by H. P. LovecaftFree online text
The Dunwich Horror one of the essential
Lovecraft tales. It is a sublime piece of writing. Mystical, yet technical, in
the author's masterly style. Not one sentence or syllable is wasted in the
construction of this tale.
While
it may owe inspiration to “The Great God Pan” by Machen or “The Thing in the
Woods” by Williams, it is wholly a wonderful tale that surpasses either of the
two I just mentioned.
Originally
published in the April 1929 issue of Weird
Tales, this story has never been out of print. It revolves around the
rustic Watley clan in Dunwich Massachusetts, part of the fictional Miskatonic
River Valley. To a slightly inbred family, a strange child is born that grows,
mentally and physically, at a rapid rate. Strange events occur which cause him
to go to Miskatonic University to consult a copy of the Necronomicon -as his
family's copy is damaged. One thing leads to another, the boy is killed and then
disaster strikes. A very satisfying one at that. Read the story if you want to
find out what.
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| Cover of the issues where the story was first published. |
It
contains most of the Lovecraftian hallmarks: Yog Sothoth, the Necronomicon,
Arkham, Miskatonic University, the rural area as the receptor of evil. It is perhaps
the model of what a Lovecraft story is like.
The bone I gave to pick with
the later developed Cthulhu Mythos, mostly arraigned by others after
Lovecraft's death, is the classification of Yog Sothoth as an Outer God. It has
been established that the avatar/agent of these entities is Nyarlathotep, the
crawling chaos, who does their bidding. He is the contact point between
humanity and these creature's In this case Yog Sothoth, referred to
as “the key and the gate” to beyond, is a creature that is interacted with
directly by Old Man Watley and his family. Perhaps a small difference, but in
my mind a significant one. Lovecraft himself never placed Yog Sothoth as an
Outer God, that was done by his later writers in the Mythos. If it needs to be
classified, Yog Sothoth should be listed among the Great Old Ones.
Included below are a few
film adaptations and a Claymation cartoon. Enjoy and Caveat Emptor.
The Dunwich Horror 1970
The Dunwich Horror 2009
Claymation of the story
For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.
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