At the end it also makes you think if there is anything in your hands in this world or the course of your life is already charted and at the most you can do is go with the flow....
As a reader you wait for things to go wrong because there is this heavy feeling in the air you know somehow that it may not be a happy ending.
The day starts as every other day but you never know the turn of events that a normal day can take.
The most horrifying bit of this story is it can happen to anyone at anytime because destined it maybe but for the folks who are living it, it can be as unpredictable as it can get.
At the end it also makes you think if there is anything in your hands in this world or the course of your life is already charted and at the most you can do is go with the flow....
January 9, 2026
Reseña "Calor de agosto". Relectura de mejores cuentos de la narrativa. Segunda parte 3/10.
Cuento muy breve que siempre se ha considerado de los mejores de la literatura por las múltiples interpretaciones que admite. Me llegó a través del amigo Julio Cortázar.
Narración de carácter psicológico, thriller que diríamos ahora, y que podría abrir el debate en cuanto a si el destino está marcado y es inamovible, o si bien es factible luchar contra ese destino fatídico; también de la locura o los límites de la cordura están en la base de la historia.
El ambiente es agobiante, asfixiante: ese calor a que se refiere el título se encuentra presente en toda la narración. Y el final no puede ser más desconcertante, discutible y claramente abierto al debate.
Se puede descargar en cualquier sitio de la red y su tiempo de lectura no alcanza los 15 minutos.
Cuento muy breve que siempre se ha considerado de los mejores de la literatura por las múltiples interpretaciones que admite. Me llegó a través del amigo Julio Cortázar.
Narración de carácter psicológico, thriller que diríamos ahora, y que podría abrir el debate en cuanto a si el destino está marcado y es inamovible, o si bien es factible luchar contra ese destino fatídico; también de la locura o los límites de la cordura están en la base de la historia.
El ambiente es agobiante, asfixiante: ese calor a que se refiere el título se encuentra presente en toda la narración. Y el final no puede ser más desconcertante, discutible y claramente abierto al debate.
Se puede descargar en cualquier sitio de la red y su tiempo de lectura no alcanza los 15 minutos.
June 8, 2025
3 stars
Read as part of Horror Aficionados’ Summer Horror Challenge 2025, read a book involving heat or stormy weather.
Read as part of Horror Aficionados’ Summer Horror Challenge 2025, read a book involving heat or stormy weather.
September 25, 2017
This was an odd but good creeper.
August 27, 2018
When Stephen King tells you to read it, you read it.
October 26, 2018
This is an exquisite short horror story which I'd read before but forgotten until it was recommended to me recently. It is in the public domain and you may read it here.
September 11, 2025
You had it coming?
Two complete strangers have never seen or talk each other. Mr. Whithencroft is a struggling artist that has just painted his best piece yet; an obese man condemned to death right after a murder trial. Mr. Atkinson is a cheery stone mason that has just finished his latest work, an aleatory tombstone of one Mr. Whithencroft. Then, by chance, they meet.
For meager 6 pages, this was good, maybe even very good. Quick, somewhat impactful and super easy to read. Starts and ends in a flash. Ten minutes well spent. A fine sampler to start with WF Harvey works. I think.
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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1910] [6p] [Horror] [3.5] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★☆☆ August Heat [3.5]
★★☆☆☆ The Beast with Five Fingers [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
¿No lo viste venir?
Dos completos desconocidos nunca se han visto o hablado. El Sr. Whithencroft es un artista medio empobrecido que acaba de pintar su mejor obra hasta el momento; un hombre obeso condenado a muerte tras un juicio por asesinato. El Sr. Atkinson es un alegre cantero que acaba de terminar su último trabajo, una lápida aleatoria para un tal Sr. Whithencroft. Entonces, por casualidad, se conocen.
Para apenas 6 páginas, esto estuvo bien, tal vez incluso muy bien. Rápido, algo impactante y muy fácil de leer. Empieza y acaba en un suspiro. Diez minutos bien aprovechados. Una interesante muestra para comenzar con los trabajos de WF Harvey, creo.
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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1910] [6p] [Horror] [3.5] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------
Two complete strangers have never seen or talk each other. Mr. Whithencroft is a struggling artist that has just painted his best piece yet; an obese man condemned to death right after a murder trial. Mr. Atkinson is a cheery stone mason that has just finished his latest work, an aleatory tombstone of one Mr. Whithencroft. Then, by chance, they meet.
For meager 6 pages, this was good, maybe even very good. Quick, somewhat impactful and super easy to read. Starts and ends in a flash. Ten minutes well spent. A fine sampler to start with WF Harvey works. I think.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1910] [6p] [Horror] [3.5] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★☆☆ August Heat [3.5]
★★☆☆☆ The Beast with Five Fingers [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
¿No lo viste venir?
Dos completos desconocidos nunca se han visto o hablado. El Sr. Whithencroft es un artista medio empobrecido que acaba de pintar su mejor obra hasta el momento; un hombre obeso condenado a muerte tras un juicio por asesinato. El Sr. Atkinson es un alegre cantero que acaba de terminar su último trabajo, una lápida aleatoria para un tal Sr. Whithencroft. Entonces, por casualidad, se conocen.
