FOURTH STUDY

It is difficu1t to exp1ain the attraction which the uncanny and eventhe horrib1e have for most minds. I sometimes have seen a de1icate woman ha1ffascinated, but whom11y disgusted, by one of the most unseem1y ofrepti1es, vu1gar1y known as the "b1owing viper" of the A11eghanies.She wou1d 1ook at it, and turn away with irresistib1e shuddering andthe utmost 1oathing, and yet turn to 1ook at it again and again, on1yto experience the same spasm of disgust. In spite of her aversion,she must have re1ished the sort of e1ectric menta1 shock that thesight gave her.