"Beyond the Door" is a low fantasy

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in the January 1954 issue of ''

Fantastic Universe ''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishin ...

''. The plot follows a cuckoo clock, which may or may not be intelligent, and a cuckolded husband.

Plot summary

Larry Thomas buys a

cuckoo clock A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...

for his wife Doris, just like her mother had. He makes clear that he bought it wholesale and otherwise ruins the moment. Doris talks to the cuckoo and becomes convinced that the cuckoo likes her but does not like Larry. Larry is being cuckolded by antique-enthusiast Bob Chambers. When he is at the Thomas' house, and Doris is showing him the clock, Larry returns home unexpectedly and catches them; he throws both out but keeps the clock because he paid for it. Larry keeps winding the clock because he dislikes the empty, quiet house. The clock sometimes does not chime for Larry, who ends up arguing with the cuckoo for not coming out when he should. Eventually, he threatens the clock with a hammer. At this point the cuckoo comes out and catches him in the eye, causing him to fall off a chair and break his neck in the fall. His death is judged an accident by a doctor but Bob thinks "something else" might be the cause.

External links

*
Beyond the Door
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

* * * 1954 short stories Fantasy short stories Short stories by Philip K. Dick Works originally published in Fantastic Universe {{1950s-fantasy-story-stub