The Other Place

J. B. Priestley (1894-1984) was a versatile and prolific novelist and playwright, but in The Other Place (1953) he shows an unexpected talent, proving himself a master of the weird tale. In "The Grey Ones," a man visits a psychiatrist after he becomes convinced that a group of demons masquerading as people are plotting the overthrow of the human race . . . but what if he's not insane? In "Guest of Honour," a banquet speech becomes a horrifying affair when the keynote speaker realizes his audience is made up of monstrous and menacing creatures. "The Leadington Incident" recounts the disturbing experience of a Cabinet minister who suddenly perceives that though the people around him move and talk as though alive, they are all actually just animated corpses or sleepwalking zombies. The nine tales in this collection are strange, fantastic, and often unsettling, and they represent Priestley at his best.