Double Trouble

"Double Trouble" by Carl Jacobi is a science fiction novella published in the mid-20th century. The story revolves around an adventurous journey on Jupiter's Eighth Moon, exploring themes of exploration, communication, and mischief involving peculiar creatures. It showcases a blend of humor and suspense as it follows a group of characters led by the eccentric author Grannie Annie as they navigate a bizarre world filled with strange flora and fauna, culminating in a mystery involving a contagious and hypnotic epidemic. In "Double Trouble," the narrative unfolds as Grannie Annie, a writer known for her vivid imagination, embarks on a quest with her entourage, which includes an old prospector and a Martian illustrator. They set out to investigate an ailment afflicting miners known as "Red Spot Fever," which incites uncontrollable chatter and leads them into the dangerous Baldric region. As they encounter bizarre occurrences, including duplicates of themselves created by intelligent cockatoos, they confront a nefarious plot involving the manipulation of the miners through hypnotic devices. Ultimately, Grannie employs her resourcefulness and cleverness to outsmart the opposition and rescue the affected miners, revealing a tale rich with adventure, peculiar science, and a touch of whimsy. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Carl Richard Jacobi was an American journalist and writer. He wrote short stories in the horror and fantasy genres for the pulp magazine market, appearing in such pulps of the bizarre and uncanny as Weird Tales, Ghost Stories, Startling Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories and Strange Stories. He also wrote stories crime and adventure which appeared in such pulps as Thrilling Adventures, Complete Stories, Top-Notch, Short Stories, The Skipper, Doc Savage and Dime Adventures Magazine. Jacobi also produced some science fiction, mainly space opera, published in such magazines as Planet Stories. He was one of the last surviving pulp-fictioneers to have contributed to the legendary American horror magazine Weird Tales during its "glory days". His stories have been translated into French, Swedish, Danish and Dutch.