Seems like I don't have time for lengthy horror stories anymore. Well, they certainly make interesting reading when traveling. This particular story, The Open Window, is a relatively short one by Saki (or Hector Hugh Munro). It is a weird little story about a man's visit to his new neighbors.

Since the story is incredibly short, I won't spend too much time talking about the plot. It basically has a main character, Mr. Nuttel, who is obliged to visit the neighbors when visiting his sister. At one of these houses, whilst waiting for the lady of the house to come down and greet him, he ends up chatting to one of the kids in the house. Unfortunately for him, she turns out to be a bit of a gossip.

And even worse for Mr. Nuttel, she loves talking about weirdly morbid details of their family history. Like the death of her uncle in a horridly tragic accident in the marshy area. This is especially unfortunate since Mr. Nuttel is one of those jittery folks who are jumpy about everything. Including morbid stories about family deaths. In fact, the reason the poor man moved to this area was to avoid excitement of any kind. Seems like there were weird happenings in this area, so much for his rest and relaxation.

I must say, this story is more funny than scary. And it is not one of those unintentionally funny, cringe-worthy ones either. Oh no. The author, Saki, is a gifted writer who has a way of making even the most moments seem hilarious. In this regard, I love the way he describes the discomfort of Mr Nuttel. It is more the language used by Saki and his manner of describing the situation that actually makes the reader laugh. Thus, his ponderings about the aunt falling into the 'nice division' and his detailing of the awkward silence between Nuttel and the niece are classic comedy moments.

On that note, it is interesting that Saki can breathe life into two characters into such few words. You'd think folks need longer stories in order to flesh out characters. Nah, not in this case. Here you get a gist of the personalities of each character from the way he treats them. This is evident from their mannerisms and the way they react to each other. In this way, Mr. Nuttel comes across as antisocial and lacking social skills (note how he goes on about his illness). At the same time, he appears more self-absorbed in his own worries than fretting about others.

As for the girl, she doesn't exactly come across as the obedient and cuter than you can believe sort of kid. You know what I mean. In a lot of stories, folks love upping the cuteness factor when creating a young character. Well, many but not all of them. This is one case where the kid comes across as thoughtful, sneaky and bit of a tattle tale. Once you have read the story through, read it again. This time, the words of the girl will make you laugh as you understand what she was really trying to say.