new lovecraft circle

The New Lovecraft Circle

Lovecraftian Horror from Del Rey Books:

S H A D O W S O V E R I N N S M O U T H

T A L E S O F T H E L O V E C R A F T M Y T H O S

T H E N E W L O V E C R A F T C I R C L E

The New Lovecraft

Circle Edited by

Robert M. Price

B A L L A N T I N E B O O K S

N E W Y O R K

A IXrl R e y » B o o k P u b l i s h e d by I h t R a n d o m H o u s e P u b & s h i r g C r o u p

C o p y r i g h t o 1 9 9 6 b y R o b e r t M . P r i c e I l l u s t r a t i o n c o p y r i g h t e 1 9 9 6 b y ( i a h a n W i l s o n P r e f a c e c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 9 6 b y R a m s e y C a m p b e l l

All r i g h t * r n e r v e d u n d e r I n t e r n a t i o n a l and P a n - A m e r i c a n C o p y r i g h t C o n v e n t i o n s . P u b l i s h e d in t h e Uni ted States by ' I h e R a n d o m H o u s e P u b l i s h i n g C r o u p , a divis ion o f R a n d o m H o u s e . I n c . N e w Y o r k ,

ara l s i m u l t a n e o u s l y in C a n a d a by R a n d o m H o u s e o f C a n a d a L i m i t e d . T o r o n t o . O r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d by l-etfogan & B r e m e r . M i n n e a p o H s . in 1 9 % .

" P r e f a c e " c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 9 6 by R a m s e y C a m p b e * foe i h i s c c J e c t i o n . " I n t r o d u c t i o n " c o p y r i g h t i> I W 6 b y R o b e r t M . Price for t h i s c o l l e c t i o n . " T h e P la in o f S o u n d " c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 6 4 b y I R a m s e y C a m p b e l l for B r Inhabitant of the la it and

Iru Welcome Tenants. 1 9 6 4 , a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . R a m s e y C a m p b e l l . " T h e S t o n e o n the Ida l t d c o p y r i g h t D 1 9 6 4 by A u g u s t IXrrleth for OIIT rhe ÍJfe. 1 9 6 1 . a p p e a r s

here by p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . R a m s e y C a m p b e l l

" T h e S t a t e m e n t o f O n e l o h n G i b s o n " c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 8 4 b y B r i a n I n m l e y for Cryft of C i b i i A u » 1 9 . C a n d l e m a s 1 9 8 4 . appears h e r e by p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . B r i a n Eumley .

" I X : m o n a c a l " c o p y r i g h t c 1 9 7 8 by D a v i d S u t t o n foe CrAnf t i i : Tola of rAr CrAuUui M j ihoi 1 3 . 1 9 ? J . appears h e r e by p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . David S u t l c c i .

" T h e Kiss o f l i u g g - S h a s h " c o p y r i g h t D 197S b y B r i a n L u m l e y for C r h u B i r r T.i in of the C.VIiutiiii Afyiŕicu 1 3 . 1 9 7 4 . a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . B r i a n I .umlcy .

" T h e S l i t h e r e r f r o m the S l i m e " c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 S 8 by Lin C a r t e r a n d D a v e W e y for Ináie Sf 1 3 . S e p -t e m b e r 1 9 S 8 . a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f R o b e r t M . Price, agent for I h e es ta te o f 1 j n C a r t e r .

" T h e IX>om o f Y a k t h c o o c o p y r i g h t e 1 9 7 1 b y August D e r l e t i i for 77ie A>kh\im CnUrcror 1 1 0 . S e p -t e m b e r 1 9 7 1 . a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f R o b e r t M . Price, agent for t h e es ta te o f l á n C a r t e r .

" T h e l i s h e r s f r o m O u t s i d e " c o p y r i g h t C 1 9 8 8 by C r y p t i c P u b l i c a t i o n s for C r f p / of CrAnf t i i » S 4 . E a s t e r t i d e 1 9 8 8 . appears here by p e r m i s s i o n o f R o b e r t M . P r x r . agent foe t h e es ta te o f L i n C a r t e r .

" T h e K e e p e r o« l b : f l a m e " c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 9 6 b y Cars- M y e r s tor Ihis c o l l e c t i o n . " I X : a d G i v e a w a y * c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 7 6 by I. V e r n o n S h e a for O u r r r l l . M a y 1 9 7 6 . a p p e a r s h e r e by p e r -

m i s s i o n o f V i r g i n i a S. B u r d c t t e .

I " T h o s e W h o W a i t " o r i g i n a l l y a p p e a r e d in an u n c o p y r i g h t e d f a n r i n e . T h e a u t h o r a n d his fami ly h a w passed a«ray.|

" T h e K e e p e r o f D a r k P o i n t " a n d " I h e B l x k M i r r o r " ( o r i g i n a l v e r s i o n s ) c o p y r i g h t e 1 9 9 6 b y l o h n C l a s b y for this c o l l e c t i o n .

" I ' v e C o m e t o T a l k wi th You A g a i n " c o p y r i g h t D 1 9 % by t h e E s t a t e o f Karl E d m r d W a g n e r . In I h e i n t e r i m b e t w e e n t h e w r i t i n g o f i h e s t o n - for Ihis c o l l e c t i o n a n d lis p u b l i c a t i o n , i t a p p e a r e d in t h e B r i t i s h a n t h o l o g y Dark Terror* in a s l ight ly m o d i f i e d f o r m .

" T h e H a u l e r in I h e D a r k c o p y r i g h t © 1 9 8 4 b y R k h a r d L . T i e m e y for Crypi of Cihathu 1 2 4 . L a m -m a s 1 9 8 1 . a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . R i c h a r d L. T i e r n e y .

" T h e H o r r o r o n t h e B e a c h " c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 7 8 by T h r a i u . I n c . ; first a p p e a r e d in a l i m i t e d e d i t i o n f r o m S h r o u d P n b l i s h e t s ; r e p r i n t e d b y p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r a n d the a u t h o r ' s a g e n t . V i r g i n i a Kidd .

" T h e W h i s p e r e r s " c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 7 7 b y U l t i m a t e P n b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y foe fimuumr. S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 7 . a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . R i c h a r d A L u p o f f .

