Fear Files Parlour Episode
Idara Viengxay
This is not a new idea of course, but W.W. Jacobs manages to perfectly capture the horror of being granted these wishes and their unintended consequences.This theme shows up quite often in modern literature, movies, and television shows (to varying effect).
Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.
At the third glass his eyes got brighter, and he began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke of wild scenes and doughty deeds; of wars and plagues and strange peoples.
His father, smiling shamefacedly at his own credulity, held up the talisman, as his son, with a solemn face, somewhat marred by a wink at his mother, sat down at the piano and struck a few impressive chords.
They sat down by the fire again while the two men finished their pipes. Outside, the wind was higher than ever, and the old man started nervously at the sound of a door banging upstairs. A silence unusual and depressing settled upon all three, which lasted until the old couple rose to retire for the night.
In the brightness of the wintry sun next morning as it streamed over the breakfast table he laughed at his fears. There was an air of prosaic wholesomeness about the room which it had lacked on the previous night, and the dirty, shrivelled little paw was pitched on the sideboard with a carelessness which betokened no great belief in its virtues.
His wife made no reply. She was watching the mysterious movements of a man outside, who, peering in an undecided fashion at the house, appeared to be trying to make up his mind to enter. In mental connection with the two hundred pounds, she noticed that the stranger was well dressed, and wore a silk hat of glossy newness. Three times he paused at the gate, and then walked on again. The fourth time he stood with his hand upon it, and then with sudden resolution flung it open and walked up the path. Mrs. White at the same moment placed her hands behind her, and hurriedly unfastening the strings of her apron, put that useful article of apparel beneath the cushion of her chair.
It was about a week after that the old man, waking suddenly in the night, stretched out his hand and found himself alone. The room was in darkness, and the sound of subdued weeping came from the window. He raised himself in bed and listened.
He went down in the darkness, and felt his way to the parlour, and then to the mantelpiece. The talisman was in its place, and a horrible fear that the unspoken wish might bring his mutilated son before him ere he could escape from the room seized upon him, and he caught his breath as he found that he had lost the direction of the door. His brow cold with sweat, he felt his way round the table, and groped along the wall until he found himself in the small passage with the unwholesome thing in his hand.
He sat until he was chilled with the cold, glancing occasionally at the figure of the old woman peering through the window. The candle-end, which had burned below the rim of the china candlestick, was throwing pulsating shadows on the ceiling and walls, until, with a flicker larger than the rest, it expired. The old man, with an unspeakable sense of relief at the failure of the talisman, crept back to his bed, and a minute or two afterward the old woman came silently and apathetically beside him.
Neither spoke, but lay silently listening to the ticking of the clock. A stair creaked, and a squeaky mouse scurried noisily through the wall. The darkness was oppressive, and after lying for some time screwing up his courage, he took the box of matches, and striking one, went downstairs for a candle.
The matches fell from his hand and spilled in the passage. He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated. Then he turned and fled swiftly back to his room, and closed the door behind him. A third knock sounded through the house.
The knocking ceased suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair drawn back, and the door opened. A cold wind rushed up the staircase, and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him courage to run down to her side, and then to the gate beyond. The street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road.
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Outline: The roller and tumbler breeds of pigeon have been selected for tumbling behaviour in flight, to the extent that some tumblers can no longer fly but, instead, tumble as soon as they intend to take wing. The consequences to the birds are difficult to assess but are clearly adverse when they lead to injuries due to hitting the ground or tumbling over it.
A more extreme form of this somersaulting abnormality is characteristic of the Parlor tumbler breed. In this breed, selection for tumbling has resulted in strains that can no longer fly, but which tumble as soon as they intend to take wing. When attempting to fly they, instead, somersault backwards across the ground until exhausted or they cease their attempt to fly. This abnormal behaviour is exploited in competitions in which owners of these pigeons compete to find whose bird covers the most ground by tumbling over it.
Flight is an inherent behaviour for pigeons, something that they are born with a motivation to do, and so an inability to fly normally is likely to have adverse welfare consequences. Flight is a normal response to fear, and the inability to escape in this way when startled may cause fear-related stress and distress.
How the bird experiences the act of tumbling in flight is not known. An affected individual might do it because it has been selected to enjoy this behaviour and so does it deliberately, or it may be that it is unable to prevent it, in which case it may be a source of frustration. The latter seems more likely as if it was a behaviour the bird had control over it seems unlikely that it would perform it to the extent that it hit the ground or to the extent that it would merely tumble over the ground at times when escape flight was required (eg to avoid a cat).
It is possible that a fleeting tumble in flight is not associated with unpleasant feelings but there is little doubt that welfare is affected when the condition is severe and leads to trauma due to collisions in flight or when tumbling on the ground.
The movement disability suffered by Parlor tumblers is severe. They are affected by a total inability to fly, and therefore the ability to escape from fear in the normal way for pigeons. The seizure-like somersaulting on the ground may cause severe disorientation and distress. Injuries from this totally unnatural method of movement, of rolling over the ground, are also likely.
The behaviour in most tumbling breeds is only noted during flight and is not present from fledging but rather appears when the birds are a few months old. Affected birds fly normally most of the time but have intermittent episodes of falling from the sky, whilst somersaulting backwards. Birds which tend to multiple somersaults are called rollers. Usually the birds regain control and continue to fly on in a normal manner. However, sometimes whilst somersaulting they may collide with the ground or with trees or buildings causing traumatic injuries which may be severe or fatal (Entrikin & Erway 1972). Owners call this a rolldown.
A more extreme form of the somersaulting abnormality is shown by the Parlor tumbler breed. In this breed, selection for tumbling has resulted in strains that can no longer fly, but which tumble as soon as they intend to take wing. This may be due to some defect in balance centres of the brain. When attempting to fly they, instead, somersault backwards across the ground until exhausted or they cease their attempt to fly. This abnormal behaviour is exploited in competitions in which owners of these pigeons compete to find whose bird covers the most ground by tumbling over it (see the video at: =5YhbtNUw3Oo.
There is clearly a genetic basis to these behaviours as the frequency with which they occur is closely linked to breed. It has been suggested that the behaviour may be a perversion of behaviour seen in ancestral species (Baptista et al 2009). The specific genes involved have not been determined.
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