Billy Weaver is revealed to have been poisoned and preserved by the landlady, who is a serial killer.
In Roald Dahl’s short story “The Landlady,” Billy Weaver, a young man visiting Bath for a work assignment, decides to stay at a seemingly cozy bed and breakfast. The landlady appears to be a kind and gentle older woman, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that something is amiss. Billy notices that the names in the guestbook are familiar, and he realizes that the two other guests he reads about have been missing for years.
The landlady is overly attentive and offers Billy tea that tastes slightly odd. As they converse, she reveals an unsettling attention to detail about her pets, which are stuffed and displayed in the sitting room. The story hints at her taxidermy skills, suggesting that she has a morbid hobby of preserving not just animals but her guests as well.
The narrative does not explicitly state Billy’s fate, but the implication is clear. The landlady’s behavior, the peculiar taste of the tea, and the fact that the previous guests never left all suggest that Billy is being poisoned. The story ends with a chilling ambiguity, but the strong implication is that Billy will become another of the landlady’s “preserved” guests, never to leave the bed and breakfast. Roald Dahl leaves the ultimate horror to the reader’s imagination, making “The Landlady” a masterful example of suspense and subtle horror.