The Irresistible Perfume: A Fragrance Too Alluring to Escape

The Irresistible Perfume by Harold Lawlor - The professor invented a perfume that would never come off! He didn't know it was irresistible.

Harold Lawlor was a somewhat prolific yet enigmatic writer of mid-20th century speculative fiction. Born in 1910—though records remain unclear whether his birthplace was Ireland or Chicago—Lawlor remains a somewhat mysterious figure in the annals of pulp literature. Despite the scarcity of biographical details, his body of work speaks volumes about his creative range and his contributions to the golden age of genre fiction.

Between 1942 and 1953, Lawlor published 35 short stories, many of which found homes in the most popular pulp magazines of the time, including Weird Tales, Imagination, and other titles that defined an era of bold, bizarre, and imaginative storytelling. His work traversed genres from science fiction to horror and supernatural suspense, often blending psychological tension with elements of the fantastic.

One of his most memorable stories, “What Beckoning Ghost?”, appeared in the July 1948 issue of Weird Tales and has since gained a cult following. This eerie tale of love and the afterlife eventually inspired the 1979 British horror film Dominique, starring Cliff Robertson, Jean Simmons, and Jenny Agutter—a testament to the lingering power of Lawlor’s atmospheric storytelling.

In addition to his work in print, Lawlor extended his talents to television. According to the Internet Movie Database, he is credited with writing three episodes of the 1961 anthology series Thriller, a program known for its moody, often chilling tales hosted by Boris Karloff.

Though Harold Lawlor never achieved the same level of fame as some of his contemporaries, his stories remain a striking example of mid-century pulp fiction at its most evocative.