I picked up this issue of The Glebe, an old literary journal from 1914, mostly out of curiosity. Inside was Leonid Andreyev's short story, 'Love of One's Neighbor.' It's a slim piece, but it packs a serious punch.

The Story

A man lives alone in an apartment building. When a new neighbor moves into the room next door, our narrator's peaceful life shatters. He doesn't know anything about this person—not their name, face, or job. But he becomes utterly convinced, based on the faint sounds through the wall, that this neighbor is a murderer plotting against him. The story follows his escalating panic. Every footstep, every muffled noise, becomes proof of a deadly threat. He stops sleeping, starts barricading his door, and lives in a state of constant dread, all while never actually confronting the source of his fear.

Why You Should Read It

What struck me most wasn't a twist or an action scene, but the terrifying realism of the narrator's mental descent. Andreyev gets inside a paranoid mind so completely. It's a masterclass in building tension from almost nothing. There's no monster, just the sound of a chair scraping on the floor and the power of imagination. It made me think about how easily we can turn unknown people into villains in our own stories, especially when we feel alone. The 'love' in the title is brutally ironic—it's about the total absence of connection and the fear that fills the void.

Final Verdict

This is a perfect pick for readers who love character-driven psychological horror. If you enjoy stories where the real battle happens inside someone's head, like Edgar Allan Poe's tales or the tense atmosphere of a Shirley Jackson novel, you'll appreciate Andreyev's work. It's also a fascinating glimpse into early 20th-century literature. You can read it in one sitting, but it'll stick with you for much longer, maybe making you listen a little too closely to the noises in your own building.