Short Story: It by Theodore Sturgeon

"It walked in the woods. It was never born. It existed. Under the pine needles the fires burn, deep and smokeless in the mould. In heat and in darkness and decay there is growth. There is life and there is growth. It grew, but it is life and there is growth. It grew, but it was not alive. It walked unbreathing through the woods, and thought and saw and was hideous and strong, and it was not born and it did not live. It grew and lived about without living."

Alton Drew is looking for his dog, Kimbo and finds him dead and mutilated beyond comprehension. He waits there for the killer. When his brother Cory finds him and asks him to come home, Alton refuses. Meanwhile It comes back to the scene to make sure the dog is dead. Alton fires at him but he too gets killed by the It. Alton's niece, Babe too is looking for him when she meets It. It scares her off. She runs away after throwing a rock at It. It falls into the stream and watches Itself dispassionately all the muck and dirt on it, getting cleansed by the flowing water....

I read It by Theodore Sturgeon in The Frankenstein Omnibus edited by Peter Haining. This story is about a monster which defies description. This creature has no name other than It. Sturgeon created an evil character which in his words, does not exist. He does this task with objectivity. We know there is monster out there but do not know what is it. It by itself has no feeling. It is composed and does everything with precision. This is what makes us feel a chill. We are afraid but do not know of what. If Sturgeon wanted to create that effect, he succeeded. Terror does not have to have a name...