Horror Story Review: "Mimic" by Donald A. Wollheim

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The unnamed narrator of this little tale tells the reader that he has always known about the man in the black cloak. No one likes him, but he doesn’t bother anyone. The little kids try to provoke him, but after he doesn’t get angry with their taunting, they ignore him. The only time anyone sees him is when he’s either coming home from or going to work. He avoids women to the point he appears to be frightened of them. He does his grocery shopping once a week at Antonio’s. He speaks to no one. Even at Antonio’s, he just points at what he wants. The narrator goes to college and gets a job assisting a museum curator. Mostly what he does there is pin insects, but he also learns how insects imitate to survive. Some species disguise themselves even amid the fierce army ants— This is a creepy little tale and is nicely told. However, one can see the end coming from a mile away. The writing is nice—almost nostalgic until end. The short story was the inspiration for a 1997 film by the same name directed by Guillermo del Toro. The text of the story is available at the link below. (may be a little hard to read) Title: “Mimic” Author: Donald A. Wollheim (1914-1990) First published: Astounding Stories Dec. 1942 Source: ISFDB