«Horla» in the original. A neologism consisting of the words hors (= out) and là (= here), creating the same compound word-synonym for the Devil that we also encounter in Greek (Exapodo) and means "the one who comes from somewhere outside this world".

Three stories that immerse us directly into the creative atmosphere of Guy de Maupassant, one of the most prominent French writers and timelessly unsurpassed master of the short form. Intensely autobiographical, the short story The Exapodo, along with The Count and The Vision that complement it, captures a motif that characterized the author himself while he lived: madness, altered state of consciousness, and terror in the face of those inexplicable influences that leave indelible marks on the body.

The paintings by Mauro Cacioli that illustrate this edition transcend any physical or mental framework, introducing us to a dazzling inscrutable universe that reveals the narrowness of the logical perspective.