Strange Alliance

Doctor Spechaug, a psychology professor in a small provincial town, wakes with blood on his hands and clothes and no memory of what he has done. As he makes his way through the woods toward the college, his hatred of the local peasants, his urge to escape Glen Oaks, and the forest's strange hold on him all suggest that his rational, scientific mind is beginning to fracture. Deep in the trees, that buried self stirs. He feels a sudden freedom and vitality, then encounters Edith Bailey, a brilliant, enigmatic psychology student being hunted by a brutal tramp. Spechaug responds with savage force, and Edith's unsettling calm suggests she recognizes the darkness in him. Their meeting becomes a revelation: both are haunted by inherited fears and obsessions from their Hungarian pasts, including dread of mirrors, shadows, the full moon, and silver. Bound by contempt for humanity, fascination with the supernatural, and a sense of ancient, inescapable dread, they decide to flee together—drawn not just to each other, but toward a shared destiny that may be monstrous. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.