[j. d. worthington]

Interesting you've had that reaction. "Markheim" is, to my mind, the most "studied" of his tales of the supernatural; a bit too mechanical to be in the top rank. I say this despite HPL's high regard (at least, in SHiL) for the tale -- which may owe something to its thematic similarities to Poe's "William Wilson".

"Thrawn Janet", in my opinion, is quite another matter; a true masterpiece in weird storytelling. True, the dialect is a bit thick for most modern readers, but it is well worth the effort (and if you've accustomed yourself to works with such heavy dialect it should be actually a lead-pipe cinch), and it does add tremendously to the eeriness of the effect....