Julius Long

　　Julius W. Long (1907 -1955) was an Ohio-based lawyer and author of horror and detective fiction.

　　American Literatures features his 1934 short story, The Pale Man. It was published in Weird Tales, (September 1934, vol. 24, no. 3). The story seems to be his finest effort, and I think it is a great effort worthy of our time and attention. I was dismayed to see that it was not highly rated by some readers -- eeking out a relatively meager rating 6.7. I decided to to make feature it as The Short Story of the Day on Oct 18, 2022 since it is part of our library of Halloween stories and I hope readers will find it to their liking.

　　Personally, I enjoy stories and movies that elude me; where I am unsure about what's going on or how the story will end. But I also enjoy stories where I do know what's going on and I am almost 100% certain how it will end. When it comes to the latter, it works for me when the story is so well told that I enjoy the way it plays out. I think this story can offer either of those experiences to the reader -- the first-time reader might not guess what's unfolding, and the second-time or expert reader might realize what's happening, but still enjoy the artful narrative leading to the final conclusion of the story. I hope you enjoy reading it.