Discussion For August 14 - The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury

[GNTLGNT]

A shout out to fljoe0 -- thank you for starting this short story weekly reading group. So many new authors. Discovery of their styles not usually read. Excellent input from all the members postings.

Guess we'll take next week off and return on August 28th.

...I appreciate it very much as well...got me out of my comfort zone if you will....

 

[Neesy]

And how about that ending? The doctor takes out his scalpel. yikes.

I found another link that worked

Yes - that was a very creepy story - while reading it I started thinking of Chucky for some reason (although I've never seen the whole movie, just a few snippets).

GNT can probably give you a shot for that.

That's cute - yup - I think the doctor might have done away with the little Lucifer

 

[Neesy]

...Watson! My 7%solution please!!!.....

Oh - in that case - go ahead - I'm waiting! (Where will you be putting the needle?)

 

[HollyGolightly]

What a great story!! I don't read much Bradbury but every time I do he manages to creep me out totally. That was so good! And until that doctor started in - I almost felt like it could really just be insanity - just the parent's imagination - a kind of contagious postpartum depression. I have to absorb it a little longer to find a better way to express my thoughts. I need to read more Bradbury (and more Lovecraft too). Such pioneers of creepy stories. This story reminded me a little of that weird movie from the 70s and the baby with the claw hand - what was it????? Gotta google!!

bingo! Not quite the same. Just reminded me of it a bit. Small Assassin was much better. I'm surprised there hasn't been a Twilight Zone or other serial make of it. Maybe so.

 

[HollyGolightly]

A shout out to fljoe0 -- thank you for starting this short story weekly reading group. So many new authors. Discovery of their styles not usually read. Excellent input from all the members postings.

Guess we'll take next week off and return on August 28th.

It would be so superfine if someone would pick a story before we sign off for a while - that way we'd have plenty of time to read.

That was a dark tale with some wacky doctoring.

That doctor gave some of the worst advice I've ever heard. He gave David a sedative to knock him out when he was home alone with a baby.

How about that! Maybe he was thinking the cook would take care of the baby?

....of all the Ray I read as a young GNT, I missed this one and the entire collection somehow....holy crappola was this ever a different side of the Master....should be required reading in HS Sex Ed classes....I agree Spidey that there was the scent of Rosemary Baby lotion.....certainly the womb as an incubator of evil is not a revolutionary trope, but he made it one of the creepier ones.....if I were Dad, I’d be hookin’ another stogie from the sawbones and showing the whole mess the heels of his shoes....

Agreed!

The doctor said he was going to give him something to knock him out for 24 hours. That's a long time to leave your baby unattended.

I wouldn't want to be sedated around that baby.

I'm going to be leery of babies now - especially the ones who seem bright.

I could not read the link as AVG claimed it was infected with something suspicious?

"Infected with HTML:Script-inf[Susp]"

Sorry

Bummer, Neesy! I hope you can find it - it was good. Maybe I could copy & paste it to you? Let me know

Do you think the doctor succeeded in "doing away with/ killing " the baby ?

I think he was determined. But maybe the baby figured that out too!

GNT can probably give you a shot for that.

 

[HollyGolightly]

I found another link that worked

Yes - that was a very creepy story - while reading it I started thinking of Chucky for some reason (although I've never seen the whole movie, just a few snippets).




That's cute - yup - I think the doctor might have done away with the little Lucifer

Ha - clearly I just got caught up on this thread!! Glad you didn't need the shot!

 

[Tery]

After that scary stuff how about something light? It's not a short story per se but it's James Thurber and it's hilarious!

The Night The Bed Fell

 

[Spideyman]

After that scary stuff how about something light? It's not a short story per se but it's James Thurber and it's hilarious!

The Night The Bed Fell

Sounds like a plan!!

 

[cat in a bag]

I meant to get here last night but I "rested" my eyes for just a minute and fell asleep! Woke up to my husband calling me at 11 to tell me to watch the weather...parts of town got up to baseball size hail, and the storm was tornado warned. Lots of people had hail damage just a few weeks ago, now another storm hit the same areas!

We are all good at my house. No damage, didn't even really rain here. Just lots of lightning and thunder.

Anyway...this was a very creepy story! Right from the beginning, when Alice is saying she is being murdered. I was convinced it was post-partum until David slipped on the toy. Oooooh!! I want to know how Alice felt and behaved the whole pregnancy. Did she feel something wrong from the beginning? Or not til delivery?

The Dr was a hoot. Here! Take this pill! Sleep, sleep, all will be better in the morning. And the ending, when he took out his scalpel, that reminded me of Gage and Pet Sematary.

I think the part where David realizes the reason behind the baby always having a red face, like he had been crying hard but no one heard him, actually was because he was out of the crib moving around and exerting himself was great. It gave me goosebumps.

Awesome little scary story.