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The Feasting Dead
Something is wrong with Colonel Habgood’s young son Denis. Some mysterious force seems to be sapping his physical health, and his behaviour has become oddly evasive and deceptive. Habgood suspects the pernicious influence of Raoul, a sinister handyman with whom Denis has become infatuated, believing that the man may be corrupting and defiling his son. But even after Raoul’s departure, the troubles continue, and Denis’s strength continues to wane. In an old book of medieval legends, his father finds a possible, if implausible, answer in stories of a nameless horror from behind the grave that feasts on the young in order to return to life. Or could what’s happening to Denis have any connection to an unexplained death in the attic turret nearly eighty years ago? And isn’t there something strange about the scarecrow out in the fields, which seems, barely perceptibly, to have moved...?
Originally published in a limited hardcover edition by the legendary Arkham House, John Metcalfe’s The Feasting Dead (1954) is worthy of being ranked alongside The Turn of the Screw and the works of M. R. James, L. P. Hartley and Robert Aickman. This new edition of this classic novella, previously available only in expensive secondhand copies, will allow modern readers to rediscover the unjustly neglected Metcalfe (1891-1965).
Originally published in a limited hardcover edition by the legendary Arkham House, John Metcalfe’s The Feasting Dead (1954) is worthy of being ranked alongside The Turn of the Screw and the works of M. R. James, L. P. Hartley and Robert Aickman. This new edition of this classic novella, previously available only in expensive secondhand copies, will allow modern readers to rediscover the unjustly neglected Metcalfe (1891-1965).
164 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
4 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
John Metcalfe
131 books12 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
(William) John Metcalfe was born in Heacham, Norfolk in 1891, the son of William Charles Metcalfe, an author of sea stories for boys. Metcalfe graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of London in 1913 and for the next two years, until the outbreak of the First World War, he taught in Paris. In 1914, he joined the Royal Naval Division and fought in the war but was invalided out in 1915; two years later, he enlisted again with the Royal Naval Air Service and in 1918 obtained a commission and served as an armament officer in the Royal Air Force.
After the war, Metcalfe obtained a post as an assistant master at a London school and began to write. His first book, The Smoking Leg and Other Stories, was published in 1925 and is highly regarded among connoisseurs of weird and supernatural tales. Another collection, also containing several horror stories, Judas and Other Stories, followed in 1931. Metcalfe also wrote a handful of novels in other genres.
In 1928, Metcalfe emigrated to New York and in 1930 married the American novelist Evelyn Scott, a prominent figure in the 1920s and ’30s American literary scene. In 1939, Metcalfe returned to military service with the British Royal Air Force and later again returned to the United States, where he taught at schools in Connecticut and New York. After the death of his wife in 1963, Metcalfe suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized; he died in 1965 after a fall.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
(William) John Metcalfe was born in Heacham, Norfolk in 1891, the son of William Charles Metcalfe, an author of sea stories for boys. Metcalfe graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of London in 1913 and for the next two years, until the outbreak of the First World War, he taught in Paris. In 1914, he joined the Royal Naval Division and fought in the war but was invalided out in 1915; two years later, he enlisted again with the Royal Naval Air Service and in 1918 obtained a commission and served as an armament officer in the Royal Air Force.
After the war, Metcalfe obtained a post as an assistant master at a London school and began to write. His first book, The Smoking Leg and Other Stories, was published in 1925 and is highly regarded among connoisseurs of weird and supernatural tales. Another collection, also containing several horror stories, Judas and Other Stories, followed in 1931. Metcalfe also wrote a handful of novels in other genres.
In 1928, Metcalfe emigrated to New York and in 1930 married the American novelist Evelyn Scott, a prominent figure in the 1920s and ’30s American literary scene. In 1939, Metcalfe returned to military service with the British Royal Air Force and later again returned to the United States, where he taught at schools in Connecticut and New York. After the death of his wife in 1963, Metcalfe suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized; he died in 1965 after a fall.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 26 reviews
November 5, 2016
4.5 stars.
THE FEASTING DEAD, by John Metcalfe, was written in 1954. First of all, I have to say that it reminded me quite a bit of the type of stories M.R. James is famous for. As he is perhaps my personal favorite of the "old-time" horror and supernatural stories, I can think of no higher praise. This supernatural tale is rich with a "menacing air" that seems to permeate everything the story touches upon.
