Fantasy | Lecturia

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.

Julio Cortázar: Axolotl

Axolotl is a short story by Julio Cortázar, published in 1956 in the Final del juego (End of the Game) collection. It tells the story of a man’s obsession with axolotls —amphibians native to Mexico also known as ajolotes— that he observes daily in an aquarium in Paris. Fascinated by their stillness and their eyes, the protagonist feels a deep connection with these creatures, perceiving in them a mysterious presence and a latent humanity.

H. G. Wells: The Magic Shop

The Magic Shop is a story by H.G. Wells, published in 1903, that transports us to a place full of mysteries and surprises. A father, accompanied by his son Gip, enters an ordinary magic shop that reveals itself as an enchanted space where the amazing comes to life. Crystal balls that materialize out of nowhere mirrors that distort reality, and doors that appear and disappear create an atmosphere that oscillates between the wonderful and the disturbing. The fine line between fantasy and reality is completely blurred in this magical bazaar.