Note:

• Borderline speculative: this is really a discourse on the fear of the unknown, illustrated by two anecdotes where imagination, atmosphere, and not knowing the cause of perceptions combined to create intense fear.
• This is the first of two different tales bearing this title, published in the October 23rd 1882 issue of Le Gaulois, and included in the 1883 collection Les contes de la bécasse. It is not to be confused with the second one, published in the July 25th 1884 issue of Le Figaro, and left uncollected by the author.
• The first sentence is On remonta sur le pont après dîner, "We went back up on deck after dinner".

Synopsis: Some travelers are chatting about fear. One of them says he has known true fear, and tells about two experiences, one occasion in Africa involving mysterious phenomena and a sudden death, and the other being a night spent in a hut with a group of people who were convinced a dead man was returning to haunt them.