Fantasy | Lecturia

Bram Stoker: Dracula’s Guest

“Dracula’s Guest” is a short story by Bram Stoker, published in 1914 in the collection Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Stories. Originally conceived as the first chapter of the novel Dracula, it was discarded by the author and published independently after his death. Set in the vicinity of Munich, the story follows a young Englishman who, ignoring the warnings of his coachman, ventures into a desolate landscape on Walpurgis Night. As the snow falls and the surroundings become increasingly threatening, the traveler finds a forgotten mausoleum and begins to sense strange presences that herald the approach of a dark power.

Ambrose Bierce: Beyond the Wall

“Beyond the Wall” is a short story by Ambrose Bierce, published in December 1907 in Cosmopolitan magazine. The story begins with a man visiting his old friend Mohun Dampier on a stormy night in San Francisco. Upon arriving at the gloomy and lonely house where Dampier lives, the visitor realizes that his old companion has undergone disturbing changes. In the dim light of a tower battered by wind and rain, a knock on the wall arouses his curiosity. Intrigued, he listens intently to his friend’s story, which reveals a painful memory related to that mysterious signal.

H. P. Lovecraft: The Music of Erich Zann

“The Music of Erich Zann” is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft, published in March 1922 in The National Amateur magazine. The story follows a young metaphysics student who, searching for cheap lodgings, moves into a dilapidated boarding house on Rue d’Auseil, a steep and strangely inaccessible street. He meets Erich Zann, a mute violinist living in the highest attic room. Fascinated by the disturbing music he hears every night from his room, the narrator tries to get closer to the mysterious musician, unaware that behind each note lies an alien and terrifying reality.

Horacio Quiroga: Juan Darién

“Juan Darién” is a short story by Horacio Quiroga, published in La Nación on April 25, 1920, and later compiled in El Desierto (1924). It tells the story of a newborn tiger who, after losing his mother, is taken in by a woman who has lost her son and decides to raise him as her own. Thanks to the intervention of a magical snake, the animal takes on human form and grows into a boy named Juan Darién. Although he is kind and studious, his origins make him the target of prejudice and suspicion in the community, which is unwilling to accept what it does not understand.

H. P. Lovecraft: Polaris

“Polaris” is a story by H. P. Lovecraft, written in 1918 and published in December 1920 in the magazine Philosopher. It narrates the disturbing visions of a man who, under the motionless light of the North Star, begins to have strange dreams in which he contemplates an ancient marble city set among unknown mountains. Fascinated by the beauty and mystery, the protagonist, as he is submerged in this dream world, finds himself increasingly trapped between two realities: sleep and wakefulness.

Robert E. Howard: Skulls in the Stars

Robert E. Howard - Calaveras en las estrellas

Skulls in the Stars is a short story by Robert E. Howard, published in January 1929 in the magazine Weird Tales. The story follows the gloomy puritan Solomon Kane, a solitary traveller who, ignoring local warnings, decides to cross a deserted wasteland on his way to Yorkertown. Despite the villagers’ fears of an invisible horror lurking in the area, Kane ventures into the darkness, where the desolate landscape and the echoes of inhuman laughter announce a supernatural threat. With his sword and faith, he faces a spectral force that will test his courage and determination.