Horror Short Story Review: "The Strange Ormonds" by Leitch Ritchie

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The unnamed narrator tells the reader this story comes to him from the now deceased Dr. S— of B— who kept it a close secret probably for fear of ridicule. Dr. S— only revealed as much as he did on the occasion of the death of his daughter. The narrator isn’t worried about ridicule. Mr. Ormond lived in semi-seclusion in a huge rambling house with a number of add-ons that made no sense to the viewer. Smoke came from various parts of the house, in addition to places like the chimney, where you’d expect it. Except for a housekeeper, only a Mr. Ormond lived in this old house for maybe thirty or forty years. At his death, he was promptly replaced by a near relative, also a Mr. Ormond. The townspeople only became aware of this transition when the latest Mr. Ormond showed up at church. And so it went for at least three centuries. And the Mr. Ormonds are regular church-goers so there can’t be anything untoward about them, right? Even if they’re a little…odd. The present Ormond shows up to church on Sunday looking particularly old and ill. Dr. S— considers it his duty as a physician and a human being to stop by the old rambling house and see it he can render any assistance. The gory, gothic, over-the-top ending no one apparently talked about in town comes as no surprise. And there are a few gaps, but none of them fatal. The story bears some resemblance to H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.” With its obscure publishing history, it’s unlikely Lovecraft every came across it, however, and really, this is not Lovecraft. For the lover of old horror, this would be an engaging read. Outside of those with that interest, however, it might be of less interest. Author Leitch Ritchie was a Scottish writer and journalist who, before throwing caution to the wind and adopting writing as his profession, had a day job as a clerk. He wrote four novels many travels pieces. He also wrote many supernatural short stories, including one of the earliest werewolf stories in English, “The Man-Wolf” in 1831. The only place I was able to find as text of this was in a convoluted place in Google Books. The same place as showed pages fashion plates of women’s hats from the 1840s. _____ Title: “The Strange Ormonds” Author: Leitch Ritchie (1800-1865) First published: written 1833, first (?) published The Beau Monde March 1, 1842 Source: ISFDB