Weird Tales, April 1926

About this issue

This Gothic horror tale is set in a Portuguese colonial castle on the west African coast. A first-person narrator arrives at the estate of Dom Vincente da [surname cut off], a trader in rare woods, ivory, and enslaved people. Among the assembled guests is the mysterious de Montour, a gaunt, scarred nobleman from Normandy whose face bears claw marks and who makes cryptic toasts to Solomon binding demons. De Montour warns the narrator and others to bolt their doors. That night, a woodcutter is found torn to pieces, attributed to a leopard. De Montour reacts with visible terror. Tensions escalate when Baron von Schiller and Jean Desmarte fight over the flirtatious Marcita, an Italian guest. The narrator receives a slave, Gola, fascinated by his long curled hair. The story builds toward unrevealed horror involving de Montour, who appears connected to supernatural danger threatening the isolated compound.