" L i g h t s ! C a m e r a ! S h u b - N i g £ u r a t h ! " c o p y r i g h t D 1 9 9 6 by R k h a r d A . L o p o t í for Ihis c o l l e c t i o n . " S a u c e r s f r o m Y i d d i t h " c o p y r i g h t o I 9 S 4 b y T h e S t r a n g e C o m p a n y for EKhmp fir Odpieji *>.

1 9 8 4 . a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . R o b e r t M . P r i c e . " V a s t a r i e n " c o p y r i g h t C 1 9 8 7 by C r y p t i c P u b l i c a t i o n s for Crypr if Cihulhu tlS. S a i n t l o h n ' s Eve

1 9 8 7 . a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . T h o m a s L igot t i .

" T h e M a d n e s s o u t o f S p a c e " c o p y r i g h t c 1 9 8 2 b y C r i s p i n B u r n h a m for Bdriidi f inVi n u m b e r s 8 a n d 9 . 1 9 4 2 a n d 1 9 4 3 , a p p e a r s h e r e by p e r m i s s i o n o f i h e a u t h o r . IVrter H. C a n m n .

"Aliah W a r d e n " c o p y r i g h t o 1 9 8 5 b y D r a c u l a U n l i m i t e d for TAr Court/ Draeiiru t,in Out Annual. s o l . >. n o . 1 . 1 9 4 5 . a p p e a r s h e r e b y p e r m i s s i o n o f i h e a u t h o r . R o g e r l o h n s o n .

" T h e Last S u p p e r " c o p y r i g h t O 19$ 1 b y C r i s p i n B u r n h a m for Eldruth T®Vi 1 7 . 1 9 8 1 . appears h r r e by p e r m i s s i o n o f ihr a u t h o r . D o n a k l R. B u r l e s o n .

" T h e C h u r c h a l C a r i o c k ' s B e n d " c o p y r i a h l O 1 9 8 7 b y Das-is P u b l i c a t i o n s . I n c . for Alfred H U n ť i Myatiy A f i i p c i n r . Apri l 1 W 7 . appears here by p e r m i s s i o n o f ihe a u t h o r . D a v i d K a u f m a n .

" T h e S p h e r e s B e y o n d S o u n d I T h r e n o d y } " c o p y r i g h t C 1 9 8 7 b y M a r k R a i n e y foe Dearhreafm 1 2 . S u m m e r 1 9 8 7 . a p p e a r s b y p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . S t e p h e n M a r k Ra iney .

D d R e y is a regis tered t r a d e m a r k a n d the D e l Hey c o l o p h o n is a t r a d e m a r k o f R a n d o m H o u s e . I n c .

w n w d e l r c y d i g i l a l . c o m

L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s C o n t r o l N u m b e r 2 0 0 3 1 1 4 3 4 9

e l S B N 0 - M S 4 7 2 2 7 . 6

T h i s e d i t i o n p u b l i s h e d b y a r r a n g e m e n t wi th l -edogan & B r e m e r

v l . 0

Dediča led to

my beloved Carol,

who shares with Asenaih White

both beauty and wisdom beyond

her years, but with none of

the bad stuff!

C o n t e n t s

Preface by Ramsey Campbell ix

I n t r o d u c t i o n by Robert M. Price xiii

T h e Plain o f S o u n d by Ramsey Campbell 3

T h e S t o n e o n the Is land by Ramsey Campbell 16

T h e S t a t e m e n t o f O n e John G i b s o n by Brian Lumley 2 9

D e m o n i a c a l by David Sutton 5 0

T h e Kiss o f B u g g - S h a s h by Brian Lumley 5 9

T h e Sl i therer from the S l i m e by H. P. Lowcraft 7 7

T h e D o o m o f Y a k t h o o b by Lin Carter 8 6

T h e F ishers f r o m O u t s i d e by Lin Carter 8 9

T h e Keeper o f the F l a m e by Gary Myers 1 0 5

Dead Giveaway by /. Vernon Shea 1 1 0

T h o s e W h o Wait by lames Wade 1 2 9

T h e Keeper o f Dark Point by John Clasby 157

T h e B lack M i r r o r by John Clasby 1 8 9

I 've C o m e to Talk w i t h You Again by Karl Edward Wagner 218

T h e Howler in the D a r k by Richard L. Tierney 224

T h e H o r r o r o n the Beach by Alan Dean Foster 2 5 3

T h e W h i s p e r e r s by Richard A. Lupoff 2 7 8

Lights! C a m e r a ! S h u b - N i g g u r a t h ! by Richard A. Lupoff 2 9 5

Saucers f r o m Yaddith by Robert XL Price 3 3 0

Vastar ien by Thomas Ligotti 3 4 9

T h e M a d n e s s o u t o f Space by Peter H. Cannon 3 6 4

Aliah Warden by Roger Johnson 4 0 0

T h e Last Supper by Donald R. Burleson 4 1 0

T h e C h u r c h at Gar lock ' s B e n d by David Kaufman 4 1 4

T h e Spheres B e y o n d S o u n d ( T h r e n o d y ) by Mark Rainey 4 2 9

Preface

A b o m i n a b l e . . . d e t e s t a b l e . . . u n s p e a k a b l e . . . n o x i o u s . . . n o i s o m e . . .

i n d e s c r i b a b l e . . . d i s tor ted . . . m a l f o r m e d . . . Just s o m e o f the words

that c o m e to m i n d as I c o n t e m p l a t e m y c o n t r i b u t i o n s to this b o o k .

Perhaps there 's a pecul iar ly English c h a r m a b o u t the way " T h e Plain

o f S o u n d " fo l lows a q u o t a t i o n f r o m the Necronoinicon with the

m o o c h i n g s o f t h r e e young buggers in search o f a pub, all to ld w i t h an

u n d u e s o b r i e t y that m u s t have s t ruck m e as appropr ia te ly Lovecraft-

ian. Peculiar is ce r ta in ly the t e r m for it, a n d for the newsagent 's un-

likely dia lect , but w h a t is the w o r d for the way the three s tudents view

a n o t h e r wor ld as t h o u g h it isn't m u c h m o r e s ignif icant than the latest

d e v e l o p m e n t in television? Well , there's n o n e s o blase as the y o u n g .

