Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant: Fear (First Version)

“Fear” (La Peur) is a short story by Guy de Maupassant, whose first version was published in October 1882 in Le Gaulois. Aboard a ship sailing the Mediterranean, a group of passengers discusses the nature of fear. A mysterious traveler challenges the common understanding, defining true terror as a sensation that rends the soul—something quite different from mere anxiety in the face of danger. To illustrate his point, the man recounts two chilling experiences from his own life: one in the African desert and another in a French forest. These tales, tense and haunting, offer a disturbing reflection on fear and its effects on the human psyche.

Guy de Maupassant: The Inn

“The Inn” (L’auberge) is a short story by Guy de Maupassant, first published on September 1, 1886, in the magazine Les Lettres et les Arts. Set in the Swiss Alps, it tells the story of Ulrich Kunsi and Gaspard Han, two mountain guides who become isolated during the winter in a remote lodge, tasked with watching over it until spring. Surrounded by a hostile, silent landscape—snow blocking every access and solitude as their only companion—the men face prolonged confinement, boredom, fear, and an invisible threat that gradually closes in on them, enveloping them in an atmosphere of mounting psychological tension.

Guy de Maupassant: Father Milon

“Father Milon” (Le Père Milon) is a short story by Guy de Maupassant published on May 22, 1883, in the newspaper Le Gaulois. Set during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it tells the story of an elderly Norman peasant who lives with his family on a farm occupied by German troops. In the midst of the sweltering rural summer, the apparent calm of the surroundings contrasts with the growing tension among the inhabitants due to a series of mysterious murders in the area. The story begins with a military interrogation that leads to the revelation of a dark secret involving the older man.

Guy de Maupassant: The Apparition

The Apparition is a short story by Guy de Maupassant, published in Le Gaulois on April 4, 1883. It tells the disturbing experience of an elderly marquis who, at a social gathering, decides to share an event that has tormented him for more than fifty years. In his youth, an old friend asks him to retrieve some documents from his former home. On arrival, the marquis finds an atmosphere of abandonment and a gloomy environment that will be the setting for a terrifying experience that will leave an indelible mark of fear.

Guy de Maupassant: The Dowry

“The Dowry” (1884), a short story by Guy de Maupassant, tells the story of Simon Lebrumet, a notary who marries Juanita Cordier in the village of Boutigny-le-Revours. The marriage is no surprise to anyone, for Lebrumet needs money to buy a notary’s office and Juanita has a dowry of three hundred thousand francs. He is a lovely man, and she is an attractive but somewhat provincial young woman. The first days of their marriage are full of sweetness and passion, with Lebrumet showing himself as a tender and delicate husband. The couple plans a trip to Paris to enjoy their honeymoon, taking the dowry to pay the notary’s fee.

Guy de Maupassant: A Mother of Monsters

In “The Mother of Monsters,” a story by Guy de Maupassant, a man recounts a creepy tale while walking along the beach, where he spots an elegant and enigmatic woman. Years before, during a visit to the countryside, his friend took him to meet a robust and sinister woman residing in an idyllic country house. Nicknamed “Devil,” this woman was infamous in the area for a horrifying reason: all her children were born with monstrous deformities. Infused with an atmosphere of mystery and terror, the story gradually unveils the dreadful secret of the “Mother of Monsters.”