Malpertuis

Malpertuis (1943) is a gothic horror novel by the Belgian author Jean Ray (1887–1964).

Malpertuis is a crumbling, ancient house where a dying warlock has trapped the aging gods of Olympus inside the "skins" of ordinary Flemish citizens.

The novel is divided into four narratives:

During 1971 the Belgian director Harry Kümel made a film adaptation of the novel, starring Orson Welles, Susan Hampshire and Mathieu Carrière.

Malpertuis is quoted in Ross J. Anderson's paper "Do you believe in Tinker Bell? The social externalities of trust", quoting (translated): "Men are not born of the whim or will of the gods, on the contrary, gods owe their existence to the belief of men. Should this belief wither, the gods will die."

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