THE ROOM IN THE TOWER (1912) – This story was written by E.F. Benson. The British narrator has a recurring nightmare in which he visits his friend John Clinton at his family manor. The other family members, including his mother Mrs. Stone, are cold and grim toward him.
Mrs. Stone assigns the unnamed narrator to a room in the tower and has John lead the way. When the dreamer enters the room, he sees something horrific but always awakens before whatever it is fully registers in his mind.
This goes on for years, with Clinton family members aging in the dream. At one point Mrs. Stone dies, yet in the illogic of the narrator’s dream she is still in the manor when he visits, and she still has John lead him to the room in the tower. The ending of the dream is the same. Continue reading
THE DUST CLOUD (1912) – Halloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog with a look at this tale written by British author E.F. Benson. The story deals with a ghostly automobile and for me the 1912 setting and several macabre touches give it a certain charm that makes it irresistible. 
After-dinner conversation about the finer points of assorted automobiles turns to Harry’s late friend Guy Elphinstone, another car enthusiast. Elphinstone was a singularly unpleasant man and often spitefully drove over chickens and rabbits who got in his way as he flew along the roadways. 
