Footprints without Feet

1. The Transparent Body & The Arsonist Scientist

Griffin, a brilliant research scientist, conducted experiment after experiment until he successfully formulated rare chemical drugs. Upon swallowing these drugs, his body became completely invisible:

• The Physical State: His body became transparent like a sheet of glass, though it remained as solid and physical as glass to touch.
• The Fatal Character Flaw: H.G. Wells explicitly characterizes Griffin as a 'lawless person'. He possessed supreme intellect but lacked even the slightest shred of moral integrity, empathy, or civic responsibility.
• The Act of Arson: When his landlord disliked him and attempted to eject him from the lodgings, Griffin retaliated not through legal means, but by setting fire to the house in vengeful fury!

To escape detection after committing arson, Griffin was forced to strip off all his clothes. Consequently, he became an invisible, homeless wanderer in London -- penniless, without clothes, and exposed to the biting January cold.

2. The Vulnerability of Invisibility

Being invisible carried unforeseen, agonizing physical limitations: in freezing mid-winter, clothes were essential for survival, yet wearing clothes made Griffin immediately visible and conspicuous!

Griffin sought shelter inside a large London department store before closing time:

1. Luxury in the Dark: Once the store closed and the staff left, Griffin broke open boxes and fitted himself out with warm clothes, shoes, an overcoat, and a wide-brimmed hat. He raided the restaurant for cold meat, coffee, sweets, and wine, and fell asleep on a pile of quilts.
2. The Morning Panic: Because he overslept, the store assistants arrived before he could wake up. When they spotted a clothed figure, they gave chase. Griffin had no choice but to frantically peel off his stolen clothes one by one, escaping once again into the bitter cold, naked and destitute.

Desperate to acquire a permanent disguise, Griffin headed to Drury Lane (the theatrical district of London). He broke into a theatrical costume shop, ransacked the premises, and emerged fully disguised:

To complete his crime, Griffin callously attacked the shopkeeper from behind, robbed him of all his money, and boarded a train for the countryside.

3. The Winter Guest at 'Coach and Horses'

Griffin arrived at the remote village of Iping, booking two rooms at the local inn, the 'Coach and Horses', run by Mrs. Hall. His arrival in mid-winter was an unusual event that set the entire village gossiping:

• Mrs. Hall's Attempts at Hospitality: Mrs. Hall made every effort to be friendly and hospitable, but Griffin rebuffed her rudely: 'My reason for coming to Iping was a desire for solitude. I do not wish to be disturbed in my work. Besides, an accident has affected my face.'
• The Prepayment Buffer: Because Griffin paid her in advance with stolen money, Mrs. Hall overlooked his strange temper, bandaged face, and eccentric habits, excusing him as an eccentric scientist.
• The Scientific Paraphernalia: Griffin's luggage arrived -- scores of glass bottles, test tubes, apparatus, and three large crates. He spent his days pacing the room, swearing in fury, and smashing bottles in frustration.

4. Supernatural Havoc in the Village

Two extraordinary, inexplicable events threw Iping into absolute pandemonium:

5. The Showdown: Stripping into Invisibility

When Griffin reappeared from his locked room, Mrs. Hall boldly confronted him, demanding to know how he came out of an empty room and what he had done to her chairs. Furious at her impudence, Griffin lost all self-control:

"'You don't understand who or what I am!' he shouted. 'All right -- I'll show you!'
Suddenly he threw off his bandages, whiskers, spectacles, and false nose. It took him only a minute. The horrified people in the bar found themselves staring at a headless man!"

At this moment, the village constable, Mr. Jaffers, arrived with a warrant to arrest the burglar. Jaffers was astonished to discover he had to arrest a man without a head, but remained unshakeable: 'A constable must do his duty, head or no head!'

Amid shrieks of 'Hold him!', Griffin shook himself completely free and vanished into the open countryside, once again an invisible, isolated fugitive from human society.