The Drone

by A. Merritt

The talk had veered to werewolves, vampires, fox-women, and similar superstitions. Directed thence by a cabled report of measures to be taken against the Leopard Society, the murderous fanatics who drew on the skins of leopards, crouched like them on the boughs of trees, then launched themselves down upon their victims tearing their throats with talons of steel. That, and another report of a "hex-murder" in Pennsylvania where a woman had been beaten to death because it was thought she could assume the shape of a cat and cast evil spells upon those into whose houses, as cat, she crept.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

10 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1934

About the author

Abraham Grace Merritt, wrote under the name of A. Merritt, born in New Jersey moved as a child to Philadelphia, Pa. in 1894, began studying law and than switched to journalism. Later a very popular writer starting in 1919 of the teens, twenties and thirties, horror and fantasy genres. King of the purple prose, most famous The Moon Pool, a south seas lost island civilization, hidden underground and The Ship of Ishtar, an Arabian Nights type fable, and six other novels and short stories collections (he had written at first, just for fun). Nobody could do that variety better, sold millions of books in his career. The bright man, became editor of the most successful magazine during the Depression, The American Weekly , with a fabulous $100,000 in salary. A great traveler, in search of unusual items he collected. His private library of 5,000 volumes had many of the occult macabre kind. Yet this talented author is now largely been forgotten.

Reviews

[Benjamin Uke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gentlemen at the Explorers Club discuss cases of human transformation, fox women, were-wolves, etc. People understanding and becoming more and more relatable to animals, adopting their mannerisms and behavior.
Ending with a man who relates to bee's so much he turns into one.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I doubt I will ever encounter another werebee story. This clever concept is well executed. It is widely available for free online and in many Kindle anthologies making it virtually free or costing just pennies to read. I found my copy in The Werewolf Megapack. Recommended.

[Tonari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella l'idea, meno la realizzazione. Quando Merritt arriva al succo del discorso, alla vicenda che dà il titolo alla storia, il risultato è ottimo, ma prima la noia regna sovrana e quando finalmente il racconto si anima -puff- è già finito.

[Forked Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bumblebee man looses his stinger.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Not your typical shape shifter story. First published in 1934 in Fantasy magazine. Four gentlemen at the Explorer's Club are discussing the topic of people with animal qualities. One of them shares an interesting story involving a man or was he a hyena. This leads to the story of one of the other men who had an old acquaintance from college visit him. The man's body was taking on distinctly unusual characteristics. The college friend invite the man from the Explorer's Club to come and visit him and see his apiary. This leads to a weird experience, and then the story abruptly ends.
Available in HorrorBabble's Ultimate Weird Tales Collection, narrated by Ian Gordon.

[Justin Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gentlemen at the Explorers Club discuss cases of human transformation, fox women, were-wolves, etc. much of it routine, but for a third of it that's weird and outlandish.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird tale by a master.