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Leonora
Leonora, a 16-year-old girl, likes to walk in the moonlight...until she meets a fascinating stranger who invites her to ride in his automobile. A classic dark fantasy from Weird Tales magazine, originally published in 1927.
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
18 pages, Kindle Edition
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 10, 2026
When the Real Invades the Ideal
31 May 2026
So, there is a woman named Leonora, or should we say teenager since she is only 16. Anyway, she lives in a remote place and her friend Margaret lives across the road. It quickly turns out that Margaret has no role to play in the story whatsoever. In fact the story is based on a poem about how a soldier is killed in a war and returns to collect his lover, Leonora.
This story is somewhat different namely because what happens is she goes out for a walk one night and on the war back encounters a guy in a car. It’s a pretty cool car, and I get the impression that the guy driving the car is a cowboy or something like that. She ends up becoming infatuated with the guy and ends up going for a drive with him. Honestly, there is a reason why we are warned about not talking to strangers, or getting into a stranger’s car.
Mind you, these stories are pretty old, so things were somewhat different back then, however there is something about the story that seems to resonate to today. Like, when mysterious men approach women and sweep them off of their feet, and then it ends up in a place that is not all that great. One could say that it is a life changing moment.
In a way she seems to live in an idyllic world, and then the real world comes in to take her away, but she is torn between staying in her world, and taking the ride to this new world, until she realises that once she goes there, there is no turning back. In fact, even the desire to go there changes here forever.
Yeah, I guess even in a pulp novel there are things to consider and think about.
31 May 2026
So, there is a woman named Leonora, or should we say teenager since she is only 16. Anyway, she lives in a remote place and her friend Margaret lives across the road. It quickly turns out that Margaret has no role to play in the story whatsoever. In fact the story is based on a poem about how a soldier is killed in a war and returns to collect his lover, Leonora.
This story is somewhat different namely because what happens is she goes out for a walk one night and on the war back encounters a guy in a car. It’s a pretty cool car, and I get the impression that the guy driving the car is a cowboy or something like that. She ends up becoming infatuated with the guy and ends up going for a drive with him. Honestly, there is a reason why we are warned about not talking to strangers, or getting into a stranger’s car.
Mind you, these stories are pretty old, so things were somewhat different back then, however there is something about the story that seems to resonate to today. Like, when mysterious men approach women and sweep them off of their feet, and then it ends up in a place that is not all that great. One could say that it is a life changing moment.
In a way she seems to live in an idyllic world, and then the real world comes in to take her away, but she is torn between staying in her world, and taking the ride to this new world, until she realises that once she goes there, there is no turning back. In fact, even the desire to go there changes here forever.
Yeah, I guess even in a pulp novel there are things to consider and think about.
December 8, 2024
As I started to read it, I thought it seemed familiar. It's included in The Women of Weird Tales collection.
December 18, 2021
Weird Tales, 1927. Leonora is a spirited teenage girl who has a flirtation with death. Midnight on a lonely country road, a mysterious stranger in an expensive car encounters Leonora walking home on her 16th birthday.
Worrell's tone is pitch perfect for a teenage girl. The narrator, Tanya Eby, does this story justice. A classic WT. Also available in 'The Women of Weird Tales; Monster, She Wrote, Book 2'.
Worrell's tone is pitch perfect for a teenage girl. The narrator, Tanya Eby, does this story justice. A classic WT. Also available in 'The Women of Weird Tales; Monster, She Wrote, Book 2'.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews