I am looking for a fantasy short story I read in the late 90s/early 2000s in high school. It was about a man who collects snails and was really into it, having cabinets full of aquariums filled with snails. The story ends with his cabinets falling over, and him getting covered in snails. I think he died as a result. This may be wrong, but I think he slowly went mad collecting snails as well.
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1This is almost certainly "The Snail-watcher", by Patricia Highsmith. The ISFDB lists this short story both as fantasy and as horror. The story itself can be read in pdf here.– Invisible TrihedronJun 3, 2020 at 13:18
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Thanks for the link. I don't care that some people don't consider it fantasy, as long as I can read it again. :D– yesmanJun 3, 2020 at 13:31
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I edited fantasy into the question just to make it clear this is fantastical as you seem to believe the work mentioned above is what you are after.– TheLethalCarrot ♦Jun 3, 2020 at 14:49
1 Answer
This is "The Snail-watcher", by Patricia Highsmith (1964). The ISFDB lists this short story both as fantasy and as horror. It has been anthologized many times. The story itself can be read in pdf here.
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1Pretty decent summary review at marzaat.wordpress.com/2019/05/07/the-snail-watcher too Jun 3, 2020 at 16:22