The Fearsome Touch of Death by Robert E. Howard Episode #220
Robert E. Howard | June 16, 2024-
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The Fearsome Touch of Death by Robert E. Howard Episode #220
Robert E. Howard
THE FEARSOME TOUCH OF DEATH
Episode #220 · Robert E. Howard · Narrated by Scott Miller
A single man agrees to sit through the night with a body no one else cared to watch. He considers himself practical, grounded, untouched by superstition. The house is quiet, the lamp burns low, and nothing in the room should be capable of harm.
But the mind does not remain still in the dark. Silence grows heavy. A faint movement becomes a threat. The memory of cold flesh lingers in the hand. Each passing hour tests Falred’s confidence in his own judgment, and what began as a simple courtesy becomes a private trial of nerve. He can endure boredom. He cannot endure the thought that something in the room might be waiting for him to falter.
Robert E. Howard builds the tension with deliberate restraint. There are no elaborate contrivances, no sprawling cast, no escape into distraction. The focus never leaves the room, the body on the bed, and the man who must decide whether to light the lamp or remain in darkness. By the time dawn approaches, the real danger is no longer the corpse. It is the choice Falred makes when fear closes in.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) wrote prolifically for Weird Tales, where his stories appeared throughout the early 1930s alongside H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. He created Conan the Barbarian, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn, shaping the field of heroic fantasy while also contributing grim tales of psychological dread. Howard’s fiction ranged from frontier adventures to supernatural horror, and his shorter pieces often relied on stripped-down settings and escalating tension. “The Fearsome Touch of Death” reflects that precision—an economical narrative that channels his talent for atmosphere into a confined space where fear does the heavy lifting.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to The Fearsome Touch of Death by Robert E. Howard — a vintage science fiction story of a lone vigil that spirals into night-bound terror.
ROBERT E. HOWARD SHORT STORIES
Robert E. Howard was one of the most distinctive voices to emerge from the pulp magazine era, writing with a raw intensity that set his stories apart from his contemporaries. Born in 1906 in Texas, Howard wrote at a relentless pace during the late 1920s and early 1930s, contributing to magazines like Weird Tales and helping define what would later become sword-and-sorcery fiction. His characters live in harsh worlds where strength, instinct, and willpower matter more than civilization’s rules.
While he is best known for creating Conan the Barbarian, Howard’s range extended far beyond heroic fantasy. His stories explore ancient curses, forgotten civilizations, strange dimensions, and encounters with forces that defy explanation. A man faces something lurking just beyond the edge of life itself. Another stares into mirrors that reveal more than reflection. A quiet setting becomes the stage for something far older and more dangerous than anyone expected.
Howard’s writing carries a sense of urgency. His prose moves quickly, driven by vivid imagery and a constant feeling that danger is never far away. Even when his stories turn inward, exploring fear or identity, there is always pressure building beneath the surface. His characters are rarely safe, and the unknown is never something that can be easily understood or controlled.
Though his life was tragically short, Howard’s influence on speculative fiction has lasted for generations. The stories below capture a different side of his work—eerie, unsettling, and filled with moments where reality slips just enough to reveal something far more dangerous waiting underneath.
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