As for " T h e S t o n e o n the Island," I r e c a l l J . Vernon S h e a c o n d e m n i n g

the o f f i ce mil ieu as i n a p p r o p r i a t e to a Lovecraf t ian t h e m e . O f c o u r s e

it was the o f f i ce where I then worked , a n d in re trospect the n o t i o n o f

a c h a r a c t e r e x p e r i e n c i n g v is ions o f supernatura l ter ror a m o n g his fel-

low civil servants s e e m s all too l ike idealised autobiography. Still, the

s t o r y c a n hardly wait to finish h i m off , a n d w h o can b l a m e it? Let m e

leave it in peace and m o v e o n to tales that a r e m o r e tun .

Brian L u m l e y s e e m s to have had s o m e . As for J a m e s Wade's tale,

would it b e u n f a i r to suspec t it o f s o m e deadpan h u m o u r ? T h e as-

t o u n d i n g gull ibi l i ty o f the n a r r a t o r is a lmost t radi t ional , a n d the way

he merc i fu l ly faints, t h o u g h only to revive a m o m e n t later for a n -

o t h e r sight o f what did for h im. But I have m y d o u b t s a b o u t a n invo-

c a t i o n that g o e s "N'yah ahahalľ like a villain in a Mad c o m i c , a n d all

the bus iness with the G u e s t , n o t least the " s t u p e f y i n g " spectac le o f a

c o a t , hat a n d s c a r f lying o n the g r o u n d . And w h a t a b o u t the line " F o r

h o u r s we d r o n e d o n o v e r n o r t h e r n M a i n e " ? Surely it refers to the

s o u n d o f the e n g i n e .

I . V e r n o n Shea s e e m s to have felt h u m o u r wouldn ' t h u r t h is

story, o n e o f t w o in this a n t h o l o g y which I cons idered for New Tales

* P R E F A C E

of the Cthulhu Mythos. Despi te its l ightness o f t o n e , this extravaganza

d o e s resurrect the a u t h e n t i c early Lovecraf t ian m o r b i d i t y a n d c o m -

m i t m e n t to the g e n e r a t i o n gap. And there 's n o quest ion o f the kind

o f fun Lin C a r t e r a n d Dave Foley were having: t h e y give g o o d slither.

I hope I won't b e accused o f b l a c k e n i n g Lin's m e m o r y b y suggest ing

that s o m e o f his m o r e s e r i o u s work reads like parody t o o — n o t s o

m u c h " T h e D o o m o f Yakthoob, " but how a b o u t the invocat ion in

" T h e Fishers from O u t s i d e " to the one- legged b i rd-god, " Q u u m y a g g a

n n g ' h aargh"? St i l l , he e n j o y s his lost city, a n d it would b e u n k i n d to

suggest that his narra tor s h o u l d have l ingered longer in U s h o n g a .

Alan D e a n Foster revives pulp c o n v e n t i o n s with gusto , and

achieves real ter ror in the cellar, t h o u g h it s e e m s m e a n to expec t

C t h u l h u to b e satisfied w i t h n o t h i n g m o r e than a c a t . Roger J o h n s o n

e x p o r t s a Lovecraf t ian l ineage to a Br i t ish landscape m o r e a p p r o p r i -

ate than any I m a n a g e d to find when I was e m u l a t i n g G r a n d p a . And

Peter C a n n o n s e e m s to have e m p l o y e d a p inch o f the essential salts

o f the old gent himsel f , not to m e n t i o n s o m e sly wit. As for D o n

ISurleson, he offers a l o a t h s o m e fright which n o aesthet ica l ly sensit ive

g h o u l s h o u l d miss .

Dick T i e r n e y tells a tale w o r t h y o f the best weird pulps. N o r is he

a l o n e in r e t u r n i n g to pr inc ip les b y which Lovecraft w r o t e . G a r y M y -

ers goes back , ver) ' effectively, to Dunsany , a n d David K a u f m a n is as

del icately powerful in c o n v e y i n g a s e n s e o f the massive a n d terrible.

T h e n a m e o f Z a n n is by n o m e a n s be t rayed b y M a r k Rainey. As for

T o m Ligotti , he n e e d a c k n o w l e d g e n o i m a g i n a t i o n but his o w n in

c o m m u n i c a t i n g how " t h e only value o f this world lay in its p o w e r —

at cer ta in t i m e s — t o suggest a n o t h e r wor ld . "

O t h e r tales m a y have been added to this b o o k s ince I wrote this

piece to end B o b Price's a n x i e t y about its n o n - a p p e a r a n c e , a n d s o m y

fai lure to c o m m e n t o n t h e m s h o u l d not be taken as express ing aver-

s i o n . I look forward to reading t h e m . I shall read t h e m , I tell y o u — I

shall b e e n t e r t a i n e d ! Flee, hee , hee . . . Fun's the o n l y a n s w e r — w h a t

else is there to d o but laugh i f the c o s m o s is a j o k e ? C h o r t l e w i t h

C t h u l h u , vuk w i t h Y o g - S o t h o t h , giggle w i t h S h u b - N i g g u r a t h . . . haw,

haw, h a w . . . But what is this cold wind which s p r a n g to life at the

very o u t s e t o f that sentence? Mercy of Heaven, what is thai shape be-

hind the parting words? Spec t ra l p a l l o r . . . aqui l ine n o s e . . . e longated

P R E F A C E X I

lower j a w . . . h a n d s r e a c h i n g o u l o f w o r d - p r o c e s s o r screen . . . a m

dragged away f r o m keyboard . . . hee , hee, h e e . . .

R a m s e y C a m p b e l l

Merseys ide , England

12 M a y 1 9 9 3

Introduct ion

In h is Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos Lin C a r t e r o b -

served that August Derleth's co l lec t ion , Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos,

" m a r k e d the b e g i n n i n g o f an e r a in the h is tory o f the M y t h o s for

m a n y reasons, and o n e o f the m o s t i m p o r t a n t was that it i n t r o d u c e d

an e x t r a o r d i n a r y n u m b e r o f new writers in the M y t h o s " ( p . 175) .

T h e s e scr ibes C a r t e r went o n t o d u b " t h e N e w Lovecraft Circ le . "

T h e i r n u m b e r inc luded R a m s e y C a m p b e l l , Br ian Lumley, J . Vernon

Shea (actual ly a friend a n d c o r r e s p o n d e n t o f Lovecraft 's , but just

m a k i n g h is M y t h o s fiction d e b u t ) , l a m e s W a d e , Col in W i l s o n (aga in ,

an establ ished pro, but a new M y t h o s wri ter ) , G a r y Myers , a n d Lin

C a r t e r h imsel f . Actually, C a r t e r and Myers began playing the g a m e

t o o late to make it in to Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, but jus t by a

tendri l .

Derleth's f lagship M y t h o s co l lec t ion fol lowed related A r k h a m

House vo lumes b y C a m p b e l l (The Inhabitant of the iMke and Less

Welcome Tenants) a n d W i l s o n (The Mind Parasites) a n d preceded

co l l ec t ions b y Myers (The House of the Worm), L u m l e y (The Caller of

the Black, The Horror at Oakdeene, Beneath the Moors), a n d C a r t e r

(Dreams from Iťlyeh). S ince then , W i l s o n has added to his M y t h o s

c a n o n The Philosophers Stone, whi le several o f Campbel l ' s tales f r o m

the ear l ier v o l u m e were later col lected, a l o n g w i t h a few n e w o n e s , in

the S c r e a m Press co l lec t ion Cold Print ( 1 9 8 5 ) .

C a r t e r w r o t e several m o r e M y t h o s tales, five o f t h e m f o r m i n g a

serial novel af ter the m a n n e r o f Derleth's The Trail of Cthulhu. T h e s e

he later s u b m i t t e d to J i m T u r n e r at a p o s t - D e r l e t h A r k h a m H o u s e

u n d e r the title The Terror out of Time. T u r n e r did n o t take the bait,

but the c o l l e c t i o n is s c h e d u l e d for publ i ca t ion in the near f u t u r e

f r o m C h a o s i u m u n d e r the title The Xothic Legend Cycle.

Eventually C a r t e r persuaded Myers , w h o m he j u d g e d the best

a m o n g the New Circ le , to p e n a few m o r e b r i e f tales, s o m e o f which

appeared in Car ter ' s Z e b r a B o o k s r u n o f the p a p e r b a c k Weird Tales.

I N T R O D U C T I O N xvii

O t h e r s , s o m e n e w l y sol ic i ted by yours truly, appeared in Cry'pt of

Cthulhu.

Unfor tunate ly , W a d e and S h e a did not pursue Lovecraf t ian fic-

t ion m u c h farther . A n o t h e r tale o f Wade's , "A Darker S h a d o w over

I n n s m o u t h , " really a b r i e f fable a b o u t n u c l e a r weapons , did ap-

pear in the fifth issue o f Derleth's The Arkham Collector, whi le the

m o r e substant ia l " T h e Si lence o f F.rika Z a n n " a p p e a r e d in Edward

Paul Berglund's i m p o r t a n t co l lec t ion Disciples of Cthulhu in 1 9 7 6

( D A W B o o k s ) . Shea's 1966 m e m o i r o f Lovecraf t , " H . P. Lovecraft :

T h e H o u s e a n d the S h a d o w " was repr inted by N e c r o n o m i c o n Press

in 1982 .

Derleth's Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, then , was d o i n g two jobs at

o n c e . It c h r o n i c l e d the earlier g e n e r a t i o n o f the evolut ion o f the

M y t h o s b y i n c l u d i n g i m p o r t a n t M y t h o s stories by Der le th h i m -

self, H e n r y Kuttner , R o b e r t E . Howard, C l a r k A s h t o n S m i t h , F r a n k

Belknap Long , and o thers . B u t then it went o n to give the M y t h o s

a n e w b i r t h , a r e i n c a r n a t i o n in c o n t e m p o r a r y garb, even a s C a r t e r

suggested.

It was s ignif icant that, while all the new stories were obvious ly

inspired by Lovecraft , o r at least b y Der le th , all were u n a s h a m e d l y

c o n t e m p o r a r y (all three o f Wade's that I have m e n t i o n e d , in fact,

were a l m o s t too c o n t e m p o r a r y , reeking o f the decade o f the 6 0 s and

its var ious agendas, t h o u g h they are s o well wri t ten this d o e s not h u r t

t h e m ) .

Strikingly, n o n e o f t h e m s o u g h t to locate their s tor ies in Love-

craft 's M i s k a t o n i c Valley, e i ther . Cr i t i c s o f Lovecraf t had scathingly

po in ted o u t the absurdi ty visible w h e n o n e views HPL's tales synopt i -

cally: why were all these ex t ra - ter res t r ia l b o g i e s so interested in o n e

small area o f N e w England?

Der le th had advised C a m p b e l l , a n d p e r h a p s the o t h e r s t o o k the

hint , n o t to m o v e all h is fictional luggage in to A r k h a m and Inns-

m o u t h , s ince these places were a l ready so sa turated with s p o o k s and

tentac les that a fresh s tar t might bet ter b e m a d e e lsewhere . And he

was r ight .

So the n e w disciples set to w o r k , l ike the p i o n e e r s dr iven f r o m

the i r fami l iar fa ther land a n d impel led t o carve o u t new front iers else-

where . Before long, C a m p b e l l h a d his Severn Valley, L u m l e y h is


B l o w n c H o u s e and O a k d e e n e S a n i t a r i u m , C a r t e r h is S a n b o u m e In-

st i tute o f Pacif ic Ant iqui t ies , etc .

But in this case a w a r n i n g away f r o m o n e path was the s tart ing

gun for a r a c e d o w n a n o t h e r . I m a g i n e the fun o f creat ing one 's own

Lovecraft ian universe, essential ly playing Lovecraf t oneselfl And w h o

c o u l d s top the n e w wri ters f r o m a d d i n g their o w n t o m e s o f forbid-

den lore to the already v o l u m i n o u s c a n o n ? C a m p b e l l c o n t r i b u t e d

the m u l t i v o l u m e Revelations of Glaaki, which even s e e m e d to o u t -

arcanize itself, s i n c e there s e e m e d to b e extra a p o c r y p h a l v o l u m e s o f

the w o r k floating a r o u n d ! C a r t e r would later t h i n k up the Ponape

Scripture a n d the Xanthu Tablets, a n d W i l s o n d e c i d e d that the mys-

t e r i o u s V o y n i c h M a n u s c r i p t (which actual ly ex is ts a n d puzzles re-

searchers ) was really the Necronomicon e n c i p h e r e d . L u m l e y added

the myster ious Cthaat Aquadingen a n d l o a c h i m Feery 's Notes upon

the Necronomicon.

