Spectral Curses and Enchantments
A Review of Elizabeth Walter’s IN THE MIST
Today’s Book Feature:
In The Mist: and other uncanny encounters, by Elizabeth Walter
Illustration by Stephen E. Fabian
Published by Arkham House, 1979. 202 pages.
Genre: short story (fiction); fantasy, horror, paranormal
In The Mist is a chilling collection of supernatural tales, inspired by the legends surrounding enigmatic places that author Elizabeth Walter has transited. A native of Wales, she draws inspiration from remote, enchanting pockets of the world encountered on her travels to expertly craft stories that reveal “a world beyond the usual limits of our consciousness: the world next door.”
One of the qualities of her writing that I most admire is her exceptional ability to create a compelling environment. In the preface, she expresses that settings are of vital importance, as these atmospheric conditions give root to a sense of tangibility in the extraordinary. Her descriptions of the sea in particular are stunning throughout the chapters of this book.
“The sea in all its moods, wind, snow, mist and darkness--these are the things I love. They can give a fantastic twist to the most familiar landscapes and objects--a parallel to what I like to do with ideas.” --Preface, viii.
Each fictional tale is organized by chapter, imagined from the lore of a real location:
The Concrete Captain: Cornwall, a coastal sea town
The Sin-Eater: Welsh border, sparsely populated farm villages
In The Mist: The Yorkshire Moors of Eastern England
Come and Get Me: North Wales, a derelict country estate
The Island of Regrets: Brittany, a remote island off the coast
The Hare: The Harz Mountains of Germany
Davy Jones’s Tale: The Coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales
Upon opening this book, a striking illustration by artist Stephen E. Fabian mirrors the title page, a black-and-white version of the cover art. It whimsically demonstrates the evocative collection of stories to follow. In the preface, Walter describes a “haunting” feeling that emanates from the places behind her stories. Her narrative landscapes are richly descriptive, and her characters conveyed honestly. These are not heroic people, but flawed, ordinary ones who find themselves fatally stumbling into situations beyond their comprehension. Against the backdrop of supernatural phenomena, their reactions make the circumstances accessible, and even more terrifying. Relating to these predicaments as a traveler, I smiled at the resounding, cautionary message of “trust and respect the locals, listen to their advice--or else.” Walter shares a bit of her process and reveals that she often writes the final line of the story before developing the characters and other details. The last sentence she penned in the introduction to this collection is, “Perhaps they will haunt you too.”
The Concrete Captain:
Along the remote shoreline and rough waters bordering Cornwall, this story is grounded in the dark superstitions of a small fishing village. In this tale, the terrible misadventure of expert boatman Jeremy Sparrow follows his refusal to pay his respects to an embedded concrete block known by locals as “The Captain.”
This story is the source for the cover artwork.
The Sin-Eater:
Chasing rood-loft churches in sparse hamlets along the Welsh border, architectural draughtsman Clive Tomlinson crosses expanses of bleak slopes, muddy farm fields, crumbling stone walls, and wandering sheep with his sketchbook in hand. An awkward encounter with a quiet farmer and his wife reveals a dark, murderous secret that draws Clive into danger.
“The door of the farmhouse had opened and an old man stood blinking in the light, like some diurnally awakened creature of darkness, unable to understand why it is not night” (pg. 23).
The practice of “sin-eating” is explored in this story, an old Welsh tradition of mysterious origin where a person symbolically consumes the sins of another by eating a specific kind of cake.
In The Mist:
A brilliantly descriptive tale of ghosts and family secrets, “In The Mist” follows reserved, established couple Mary and Ralph Hesketh on an autumn holiday motoring through the bleak moors of Yorkshire. The Heskeths’ predictable world intersects with the supernatural when they offer a lift to a stranded young man in military clothing, as an impenetrable mist envelops them.
In this story, Elizabeth Walter paints exceptional images of atmosphere:
“The bracken on the moorland plateau still gleamed redly, though whether in its own right or in the reflection of the setting sun it was impossible to say. It was a world of grayness and redness. The gray road lying like a folded ribbon across the red, flat, featureless moor; the red sun in a disc against the soft yet solid grayness of distance and the western horizon” (pg. 55).
And…
“On these moors there was nothing, not even sheep, only thin soil and bracken, a road that looped from one horizon to the other, and in the distance the clifflike scars of former subsidence. This morning there had been larks and puffy cloudlets. Now the sky had fallen, unfolding the earth. There were drops of moisture on the bracken fronds and on the windscreen wipers. Everything was static, immobile, as under an enchanter’s spell” (pg. 61).
Come And Get Me:
This tale transports the reader to an isolated, abandoned estate in the wild overgrowth of the Welsh hills. A chorus of birdsong echoes through the woodland leading to “Plas Aderyn,” meaning “place of the bird.” However, when Lieutenant Michael Hodges reaches the formerly grandiose residence, he is met with a shuttered site in deep decay--surrounded by eerie, foreboding silence. As he investigates the mystery of a maniacal laugh projecting from inside the property, the truth of its tragic past slowly unfolds.
“There was no trace of the sunlight they had left outside; it was as though the sun had never shone in these high rooms with their elaborate plaster-work ceilings, although the house faced southwest” (pg. 93).
The Island of Regrets:
It should probably go without saying that no engaged couple should set foot on an allegedly cursed island aptly named, “The Isle of Regrets.” But, against the stark warnings of the locals, fiancés Dora Matthews and Peter Quint do exactly that--and are met with ghastly consequences. As this story begins, the newly engaged couple are on a road trip along the Atlantic coast of France and stay in a modest hostelry called “Coq d’Or,” in Brittany. They inquire about and ultimately decide to test the dark legend surrounding the magic island off the coast, which reputedly grants the first wish you make upon setting foot there, but grants it in a way that makes you wish you hadn’t asked. This is a tale of enchantment, defiance, and a treacherous reckoning.
“The equinoctial gales had set in punctually that autumn. Too often the landscape was obscured by trailing clouds and ropes of rain. As for the seascape, it boiled and thundered and spurted, and the spray and sea-mist hung above it like steam” (pg. 105).
The Hare:
This story is set in the mystic pine forests of the Harz Mountains, beneath the shadow of the Brocken. The year is 1979, and Germany is divided in two. Karlheinz Ackermann, an agent for the West, encounters a beguiling, beautiful agent from the East, and a torrid attraction develops. He keeps intercepting the path of a large hare, who precedes every meeting with the elusive, enchanting Anna. Hares hold a supernatural significance to the local beliefs, as it was speculated that witches could shapeshift into them. The Brocken, the highest mountain peak in Germany, is famously tied to the annual Walpurgisnacht festival, where witches gather.
“The path through the pine-wood was narrow and steep and silent” (pg. 145).
Davy Jones’s Tale:
Stories of the sea often end in tragedy, as water is the giver and taker of life. “Davy Jones’s Tale” is one of ghosts, shipwrecks, family tragedy, and curses. Based in the fishing culture of Pembrokeshire, this story is told in the voice of the main character, David Matthew Jones of Porthfynnon. Davy tells of his life, the legends surrounding the waters he navigates, and personal encounters with the supernatural. Wonder, grief, betrayal, and loss thematically weave through his shared memories as the story concludes with a somber realization:
“There is no peace anywhere for me, except the peace I shall find in our sheltered flower-bright churchyard, out of the sound of the sea” (202).
I thoroughly enjoyed this read! It’s a perfect book to escape into on long winter nights. In The Mist is a shining example of fiction beautifully woven from the strands of myth and legend that define a place, and captivate the imaginations of those who seek adventure in “the world next door.”
Review by Jessie Howe. February 16th, 2021
In The Mist was published by Arkham House in 1979, with a limited run of 4,053 copies. Online resources where I have found used copies available are Amazon and Ebay. The edition I have in my possession was acquired while thrifting, a remarkably lucky find!