"The Fog Horn" is a 1951 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...

, and the first in his collection The Golden Apples of the Sun

The Golden Apples of the Sun

The Golden Apples of the Sun is an anthology of 22 short stories by Ray Bradbury; it was first published in 1953.The book's namesake is one of the short stories in the collection. Bradbury drew the title for the story from the last line of the final stanza to W. B...

. The story was the basis for the 1953 film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...

.

Plot summary

The plot follows Johnny, the protagonist and narrator, and his boss, McDunn, who are putting in a night's work at a remote lighthouse. The lighthouse's resonating fog horn attracts a sea monster who destroys the place. This was actually the third time the monster had visited the lighthouse. He had been attracted by the same fog horn on the same night the two earlier years. McDunn attributes the monster's actions to feelings of unrequited love for the lighthouse, whose fog horn sounds exactly like the wailings of the sea monster himself. The fog horn tricks the monster into thinking he has found another of his kind, one who acts as though the monster did not even exist. When the horn is turned off, the monster destroys the lighthouse in anger. Both workers survive the incident, and within a year the lighthouse is rebuilt, this time with reinforced concrete. The protagonist mentions that he has since been married with a home and a new job, while McDunn is now the building's new master. The monster never returned and McDunn mentions that it probably went back to the deeps to wait until mankind is gone before it looks for others of its kind again.

Background

The original title of the story was The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It was published in The Saturday Evening Post. Meanwhile a film with a similar theme of prehistoric sea monster was being shot under the working title of Monster from Beneath the Sea. Later the producers, who wished to share Bradbury's reputation and popularity, bought the rights to Bradbury's story and changed their film's title. Bradbury then changed the title of his story to The Fog Horn. The monster of the film was based on the illustration of The Saturday Evening Post.

Bradbury says that the idea for the story came from seeing the ruins of a demolished roller coaster on a Los Angeles-area beach. The tracks suggested a dinosaur skeleton. He credits this story with earning him the attention of John Huston

John Huston

John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...

, who engaged Bradbury to write the screenplay for the 1956 film version of Moby Dick

Moby Dick (1956 film)

Moby Dick is a 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. It was directed by John Huston with a screenplay by Ray Bradbury and the director. The film starred Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, and Leo Genn...

.

After its initial publication in The Saturday Evening Post in 1951, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was renamed The Fog Horn and was reprinted in various collections such as the 1953 publication The Golden Apples of the Sun

The Golden Apples of the Sun

The Golden Apples of the Sun is an anthology of 22 short stories by Ray Bradbury; it was first published in 1953.The book's namesake is one of the short stories in the collection. Bradbury drew the title for the story from the last line of the final stanza to W. B...

, the Japanese publications The Fog Horn & Other Stories

The Fog Horn & Other Stories

The Fog Horn & Other Stories is a collection of six short stories by Ray Bradbury. The collection, published in Japan, is published in English for school use.-Contents:* "The Fog Horn"* "The Dwarf"* "The Pedestrian"* "A Sound of Thunder"...

 in 1979 and The Fog Horn and Other Stories

The Fog Horn and Other Stories

The Fog Horn and Other Stories is a collection of four short stories by Ray Bradbury. The collection, published in Japan, is published in English for school use.-Contents:* "A Story of Love"* "The Miracles of Jamie"* "The Fog Horn"...

 in 1981 (both editions were published in English as well), and finally Dinosaur Tales

Dinosaur Tales

Dinosaur Tales is a short story collection by Ray Bradbury. Several of the stories are original to this collection. Other stories were first published in Collier's and The Saturday Evening Post magazines...

 in 1983.

Adaptations

Many years later the idea set down in this story was used in one of the early episodes of the TV series "Pokemon

Pokémon (anime)

, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...

", in which the owner of a lighthouse uses the horn and a recording to call a Dragonite

Dragonite

Dragonite, known as in Japan, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Dragonite first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels. They have later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and...

 to his tower.
Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....

 (Star Trek

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

's Mr. Spock) claims this story was part of the inspiration behind Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...

.

External links

• The Fog Horn by Ray Bradbury at BestScienceFictionStories.com - A short review of the story with resources for finding it.