Para apenas 6 páginas, esto estuvo bien, tal vez incluso muy bien. Rápido, algo impactante y muy fácil de leer. Empieza y acaba en un suspiro. Diez minutos bien aprovechados. Una interesante muestra para comenzar con los trabajos de WF Harvey, creo.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1910] [6p] [Horror] [3.5] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------
July 31, 2017
Una historia super corta y aunque lo sentí un poco flojo, que supongo fue por lo que he estado leyendo, me pareció interesante el desenlace.
Lo próximo The Beast with Five Fingers!!!
Lo próximo The Beast with Five Fingers!!!
December 24, 2023
"In the midst of life we are in death."
WOW
It's amazing how in literally 5 pages you can experience this amount of ambiguity and suspense.
I asked myself: what is Harvey trying to tell us?
Maybe that your fate is waiting for you.. that fate ALWAYS has its way to happen.
And the ending, you keep staring at the page, you read again and then just "wow"
Definitely a hit.
WOW
It's amazing how in literally 5 pages you can experience this amount of ambiguity and suspense.
I asked myself: what is Harvey trying to tell us?
Maybe that your fate is waiting for you.. that fate ALWAYS has its way to happen.
And the ending, you keep staring at the page, you read again and then just "wow"
Definitely a hit.
January 21, 2018
This was an interesting story. Definitely eerie. What still puzzles me is if you knew your future wouldn't you try to change it rather than wait and see if it will happen? Especially if it is an unfavorable outcome. Or cant one's fate be changed?
January 22, 2023
[4.25 stars]
"August Heat" tells the story of two strangers who have forecasted each other's deaths on a stifling, maddeningly hot day. The process of death being foretold through art and expression was exquisite. The build-up to the suspenseful ending was executed beautifully. This was SO GOOD!
"August Heat" tells the story of two strangers who have forecasted each other's deaths on a stifling, maddeningly hot day. The process of death being foretold through art and expression was exquisite. The build-up to the suspenseful ending was executed beautifully. This was SO GOOD!
December 6, 2017
I have arranged my thoughts into a haiku:
"The setup teases,
Did fate happen through madness,
Or a weak chair leg?"
"The setup teases,
Did fate happen through madness,
Or a weak chair leg?"
May 13, 2023
This felt sort of like a neo-noir in short story form, which I am so down with; fans of the film BLOOD SIMPLE (1984) or Lynch’s LOST HIGHWAY (1997) will love this one I think.
May 18, 2019
This short horror story written in 1910 must have been a shocker in its day. The twist has been used in many other books and the Twilight Zone and things of that ilk, but it did not dampen my appreciation of a well crafted, well written story.
April 16, 2023
An excellent example of a suspenseful story with the eerie atmosphere of foreshadowing. An artist named James Clarence Withencroft, idly sketches the image of a despondent fat man being criminally sentenced by a judge. Later the artist goes for a walk. The intense heat of the day causes him to stop where a tombstone mason is working on a marble slab for an exhibition. The carver looks exactly like the fat man the artist drew earlier. The name on the tombstone is that of the artist’s, along with his correct birth date. The death date is that very day. The carver claims he carved the first name that came into his mind. The two strangers try to figure out the meaning of the mysterious events. As the story ends the reader is left with the thought that it is very, very hot, enough to drive a man mad.
November 28, 2023
I'm biased towards this one. On the one hand, it presents an interesting concept of two people accidentally predicting each other's fates. It makes you guess whether it was merely a coincidence and nothing is actually going to happen, or was it a cruel joke of fate one cannot escape no matter how hard they try. The open ending also adds a lot of suspense and thrill.
On the other hand, the execution doesn't feel satisfying, as if there had to be something else, yet it got scrapped in the last moment. Perhaps, a slightly long duration would fix the aftertaste as the story is extremely short.
Overall, it's an okay story I'd probably recommend to anyone.
On the other hand, the execution doesn't feel satisfying, as if there had to be something else, yet it got scrapped in the last moment. Perhaps, a slightly long duration would fix the aftertaste as the story is extremely short.
Overall, it's an okay story I'd probably recommend to anyone.
April 28, 2020
In a short piece, good twist, suspense and philosophy.
August 19, 2025
Niech będzie 2,5/5
May 9, 2018
In seiner jüngsten Kurzgeschichtensammlung lobt S. King vor "Die Düne" diese klassische Mystery-Story und hebt besonders das Ende hervor. Tatsächlich echt creepy und faszinierend! - Zu finden ist sie auf dem (engl.) Wiki-Eintrag der Geschichte (unten bei den Links).
October 28, 2017
Quick creepy read for Halloween. Good short story that leaves you wondering.... what happened???
November 30, 2023
WOAH it took a little while for the ending to sink in, but now that it has, all I have to say is: WOAH!? I'm shocked, I'm creeped out, and I feel sad at the same time.
June 23, 2023
An artist draws a sketch of an overweight criminal sentenced to death one hot August day, and later, happens upon the shaded workshop of a stonemason carving out a tombstone. The mason has an uncanny resemblance to the sentenced criminal, and even stranger, the tombstone’s name and date of birth is exactly that of the sketch artist.
