Fear by L Ron Hubbard, L Ron Hubbard

Fear by L Ron Hubbard

Indeks Finanse, Finanse(1), Filozofos, Fesenjan, Fenix,

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Fear by L Ron Hubbard, L Ron Hubbard

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FEAR. Copyright © 1991 L. Ron Hubbard Library. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Earlier edition copyright © 1940
L. Ron Hubbard. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Bridge Publications, Inc., 4751 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
90029.
Jacket illustration by Gerry Grace.
Copyright © 1991 by L. Ron Hubbard Library
All rights reserved.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Hubbard, L. Ron (Lafayette Ron), 19H - 1986
Fear
1. Fiction, American. I. Title
ISBN 0-88404-599-4 (alk. paper)
AUTHOR'S NOTE
There is one thing which I wish the reader could keep in mind throughout, and that is: this story is
wholly logical, for all that will appear to the contrary. It is not a very nice story, nor should it be read
alone at midnight-for it is true that any man might have the following happen to him. Even you, today,
might lose four hours from your life and follow, then, in the course of James Lowry.
-
L. Ron Hubbard
FOREWORD
Once in a while an editor sees a story that is so finely crafted that it provides immeasurable pleasure
to bring it before the reader.
Fear
is just such a work, and more, for it not only has great reader appeal, it
uniformly inspires awe in top authors themselves. From Ray Bradbury to Isaac Asimov, it has earned rare
praise as an unforgettable, timeless classic.
Written more than fifty years ago, the story has not only withstood the test of time, but additionally,
it is credited by literary historians, such as David Hartwell, for transforming and creating "the foundations
of the contemporary horror genre."
Legend, too, has a habit of springing up around great works. Robert Heinlein, a close friend of L.
Ron Hubbard, was fond of relating the story of how
Fear
was written on a single train ride from New York
to Seattle.
But it is the impact on the reader that is the singular, most important test of any work.
Fear
delivers.
Stephen King, without question today's master of the horror genre, says it best when he looks back at
the accomplishment represented by
Fear:
L. Ron Hubbard's
Fear
is one of the few books in the chiller genre which actually merits
employment of the overworked adjective "classic,” as in "This is a classic tale of creeping,
surreal menace and horror." If you're not averse to a case of the cold chills-a rather bad one-and
you've never read
Fear,
I urge you to do so. Don't even wait for a dark and stormy night. This is
one of the really, really good ones.
In that, he is not alone. Whether read today or reread fifty years from today, the chilling impact will
never fade.
Why is this?
L. Ron Hubbard did something no other author had ever successfully done. Without the use of
supernatural contrivance-werewolves, vampires; without resorting to extreme venues-the haunted house-
on-the-hill, the cellar lab, the strange planet; and without using super-psychotic protagonists-Freddy
Kruger, Norman Bates; he took an ordinary man, in a very ordinary circumstance and descended him into
a completely plausible but extraordinary
hell.
Why is
Fear
so powerful? Because it really
could
happen. And
that
is terrifying.
That simple premise has garnered more accolades than a thousand books of wolves howling to a pale
moon on a "dark and stormy night."
So, if you're not afraid of the
ordinary,
this story is for you.
But, don't say we didn't warn you...
THE EDITORS
CHAPTER 1
For the briefest flicker he half recalled the birth of his own wanderlust. A theft in his dorm,
accusation, expulsion and disgrace...
Lurking, that lovely spring day, in the office of Dr. Chalmers, Atworthy College Medical Clinic,
there might have been two small spirits of the air, pressed back into the dark shadow behind the door,
avoiding as far as possible the warm sunlight which fell gently upon the rug.
Professor Lowry, buttoning his shirt, said, "So I am good for another year, am I?"
"For another thirty-eight years," smiled Dr. Chalmers. "A fellow with a rugged build like yours
doesn't have to worry much about a thing like malaria. Not even the best variety of bug Yucatan could
offer. You'll have a few chills, of course, but nothing to worry about. By the way, when are you going
back to Mexico?"
"If I go when my wife gives me leave, that'll be never."
"And if I had a woman as lovely as your wife Mary," said Chalmers, "Yucatan could go give its
malaria to somebody else. Oh, well"-and he tried to make himself believe he was not, after all, envious of
Atworthy's wandering ethnologist- "I never could see what you fellows saw in strange lands and places."
"Facts," said Lowry.
"Yes, I suppose. Facts about primitive sacrifice and demons and devils- Say, by the way, that was a
very nice article you had in the
Newspaper Weekly
last Sunday."
The door moved slightly, though it might have been caused by the cool breath of verdure which came
in the window.
"Thank you," said Lowry, trying not to look too pleased.
"Of course," said young Chalmers, "you were rather sticking out your neck. You had your friend
Tommy frothing about such insolence. He's very fond of his demons and devils, you know."
"He likes to pose," said Lowry. "But how do you mean, 'sticking out my neck'?"
"You haven't been here much under Jebson," said Chalmers. "He nearly crucified a young
mathematician for using Atworthy's name in a scientific magazine. But then, maybe our beloved president
didn't see it. Can't imagine the old stuffed shirt reading the
Newspaper Weekly,
anyway."
"Oh," said Lowry. "I thought you meant about my denying the existence of such things. Tommy-"
"Well, maybe I meant that, too," said Chalmers. "I guess we're all superstitious savages at heart. And
when you come out in bold-face type and ridicule ancient belief that demons caused sickness and woe and
when you throw dirt, so to speak, in the faces of luck and fate, you must be very, very sure of yourself."
"Why shouldn't I be sure of myself" said Lowry, smiling. "Did anyone ever meet a spirit of any sort
face to face? I mean, of course, that there aren't any authenticated cases on record anywhere."
"Not even," said Chalmers, "the visions of saints?"
"Anyone who starves himself long enough can see visions.
"Still," said Chalmers, "when you offer so wildly to present your head in a basket to the man who can
show you a sure-enough demon-"
"And my head in a basket he shall have," said Lowry. "For a man of science, you talk very weirdly,
old fellow."
"I have been in a psychiatric ward often enough," said Chalmers. "At first I used to think it was the
patient and then, after a while, I began to wonder. You know, demons are supposed to come out with the
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