
A disillusioned psychology professor, haunted by a violent past, abandons his rural post and flees into a mist‑shrouded forest, his hands still stained with fresh blood. The woods feel both familiar and foreboding, echoing ancient superstitions that tug at his rational mind. As he wanders, he senses another presence—something that seems to belong to the very shadows he despises.
Soon he encounters a striking young student, a brilliant but reclusive scholar of abnormal psychology, sprinting through the trees as if pursued. Their unexpected meeting forces both to confront the thin line between scientific explanation and the uncanny legends that linger in the region. Together they must navigate fear, memory loss, and a growing sense that the forest itself may be alive with a hidden, older darkness.
Language
en
Duration
~19 minutes (19K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-02-11
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1918–1988
A prolific American pulp writer, he moved easily between science fiction, mystery, suspense, and early television. His stories often pair fast-moving plots with an interest in fear, pressure, and the strange corners of ordinary life.
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