"The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out" is a 1950 science fantasy short story by Reginald Bretnor. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Synopsis edit
Papa Schimmelhorn is a semi-literate, self-taught mad scientist who invents a "gnurr-pfeife": a musical instrument which, when used to play the song "The Church in the Wildwood", summons clothing-eating monsters ("gnurrs") from the fourth dimension (such that they literally come out of the woodwork).
Reception edit
"The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out" was a finalist for the 1951 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Short Story.[1]
In the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, John Clute called it "hilarious" and Bretnor's "single most famous story", and stated that it "epitomized (...) the wit and literacy (of) The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction".[2]
References edit
- ^ 1951 Retro-Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved January 8, 2020
- ^ "Bretnor, Reginald", in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, by John Clute; version published August 31, 2018; retrieved January 8, 2020
External links edit
The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database