The following version of this story was used to create this study guide: Atherton, Gertrude. “The Striding Place.” American Fantastic Tales. New York: The Library of America, 2009. Pages 232-237.

“The Striding Place” is set in England in the 1890s, contemporary to when it was written. The point-of-view character is referred to only as Weigall. He in an Englishman in his early thirties. He appears to be relatively wealthy and well-educated. He is currently in the English province of Yorkshire, at a countryside estate. There, he has been socializing with other people, but he mostly finds them boring. Accompanying him is his dear friend Wyatt Gifford, whom Weigall has known since childhood. One day, Gifford goes missing without explanation. Weigall believes that Gifford is merely playing a prank, as Gifford has played pranks in the past.

One night, about two days after Gifford’s disappearance. Weigall goes for a walk in the woods. As he walks, he recalls a memory from a few years ago. A mutual friend of Weigall and Gifford had gone insane and had apparently lost the ability to speak or make facial expressions. The friend was kept in an asylum for three years and then died. During the funeral, the friend’s face almost looked livelier than when the friend was in the asylum. Gifford theorized that, during insanity, the soul became a mute prisoner of the body. Gifford also theorized that the soul could linger in a body for some time after death, and that it might be possible to project one’s soul out of one’s body. Weigall, following this logic, posited that it might present dangers or complications if a soul attempted to reenter a deceased or damaged body.

Weigall continues his walk, and he encounters a place known as the Strid. It consists of irregular rock formations, and a river that flows into a cave. The place has an eerie beauty, but it has also been said that several people have accidentally drowned there. Suddenly, Weigall notices a hand that is emerging form the water and thrashing in a panic. He believes it to be Gifford. Weigall grabs a branch and holds it against the hand. The hand grabs the branch, and Weigall pulls the drowning person out of the water. Weigall places the body on its back, in preparation to begin resuscitation. However, in that moment, Weigall sees that the body has no face.