Ooze

Author Anthony M. Rud authored science-fiction, horror, and detective novels and short stories between the 1920s through the 1930s using his own name and pseudonyms of R. Anthony, Ray McGillivary, and Anson Piper. He also edited Adventure magazine for three years and Detective Story Magazine for one year. He is best remembered as authoring the title novella in the historic first issue of Weird Tales – Ooze from March 1923. 

Ooze is presented in first-person narration by an unnamed narrator. The narrator learns that his former college roommate, John Cranmer, has died along with John's son Lee and his wife Peggy. The novella begins with the discovery of these deaths and then follows a non-linear narrative as the narrator pieces together the pieces of history leading to these deaths.

Working as an aggressive scientist, John purchases a swampy area of Alabama to conduct experiments on microorganisms. The idea is to somehow grow larger livestock that would provide more food to people. However, things spiral out of control when John grows a small amoeba. John's adult son Lee visits his father and purposely begins to feed the “Ooze” large animals in an effort to supersize the growth and showcase his father's scientific prowess.

I won't ruin the surprise for you but I'll hint that this slimy gelatin-encased oozy monster may or may not bite the hand that feeds. How the deaths happen, who is responsible for this creature-run-amok incident, and the mystery of where the thing lives becomes the bulk of the narrative in a fun and gross way. Literary scholars have often cited that this story may have influenced H.P. Lovecraft's style, specifically his story The Dunwich Horror. 

If you love early horror and gross-out monster mayhem, do yourself a solid and read Ooze. Get it HERE.