"The Vampire," a First Story by Cabell

A mention of JSTOR reminded me that I had taken advantage of their Covid lockdown free account special and gathered some Cabell articles to be read. Looking again I found a 1900 horror story "The Vampire" from Cabell's scrapbooks, introduced by Edgar MacDonald, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20078168
It is quite unlike anything else I have ever read by Cabell. I highly recommend the article and story.

It also reminded me of the letter "To Richard Cabell of Buckfastleigh, Devon, Armiger, Lord of the Manor of Brooke" from Ladies and Gentlemen. This addresses his ancestor whose rumored infernal dealings and mysterious and violent death were the inspiration for Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles.

You may need to register to read it.

>1 dscottn:

Yeah, you would need to subscribe to JSTOR to read that. But I'm pretty sure it was one of the PDFs I sent around to a number of Rabblers in clusters a few years back?

It is certainly an interesting story, though structurally and stylistically it seems somewhat immature. In some ways it prefigures 'An Amateur Ghost,' another of his earliest stories. It strikes me that both of them featuring the narrator being accosted while in bed might suggest some sort of traumatic juvenile memory?

>2 Crypto-Willobie: It is rather slight, not a hint of comedy. The tone reminds me of some of the quieter material in "The King In Yellow." Interesting point about some traumatic memory. That seems to ring true.

JSTOR is still offering free access for independent researchers through December 31, with a cap of 100 articles between now and then.

JSTOR is f'ing satan.

>3 dscottn:
Didn't realize about the temporary free access.

>4 paradoxosalpha:
Yeah, I know what you mean but if the devil offers to teach me slide guitar at the crossroads at midnight...

>4 paradoxosalpha: I won't be judgmental about whom they're sleeping with. When I had free access as University staff, they rarely had any worthwhile articles about my research topics. When I no longer had free access, I never bothered to check them out again, because they rarely had any worthwhile articles about my research topics. 4 1/2 months into covid-shutdown, it was more "my topics have changed a bit, it wouldn't hurt to look up their access policy." I did. It was temporarily free. I found about 40 articles on Chivalric Romance and about 20 on Cabell that may or may not be worthwhile. The first one I read was worthwhile.

On the other hand, while I try not to be judgmental, I would not mind hearing any juicy gossip about them.