Los colmillos del reptil

"Los Colmillos del Reptil" by Ralph Barby This Spanish-language horror novella, published by Editorial Bruguera in 1979, follows Ava Bryan, a schoolteacher, as she escorts twin orphans Berta and Bárbara Lemoix to the Lycée des Esprits, a boarding school in Paris. The girls have been placed under the guardianship of Monsieur Second Chammad, the school's director, proprietor, and sole instructor, per their deceased parents' will. The narrative establishes an atmosphere of creeping unease: the decrepit mansion lacks proper heating, features dark spiral staircases, and emanates dampness and strange odors. When the elegant but oddly unsettling Chammad appears, he mysteriously identifies each twin instantly despite their identical appearance. His sudden mood shifts and peculiar manner create tension alongside Ava's growing concerns about leaving the vulnerable girls in his care. The story develops as a mystery-horror centered on the school's sinister secrets and Chammad's true nature.