Short Fiction · Chapter
Mr. Remnant’s Z-Ray explained
Dr.
What happens
Dr. Lewis returns home after his visit to the Garth, troubled by the strange tree he witnessed in his garden. He conceals the truth from Mr. Remnant, who insists on his theory of a German Z-Ray causing suicides and murders. Later, Lewis's brother-in-law Mr. Merritt arrives from the industrial Midlands and describes a reign of terror there, with unexplained disappearances and attacks on munition works, deepening the mystery.
Themes in this chapter
Madness and Psychological Horror
The pervasive fear and paranoia in Midlingham, the 'reign of terror,' and the mysterious tree in Lewis's garden evoke psychological horror.
The Urban Mystery
The unexplained events in both rural Meirion and industrial Midlingham create a sense of an unknown, lurking danger.
Supernatural and the Divine
The tree that changes shape and displays strange lights hints at supernatural forces beyond scientific explanation.
Characters to notice
- Dr. Lewis
Returns home perplexed by the strange tree; conceals the truth from Remnant; listens to Merritt's account of terror in the Midlands.
- Mr. Remnant
Insists on his Z-Ray theory, attributing recent deaths and attacks to German 'suggestions' sent via the ray.
- Mr. and Mrs. Merritt
Mr. Merritt visits Porth with his wife; describes the terror and unexplained events in Midlingham, including a man who vanished after taking a shortcut.
Key passages
“The strange boughs which had amazed him had vanished; there was no appearance now of colors or of fires.”
The bizarre branches that had astonished him were gone, and there were no longer any colors or flames visible.
Describes the disappearance of the tree's supernatural features.
“It is possible that the first impact of the Ray produces violent nervous excitement, which would manifest itself externally.”
The initial effect of the Ray might cause intense nervous agitation that shows outwardly.
Remnant's explanation for the violent behavior of those affected by the Z-Ray.
“People are afraid to go about alone at nights in the outskirts. They make up parties at the stations to go home together if it’s anything like dark, or if there are any lonely bits on their way.”
People fear walking alone at night in the suburbs, so they form groups at stations to travel home together when it's dark or through isolated areas.
Merritt describes the atmosphere of fear in Midlingham.
“He was found lying on his back in the middle of a field—some way from the path. He was dead. The doctors said he’d been suffocated. Nobody knows how.”
He was discovered dead on his back in a field, away from the path, and doctors determined he had been suffocated, though the cause remains unknown.
Account of a man who vanished and was later found dead under mysterious circumstances.