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In "The Colour Out Of Space", there's a mutating effect on local plants and wildlife before they die; they're oddly deformed, and their tracks (and presumably their scent) frighten those who know what they *ought* to be like, even if it's never quite nailed down how they're different.
There's a similar effect in "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", where it's noted that Hyde's appearance practically screams deformity and yet no-one could put a finger on *how*, despite the fact that people loathe him on sight.[1]
Outside of Lovecraft, I can't at the moment think of similar situations in fiction--where being exposed to a unnatural substance (preferably indirectly, in a kind of background radiation sort of way)--causes a physical change that results in something indefinably unnatural.
Anyone?
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[1] How very Promethean.
There's a similar effect in "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", where it's noted that Hyde's appearance practically screams deformity and yet no-one could put a finger on *how*, despite the fact that people loathe him on sight.[1]
Outside of Lovecraft, I can't at the moment think of similar situations in fiction--where being exposed to a unnatural substance (preferably indirectly, in a kind of background radiation sort of way)--causes a physical change that results in something indefinably unnatural.
Anyone?
---
[1] How very Promethean.
no subject
Still, I will take a look. When the worst thing any of the reviews have to say about a book is "her characters seem oddly nice", it bodes well.