Line #19 Literature/TheLandlady


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_landlady_standing_book_illustration.jpg]]
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3	"The Landlady" is a short horror story by Creator/RoaldDahl, first published in ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' in 1959 and anthologized numerous times since.
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5	It starts out with Billy, a young UsefulNotes/{{London}}er, arriving in [[UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry Bath]] on business and looking for a place to stay. He finds a cozy-looking bed and breakfast inn owned by a sweetly quaint old woman, who welcomes him to stay--just like the ''other'' young men she's been fond of.
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7	The story was adapted for a 1961 episode of ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' and a 1979 episode of ''Series/TalesOfTheUnexpected''.
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9	----
10	!!Tropes used in "The Landlady":
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12	* AdaptationExpansion: Both the ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' and ''Tales of the Unexpected'' adaptations of this story expand upon the ending, [[spoiler:showing Billy die from being poisoned]]. The ''Tales of the Unexpected'' adaptation goes one step farther, and [[spoiler:not only shows the ''other'' tenants, but also shows the landlady begin the process of taxidermying Billy]].
13	* AdaptationalKarma: In the ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' version, the landlady is arrested offscreen after turning Billy's corpse into a rug.
14	* AffablyEvil: The eponymous landlady is a sweet old woman, she just feels lonely. [[spoiler:And is an unrepentant murderer.]]
15	* AmbiguousEnding: What it might seem to those not very attentive to details or simply unfamiliar to [[spoiler:BitterAlmonds]] trope. If you belong to neither of these, however, the ending is unambiguously [[DownerEnding Downer]].
16	* BitterAlmonds: Discussed trope: when the landlady offers Billy some more tea near the end, he turns it down, [[spoiler:[[YouAreAlreadyDead since it tasted like bitter almonds]]]].
17	* TheCollector: The old woman herself freely admits to stuffing her old pets that have passed on. She collects ''other'' things too...
18	* CrapsaccharineWorld: The B&B appears nice, but really isn't.
19	* CreepyHousekeeper: [[spoiler:The titular character]].
20	* DirtyOldWoman: She's really got a thing for young, handsome men.
21	* GenreShift: Until the very end, it appears to just be a little SliceOfLife story.
22	* HellHotel: What it actually turns out to be, although it appears pleasant.
23	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: A complicated example. Originally, the story was going to be a straight "ghost story," but Dahl was unhappy with it and rewrote it to be more mundane. There are still hints of the supernatural, like Billy being compelled by the landlady's sign. It's very common for the landlady to be interpreted as a witch.
24	* MummiesAtTheDinnerTable: It's what the eponymous landlady does to her dead pets[[spoiler:, as well as the guests she murders.]]
25	* MundaneHorror: A nice small bed-and-breakfast with a friendly host, where nearly every small detail implies something creepy. It has only two guests who are still there though they checked in more than a year ago, and are "known for one and the same thing" ([[spoiler:having gone missing]]); the host gives her guests tea [[spoiler:which tastes like BitterAlmonds]]. Guess the implications?
26	* NiceGuy: Billy
27	* TaxidermyTerror: Semi-averted; the stuffed dog and parrot are pleasant-looking and amazingly lifelike, and the horror only comes when you realize [[spoiler:the landlady is applying the same techniques to the young men she "collects".]]
28	* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: Tragically and permanently inverted.
29	* ViewersAreGeniuses: Although you can eventually realize what the landlady's problem is, you can't understand the true horror of the story unless you're familiar with the [[spoiler: BitterAlmonds]] trope.
30	* WaxMuseumMorgue: ''The'' twist of the story.
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Context Literature / TheLandlady