02284cam a22003853u 4500 76112 UtSlPG 20260610134748.0 m cr n 260607r20251937utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PS Farley, Ralph Milne, 1887-1963 Vallisneria madness Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Produced from Weird Tales May 1937. Release date is 2025-05-18 Alex White, Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net "Vallisneria madness by Ralph Milne Farley" is a weird-fiction short story written in the early 20th century. It centers on the moonlit mating of the aquatic vallisneria plant and the spell it casts over a human observer, blending botanical lore with seductive illusion and perilous desire. Tom Spencer visits Professor Gordon to witness the vallisneria’s annual blooming, despite a warning not to approach the narcotic mists of the garden pool. As the moon rises, Spencer sees towering, ethereal women and green-clad men enact a fatal courtship: the men strain for a kiss, their bodies wither, and the women, sated, sink back into the slime—save one unmated beauty. Compelled, Spencer reaches her, expecting doom; instead she yields, and a breeze reveals she is Natalie Gordon standing on a bench, not a deadly apparition. The vision dissolves, and the tale resolves in a human embrace rather than a sacrificial kiss. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: Indianapolis, IN: Popular Fiction Publishing Company, 1937 Short stories Fantasy fiction Love stories Aquatic plants -- Fiction Brundage, Margaret, 1900-1976 Produced from Weird Tales May 1937. https://archive.org/details/WeirdTalesV29N05193705/mode/2up https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76112 116837 116837