T h i s last, incidentally, might b e highl ighted a s a perfect dev ice

for u p d a t i n g what had b e c o m e a hackneyed prop. H o w rare c o u l d Al-

hazred's b o o k b e if every occul t i s t h a d his o w n copy, a s m o s t o f t h e m

did by the t ime the or ig ina l g e n e r a t i o n o f Lovecraft disciples were

done? S o leave it t o L u m l e y t o create a new b o o k with the ring o f the

o ld . Feery, y o u see, was s o m e t h i n g o f a m e d i u m h imse l f a n d ventured

to c o m p i l e his own glossed edi t ion based o n no k n o w n m a n u s c r i p t

ev idence , but perhaps o n S o u r c e s m u c h c loser to the horse 's m o u t h !

But all o f these s e c o n d - g e n e r a t i o n gr imoires , it s e e m s to m e , showed

quite a b i t o f ingenuity . N o n e was s i m p l y a n o t h e r Necronomicon

c lone , like m o s t o f the b o o k s des igned by the ear l ier g r o u p o f writers .

And o f course , the Lovecraf t ian pantheon began to bulge, too.

C a m p b e l l ' s D a o l o t h a n d Claak i , Lumley 's Yibb-Tst l l and S h u d d e -

M'e l l , a n d Car ter ' s Y t h o g t h a a n d Z o t h - O m m o g fairly forced M y t h o s

t a x o n o m i s t s to add a new w i n g o n t o the zoo. In all this, in the s tor ies

o f the N e w Lovecraf t Circ le , o n e sensed s i m u l t a n e o u s l y the joys b o t h

o f nostalgia a n d o f fresh c rea t ion . Accordingly the reader, if the s to-

ries hit h i m right, exper ienced a feeling o f a t - h o m e - n e s s (Yes, this

was the M y t h o s , all r i g h t ! ) a n d the delight o f newness . You could al-

m o s t pretend it was all u n f o l d i n g for the first t ime, a n d this t i m e h e r e

y o u were o n the g r o u n d floor.

All o f which br ings m e to the quest ion o f pastiches, a guilty literary

X V I I N T R O D U C T I O N

pleasure. M o s t C t h u l h u M y t h o s fiction is c i ther a past iche o f Love-

craf t and Der le th o r at the very least formula fiction. Is th i s a bad

thing? S o m e say it is, a n d this m a y have s o m e t h i n g to d o with the un-

wil l ingness o f m a n y e d i t o r s even t o l o o k at M y t h o s fiction. T h e y

t h i n k readers k n o w t o o well what to e x p e c t : a t o o - f a m i l i a r s t o r y in

which cer ta in th ings will happen, r ight o n schedule , a n d in which

cer ta in c o d e words a n d b o o k titles wil l try, unsuccessful ly , to subst i -

tu te for a t m o s p h e r e a n d c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n .

Pro longed e x p o s u r e to fanzines has the effect o f l e n d i n g s o m e

c r e d e n c e to these suspic ions . Reading m a n y o f t h e m , o n e s o o n c o n -

cludes that the small readership for w h o m t h e y are wri t ten has a

great deal in c o m m o n with the seedy protagonis t o f C a m p b e l l ' s

" C o l d Print ." T h e M y t h o s has b e c o m e like p o r n o g r a p h y , a n d it m a t -

ters n o t w h e t h e r there is any plot or charac ter iza t ion to speak o f , any

m o r e than it d o e s in a c h e a p p o r n p a p e r b a c k o r skin- f l ick , lust a s

long a s the p r o p e r a n a t o m y is all there , o n l y in this case it is tentac les

ra ther than testicles, beasts instead o f breasts .

But sure ly n o t all g e n r e fiction, n o t all f o r m u l a fiction, need be a

p o o r e x a m p l e o f its type. I wil l n o t c o n c e d e that C t h u l h u M y t h o s fic-

t ion is so s u b - l i t e r a r y a genre that ipso f a c t o there can be n o g o o d ex-

a m p l e s o f it, that o n l y a b a d e x a m p l e would b e true to type. W e have

t w o i m p o r t a n t issues to address here . ( G r a n t e d , if you have b o u g h t

this b o o k , you d o n o t need to b e c o n v i n c e d . But at least m a y b e we

can h e l p y o u win your next a r g u m e n t o n the s u b j e c t . )

I bel ieve that we m a y learn m u c h f r o m s o m e r e m a r k s o f Lin

Carter , m a d e in h is b o o k Imaginary Worlds, in reply to the c r i t i c i sms

m a d e by Alexei a n d C o r y Panshin against the pulp g e n r e o f S w o r d - & -

S o r c e r y fiction, d a m n i n g it as " a living fossil with n o apparent abi l i ty

to evolve." T o this C a r t e r replied, "Wel l , perhaps . B u t what o f it? T h e

s t u f f is fun to read, a n d fun to write, a n d the fossi l izat ion o f the g e n r e

is, I suspect , largely in the eye o f the b e h o l d e r . . . Musi a s c h o o l o f

wri t ing evolve? I w o n d e r why. Evolution impl ies c h a n g e in to s o m e -

t h i n g e lse" (pp . 1 4 5 - 1 4 6 ) .

In o t h e r words, this c r i t i c i sm, a lso a i m e d frequently at C t h u l h u

M y t h o s fiction, is a C a t c h - 2 2 : if the g e n r e doesn ' t evolve, it is dead in

the water. I f it d o e s evolve, it b e c o m e s s o m e t h i n g else. And in e i ther

case we are d o n e w i t h it.

