The haunter of the ring

In Short

This work is a classic of supernatural pulp fiction, blending the tropes of a modern domestic mystery with the chilling aesthetics of ancient, forbidden sorcery. When James Gordon and his wife, Evelyn, find themselves caught in a cycle of near-fatal "accidents," a friend named John Kirowan identifies the source as a diabolical artifact. The story endures for its brisk, muscular prose and the way it juxtaposes mundane suburban life with the creeping shadows of ancient, eldritch evil, grounding its terrors in the weight of personal vengeance.

The Story

The narrative begins in the study of John Kirowan, where a distressed young man named James Gordon arrives to recount a series of terrifying events. Gordon is convinced he is the reincarnation of his own cruel ancestor, Sir Richard Gordon, and that his wife, Evelyn, has been overtaken by the spirit of the ancestor's murdered wife, Lady Elizabeth, seeking retribution. Gordon describes three harrowing attempts on his life: being shoved down a steep slope, nearly struck by his wife’s car, and slashed with a razor. Despite the narrator’s skepticism, Gordon insists these are not acts of insanity, but a supernatural curse.

Kirowan, a man with a mysterious and traveled past, begins to investigate. He learns of a recent gift Evelyn received from a rejected suitor, Joseph Roelocke: a strange copper ring shaped like a snake. Kirowan recognizes the ring as a conduit for dark, ancient forces. He deduces that Roelocke—whom he identifies as a dangerous occultist named Yosef Vrolok from his own past in Hungary—is using the ring to possess Evelyn with a non-human, elemental spirit to destroy Gordon.

The group travels to the Gordon residence to confront the couple. While they attempt to rationalize the situation, Evelyn is suddenly overtaken by a blank, soulless expression. She draws a pistol from a desk drawer and fires at her husband. James is wounded but survives, and the shock causes Evelyn to snap back to her senses, horror-stricken. Seizing the moment, Kirowan and the narrator rush to Roelocke’s apartment to settle the score.

Kirowan confronts the sorcerer, exposing his history as Vrolok and his failure to control the dark forces he unleashed. Kirowan argues that the entity Vrolok summoned requires a soul as payment for its services. When Vrolok realizes his scheme has failed and that the entity has come to collect the promised price, his composure collapses. In a final, terrifying moment, a dark, anthropomorphic shadow manifests behind the sorcerer. Vrolok screams in despair as he is consumed, leaving behind a body that the authorities later label as a death by heart failure. The story concludes with Kirowan acknowledging that while he used his own knowledge to drive the sorcerer to his doom, the entities of darkness are ultimately beyond human control, feeding on the weakness and terror of those who dare to summon them.

How It Unfolds

The visitation The narrator and his friend Kirowan are interrupted by a panicked James Gordon, who reveals that his wife has repeatedly attempted to kill him. Gordon fears a reincarnation-based curse, while Kirowan remains observant, waiting for the truth to emerge.

The evidence of the curse Gordon recounts the violent episodes involving a cliff, an automobile, and a razor, each ending in a sudden, vacant look in Evelyn’s eyes. Kirowan pivots the conversation toward the couple’s social circle, specifically probing for mention of the rival suitor, Joseph Roelocke.

The discovery of the artifact The investigation moves to the Gordon home, where Kirowan identifies the copper snake ring on Evelyn’s finger as an object of profound evil. The tension peaks when Evelyn, under the ring's influence, shoots her husband, providing the catalyst for the final confrontation.

The reckoning Kirowan and the narrator storm Roelocke’s apartment, where Kirowan reveals the sorcerer’s true identity and his past transgressions. He forces Vrolok to face the reality of his bargain, resulting in a supernatural execution that leaves the sorcerer dead at the hands of his own dark familiar.

The People

John Kirowan acts as the story’s anchor and the primary agent of resolution. A man of deep, occult learning and a scarred past in Hungary, he functions as the intellectual foil to the chaos. He is the only one who perceives the true nature of the threat, moving from a position of cool, detached inquiry to one of savage, righteous vengeance.

James Gordon represents the victim of forces he cannot comprehend. He is a man of "frank and wholesome" character who is pushed to the brink of madness by a horror he believes is his own karmic debt. His role is to provide the vulnerability that necessitates Kirowan’s intervention.

Evelyn Gordon is the vessel for the curse. Despite her gentle nature, she becomes a puppet for a "godless sprite from outside the human universe." She serves as a tragic figure, trapped in a nightmare she does not understand, only finding release once the connection to the ring is severed.

Joseph Roelocke (Yosef Vrolok) is the antagonist, an elegant, sophisticated facade hiding a "cringing serpent" of forbidden knowledge. He is driven by a long-standing hatred for Kirowan and a desire to destroy the happiness of those who escaped his reach. His arrogance in trafficking with powers he cannot master leads directly to his undoing.

In Its Own Voice

"What if retribution for a black crime committed in a previous life were hounding me?"

Gordon poses this haunting question to the narrator to explain the inexplicable violence he is experiencing.

"He summoned the black elemental spirit, the haunter of the ring, out of the gulfs of Night and the ages."

Kirowan provides this chilling diagnosis to the narrator, revealing the supernatural source of Evelyn’s possession.

"I learned what sickened my soul so that I forswore occultism for ever--but I learned of the black spirit that deals death by the hand of a beloved one."

Kirowan explains to the narrator why he is uniquely prepared to counter the sorcerer’s dark arts.

What It's Really About

The story centers on the danger of tampering with forces beyond human understanding. It argues that the "black arts" are not merely a path to power, but a trap that inevitably consumes the practitioner. Through the contrast between Gordon’s innocent, domestic life and the "transcosmic" evil of the sorcerer, the narrative explores the idea that human morality is an insufficient shield against the primordial, indifferent malice of the universe. It raises the question of whether our lives are truly our own or if we are merely pawns in a long-standing, cosmic blood feud that spans centuries and continents, waiting for the right moment—or the right artifact—to claim its due.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate the atmospheric, high-stakes dread of early 20th-century weird fiction will find this story particularly compelling. It moves with a swift, aggressive pacing that keeps the focus squarely on the mounting horror, avoiding the drawn-out exposition that can plague other occult tales of the era. The prose is sharp and evocative, capturing the visceral fear of a man being hunted by the person he loves most.

It is worth noting that the story reflects the mid-1930s style, particularly in its earnest, sometimes melodramatic treatment of reincarnation and "Oriental" exoticism, which were common tropes of the period. Readers should be prepared for the characters’ intense, almost feverish emotional states, which reflect the author’s signature style of blending action-adventure sensibilities with supernatural dread. If you enjoy stories where a sophisticated, world-weary expert steps in to handle a threat that defies modern science, this will feel like a quintessential experience. It lingers in the mind, specifically the image of the blank, soulless gaze and the sudden, suffocating realization that some bargains, once struck, are impossible to break. It is a concise, potent example of how to build overwhelming dread in a very short amount of time.