The Horla by Guy de Maupassant
"The Horla" is a short story by French writer Guy de Maupassant, presented through the journal entries of an unnamed narrator. Set in a country house near Rouen, the narrative captures the escalating psychological turmoil of a wealthy man who becomes increasingly convinced of an invisible entity haunting him. Initially charmed by a Brazilian ship sighting, his mood shifts to one of malaise, accompanied by nightmares of an unseen presence that seems to strangle him in his sleep. Despite consulting a doctor who finds no physical ailment, the narrator's condition deteriorates, leading him to conduct experiments to uncover the source of his distress.
As the narrative unfolds, his belief in the supernatural deepens, particularly after he witnesses strange occurrences like empty carafes and an invisible hand breaking a rose. He theorizes that an invisible race of creatures has emerged from Brazil to inhabit his home. In a desperate attempt to rid himself of this torment, he ultimately sets his house ablaze, resulting in tragedy for his unsuspecting servants. Yet, even in the chaos, he remains tormented by uncertainty about the creature's fate, culminating in his contemplation of suicide. "The Horla" is a compelling exploration of madness, fear, and the fragile boundary between reality and the unseen.
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The Horla by Guy de Maupassant
First published: "Le Horla," 1886 (English translation, 1890)
Type of plot: Horror
Time of work: The late nineteenth century
Locale: Near Rouen, France
Principal Characters:
The narrator , a wealthy young manThe Horla , an invisible spirit that the narrator believes originated in Brazil
The Story
The story unfolds in a series of journal entries written by an anonymous narrator. Over four months, the narrator recounts his growing uneasiness over strange incidents occurring in his country house near Rouen, France. It is apparent that he is a man of considerable wealth. He mentions having several servants, he refers to an idyllic childhood in a large country home, and he enjoys a life of leisure throughout his narrative.
On the evening of May 8, the narrator is delighted to see a Brazilian ship sailing down the Seine. In the days that follow, however, he finds himself afflicted with a strange sense of malaise. He suffers from a slight fever and becomes increasingly depressed. He is convinced that he is facing some unknown misfortune, and his condition worsens whenever he walks along the river or as night approaches. The local doctor who cares for him cannot find a physical reason for his malady.
Soon the narrator reports that he is having nightmares. He dreams that an invisible creature approaches him as he sleeps and tries to strangle him. Each time he has this dream, he awakens in a cold sweat, only to find that he is alone and that his door is still locked. In despair, he leaves his country home and spends several days at Mont Saint-Michel. While he is there, his malady appears to vanish entirely, so he returns to his country estate believing himself cured. Almost immediately, however, both his illness and his nightmares return.
The narrator now believes that an invisible creature enters his bedroom each night, draining the water from the carafe near his bed. After he finds the carafe empty several mornings in a row, the narrator decides to conduct an experiment. Before going to bed each night, he sets out a carafe of water, glasses of milk and wine, a slice of bread, and some strawberries. Then he locks his door and goes to sleep. Each morning, the result is the same: The water and milk are gone; nothing else appears to have been touched.
To determine if it is he himself who drinks the water and milk while he is asleep, the narrator tries one further experiment. He seals the carafe and glass in white muslin and covers his mouth with black lead before going to sleep. When he awakens the next morning, he finds that the water and milk are gone and that the muslin is completely free of any stain. Now convinced that all this proves some kind of supernatural visitation, he flees to Paris.
In Paris the narrator finds that his illness and nightmares vanish. He returns to his earlier belief that his fears were merely the result of an overactive imagination. As a further sign of this skepticism, he dismisses hypnotism as mere trickery until he witnesses his own cousin under the influence of a posthypnotic suggestion. He again begins to wonder whether supernatural phenomena might actually exist,
Returning to his country house once again, he finds that his sense of foreboding gradually returns. The invisible creature even appears to become bolder. One day, the narrator sees a rose snapped from its stem by an invisible hand. Glasses are broken in sealed cupboards. The narrator finds that words he does not intend to say occasionally emerge from his own lips.
Finally, he reads two works that appear to explain these strange phenomena. One account appears in a book detailing the origin and powers of invisible spirits. The other explanation appears in a scientific article about a strange occurrence in Brazil, where entire villages were abandoned when their inhabitants became terrified by unseen phantoms. The narrator now recalls the Brazilian ship that he saw just before his troubles began, and he concludes that a new race of invisible creatures, successors to the human race, is emerging in Rio de Janeiro. One of these spirits, he concludes, was carried to France by ship where it then took residence in his house.
Unable to rid himself of the spirit in any other way, the narrator sets fire to the country home. The screams of his servants reveal that he has neglected to warn anyone of his plans, and all of the servants perish in the blaze. Nevertheless, the narrator is uncertain whether the creature itself has been killed. If it has not, the narrator concludes that his only recourse is suicide.