THE THING DOWN THERE

THE THING DOWN THERE

"It had spread its mouth wide, like a snake, and it had more teeth in its face than a dozen folk, and teeth more like an animal, and it was bitin' her head off."

"And then a hand, white and puffy like the petals of an orchid, appeared around the edge of the door, and fingers, long and stalk-like, extended and flexed, and the door moved and a flow of muddy water slid into the room along the floor."

"It moved strangely, as if made of soft candle wax. It was dead white of flesh, but much of the skin was filthy with mud. It was neither male nor female No genitals' down there it was as smooth as a well-washed river rock. It was tall, with knees that swung slightly to the sides when it walked, and there was an odd vibration about it, as if it were about to burst apart in all directions. The head was small. Its face was mostly a long gash of a mouth. It had thin slits for eyes and a hole for anose. At the ends of its willowy legs were large flat feet that splayed out in shapes like claw-tipped four-leaf clovers."

Joe R. Lansdale, The Crawling Sky