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Study 107 - The Quest for Blank Claveringi (Patreon)

Published:
2024-09-26 15:36:33
Edited:
2024-09-26 15:42:18
Imported:
2024-09
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Giant snails! This one's about giant snails! It's The Quest for Blank Claveringi by Patricia Highsmith.

Special thanks to our reader Rachel Lackey!

Get into AGAINST THE CULT OF THE HIPPIE COMMUNE!

Check out this Saturday Evening Post illustration!

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Comments

Jason Thompson

I loved this. So highsmith did a giant snails story and a “just a ton of little snails” story. Did she die other snail horror stories? Snail disguised as a person story? Ghost snail story? I wanna find these in her notebooks!

Jason Thompson

This reminds me of Ramsey Campbell’s later horror story “Slow.”

The Cheese and The Worms

Another great story, as always. I’ve always been fascinated by the sort of disagreeable/ belligerent public figure that Highsmith represents. Since my user name was read this episode, I think it’s only right that I acknowledge it as a reference to a somewhat kindred spirit to Highsmith. “The Cheese and The Worms” is the title of a 1976 book by Carol Ginzburg. It is a microhistory detailing the 16th century trial by the Inquisition of an Italian miller and accused heretic named Dominico Scandella, also called Menocchio. You get the sense from their testimonies that his neighbors and acquaintances wanted to like Menocchio, but that his constant need to argue about theology was just too much to overcome. At one point, the humble miller refuses to answer any more questions from the Church court, demanding that either the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor be summoned to hear the case, because Menocchio deemed them the only men qualified to understand his ideas. Thanks for all the great studies, here’s to many more.

Bugberry

I'm sure yall have mentioned his work a few times, but the topic of snails reminded me of Junji Ito's Uzumaki. While his work is more visual in nature, his work feels like it should be brought up more here.

Bogbarian

Hey guys, as a former member of the U.S. Coast Guard who spent more than a little time practicing anchoring it was surprisingly satisfying to hear Chad say "You can't just drop anchor anywhere."

Steve

Just found this looking back at my LJ (how retro) from 2009. I just listened to the second HP Podcraft podcast. It's by a couple of independent film makers, Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer, who made a feature length animation called The Chosen One. Much after the fashion of Ken Hite's Tour de Lovecraft, they are going through the HPL oeuvre offering their opinions on the stories. The first podcast was a short history of HPL and the second a look at The Tomb. Where Ken Hite looks at things in overview and in context, Chris and Chad look more at the text, what it evokes and how it does it. But they also know their HPL (and have read TdL). It's an enjoyable half an hour and I look forward to hearing more. I wonder what happened to them?

Victor Badger

I think you gentlemen have solved a long time mystery from my childhood! For years, I've had memories of reading a story about a hapless scientist meeting a bad end at the horrific teeth of a giant snail. I read this in an anthology taken out of my library (in the children's section, naturally) at way too young an age. It fell in that category of formative experiences that you later question whether you imagined it or not. This is vindication for my weird, bookish kid self!

It's a Ghost.

I found it odd that Highsmith described Clavering as only 5' 7" in this passage: "He drew his hatchet and faced them, conscious that he cut a not very formidable figure with his slight paunch, his pale, skinny legs, his height of five feet seven, about a third the snails' height, but his brows above his glasses were set with a determination to defend his life." I mean, if he was 5' 10" or 6' 5" with a "slight paunch" and "skinny legs" and still full of hubris, was he then going to be able to defeat the snails? But then I guess maybe she just made him on the short side to emphasize his hubris even more. Also, on a related note, I noticed that in the page you linked out to for this story, the intro to this story mentions Alfred Hitchcock, who was 5' 7" and might have had a hard time defending himself against giant snails, while the intro to the poem following this story mentions the short but ripped Fitz-James O'Brien, who I'm sure would have came prepared to the island and ready to battle some giant snails. I mean, for one thing, he certainly wasn't going to leave his "guns" behind on the boat.

It's a Ghost.

I totally suspect Stead did find the snails. That's why he downplayed their existence in his letter to Clavering. He was trying to discourage Clavering from searching after them. This also could explain why Clavering, "detected a sourness in Dr. Stead’s letter," and why, "Dr. Stead had been negative about everything pertaining to Professor Clavering's quest." And it might also explain Stead's tendency to drink. He's depressed he found the snails but wasn't able to bring their existence to light and gain scientific fame. Also, maybe he still lives in the nearby Matusas because, although he was humble enough to flee the island immediately after encountering the snails, he still can't quite let them go. And finally Stead came to the island looking for Clavering so soon because he knew that Clavering would encounter the snails immediately, and Clavering had agreed, "that if he did find snails, he would come back at once, get some natives to accompany him, and return to Kuwa with materials to make crates for the snails." So when Clavering didn't return immediately, Stead knew for sure that he was in deep trouble.

