THE NIGHTCHARMER

by Claude Seignolle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 1983

The first English translations of a contemporary French writer of horror, folklore, and the supernatural: eight Gothic stories, mostly from the 1960s. In the title tale, the narrator visits the manor of an aged, eccentric zoologist--and finds himself spellbound, while sleeping, by the nightcharmer bird--a legendary ""cunning, winged creature that lured the simple-minded to utter terror."" (Ultimately, however, the narrator realizes that ""the Nightcharmer, be it an owl, a crow, a heron, or any bird that could feel this flying death, was neither legend nor man's enemy, but rather a protector."") The longest story is ""The Outlander""--in which a human-formed demon comes to a small town, takes over for the local blacksmith (who has conveniently committed grisly suicide), but who finds himself being swayed from his Satanic mission by human lust and love. And the other pieces feature ghosts (both human and canine); a healer who cures by taking the patient's disease upon himself (with ghastly results); and a movie star who commits suicide when she believes--mistakenly--that her post-car-crash plastic surgery has been a gruesome failure. Despite a glowing foreword by Lawrence Durrell (who applauds Seignolle's ""poetic density"") and grand claims by editor Deudon (""The works of Claude Seignolle are a true initiation into the patrimony of the rustic soul""): fairly standard tales of the supernatural, with a layer or two of added texture and a bit of extra regional interest for folklorists.

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Texas A&M Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1983

Categories: FICTION