Guy de Maupassant, regarded as one of the masters of the short-story, holds a literary reputation akin to Poe for his tales of horror (the 19th Century French "Poe" if you will). And while his literary reputation has never diminished, his visibility seems to wan as time goes by. So here is a link to my favorite de Maupassant story, The Horla, a complete collection of his short-stories, and bio. Enjoy! A good read for October! But an author not to be missed by any true literature lover at any time! (his stories tend to be short, tight works, BTW...a quick read)

THE HORLA:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?T44F329F1

de Maupassant site:

http://mclibrary.nhmccd.edu/lit/ssmau.html

(click on the short stories in English link in the upper left, then on the table of contents link for the complete list of his accessible work)

I used to have a text with a footnote to de Maupassant's use of this word citing it as meaning, roughly, "spirit". However, I have been searching everywhere, and can find no citations in any dictionary, English or French. Is this de Maupassant's own coinage or was it, perhaps, co-opted from some other language, Spanish or Italian for instance? (there's a good mission for you, Dr. Bill!)

Also, here's a more accessible de Maupassant site, bio and story links all on one page:

http://www.classicallibrary.org/maupassant/