Wednesday, October 21, 2020

"The Thing on the Roof"

 


by Robert E. Howard

originally published Weird Tales, February 1932

Our Narrator tells of Tussman, a fellow archaeologist, rival, and enemy, who one day decides to make nice, because he needs help getting his hands on a copy of Unausprechlichen Kulten.  O.N indulges him and acquires such a copy.

Tussman takes a look, sez thanks, and hotfoots it off to Honduras, there to check out the hidden remains of a "lost" temple known as The Temple of the Toad, which contains the mummified remains of the high priest and, per Von Junzt, a great treasure.

Some time later, Tussman summons O.N. for a visit.  He finds Tusmann in possession of a carved gem amulet in the shape of a toad (spoken of in Von Junzt's book) and in a state of agitation.  Later that night a servant is alarmed by what sounds like a horse stamping on the roof.  Tussman heads upstairs and a terrible scream is heard.  They find him dead with the mark of a hoof on what's left of his face.

Pretty minor stuff.  Not much else I can say about this one.





2 comments:

  1. For some reason, I suspect you didn't really like Howard's Cthulhoid yarns. You have given all of them a low score... well, different strokes for different folks, said the Sly & Family Stone gang!

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  2. Untrue sir! I gave "The Black Stone" and "The Shadow Kingdom" high marks. Also I think "Worms of the Earth" (which I have not yet reviewed here) is one of the all-time great fantasy-horror tales. I also like Sly Stone a lot ;) Thank you for the feedback!

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