Jeremiah Armistead

This is totally unrelated !!! (If you read this on the comments show you need to read it as “three exclamation marks “ but I’d like to remind Chris that he wrote the cults of Cthulhu role playing book and I’m still waiting for cults of Cthulhu 2 : 2 cults 2 Thulu

Aaron La Vene

The joke about man eating snails vs a man eating snail made me laugh way too hard for how “dumb” of a joke it was. And the head of lettuce. As the years have gone by, we have truly entered the era of Hp podcrafts strange studies of strange dad jokes. This is why I pay the big bucks. Great episode as always!

KateSherrod

I had to go back and listen to episode 565 (the other Highsmith snail-fest) and I'd forgotten how much of it was Chris educating us about crazy snail sex and then crazy tarantula sex. Truly, this is a full-service podcast, up to and including a Gentlemen's Malacology Lecture.

Jim Cannon

There is a Conan vs. a giant slug story, not quite a snail but still related, but its not one of Howard's. I think its one of de Camp's approximations. Or rewrites of a non-Conan draft or some such. The Hyborean slug is quite a bit larger than these kaiju snails. Not a fan. Not someone who cares for invertebrates generally, but snails, slugs, worms et al. in particular disturb me. Think this one creeped me out even more than Highsmith's other death by snail yarn.

Cole Caron

I always liked the louse named after cartoonist Gary Larson. It’s found exclusively on owls!

Forrest Rush

Relentlessly plodding death metaphors aside, considering what we know of Patricia’s fondness for her fellow man, I can’t help but think she had some particular dinner companion in mind who had the audacity to try to strike up a conversation with her.

Philip Cowan

I took this as a satire on how useless (some) academics are: too impractical to outwit even snails. Stead could now claim the title of discoverer of the giant snails, so finally, after spending 25 years searching a small island, unsuccessfully, someone else finds them for him and conveniently dies. Of course, the natives knew all along and had the good sense to stay away. Maybe Highsmith is one of the 20th Century’s great unsung comedy writers for those of us with a dark and twisted sense of humour.

Runninghead

As soon as it's clear the "hunt" of the title refers to the snails hunting the scientist, it's tempting to complete it as "The Hunt for [Stupid] Claveringi😅. This guy goes alone, leaves his gun in the boat, has a inadequate provisions and a very poor exit plan. In his defence, I imagine the water's full of sharks and I doubt I'd have faired much better, what with my own 20lb of excess weight! I'm sure someone's already mentioned the Assassin Snail (much loved by aquarium owners as a method of pest control). That would be especially horrific if it grew to 20 foot long. I guess it would also move pretty quick if we also scale up the speed in proportion to the size. Would it be faster than a walking human? You do the horrible, horrible math.

Stewart

These days the protagonist would be a desperate adjunct trying to discover something monumental as a last flailing hope to get a tenure-track job. All the lack of preparation would be because they self-funded the expedition by going into credit-card debt. At the end they'd still get devoured by a giant snail, but it would only be a slightly worse fate than the academic job market

Anne Ominous

Before today, I never thought I could be terrified of giant snails. Those snails were feasting on hubris!

Jake Ivey

I've been listening since 2010, a backer since you guys had the option, and yet I was completely surprised to hear Chris say, "Hey, Jake Ivey!" Never expected to hear my name after all this time. Hardly ever comment on here, but you guys have been a companion on drives and long runs through a PhD, three academic jobs, and countless moves across the country. Thanks for the decade and a half of content. It has been a complete joy. Also, after this episode, I'll never feel the same way again about doing a 10-mile run at a "snail's pace".

Jb Lee

I read that story in that 1967 SATURDAY EVENING POST -- I was 11 -- and when I found it DECADES later in an Alfred Hitchcock anthology, I realized the Post editor had changed the ending to EXACTLY the pulpy finish you guys kept expecting. Stead feeds Clavering to the snail and the last thing the doomed professor hears is Stead yelling "Something-or-other STEADI! MY NAME SHALL LIVE!"

Pam Winkler

So, I have a tortoise. And they’re really slow. But they Do Not Stop. We can set him in the backyard, go out five minutes later, and he’s just GONE. You have to check all the fences to see where he’s gone. People don’t track slow movement well, it’s really hard to deal with.

GG2025

I already knew Patricia Highsmith and her thing for snails… but you three made this story sparkle. And I’m not talking about the sun glinting off those 20-foot wide trails of snail slime!

Strength24

Awww! Thanks guys! If I can read anything, hit me up! This ending was BRUTAL lol