Episode 411 - An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street

Clearly a Christmas ghost story, not quite up to M. R. James.

Aaron Gullison

I agree with both Ur frustrations over this story. I feel the same way about many of LeFanu's stories. The notable exceptions are: Of course, Carmilla BUT let me also recommend you both consider another that is TRULY weirdly disturbing, which is Schalkin the Painter. This one really creeped me out, even as it had the most surreal plotline. Give it a try & see what you think of it.

Did anyone else deduce the bear's name? Obviously, since there's a Tom & a Dick, the bear's name is Harry.

nils hedglin

The most disturbing part was the use of the word of sensuality to describe the judge.

Nadia Astorga

Anybody else think Baron Duhlstoerf later moved to Kingsport to become "The Terrible Old Man?" Hence the fact he "filled the parlour windows with bottles of indescribable horrors."

no but i cant get that image out of my head now. thanks:)

For that description of creepy-portrait-guy. Anyone else think of an angry Max Klinger in a silk floral kimono?

I remember when I first got my hands on a collection of Le Fanu stories. At the time I really couldn't believe how a guy who is capable of pieces like "Carmilla" or "Green Tea" can write something so utterly uninspired and trite. Like Chad I'm still clinging to the possibility that I might have missed something here, although my hopes in this direction have diminished considerably after listening to the episode.

Speaking of sniffing glue - I once worked with a guy whose sister became convinced that there were people living in her walls. There turned out to be a rational and scientific explanation for that as well, which was that she was literally smoking crack - an often overlooked possibility in weird fiction.

On bears in weird fiction, there’s Jeff Vandermeer’s “The Third Bear” <a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/vandermeer_04_07/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/vandermeer_04_07/</a>

It's been a while since we've heard the "Lovecraft After Dark" theme.

William Rieder

Is that a bear that HAS seizures, or a bear that CAUSES seizures? Because a bear that causes seizures when you look at him would be a ridiculously efficient apex predator.

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

I was hoping for some saxophone riffs when the sensual judge appeared.

Chris doesn't get enough bears in weird fiction. Or seizures. Of course, scariest of all...seizure bears.

Please don't eat my deep one relatives.

Hears “it is not worth telling this story, let alone writing”... turns off podcast makes fish sticks.

The discussion on the rat’s possible human like face made me think of this cat with a human face that is making the rounds on the net. <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fVpYCXhmKjk" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fVpYCXhmKjk</a>

Alan Ricks

6'1"? Everybody check out this LA hipster.

Frank Lee

By the way, my ridiculous comment demonstrates that I really am too obsessed with your podcast. Only a person who has listened to episodes repeatedly is going to see all this.

This story seems an obvious influence on "The Judge's House" by Bram Stoker, a much superior (and later) story. *Both writers are Irish *Judge in both stories *Hanging in both stories *HAUNTED PORTRAIT in both stories *Rats in both stories *An odd hanging rope in both stories (bell rope vs. jump rope) *Rats with HUMAN EMOTIONS in both stories. Here it's the face of the rat, but in "The Judge's House," there is a "squeak of pure hatred," which I remember you guys going on for some time about in that episode. There was a funny moment in this episode when you guys were talking about how you wished the ghost had hanged the character, rather than himself. But back when you were doing the Stoker story, you discussed how shocking it was that the ghost hangs a character, because that never happens. I think reading Stoker's story first sort of spoiled you for this story, since the Stoker story is so much better. I am pretty sure that Stoker read the story by his fellow Irishman, thought "hey, this has some good ideas, but I can make this better," and voila! "The Judge's House."

I mean there are plenty of bears in the weird tales I read maybe we're talking about two different things