C a r t e r o f f e r e d n o contr ived aesthetic defense for w r i t i n g new

I N T R O D U C T I O N x v i i

S w o r d - & - S o r c e r y , a n d I a m far f r o m ready lo o f fer o n e for the c o n -

t i n u a t i o n o f the M y t h o s ei ther . J o h n Jakes, in a passage appreciat ively

q u o t e d b y Carter , s u m s it up: we don ' t like it because we are sup-

posed to like it o r obl iged to like it by s o m e l i terary c o n s c i e n c e . W e

like it because we like it. Jakes: " T h e r e a r e jus t not e n o u g h o f this kind

o f s tor ies to go a r o u n d any m o r e ; n o t e n o u g h , anyway, to please m e "

( I n t r o d u c t i o n t o the a u t h o r ' s Brak the Barbarian).

In o t h e r words , to put it in t e r m s drawn f r o m Susan Sontag 's fa-

m o u s essay " N o t e s o n C a m p , " Carter , Jakes and the rest o f us e n j o y

this fiction precisely for the excesses that make m o r e " s e r i o u s " cr i t ics

t u r n up their noses . In a n o t h e r essay ( " T h e P o r n o g r a p h i c I m a g i n a -

t i o n " ) , S o n t a g p u t s d o w n sc ience fiction a l o n g with p o r n o g r a p h y

as "sub- l i terary ," a c o m p a r i s o n 1 have b o r r o w e d jus t above. B u t s h e

has forgot ten herse l f w h e n s h e m a k e s such sweeping j u d g m e n t s . W e

la t ter -day pulpists are n o t to b e despised, for we have acqui red the

sensibi l i ty o f " C a m p . " C a r t e r knew w h a t quali f ied as great l i terature

a n d what didn't a n d that b o t h were e n j o y a b l e in the i r ways. And he

was u n a s h a m e d o f h is nostalgic , c a m p y love for what he h i m s e l f

called " t h e g lor ious ly f o u r t h - r a t e . "

But , o n e m i g h t persist , doesn' t it get ra ther stale? M a y b e there

can b e g o o d M y t h o s fiction, granted , but hasn't it all been wri t ten?

Does the p l e t h o r a o f p o o r M y t h o s imi ta t ions signal that it's been

d o n e to death? W h y c o n t i n u e to write t h e m ?

T h e p o i n t is, why pastiche? Here I will appea l to the in t r iguing

t h i n k i n g o f Jacques Derr ida . Derr ida , a s part o f a larger a r g u m e n t I

dare n o t en ter ta in here, c o n t e n d s that w r i t i n g is far f r o m the sec-

o n d a r y foss i l izat ion o f l iving speech most p h i l o s o p h e r s a n d linguists

have judged it s ince Plato's t ime . Wri t ing , so goes the c o m p l a i n t ,

is the des icca ted corpse o f speech . It n o longer b r e a t h e s with in to-

n a t i o n , n o longer al lows for the possibil i ty o f c lar i f icat ion b y the

author .

But , Derr ida contends , the author ' s " i n t e n t i o n " for w h a t he said

or wrote was already an e p i p h e n o m e n o n . T h a t is, what he t h o u g h t

" h i s " words m e a n t was s i m p l y his o w n reading o f a text which pro-

d u c e d itself t h r o u g h h i m (shades o f J o a c h i m Feery! ) . W h a t c o m e s

o u t in the wri t ing process is the c o n t e n t s o f the s u b c o n s c i o u s m i n d ,

which is already like a written text engraved in the neurons . It m a y s e e m

n e w to us, but it is new like the first-time recogni t ion o f a h i t h e r t o

X V I I I I N T R O D U C T I O N

repressed m e m o r y . It is k n o w n for the first t i m e in r e m e m b r a n c e ,

n e v e r having been seen before . T h i s pre -wri t ten s u b c o n s c i o u s s c r i p t

Derr ida cal ls arche-ecriture, o r ig inary wri t ing .

You see, I t h i n k Derr ida helps us grasp the fact , stated m o r e

baldly by Jakes a n d s e c o n d e d by Carter , that w h e n o n e writes a

" M y t h o s story," o n e is in fact s i m p l y reading the M y t h o s story, the

o n e wri t ten d e e p within by all o n e ' s years o f reading and e n j o y i n g the

w o r k o f Lovecraft , Der le th , e t al . T h e s e c o n d ha l f o f Der le th ' s Tales of

the Cthulhu Mythos was a rewrit ing, a n d t h u s a rereading, o f the first

half . O n e wishes t h e r e were m o r e o f these stories , so o n e writes m o r e

o f t h e m , n o t so m u c h for o t h e r h u n g r y Lovecraf t ians to read, but for

o n e s e l f to read in the very ac t o f wri t ing t h e m .

All t h o s e te r r ib le f a n n i s h M y t h o s yarns a r e s o b a d n o t b e -

cause they m u s t be , n o r even because the i r young authors are p o o r

writers , but rather, a t the b o t t o m o f it, b e c a u s e t h e y are p o o r read-

ers! T h e y have p icked up n o t h i n g in Lovecraf t but all the t o n g u e -

twisting n a m e s a n d the twisting tentacles , mere ly beasts a n d bestiaries.

M y t h o s n a m e s , we o f ten hear , a n d rightly, d o n o t a Lovecra f t ian

s tory m a k e .

Edi tor W i l u m P u g m i r e a n n o u n c e d that his m a g a z i n e Tales of

Lovecraftian Horror would c o n s i d e r n o M y t h o s fiction. A n odd edi to-

rial rule, o n e might th ink, but no. Pugmire k n e w he had to get writ-

ers to get the n a m e s o u t o f their heads, a t least t emporar i ly , i f they

were to b e g i n to see w h a t e lse m a d e the O l d Gent ' s tales so effective.

T h i n g s like m o o d , style, v is ion . And if these e l e m e n t s were r ight , he

k n e w he had a tale o f truly Lovecraf t ian h o r r o r o n his h a n d s . T h e r e

were o n l y three issues, a n d to fill even that m a n y he had to b r e a k h is

own rules m o r e than o n c e . T h e a s s i g n m e n t wasn't easy.