We begin with Colonel Habgood, and his son, Denis, after the untimely death of their wife and mother, respectively. Staying home from school for a time after this tragedy, Denis comes across a vacationing father, Monseur Vaignon, and his two children. A friendship of sorts is initiated, with the kids taking their vacations at each other's home. Colonel Habgood is uneasy right from the first, with no idea as to the cause. His fears materialize more concretely when Denis begins taking up with an enigmatic "handyman", known as Raoul.
In Habgood's opinion of Raoul: ". . . his most outstanding characteristic, to be paradoxical, was his characterlessness . . . "
The real terror of this story doesn't stem from gratuitous gore or bloodshed, but rather from a slowly building tension and apprehension. As young Denis begins to follow his new idol everywhere, his mind becomes solely fixated on Raoul even as his body shows signs of physical weakening. The mystery surrounding Raoul merely deepens as the sinister atmosphere and weather combine to pervade everything in the vicinity. The oppressive tension practically leaps off the page with each word read.
The ominous sense of an inevitable horror is the driving force behind this tale, more-so than any "answers" that may be found. From stories of a long-dead man who happened to once live in the Vaignon's home, to the barely perceptible movement of a scarecrow when one isn't looking, I found this to be a fantastic example of an old-fashioned, gothic tale of terror.
Highly recommended!
THE FEASTING DEAD, by John Metcalfe, was written in 1954. First of all, I have to say that it reminded me quite a bit of the type of stories M.R. James is famous for. As he is perhaps my personal favorite of the "old-time" horror and supernatural stories, I can think of no higher praise. This supernatural tale is rich with a "menacing air" that seems to permeate everything the story touches upon.
We begin with Colonel Habgood, and his son, Denis, after the untimely death of their wife and mother, respectively. Staying home from school for a time after this tragedy, Denis comes across a vacationing father, Monseur Vaignon, and his two children. A friendship of sorts is initiated, with the kids taking their vacations at each other's home. Colonel Habgood is uneasy right from the first, with no idea as to the cause. His fears materialize more concretely when Denis begins taking up with an enigmatic "handyman", known as Raoul.
In Habgood's opinion of Raoul: ". . . his most outstanding characteristic, to be paradoxical, was his characterlessness . . . "
The real terror of this story doesn't stem from gratuitous gore or bloodshed, but rather from a slowly building tension and apprehension. As young Denis begins to follow his new idol everywhere, his mind becomes solely fixated on Raoul even as his body shows signs of physical weakening. The mystery surrounding Raoul merely deepens as the sinister atmosphere and weather combine to pervade everything in the vicinity. The oppressive tension practically leaps off the page with each word read.
The ominous sense of an inevitable horror is the driving force behind this tale, more-so than any "answers" that may be found. From stories of a long-dead man who happened to once live in the Vaignon's home, to the barely perceptible movement of a scarecrow when one isn't looking, I found this to be a fantastic example of an old-fashioned, gothic tale of terror.
Highly recommended!
November 14, 2014
I had a great afternoon reading this little-known novella. As the new paperback edition's book jacket, as well as other reviewers here have pointed out, it's very much in the style of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, insofar it is about the possession of a child by a malevolent force--or is this just a product of an adult figure's imagination? Nothing can completely compare to the brilliance of James' famous psychological ghost story, and I'm sure Metcalfe was aware of that fact. So he made The Feasting Dead a little different. While still subtly-written and never descending into "pulp," the book is matter-of-fact about its supernaturalism (at least it becomes so fairly shortly in). The book also includes evocative descriptions of both the English and French countryside(s), and contains some truly creepy set pieces taking full advantage of those landscapes. I should also say, many thanks once again to Valancourt Books for doing a high quality job resurrecting a horror classic that few know about. They've even re-used to original book's vintage cover art.
December 21, 2015
A weirdly stilted and rambling narrative voice mars what could otherwise be a strong novelette--stretched out to novella length instead--of the uncanny. Still manages to hit some particularly effective moments, especially in the end.
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October 26, 2016The much underrated John Metcalfe's worthy riff on Henry James' classic novella The Turn of the Screw. Here once more we are given a narrator's possible panic over a child's sexual maturity transposed into a twisting gothic supernatural plot.
The final 'turn of the screw' in this tale is less ambiguous than in James' story, but the novella is still rather terrific in its way and the climax charmingly bold in its grandeur of Giallo excess.
The final 'turn of the screw' in this tale is less ambiguous than in James' story, but the novella is still rather terrific in its way and the climax charmingly bold in its grandeur of Giallo excess.
August 24, 2017
The Feasting Dead is another title in my Valancourt Books project, and since so many of those have been so good, I had high hopes for it. I also learned this novella is one of the books Stephen King recommended in Danse Macabre, so of course my expectations were that much higher. Like so often happens when I get my expectations up, I wound up being disappointed in the story, though I think it has a lot to do with reading the story out of its context.
Colonel Habgood is our narrator, but our main character is his young son, Denis, who makes a friend in the groundskeeper named Raoul who works at a French estate. The friendship becomes an obsession, and when his son moves back to England with his father, Raoul shows up and worms his way into their household. Shortly thereafter, Denis takes ill, and remains that way for several weeks. Meanwhile, dogs bark at Raoul, and word has it that when Denis is out with Raoul, he appears to be talking only to himself. The Colonel is left to solve the mystery of Raoul, despite his son's protests for him to stay.
The story was originally written in 1953, and during that time, it might have been something new and original. Now, 64 years later, it feels out of time, out of place, and not nearly as effective as horror being written later. It's not that my sensibilities are too outdated (I'm finding that the Valancourt reprints from the '70s and '80s are better than the stuff being published today), but what I look for in horror is a fresh perspective, either through the horror itself or in how the story is told. The Feasting Dead has its moments, but it's nothing fresh. The characterization feels light, the atmosphere is thin, and the ending feels weak.
There's some effectively eerie imagery in the story -- Raoul's face is such that no one can get a sense of what he looks like, and he remains featureless throughout the story; a scarecrow features in the third act, and every time the Colonel sees it, it appears to have moved -- and it starts strong, but the middle portion of the story is comprised of a lot of hand-wringing that grows tiresome and doesn't do much to move the story forward.
Metcalfe makes the narrative somewhat difficult to read, as he chooses to write out the stammering of characters speaking under stress. Using this device once or twice would have been fine, but Metclafe uses it frequently, enough for it to slow down my pace. Also, the story is set partly in France, so the narrative is peppered with French words and phrases. Some of them are easily understood through context, and others are translated in the narrative, but there were enough that stood on their own and forced me to translate them to understand their impact that it slowed me down considerably, enough so that the novella took my almost an entire day to read, when normally it would only have taken me a few hours at most.
Over sixty years ago, this might have been an effective piece of horror fiction; today, it pales in comparison with works that came later. Writers like Poe and Lovecraft continue to entertain and chill, so I can't help but feel like it's more than just its era that makes it less effective. The story is fine, but it's nothing I would recommend over, say, Michael McDowell or Bernard Taylor.
Colonel Habgood is our narrator, but our main character is his young son, Denis, who makes a friend in the groundskeeper named Raoul who works at a French estate. The friendship becomes an obsession, and when his son moves back to England with his father, Raoul shows up and worms his way into their household. Shortly thereafter, Denis takes ill, and remains that way for several weeks. Meanwhile, dogs bark at Raoul, and word has it that when Denis is out with Raoul, he appears to be talking only to himself. The Colonel is left to solve the mystery of Raoul, despite his son's protests for him to stay.
The story was originally written in 1953, and during that time, it might have been something new and original. Now, 64 years later, it feels out of time, out of place, and not nearly as effective as horror being written later. It's not that my sensibilities are too outdated (I'm finding that the Valancourt reprints from the '70s and '80s are better than the stuff being published today), but what I look for in horror is a fresh perspective, either through the horror itself or in how the story is told. The Feasting Dead has its moments, but it's nothing fresh. The characterization feels light, the atmosphere is thin, and the ending feels weak.
There's some effectively eerie imagery in the story -- Raoul's face is such that no one can get a sense of what he looks like, and he remains featureless throughout the story; a scarecrow features in the third act, and every time the Colonel sees it, it appears to have moved -- and it starts strong, but the middle portion of the story is comprised of a lot of hand-wringing that grows tiresome and doesn't do much to move the story forward.
Metcalfe makes the narrative somewhat difficult to read, as he chooses to write out the stammering of characters speaking under stress. Using this device once or twice would have been fine, but Metclafe uses it frequently, enough for it to slow down my pace. Also, the story is set partly in France, so the narrative is peppered with French words and phrases. Some of them are easily understood through context, and others are translated in the narrative, but there were enough that stood on their own and forced me to translate them to understand their impact that it slowed me down considerably, enough so that the novella took my almost an entire day to read, when normally it would only have taken me a few hours at most.
Over sixty years ago, this might have been an effective piece of horror fiction; today, it pales in comparison with works that came later. Writers like Poe and Lovecraft continue to entertain and chill, so I can't help but feel like it's more than just its era that makes it less effective. The story is fine, but it's nothing I would recommend over, say, Michael McDowell or Bernard Taylor.
October 7, 2019
Worth a look for fans of horror
The tight length of this novella makes this a single evening's read, so I would recommend this to anyone for a quick sampling of some classic frights. For my taste, it did not quite scratch the itch for me as other works with a similar tone.
By "tone," I mean that this book captures the essence of gothic horror like "The Turn of the Screw" with smatterings of weird fiction from the likes of M.R. James, Oliver Onions, and William Hope Hodgson. But whereas I have found much of the aforementioned work genuinely spine-tingling, "The Feasting Dead" just left me feeling more confused than anything else. As obtuse as gothic and weird fiction can be, I can appreciate the sense of awe, mystery, and fright that comes from not having all the answers to what occurs in a narrative. I don't need everything spoonfed to me and not everything has to be wrapped up nicely with ridiculous explanations.
But too often in this book did I reread passages thinking I had missed something. The author frequently implies some horror is being witnessed by the narrator, but what appears on the page conveys nothing that would raise my gooseflesh. Characters who do seem to understand what is happening are deliberately obstructionist to shedding any light for our protagonist on the mystery, and there seems to be no reason or motivation for them to act this way. And what happens at the very end of the story makes no sense whatsoever.
So I did not find this book very scary. But what do I consider scary? Scary is seeing your coat that you placed around a hitchhiker sticking out from under a gravestone. Scary is a shattered pumpkin at the scene of a school teacher's disappearance in the woods. Scary are the candles that keeping winking out without any draft no matter how many times you relight them. These are all examples of great ghost stories that deliver their chills while leaving explanations vague. In this case, it seems the author had an interesting idea, but hadn't quite worked out the details of the plot or its ending even by the time he gave up his manuscript for publication. Perhaps he knew the book was only going to have a limited publication and distribution by Arkham House, and knew what kind of people would be among the 1000 or so souls who would be purchasing this story. "Ah, it may not make a lick of sense, but it's weird, and that'll be good enough for the likes of them!" I could almost hear Metcalfe say.
But oddly enough, it is because the book has so many loose ends that the story does carry some effective moments. A haunted tower. A scarecrow that changes position every time you glimpse it. A handyman with the same name as a guy who died 80 years prior and who heals spontaneously of a dog bite. And for some readers, there will be enough of these moments and an overall sense of dread and atmosphere that they will finish satisfied.
But for me, it was too much of a mishmash of unexplained and unrelated horror tropes that 21st-century readers have all seen before, and with no Golden Thread to engage or endear. In summary, this is an enjoyable quick read that will likely not linger in your memory as one of the greats of the genre.
The tight length of this novella makes this a single evening's read, so I would recommend this to anyone for a quick sampling of some classic frights. For my taste, it did not quite scratch the itch for me as other works with a similar tone.
By "tone," I mean that this book captures the essence of gothic horror like "The Turn of the Screw" with smatterings of weird fiction from the likes of M.R. James, Oliver Onions, and William Hope Hodgson. But whereas I have found much of the aforementioned work genuinely spine-tingling, "The Feasting Dead" just left me feeling more confused than anything else. As obtuse as gothic and weird fiction can be, I can appreciate the sense of awe, mystery, and fright that comes from not having all the answers to what occurs in a narrative. I don't need everything spoonfed to me and not everything has to be wrapped up nicely with ridiculous explanations.
But too often in this book did I reread passages thinking I had missed something. The author frequently implies some horror is being witnessed by the narrator, but what appears on the page conveys nothing that would raise my gooseflesh. Characters who do seem to understand what is happening are deliberately obstructionist to shedding any light for our protagonist on the mystery, and there seems to be no reason or motivation for them to act this way. And what happens at the very end of the story makes no sense whatsoever.
So I did not find this book very scary. But what do I consider scary? Scary is seeing your coat that you placed around a hitchhiker sticking out from under a gravestone. Scary is a shattered pumpkin at the scene of a school teacher's disappearance in the woods. Scary are the candles that keeping winking out without any draft no matter how many times you relight them. These are all examples of great ghost stories that deliver their chills while leaving explanations vague. In this case, it seems the author had an interesting idea, but hadn't quite worked out the details of the plot or its ending even by the time he gave up his manuscript for publication. Perhaps he knew the book was only going to have a limited publication and distribution by Arkham House, and knew what kind of people would be among the 1000 or so souls who would be purchasing this story. "Ah, it may not make a lick of sense, but it's weird, and that'll be good enough for the likes of them!" I could almost hear Metcalfe say.
But oddly enough, it is because the book has so many loose ends that the story does carry some effective moments. A haunted tower. A scarecrow that changes position every time you glimpse it. A handyman with the same name as a guy who died 80 years prior and who heals spontaneously of a dog bite. And for some readers, there will be enough of these moments and an overall sense of dread and atmosphere that they will finish satisfied.
But for me, it was too much of a mishmash of unexplained and unrelated horror tropes that 21st-century readers have all seen before, and with no Golden Thread to engage or endear. In summary, this is an enjoyable quick read that will likely not linger in your memory as one of the greats of the genre.
January 29, 2015
This is a very old fashioned ghost story -- written in 1953, but apart from fleeting references to television and the World Wars, it could easily have been written in the 1920s, and with a change of cars to carriages, it would be perfectly fitting as a Victorian ghost story. It even has the repressed sexuality.
After Colonel Hapgood's wife dies, he sends his son Denis to stay with a friend in France, one Monsieur Vaignon. The boy enjoys the country so much that he opts to return there on vacation rather than staying with his father. Old Hapgood doesn't much mind, but then after one such visit, he receives a message from his friend informing him that no further visits can occur. Denis is disconsolate at the news, not least because he won't be able to see his friend Raoul, a laborer on Vaignon's estate. But no worries, for Raoul shows up a few days later on the Hapgood doorstep, asking if he can stay with the family. Colonel Hapgood allows it reluctantly, but as Raoul and Denis spend more time together, he begins to suspect there's something unnatural about Raoul.
Of course it turns out Raoul is some kind of demonic being, a cross between Carmilla and Heathcliff. At least that's what's going on on the surface, but the barely concealed subtext is that Raoul is a pederast who has seduced young Denis, and poor Colonel Hapgood is too bound by old fashioned morality to understand what's going on, and too indecisive to act until it's too late.
Metcalfe -- one of the few writers singled out for praise in both Supernatural Horror in Literature and Danse Macabre -- is a subtle writer who doesn't over-explain the plot, or even fully explain it, trusting the reader to be able to connect the dots with the climax.
After Colonel Hapgood's wife dies, he sends his son Denis to stay with a friend in France, one Monsieur Vaignon. The boy enjoys the country so much that he opts to return there on vacation rather than staying with his father. Old Hapgood doesn't much mind, but then after one such visit, he receives a message from his friend informing him that no further visits can occur. Denis is disconsolate at the news, not least because he won't be able to see his friend Raoul, a laborer on Vaignon's estate. But no worries, for Raoul shows up a few days later on the Hapgood doorstep, asking if he can stay with the family. Colonel Hapgood allows it reluctantly, but as Raoul and Denis spend more time together, he begins to suspect there's something unnatural about Raoul.
Of course it turns out Raoul is some kind of demonic being, a cross between Carmilla and Heathcliff. At least that's what's going on on the surface, but the barely concealed subtext is that Raoul is a pederast who has seduced young Denis, and poor Colonel Hapgood is too bound by old fashioned morality to understand what's going on, and too indecisive to act until it's too late.
Metcalfe -- one of the few writers singled out for praise in both Supernatural Horror in Literature and Danse Macabre -- is a subtle writer who doesn't over-explain the plot, or even fully explain it, trusting the reader to be able to connect the dots with the climax.
October 10, 2016
This is a curious novella. For all that vampires are a popular staple of horror fiction, it's actually very rare that tales of psychic vampirism seem to appear. I call it that as it's the nearest analogy I can make; the bond between Denis and Raoul reminds me of that of Carmilla and Laura, but in truth the story is very cryptic and subtle, and is disinclined to give a straightforward answer as to 'Raoul's true nature.
As it was written in the 50s and set even earlier in the 20th Century the language can be a touch on the florid and difficult side, with spatterings of French that are left untranslated. If you're interested in reading this it might be worthwhile to have a smartphone or a couple of dictionaries on standby just in case. However this does mean that the language helps set the somewhat gothic tone of the novella.
I would recommend this primarily for readers who enjoy the works of Ambrose Bierce, M R James and similar authors of weird and supernatural fiction from the early 20th century.
I received a MOBI of this for free from Valancourt Books in return for an honest review.
As it was written in the 50s and set even earlier in the 20th Century the language can be a touch on the florid and difficult side, with spatterings of French that are left untranslated. If you're interested in reading this it might be worthwhile to have a smartphone or a couple of dictionaries on standby just in case. However this does mean that the language helps set the somewhat gothic tone of the novella.
I would recommend this primarily for readers who enjoy the works of Ambrose Bierce, M R James and similar authors of weird and supernatural fiction from the early 20th century.
I received a MOBI of this for free from Valancourt Books in return for an honest review.
March 22, 2024
I think this book fell down for me in that it did not really make me uneasy or apprehensive. The book is aiming to create an atmosphere of dread, but it just fell flat for me. The book felt like it dragged on for too long at points. In addition, it did not help that none of the characters were very developed. Ambiguous endings are often good things in horror/creepy tales, but, to be honest, this ending was so ambiguous and underwhelming that it left me confused and bored, not wondering like I think the author intended.
A random aside, but as I was listening to the first chapter of the book, I could not help but think this book was, unintentionally, an interesting analogy of what child-grooming and pedophilia might look like from the outside in. Maybe that was why the book did not seem sufficiently scary to me – I already had a far scarier concept in the back of my mind that no supernatural undead could rival.
A random aside, but as I was listening to the first chapter of the book, I could not help but think this book was, unintentionally, an interesting analogy of what child-grooming and pedophilia might look like from the outside in. Maybe that was why the book did not seem sufficiently scary to me – I already had a far scarier concept in the back of my mind that no supernatural undead could rival.
August 2, 2015
I ripped through this in a couple hours, and it certainly left an impression on me.
October 12, 2021
WHY IS NOBODY READING THIS BOOK?!?!?! I NEED A 20 PAGE ESSAY ON THIS NOVELA RIGHT NOW!!
Anyways, this is a good book. It’s very well written with beautiful prose and it was at no point ever boring or uninteresting. The mystery was great and I loved the eerie atmosphere of the whole book. I also loved the themes it very subtly explored through metaphors (like changes in puberty, pedophilia and toxic relationships). Of course, I’m not sure if those ideas the author intended to explore in the first place, but that’s just how I percieved this novel. I think it’s very deep and beautiful and it’s the perfect length. The only problem I have with it is the fact that the characters weren’t developed much and there were some ideas and themes that were mentioned but never explained or alluded to again, although perhaps that was the whole point since the whole book is so ominous and intentionally unexplained to add to the mystery/horror aspect of it. I think it would be amazing if more people read it so that we could discuss the ending and certain other unexplained aspects of it as a community but it seems like, at least for now, it will remain just a complete mystery to me.
Anyways, this is a good book. It’s very well written with beautiful prose and it was at no point ever boring or uninteresting. The mystery was great and I loved the eerie atmosphere of the whole book. I also loved the themes it very subtly explored through metaphors (like changes in puberty, pedophilia and toxic relationships). Of course, I’m not sure if those ideas the author intended to explore in the first place, but that’s just how I percieved this novel. I think it’s very deep and beautiful and it’s the perfect length. The only problem I have with it is the fact that the characters weren’t developed much and there were some ideas and themes that were mentioned but never explained or alluded to again, although perhaps that was the whole point since the whole book is so ominous and intentionally unexplained to add to the mystery/horror aspect of it. I think it would be amazing if more people read it so that we could discuss the ending and certain other unexplained aspects of it as a community but it seems like, at least for now, it will remain just a complete mystery to me.
July 2, 2023
This is a novella-length story. It's short enough that it has been included in several short story anthologies, including one that I own called A Taste for Blood (Martin H. Greenberg, ed.). I didn't even realize that I had a copy of the story until I did a search on isfdb.com
If you are on the fence about buying the somewhat expensive Arkham House edition, check out isfdb.com for cheaper options! There are at least 4 different anthologies listed there that contain this story, including The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels.
