Safe Return Doubtful

Cornell Woolrich writing under the name of William Irish

This novella was first published in the Argosy magazine in March 1941 with the title And So to Death, and two years later it was re-printed under the title Nightmare. To confuse matters further it has on occasion appeared under both titles but under the author’s ‘William Irish’ pseudonym.

The story is deceptively simple; a man has a frightening dream in which he kills someone. Then the dream apparently starts to come true.

The story is one of a number of Woolrich creations that his biographer called ‘living nightmare’ stories in which a protagonist awakens from a blackout unsure of what is real and what is not, consumed by guilt but unable to recall exactly what they did.
It has twice been adapted for the screen, as Fear in the Night in 1947 starring DeForest Kelley and Paul Kelly in the main roles, and then as Nightmare in 1956 with Kevin McCarthy and Edgard G. Robinson.

As often with Woolrich’s work, it isn’t perfect, as in that it doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny, but set that aside, and enjoy the distinctive plot that etches itself into the memory.
Woolrich was extremely prolific, and a master of noir in the this format, 60 to 90 pages, shorter than a novella but ideal for magazines. It may be a reason why so many of his stories have faded into obscurity today, but are nonetheless, very entertaining.