Two Tales of Psychological Horror

"The Rational Man" and "The Horrible Secret on Royal Street" During the Classical Age, they were called stoics. Today they are called pragmatists. In every age people have existed who felt they could control their emotions and act in a straightforward and rational manner. Such a person is the protagonist in "The Rational Man." In this short story the author, Bob Albano, reveals that no person is above the irrational and the extraordinary. Life cannot be measured or...
More Description

"The Rational Man" and "The Horrible Secret on Royal Street"

During the Classical Age, they were called stoics. Today they are called pragmatists. In every age people have existed who felt they could control their emotions and act in a straightforward and rational manner. Such a person is the protagonist in "The Rational Man." In this short story the author, Bob Albano, reveals that no person is above the irrational and the extraordinary. Life cannot be measured or balanced. No one can prevent the powerful force that is referred to with the simple word emotions. The emotions cannot be controlled or influenced by a mere matter of the will. Albano's protagonist did not believe this was true until life turned the world upside down for him.

A much different type of protagonist appears in "The Horrible Secret on Royal Street," also written by Bob Albano. Based loosely on true events, the story of Madame Delphine Lalaurie is a story of not just irrationality but the extreme of irrationality -- in other words, madness. In the early part of the 19th century in New Orleans, Madame Delphine became obsessed with a terrible notion; and putting that notion into effect ended up terrorizing her family, especially her young daughter Camille, as well as the entire community in which she lived.

Both "The Rational Man" and "The Horrible Secret on Royal Street" can be found in a single volume Two Tales of Psychological Horror: The Rational Man and The Horrible Secret on Royal Street.