Horror Story Review: "The Burned House" by Vincent O'Sullivan

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While traveling aboard ship across the Atlantic, one of a group of passengers notes they are passing the place where the Lusitania was sunk a year earlier. Whether he was correct or not, a somber mood comes over the passengers. They speak of ghosts—could the spirits of those unfortunates linger at the scene of their deaths? Most laugh this off, but one small man says strange things happen. No, he has never seen a ghost. Later, he and the narrator share a smoke on desk and the small man tells his tale. He was in a part of the country he didn’t know well and decided to take a walk. He found himself in a deserted area (yes, you’re right, @JohnRoberts, they never learn) and unsure of the way back. He finally saw a house, though it seemed unoccupied. A man walked by him, ignoring his greeting. He noticed a flicking light in the house. To his horror, he realized the house had caught fire. His attempts to save the people—a man and a woman—inside the house fail. That’s not the end of the horrors. Only later does he realize the fire was not hot. This is a sad, spooky little story. The revelation of what was the meaning of all this was spoiled only by it being several steps removed from the reader. I don’t know how it could have been executed other than it was, but when the reader learns the truth, both the victims and the witness are anonymous. A readable pdf of the story is available below: _____ Title: “The Burned House” Author: Vincent O’Sullivan (1868-1940) First published: The Century Magazine, October 1916 Source: ISFDB