The Parasite
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''The Parasite'' is an 1894 novelette by
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
. The Parasite makes use of a form of mind control similar to the
mesmerism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all liv ...
of the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
.


Plot summary

The main character is a young man known as Austin Gilroy. He studies physiology and knows a professor who is studying the occult. The young man is introduced to a middle-aged woman known as Miss Penclosa, who has a crippled leg and psychic powers. She is a friend of the Professor's wife. The skeptical Gilroy's fiancée, Agatha, is put into a trance to prove Miss Penclosa's powers. This succeeds and Gilroy begins to go to the Professor's house where Miss Penclosa practices her powers on him. This is so Gilroy can look at the physical part of the powers. Miss Penclosa 'falls in love' with the unfortunate Gilroy. She starts to use her powers on him to make him caress her, and utter sweet nothings to her. He loses his temper and rejects her love, and she begins to play tricks on him with her powers. The series of cruel tricks ends with him in Agatha's room carrying a small bottle of sulphuric acid. He notices that it is half-past three. He rushes to Miss Penclosa's home and demands her presence at the door. The nurse there answers in a frightened tone that she died at half-past three.


Film adaptation

Writer Patrick Roddy and director Andrew Froemke released a feature-film adaptation of ''The Parasite'' in 1997. Writer/director Adam Zanzie released a short film adaptation of ''The Parasite'' for the David Lynch Master's in Film program on November 22, 2015. Zanzie wrote the screenplay and directed the film, which made its commercial debut on July 19, 2016 at the Tivoli Theatre as a featured film in th
St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase
It later screened at the Trash Film Festival in Varaždin, Croatia in 2016.


References


External links


''The Parasite''
at
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. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parasite Novels by Arthur Conan Doyle British fantasy novels 1894 British novels 1894 fantasy novels Constable & Co. books