Hoping to write it all off as a cosmic coincidence, for the sake of safety, the mason and artist agree to finish the night out together to ensure that the artist’s “date of death” passes without incidence. As the night passes, an unbearable tension mounts.
Written by W.F. Harvey, the story has the ghoulish air of a ghostly harbinger tale, though there are no spirits in it. Just the same, "August Heat" was originally published in Harvey’s anthology "Midnight House and Other Tales" in 1910, but subsequently added to several other ghost story collections.
Hoping to write it all off as a cosmic coincidence, for the sake of safety, the mason and artist agree to finish the night out together to ensure that the artist’s “date of death” passes without incidence. As the night passes, an unbearable tension mounts.
Written by W.F. Harvey, the story has the ghoulish air of a ghostly harbinger tale, though there are no spirits in it. Just the same, "August Heat" was originally published in Harvey’s anthology "Midnight House and Other Tales" in 1910, but subsequently added to several other ghost story collections.
December 11, 2018
I read this as an homage to the librarian whom I was replacing. She was retiring, and I came in newly minted. She suggested this book to me because I mentioned liking horror.
Ironically, it feels vaguely prescient?
Anyway, this short story is far creepier than I gave it credit for. It definitely has an atmosphere of danger, of accident waiting to happen. In all honesty, the mood is definitely creeping more on me as I write the review.
When I finished the story, I remember thinking something to the effect of "oh, that's clever." Now, I am definitely having that feeling of foreboding and discomfort come over me.
All in all, it's a solid story.
Ironically, it feels vaguely prescient?
Anyway, this short story is far creepier than I gave it credit for. It definitely has an atmosphere of danger, of accident waiting to happen. In all honesty, the mood is definitely creeping more on me as I write the review.
When I finished the story, I remember thinking something to the effect of "oh, that's clever." Now, I am definitely having that feeling of foreboding and discomfort come over me.
All in all, it's a solid story.
October 15, 2018
The short story 'August Heat' by W. F. Harvey represents a certain type of mystical genre. The artist intentionally drew a portrait of the man whom he never saw. The man from the picture was a master of monuments who wrote the name of this artist with a day of his death (today) on this monument. He never met this artist.
These two main characters were faced with something inevitable and it seemed that it happened at the end of the story.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/harv...
These two main characters were faced with something inevitable and it seemed that it happened at the end of the story.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/harv...
January 29, 2021
"I longed for the thunder promised by the great banks of copper coloured cloud that hung low over the western sky."
"The air seemed charged with thunder."
Why do you write so damn pretty Harvey?
Apart from that the over the top descriptions of fat people being "elephantine" and "he had nothing in him to support that amount of flesh".
Dude was enthralled by bbw/bbms
Go with the flow of life! Dont try and control it, life will lead you into the homes of many interesting characters. Just go with it.
The summer heat will always be stifling, and men will go mad from it.
"The air seemed charged with thunder."
Why do you write so damn pretty Harvey?
Apart from that the over the top descriptions of fat people being "elephantine" and "he had nothing in him to support that amount of flesh".
Dude was enthralled by bbw/bbms
Go with the flow of life! Dont try and control it, life will lead you into the homes of many interesting characters. Just go with it.
The summer heat will always be stifling, and men will go mad from it.
October 26, 2018
A wonderful thriller about future happenings with an unexpected open ending. ‘August heat' is considered to be one of the best short stories of all times. This tiny tale is a self-narration of the main protagonist about the most unusual day of his life. The storytelling resembles that of a horror one even though there is nothing but unexpected circumstances.
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August 20, 2020There were so many coincidences around this story:
1. I read this story exactly on 20th August, at around 11:30 pm (all unintentional).
2. A part from a compilation book of short stories, the action in the previous story in the book - "Courage" by Forrest Reid, also takes place in August.
3. The following story was "Nyarlathotep" by H.P. Lovecraft who was born on 20th August.
1. I read this story exactly on 20th August, at around 11:30 pm (all unintentional).
2. A part from a compilation book of short stories, the action in the previous story in the book - "Courage" by Forrest Reid, also takes place in August.
3. The following story was "Nyarlathotep" by H.P. Lovecraft who was born on 20th August.
August 25, 2021
I wanted to say this feels like an abrupt ending. But that, “it’s enough to drive a man mad” line really implies something terrible and with all the build up before hand you can easily tell what would happen next.
For how short a story it is, it’s very effective at building the tension throughout it.
For how short a story it is, it’s very effective at building the tension throughout it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 2, 2024It’s hard to give a rating to a short story and this was very short.
It’s about an artist who is inspired to sketch a drawing of a man being convicted of a crime.
He goes for a walk and ends up at a stonemasons yard where he finds the same man carving a headstone with his name on it.
Great little story that ends on a cliff hanger.
It’s about an artist who is inspired to sketch a drawing of a man being convicted of a crime.
He goes for a walk and ends up at a stonemasons yard where he finds the same man carving a headstone with his name on it.
Great little story that ends on a cliff hanger.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews