Horror Story Review: "Seeing the World" by Ramsey Campbell

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The Hodges were that type of neighbor. Harry Hodges was given to horrible puns. They liked to inflict their music on Angela and Richard—playing the first movement of Mozart’s 40th symphony with a rhythm section the composer himself had neglected include. They apparently liked only the first movement, but they liked it quite a bit and played over and over. The Hodges also liked to travel abroad and showed the slides they brought back, whereas Angela and Richard stayed in country. On the night Hodges’s return from Italy, Angela and Richard are invited over for slides late. In fact, in invitation is more of a summons. All during the slideshow, Angela hears something, as if a television were left on in another room… This is a creepy little story with a gotcha ending. While author Ramsey Campbell leaves plenty of clues along the way, the reader is busy being repelled by the behavior of the Hodges. If not a great story, this is short and worth a few minutes read for the horror fan. I hasten to add to it is without gore. Author Ramsey Campbell is a prolific horror short story writer who was influenced early in his life by such writers as H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth. Campbell has also edited several volumes of collected short stories and was for a long time president of the British Fantasy Society. I have been unable to find a digital copy of this story. _____ Title: “Seeing the World” Author: Ramsey Campbell (b. 1946) First published: Shadows 7 (anthology) November 1984 Source: ISFDB Wikipedia