The Horla is a story by French writer Guy de Maupassant. H. P. Lovecraft wrote about it in Supernatural Horror in Literature:
Relating the advent in France of an invisible being who lives on water and milk, sways the minds of others, and seems to be the vanguard of a horde of extra-terrestrial organisms arrived on earth to subjugate and overwhelm mankind, this tense narrative is perhaps without peer in its particular department.
The story has been cited by Lovecraftian scholar S.T. Joshi as a possible inspiration for The Call of Cthulhu (in The Dead Valley and Others: H. P. Lovecraft’s Favorite Horror Stories Volume 2).
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater did a radio play adaptation of The Horla in 1974, and it’s my favorite version. They weren’t the only ones, though. There are several other audio dramas, readings, podcasts, and even a movie. Enjoy!
Versions of The Horla — click the links to download:
Audio Dramas:
- The CBS Radio Mystery Theater, 1974
- Mystery In the Air, 1947 – starring Peter Lorre!
- The Weird Circle, 1943
Audio Reading:
Discussion:
The Text:
- Read The Horla for free at this link
- Greatest Works of Guy de Maupassant (for Kindle, 99 cents)
The Movie:
- Diary of a Madman, 1963 – starring Vincent Price! Watch it below for free, or buy it on Amazon.
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William Hodgeson’s House on the Borderland written in 1908 is a favorite of HP, and I love his history of horror to find weird authors. This is one of the most modern stories of strange science fiction horror that I have read-and now re– reading because it is so mind blowing. Its wonderful how Lovecraft bridged the gap between Victorian Edwardian horror into modern horror. I just wish HP knew how much of an impact he had on the future of horror.
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This is one of my favorites. I have a 1911 collection of Maupassant that includes the Horla with a fantastic art nouveau illustration that goes along with it.
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The Horla actually took control of the narrators body, and makes him do.things he. doesn’t want to do. Reminds me more of the old.man in Vermont in The Whisperer in the Darkness, written later in Lovecrafts career-1930.
I like the Algernon Blackwood’s TheWillows as a outer force ( from another dimension) as a influence on HP.
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Very interesting !
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I love “The Horla!” One of the best stories ever written!
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fun stuff. I’ve read plenty of de Maupassant but I don’t recall this one. As soon as I read the beginning of the article the tone of the two authors’ jived with me.
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