But has anyone n o t i c e d that if a s tory f e s t o o n e d with Necronom-

icon passages and cr ies o f " l a ! " d o e s n o t b y this t o k e n cons t i tu te a

Lovecraft ian tale, n e i t h e r are these props needed to make a tale a

M y t h o s tale? And it c a n jus t as well b e a M y t h o s tale w i t h o u t b e i n g

par t icular ly Lovecraf t ian , as m a n y by Lumley, W i l s o n , a n d Der le th

d e m o n s t r a t e . S o what is it that is integral to a s tory b e i n g a M y t h o s

tale? G l a d I asked!

I would venture that a " ta le o f the C t h u l h u M y t h o s " is by nature

( = by f o r m u l a , by D N A ) a s t range a n d w o n d r o u s hybrid, a Faust ian

Mystery. O n e seeks f o r b i d d e n knowledge , w h e t h e r wi t t ingly or, m o r e


likely, unwitt ingly, but o n e m a y not k n o w till it is too late. T h i s is

poss ib le b e c a u s e the seeking is a gradual p i e c i n g together o f c lues

w h o s e eventual dest inat ion o n e d o e s not k n o w . T h e knowledge , o n c e

ga ined, is too great for the m i n d o f m a n . It is P r o m e t h e a n , Faust ian

knowledge . Knowledge that destroys in the m o m e n t o f en l ighten-

m e n t , a G n o s i s o f d a m n a t i o n , not o f sa lvat ion. O n e would never have

c o n t r a c t e d with M e p h i s t o p h e l e s to ga in it. O n e rather wishes it were

n o t t o o late t o forget it.

And usual ly this knowledge is such as to threaten to cance l the

future, to turn it in to the past, perhaps by o p e n i n g o n e s e l f to replace-

m e n t b y Joseph C u r w e n , perhaps by ra is ing u p the O l d O n e s w h o

will re turn the planet to its f o r m e r d o m i c i l e in al ien d i m e n s i o n s .

As I s e e it, the c o m m o n use o f the dev ice o f such a threat , which

m a y b e c l o t h e d in as m a n y vers ions as the a l l - p u r p o s e plot d i a g r a m

o f Lester D e n t , need n o t issue in u n i f o r m i t y . For instance , M y t h o s

stories m a y o r m a y n o t e n d pessimistical ly. T h e threat m a y be turned

back , o r deferred, o r we m a y b e left h a n g i n g . T h e bas ic idea o f a

M y t h o s tale as I have set it for th is a n i n t e r i o r ske le ton like a m a m -

mal 's , a f r a m e o n which to grow, n o t a hard, l imi t ing exo-ske le ton

like those w o r n b y the insects f r o m Shaggai . It f o r m s the b a s e - l i n e

against which the new var ia t ions m a y b e measured . It is n o t a denia l

o f flexibility; it is s o m e t h i n g to b e flexible with.

In m y j u d g m e n t we m a y plot the fai lure o f b o t h insipid fan

M y t h o s fiction a n d o f sophist icated N e w W a v e M y t h o s fiction ( s o m e

o f the c o n t e n t s o f Campbel l ' s New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos and

Berglund's Disciples of Cthulhu) a l o n g this axis . T h e fan fiction tends

to s t i ck to the skeleton so c lose ly there is n o meat o n the b o n e s . O r

the meat is old and rank. We've heard it all be fore .

T h e New Wave stuff, o n the o t h e r hand, c h u c k s the w h o l e skele-

ton. It is e i ther like an invertebrate shoggoth or it has s i m p l y plugged

in a few famil iar M y t h o s n a m e s h e r e and there in an u n f a m i l i a r

s t ructure . S tor ies o f psychological horror , for e x a m p l e , s i m p l y d o n o t

n e e d M y t h o s t o u c h e s a n d are n o t i m p r o v e d b y t h e m . Psycho would

n o t have benef i t ted had I.ila f o u n d a c o p y o f the Necronomicon o n

N o r m a n ' s shel f a longs ide The Witch Cult in Western Europe.

In a prev ious anthology . Tales of the Lovecraft Mythos, I s o u g h t to

create a past iche o f the first ha l f o f August Derleth's Tales of the

Cthulhu Mythos. T h e present c o l l e c t i o n m e a n s to a p e the s e c o n d half,


to c o m m e m o r a t e that dawn o f a n e w e r a o f M y t h o s f ic t ion, i have

been a b l e to assemble several little k n o w n a n d s e l d o m seen stories by

m o s t o f the seven m e m b e r s o f the N e w Lovecraft Circ le n u m b e r e d by

Lin C a r t e r a n d by other, m o r e recent adepts as well, for the tradit ion

grows. T h e cult will n o t b e s t a m p e d o u t .

O n e o f the ironies o f a co l lec t ion like this is that b y n o w a q u a r -

ter o f a c e n t u r y has g o n e b y s ince the e r a o f the New Lovecraf t C i r c l e

began . In the m e a n t i m e s o m e o f the b u d d i n g new M y t h o s writers ,

l ike s o m e in the or ig ina l Lovecraf t C i r c l e ( R o b e r t B l o c h and H e n r y

Kuttner, for e x a m p l e ) cut the i r fangs o n Lovecraft ian fiction, then

went o n to o t h e r things. T h i s is ce r ta in ly t r u e o f R a m s e y C a m p b e l l

a n d Br ian Lumley, w i t h w h o s e pos t -Lovecra f t i an w o r k s the shelves

n o w fairly bulge . As with B l o c h a n d Kuttner, the M y t h o s fiction o f

these two m u s t h e n c e f o r t h b e r e c k o n e d as " t h e early Lumley," " t h e

early C a m p b e l l . "

A few o f the s tor ies f r o m C a m p b e l l ' s The Inhabitant of the iMke

were axed f r o m the S c r e a m Press c o l l e c t i o n Cold Print. O n e o f these

had been o n e o f m y favorites in the earlier co l l ec t ion : " T h e Plain o f

S o u n d . " 1 repr inted it in Crypt of Cthulhu * 4 3 , a n d now here it is

again, b a c k in hard covers where it b e l o n g s . " T h e S t o n e o n the Is-

l a n d " appeared first in August Derleth's a n t h o l o g y Over the Edge

( 1 9 6 4 ) . Here o n e can already see the s t r o n g d e v e l o p m e n t o f C a m p -

bell 's gr i t ty realism, the a m b i e n c e o f u r b a n drear iness as the thea t re

o f horror , the use o f a n t i - h e r o i c protagonists . T h e s e factors m a d e

the i r e m e r g e n c e in " C o l d Pr int , " but for m y m o n e y , t h e y are m u c h

bet ter integrated w i t h the Lovecraf t ian e l e m e n t here .

