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Mrs. Raeburn's Waxwork

Lady Eleanor Smith

First published 1932
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

"Patrick Lamb ... takes a job as custodian of Mugivan's waxwork exhibition. In the part of the exhibition where all the murderers and freaks are displayed, there is one figure which fascinates him. It is the figure of Mrs. Raeburn, the poisoner. Every evening as it gets dark, the figure seems to be alive—its expressions change subtly, its eyes seem to follow him .... Gradually he realises that he is bewitched by this beautiful poisoner. And then one afternoon Patrick meets a strange visitor to the exhibition: an elderly woman who introduces herself to him as Mrs. Raeburn ..." -- publisher's blurb from Red Door Audiobooks

First published in the London Mercury, March 1931.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
1932 Cover Satan's Circus and Other Stories Gollancz Collection
1934 Satan's Circus Bobbs-Merrill Company Collection
1934 Cover The Evening Standard Book of Strange Stories Hutchinson Anthology 783
1934 Satan's Circus Grosset Collection
1976 Cover Gaslight Tales of Terror Fontana Anthology 148
November 2004 Cover Satan's Circus Ash-Tree Press Collection 28