The girl from Samarcand

In Short

This atmospheric fantasy short story follows Hammersmith Clarke, a man whose obsession with collecting antique Persian rugs turns into a supernatural descent. When a mysterious, ancient rug from Samarcand arrives at his New Orleans apartment, it brings with it the phantom of a woman from his previous incarnations. As Clarke’s wife, Diane, watches her marriage dissolve under the shadow of his bizarre fixation, Clarke is pulled across the threshold of reality. It is a lush, melancholy exploration of reincarnation, the permanence of art, and the destructive power of nostalgia.

The Story

The story unfolds in the humid, romantic setting of New Orleans’ French Quarter. Diane, the wife of Hammersmith Clarke, feels increasingly alienated by her husband’s all-consuming passion for antique rugs. Their apartment is a repository of "silken witcheries," filled with carpets from Kashan, Ghiordes, and Feraghan that Diane feels are competing for her husband’s affection. Diane’s jealousy is not merely domestic; she senses a malevolent, sentient quality in these textiles. Clarke, meanwhile, lives in a trance-like state, constantly dreaming of a past life in the East, his obsession fueled by the belief that he is disconnected from the modern world.

The catalyst for the story’s climax is the arrival of an unbidden, mysterious rug from Samarcand. It is an exquisite, golden-hued silk piece that defies explanation; it was not ordered, yet it seems to have been waiting for Clarke. Upon its arrival, Clarke falls into a deeper, more dangerous reverie, ignoring his business and his wife. Diane, pushed to her breaking point by his neglect and the unsettling feeling that the rug is a "beast of prey," issues an ultimatum: the rug must go, or she will leave. Clarke chooses the rug, and Diane departs for her friend’s apartment in the Pontalba Building.

Alone, Clarke surrenders entirely to the artifact. He stops answering his door and telephone, retreating into the "dusky inner kingdom" of his studio. On the Night of Power, as moonlight strikes the rug, the "Yellow Girl"—a figure from his past lives—materializes. She reveals that she wove her own soul into the rug centuries ago as a desperate bid to reach him across time. She reminds him of their shared history: a life in a palace where they were eventually silenced by the bowstring, and a brief, fleeting reunion twenty years ago in a garden near Samarcand, after which he forgot her.

The Yellow Girl explains that she has returned to offer him a final choice. The rug, as a physical anchor, is the only bridge between their worlds. As the moonlight shifts and wanes, threatening to dissolve her presence, she invites him to follow her into the void. Diane, returning to the apartment to reconcile, hears Clarke speaking to someone inside. She assumes he is entertaining a mistress and, in a fit of pride and disdain, walks away, missing the true supernatural nature of the encounter. Inside, Clarke finally discards the "stifling" weight of his physical body. He takes the Yellow Girl’s hand, leaving his mortal shell behind in the studio, and crosses the border into the eternal, moon-kissed garden of their shared past.

How It Unfolds

The burden of beauty Diane describes her marriage to Clarke, explaining how his obsession with rare, ancient rugs has turned their home into a shrine that leaves no room for her. She feels like a rival to these inanimate objects, which seem to possess a dark, seductive life of their own.

The unexpected arrival Clarke receives a mysterious bale from an Armenian dealer containing a rug he never ordered, which he immediately recognizes as a relic from his forgotten past. Its arrival triggers a shift in his demeanor, as he ignores all worldly responsibilities to contemplate the rug’s intricate, haunting design.

The breaking point Diane, exhausted by Clarke’s trance-like silence and his apparent obsession with a "yellow girl," gives him an ultimatum. When he refuses to part with the rug, their marriage ends, and Diane leaves him to his solitary, fanatical pursuit.

The spectral reunion On a night of perfect moonlight, the Yellow Girl emerges from the rug, revealing their long history of reincarnation and tragic, interrupted love. She explains that she wove her essence into the fabric as a vessel to bridge the centuries and find him again.

The final passage The moonlight begins to recede from the rug, signaling the end of the girl's window to the physical world. She offers Clarke a final invitation to leave his body and follow her, a task he performs, leaving Diane to unknowingly walk away from the scene of his final departure.

The People

Hammersmith Clarke is a man possessed. His desire for the "richness and glamor" of a lost, exotic past makes him utterly incapable of functioning in the present. He is a collector who eventually becomes the collected, surrendering his agency to the sorcery of the rugs he loves.

Diane is the grounded, vibrant woman who loves Clarke but refuses to be a secondary character in his fantasies. She is perceptive enough to sense the "witchery" in the apartment, yet her pride and reliance on rational explanations prevent her from understanding the truth of Clarke's fate.

The Yellow Girl serves as the manifestation of Clarke’s obsession. She is patient, cunning, and bound to the rug by her own soul. Her goal is to reclaim the man she has loved across multiple lifetimes, and she is ultimately successful in luring him away from the modern world.

In Its Own Voice

"Diane knew that more than a rug had emerged from that bale whose burlap winding-sheet still littered the floor."

(Diane senses the unsettling, supernatural presence that has entered their home.)

"Look upon wine as often as you wish, but beware of a Bokhara when it is red--red as the blood of slaughter--red as the embers of a plundered city."

(The narrator offers a warning about the dangerous allure of the antique carpets.)

"And I shall wait for these nights as long as life remains in me. For all that has happened since then is nothing and less than nothing; and all has been a dream since that one night in a garden of Zarab-shan."

(Clarke expresses his final rejection of reality in favor of his memories.)

What It's Really About

The story explores the tension between the mundane reality of modern life and the intoxicating, often destructive power of memory. It suggests that obsession can act as a bridge to the past, but one that demands the sacrifice of the present. Clarke’s struggle is an argument that true art—like the rug—is not merely an object, but a living vessel for the soul of its creator. The book questions whether we are ever truly in control of our own lives or if we are merely reenacting ancient, fated dramas. Ultimately, it posits that the lure of an idealized past can be so strong that it renders all subsequent human connection—such as that between husband and wife—meaningless and "less than nothing."

Why Read It Today

This story is a quintessential example of the "weird fiction" of the 1920s, blending high-flown, exotic prose with a creeping sense of dread. Readers who appreciate the intersection of art, history, and the supernatural will find it evocative and strange. The writing is intentionally lush, drenched in the scents of incense and the visual richness of the silk rugs it describes, creating an atmosphere that feels almost claustrophobic—fitting, given the characters' descent into madness and obsession.

However, the reader should be prepared for the period-specific tone. The prose is ornate and occasionally dramatic, reflecting the literary sensibilities of a bygone era. The attitudes toward marriage and gender roles are firmly rooted in the early 20th century, which may feel jarring to contemporary sensibilities. Furthermore, the reliance on an "exoticized" version of the East as a setting for mystery is a standard trope of the period’s pulp fiction. If you are willing to embrace the stylistic flourishes and the slow, dreamlike pacing, you will find a haunting tale that lingers like the faint scent of perfume in an old, abandoned room. It is a brief, intense experience that captures the tragedy of a man who loved beauty more than life itself.