Sea Curse

Introduction

Written and sold in 1928, “Sea Curse” earned Robert E. Howard $17 from Weird Tales (May 1928). In a letter to Tevis Clyde Smith (Letter #101), Howard listed the piece as “Sea-Curse” and described it with the succinct note:

action old formula—wronged girl, curse, vengeance of sea

Set in the bleak coastal village of Faring town, the story draws on the rhythms of old maritime superstition and fatalistic folk ballads. It reflects Howard’s growing fascination with the sea as both judge and avenger — an ancient, impersonal force that punishes human cruelty and moral decay. Sea Curse stands as a haunting mixture of realism and myth, where drunken sailors and ghostly ships meet on the edge of the mortal and the supernatural. The story also lays the groundwork for its spiritual successor, “Out of the Deep.”

Summary:

In Faring town, the rough seamen John Kulrek and Lie-lip Canool are feared and admired in equal measure — hard drinkers, fighters, and braggarts. Their callousness turns to evil when Kulrek seduces and ruins Moll Farrell’s niece, a foolish young girl. When the girl’s drowned body is washed ashore, her aunt curses the two men before the townsfolk, calling on land, sea, and hell to avenge the wrong.

Months later, Canool returns alone, claiming that Kulrek deserted ship. Strange fog rolls in from the sea, and two village boys — the narrator and his friend Joe — venture into the mist. They encounter a ghostly galley rowed by skeletons, a vessel “of bygone ages.” At dawn it vanishes before the wharfs, and the tide casts up Kulrek’s corpse, a dagger in his back — Canool’s dagger. Confronted with the sight, Canool confesses the murder and the curse that brought the dead man home. Moll Farrell, her vengeance complete, spits upon the corpse and collapses as dawn breaks over the gray sea.

Published in:

  • Narrator (unnamed) – A youth of Faring town who witnesses the curse’s fulfillment; accompanies Joe in the boat and boards the ghost galley.
  • John Kulrek – A violent, swaggering sailor whose seduction of Moll’s niece brings about the curse. Murdered at sea by Canool; his corpse is returned to shore by supernatural means.
  • Lie-lip Canool – Kulrek’s sly companion. Bears the distinctive dagger that kills his shipmate; confesses his crime when confronted by the revenant’s body.
  • Moll Farrell – The gaunt beach-dweller deemed a witch. She curses Kulrek and Canool with the vengeance of the sea and lives to see it carried out.
  • Moll’s niece – A naive young woman deceived and disgraced by Kulrek; found drowned at her own door, setting the curse in motion.
  • Joe – The narrator’s adventurous friend who first hears the phantom oars and insists on following them into the fog.
  • Ghost Galley & Skeletal Rowers – The spectral ship sent from “the hell of lost craft,” crewed by skeletons. It delivers Kulrek’s body to the shore and vanishes with the dawn.
  • Villagers of Faring – The fearful onlookers who witness the curse’s beginning and end, providing the tale’s communal voice and moral backdrop.

Characters: