Caterpillars, by E.F. Benson (1912)

 As an admitted newcomer to the works of E.F. Benson, I must say that he seems to have an obsession, or at least a great dislike, of small things that crawl along either on their bellies or on many legs – an idea I’d largely say I agree with.  Some four stories into his works, I’ve seen such beasts appear either in corporeal or incorporeal forms (or in the case of one slug, a wood cutting that turns into something more manifestly real), and obviously that is the case with “Caterpillars” (1912), which gives away what the menace is in the very title.

Or does it?

The story begins with a brief description of ghosts, and what their visitations may entail, which leads this reader to believe that the titular villains are perhaps not so terrestrial as they may seem.  Take into consideration as well how they do away with their victims (if one believes them to be so), and we can perhaps consider that they are something more than mere insects.  Ghosts though?  Even to me that’s something of a stretch, and I far prefer the bestial “ghosts” of M.R. James to the spectral ones of Henry James.

The narrative is brief, as is the story.  A group of friends gather in a large country house, more a mansion than anything else, where the odd room assignments trouble on guest’s sleep.  Awaking one night in something of a fit, with a feeling of apprehension, he discovers (or perhaps dreams) that a swarm of odd caterpillars are on the landing and in a room downstairs.  Phosphorescent and otherworldly these insects are, glowing with evil as well as a dull light, and our narrator is quite traumatized by the experience, whether it was merely a dream or a true nocturnal visitation.

The next day a similar insect is found and dubbed “Cancer Inglisensis” because of its crab-like pincers.  The men dispose of the beast but see it again later, squashing it as it seems to have become aggressive towards them (as aggressive as a small caterpillar can be, at any rate).  Later that night the dream resumes, with more of the insects, this time making their way higher in the house and entering the bedroom of the narrator’s friend.

From here we jump forward a space and our narrator is talking about his dreams and experience there, when its revealed that the friend who was intruded upon was found dead shortly after his visit to the house.  In the same manner as the previous person who died in that same, forbidden room.  Not from any supernatural cause, nor from insect bites or wounds, but from a far more insidious death.  Cancer.

Benson leaves much of what has occurred vague and never delves very deeply into what, if anything, the caterpillars are.  We know they’re real, and that they seem to destroy whoever inhabits that downstairs room (similar in theme to James’ “The Ash Tree”), but how they cause cancer and death, or why, is a complete mystery.

Their glowing suggests potentially that they’re radioactive and thus cause cancer in that way, but their attitude towards humanity (open hostility and a sense of cunning) suggests they’re likely more than mere insects.  Whatever they are, I think we can all agree they’re in no way ghosts, despite what Benson says about specters and suggests that the ghosts have planned within this tale.

What exactly the theme is here is hard to say.  Premonitions, nature’s revenge, a weird haunting, perhaps radiated insects, or even something related to the oft-mentioned Sirocco (essentially a desert wind storm that travels from the Sahara and carries real-life superstitions), Benson never fully fleshes out what he’s driving at.  He delivers a great weird tale with some unnerving imagery, but ultimately the downfall of the tale is the downfall of the narrative.  Things have happened, and they’re awful, but they happen for no real reason to people who’ve committed no other crime than going to bed at night.

Regardless, I’d still suggest reading Caterpillars (which seems to have been anthologized many times over) and avoiding any glowing insects you might see crawling up the stairs at night.