‘Darned if the squaw hain’t got on all her war paint!’
The name Bram Stoker is synonymous to many with Dracula, and with good reason. The story has had an impact on both the medium of film and the horror genre that had cemented its legacy as one of the most influential of all time.
This week’s recommendation is one of Stoker’s comparatively lesser-known works, a short story called The Squaw, first published in 1893.
It is a nasty little tale about three tourists in Nurenberg Germany, taking a tour of an old castle. One of the group, an arrogant man fresh from American frontier, accidentally kills a kitten while carelessly dropping a rock on it in an attempt to playfully scare it, sending its mother into a rage.
As the story progresses, the trio is shown around the castle’s torture chamber at the top of a tall tower, with its crown jewel, an iron maiden (referred to in this story as the iron virgin).
I won’t spoil any more, but it has a gruesome conclusion you’ll want to read for yourself.
The story deals with themes of revenge, motherhood, colonialism and the loss of an innocent, all presented with a dark ironic sense of humor. I’ve seen the subtext be interpreted in many different ways, and would be interested to hear any thoughts on it.
The Squaw is in the public domain, and can be accessed from other archival projects.