Help please in identifying a Short story/Novella

thebullkf

Hi Folks,

I'm looking for the name of a story i read quite a few years ago, i can't recall if it was in a compilation a lá "Alfred Hitchcock presents" or "Tales of the unexpected" , or somesuch , but basically it involves a guy working in a shop (pawn?) with an old man who forbids him to go upstairs/out the back of the shop, but the owner himself regularly disappears to indulge himself in whatever it is he's hiding from his younger cohort.

Anyway the young guy steals the key (i think the pandoras box is upstairs) and finds that there's a stage set up with some lifeless dolls/Marionettes on it.... gets creeped out...legs it.

Now- i think the old man dies or something/disappears (upstairs:eek:) and being the inquisitive sort the youg guy goes again upstairs where he sits on the stage on a lone chair and puts the puppetsd/dolls on his lap....and the story ends with them .."moving all over him.."...

sorry for the scant details:o i think the author is either Bradbury,Blackwood,or maybe even lovecraft but can't for the life of me recall the title:(

i distinctly remember being creeped out by it, including some of the imagery, like "...the smell of moldy peaches.." when describing the musty attic...also the size of the upstairs is far , far too big to be the ordinary upstairs of an asverage building....

Any and all help appreciated;)

thebullkf

Anybody?

Hermy

thebullkf wrote: »

"...the smell of moldy peaches.."

There was a band called the Mouldy Peaches - any chance the story is the origin of their name.










Probably talkiing through my hat.:o

agrif06

Ray Bradbury wrote a short story called "Marionettes Inc" - though I don't think it's the same story.

thebullkf

thanks folks, but doon't think its either:(

its bugging me:o

thebullkf

not sure now if its ramsey campbell,robert bloch....:o

thebullkf

feck it, if i come across it i'll post back.

@ mods feel free to close if you like:(

Vim Fuego

I don't know it but you ask in this thread on mobileread:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34005&page=29

It's a much bigger forum so hopefully someone there knows it.

thebullkf

Vim Fuego wrote: »

I don't know it but you ask in this thread on mobileread:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34005&page=29

It's a much bigger forum so hopefully someone there knows it.

cheers Vim Fuego, much appreciated:)