Robert Louis Stevenson: Thrawn Janet. Summary
The young Reverend Murdoch Soulis arrives in the Scottish village of Balweary and hires Janet M’Clour as his housekeeper—a woman of ill repute, long suspected of witchcraft. After a confrontation with the townswomen, Janet publicly renounces the devil, but from that moment on, her body becomes twisted and her behavior turns strange. Ignoring warnings, the reverend continues living with her in the remote manse. Later, during a suffocating summer, Soulis sees a demonic-looking black man lurking first in the old graveyard, then near his home. That night, he finds Janet dead, hanging by a thread—but her corpse rises and pursues him. Calling on the power of God, the reverend commands the figure to vanish, and it bursts into flames. Ever since, the villagers believe a demon had possessed Janet’s body and that the reverend was forever marked by the terrifying experience.