I found this story atmospheric and creepy. As the goodreads summary suggests, it belongs in the same genre as James's Turn of the Screw because it concerns supernatural influences on children. The author's style is somewhat old-fashioned, considering that this story was first published in 1954. But I see that Metcalfe's earliest publications go back to the 1920's, so that probably accounts for it.
I'd love to read more of Metcalfe's work. Looks like Ash Tree Press printed a good collection, called Nightmare Jack and Other Stories.
If you are on the fence about buying the somewhat expensive Arkham House edition, check out isfdb.com for cheaper options! There are at least 4 different anthologies listed there that contain this story, including The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels.
I found this story atmospheric and creepy. As the goodreads summary suggests, it belongs in the same genre as James's Turn of the Screw because it concerns supernatural influences on children. The author's style is somewhat old-fashioned, considering that this story was first published in 1954. But I see that Metcalfe's earliest publications go back to the 1920's, so that probably accounts for it.
I'd love to read more of Metcalfe's work. Looks like Ash Tree Press printed a good collection, called Nightmare Jack and Other Stories.
October 23, 2022
This is, mostly, a grippingly nasty little horror story of a sort of energy vampire and the young boy it decides upon as a target. The problem is that Metcalfe writes it as a novella so it never quite has the tension it so desperately needs. If he had decided upon it as a novel or as a short story it could have probably been better structured, but as it is it feels slightly too flabby and muddled to match the highest points or Metcalfe’s writing. The best of it is excellent, but Metcalfe tends to waffle a bit trying to build tension, which has the opposite effect. A bit of a missed opportunity on the whole
July 10, 2021
Much more silly than scary. The narrator is amazingly tolerant of weird things happening all around him, and at the same time he’s oblivious to pretty much everything. It all creates an unintentionally comic feel, like an MST3K movie. Unfortunately, it’s not funny enough to be even a minor classic of poor writing, and so I don’t think I could recommend it to anyone, be they fans of horror or kitsch.
April 1, 2024
I'm glad that I saw this book recommended in the comments section on Carmilla. It was atmospheric, the dad's POV was quite relatable, and I liked the details in the lore - the creature's appearance, the scarecrow, etc..
June 7, 2018
This is a good story in the "quiet horror" genre -- a tale of a man whose son becomes by degrees a hostile stranger to him, under the influence of a mysterious handyman who has entered their lives. It's is a short book (85 pages) but the story unfolds slowly and becomes gradually more disturbing.
October 20, 2024
Nors knyga nesiekia 80 puslapių, tačiau vis tiek atrodo ištempta. Visoje istorijoje bandoma sukelti įtampa, vedama prie kažkokios atomazgos, kulminacijos, kurios galiausiai autorius nepateikia. Kaip liaudyje sakoma, skaitytojas paliekamas su mėlynais margučiais.
December 15, 2018
Short, and classically eerie. This is a lovely paranormal tale for reading on a dark night
October 15, 2023
Read as part of The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels
October 22, 2025
(3.75☆'s)
February 20, 2018
I came across this story years ago in an obscure collection of vampire stories. The one by Tanith Lee and this one stood out the most and over the years I still return to read them once in a while. "The Feasting Dead" represents a rarity even among past era classics: you don't find vampires like this one anywhere. The writing style is typical of turn of the century and may turn away some readers. I believe it's essential to the gothic mood and pace of the story. Without it, you would lose the sense of dread always looming behind the next page. That's probably why it made such an impact with me. You don't see what's coming until it happens and even then, you're still left reeling once it does.
July 27, 2022
Really just a short story padded up to slim novella length. The "undead" (if indeed he is one) is handled well, seeming vague and creepy, sometimes almost not there. The nature of the vampirism is never overtly stated but has a horrible feeling of paedophilia about it. The trouble is that Metcalfe throws in too many creepy tropes -- an ever-nearing scarecrow that might have been inspired by M R James, a box being loaded onto a train that evokes Dracula. But in the end it all just seems confusing rather than interestingly ambiguous.
Want to read
July 16, 2011Stephen King recommended book. Noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981.
November 10, 2015
Creepy story about an vampiric presences attacking a man and his young boy, I just felt that the prose was a bit off-key.
December 13, 2019
Delicious, Gothic creepiness!
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