About the author: Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (1850 – 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms. (Wikipedia)
Synopsis: Our narrator has written a daily journal, beginning with his pleasant daily life in France. One day while resting by the Seine, he admires a Brazilian sailing ship pass by. Soon his journal reflects an increasing sense of foreboding, various physical ailments, and anxiety.
He becomes aware of a presence in his home, and finds mysterious things happening. His water bottle is repeatedly empty, and his milk disappears as well. He sees a flower picked from his garden, and hover in midair. He sees one of his books on the table, open, with the pages turning by themselves. He questions whether he is going mad, but discounts it as he is fully aware of his situation. He begins to believe there is an invisible, physical being in his house. This is confirmed when he looks in a mirror and fails to see his own reflection - and realizes the being is standing between him and the mirror, blocking his reflection.
He reads a newspaper account of Brazilians fleeing from a similar situation, and realizes the being - now called The Horla - must have jumped off the Brazilian sailing ship and followed him home.
He manages to trap The Horla in one room, and frantically sets the house on fire in an effort to kill him.
Review: This Edgar Allan Poe-like short story is certainly creepy and has an unsatisfying ending (which I won't reveal). The journal format is quite effective, slowly transitioning from his pleasant day-to-day life to increasing anxiety over the strange happenings.
His method of detecting the invisible being using the mirror is quite clever and effective.
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