The Skull of the Marquis de Sade


 With Halloween around the corner, this is my reading of Robert Bloch's atmospheric story about 'The Skull of the Marquis de Sade' in which the earthly remains of the infamous libertine exert a corrupting influence on all around. Whether the real de Sade was guilty of half the things he was condemned for is a matter of debate, with some conjecturing that he was mostly just sweaty-minded but spent so much time in prison he probably had few opportunities to indulge his fantasies (which is probably just as well). Bloch is best known for writing the story which became Hitchcock's 'Psycho' film about Norman Bates and his ghastly mother.

This short story was made into a film in 1965, starring the wonderful Peter Cushing as Maitland the collector and Christopher Lee as his rival collector of ghoulish curiosa. The film sticks closely to the original story, though Lee's character is renamed. I hope to record a few more stories and perhaps poems between now and Halloween, including some original ones.



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