Brian Lumley 's " T h e S t a t e m e n t o f O n e John G i b s o n " first ap-

peared in Crypt of Cthulhu » 1 9 in 1984 a n d is resurrected h e r e for the

first t ime . It is related to the Lovecraft revision tale " T h e D i a r y o f

A l o n z o Typer," which H P L w r o t e f r o m a dra f t by Wi l l iam Lumley.

W h o bet ter to f o l l o w up that tale than a living sequel to ( t h o u g h n o t

a d e s c e n d a n t o f ) that e lder Lumley?

Dave Sutton 's " D e m o n i a c a l " first appeared in New Writings in

Horror and the Supernatural, Vol. II ( S p h e r e B o o k s ) where L u m l e y

saw it. " H i s tale was s o obvious ly a M y t h o s s t o r y that 1 wrote him and

said, 'Let m e d o a sequel ! ' b e c a u s e I had an idea for jus t such , " L u m l e y

recalls . " H e O K ' e d that and 1 wrote ' T h e Kiss o f Bugg-Shash , ' which

def ini te ly was M y t h o s a n d so b r o u g h t Dave 's tale firmly in to the


genre also." T h e pair appeared together in I o n Harvey 's p a m p h l e t se-

ries Cthulhu: Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, 3 ( S p e c t r e Press) , then in

m y o w n Crypt of Cthulhu.

O n e key feature o f c a m p i n e s s is that it hovers jus t o n the thin

l ine b e t w e e n nostalgia and parody, hal f -salut ing a n d half -sat ir iz ing.

S o m e t i m e s it is n o t s o easy to keep the ba lance , a n d so we satirize n o t

what we s c o r n , but what we love. T h u s did the young Lin C a r t e r and

Dave Foley in their parody, " T h e Sl i therer f r o m the S l ime," which

first appeared in Inside SF, #53 , S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 5 8 , and then in Crypt of

Cthulhu #54. T h e bas ic e l e m e n t s o f a M y t h o s s t o r y need o n l y f o r m

the ske le ton a n d need n o t d ic ta te w h a t m a y g r o w o n it, or at w h a t

rate. T h e ske le ton should b e able to a c c o m m o d a t e s o m e f u n - p o k i n g ,

s o m e t ickl ing o f its o w n ribs. Lovecraft 's style, I t h i n k , m a y b e h o n -

ored a l m o s t as m u c h in the breach a s in the imi ta t ion .

In Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos, Lin C a r t e r

c r o w n e d h i m s e l f " t h e Last Disciple ." I suppose he s i m p l y m e a n t " t h e

latest disc iple , " unless he was unusua l ly pess imis t ic for the f u t u r e

o f the genre . In that case perhaps he viewed himsel f , w i t h typical

grandioseness , as the " S e a l o f the Prophets . " All this o n the s t rength

o f a few b r i e f c a u t i o n a r y tales f r o m the Necronomicon he had written

a n d m a i l e d o f f to August Der le th d u r i n g the prepara t ion o f the Love-

craf t b o o k . Der le th had by this t ime b e c o m e s o m e t h i n g o f a grand-

fatherly figure to C a r t e r o n mat ters Lovecraf t ian , a n d he accepted a

c o u p l e o f these ef forts to a p p e a r in The Arkham Collector. O n e o f

t h e m , " T h e D o o m o f Y a k t h o o b , " repr inted here, appeared in the 10th

issue. S u m m e r 1971 . In m y j u d g m e n t ( a n d I have e lsewhere pub-

lished all o f t h e m in the s e r i e s ) , " Y a k t h o o b " remains the best o f these

a t t e m p t s to s u p p l y the a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l episodes Lovecraft h imse l f

had implied prefaced the darkest secrets o f Al Azif.

In his m a n y " e x c e r p t s " f r o m a n c i e n t tomes Car ter ' s c o m m a n d o f

a n t i q u e t ranslat ion Engl i sh was never q u i t e u p to snuff . He was o b -

viously m o r e at ease with crisper, m o d e r n prose . Accordingly , h is

longer M y t h o s tales set in the 30s or in the 70s a n d 8 0 s a r e m o r e ef-

fect ive. " T h e Fishers f r o m O u t s i d e " is o n e o f these . In it, as in several

o f these stories , Lin picks u p o n s o m e Lovecraft ian n a m e - d r o p p i n g .

In his p o e m " T h e O u t p o s t " a n d his revision tale " W i n g e d Death , " H PL

had referred to the myster ious Z i m b a b w e ru ins with their e n i g m a t i c

bird reliefs. W h a t s h o c k i n g s igni f icance had Lovecraft i m a g i n e d a s

X X I I I N T R O D U C T I O N

c o n n e c t e d w i t h them? And w h o or what were the " F i s h e r s f r o m O u t -

side," m e n t i o n e d in b o t h the s t o r y and the p o e m ? It was left t o C a r t e r

to solve the r iddle.

F r o m the r e m a i n i n g m e m b e r s o f the or ig ina l New Lovecraf t C i r -

c le I have m a n a g e d to extrac t b y u n w h o l e s o m e m e a n s best left un-

specif ied h e r e a set o f n e w o r at least s e l d o m - v i e w e d tales. G a r y

Myers has c o n t r i b u t e d a n e w s t o r y to this v o l u m e . Alas, ). V e r n o n

Shea and J a m e s W a d e b o t h fol lowed Lovecraf t in to the a e t h e r s ince

C a r t e r p r o c l a i m e d t h e m m e m b e r s o f that N e w Circ le that we m a y

h o p e will s o m e d a y b e u n b r o k e n in the sweet Yuggothian by-and-by .

In his last years. Shea h a d entered Lovecraft r a n d o m , a n d in the

first issue o f his fanzine Outre he p u b l i s h e d the s e q u e l to h is " T h e

H a u n t e r o f the Graveyard," which o f course had appeared in Der-

leth's Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos ( t h o u g h o m i t t e d f r o m l i m Turner ' s

n e w e d i t i o n ) . H o w natural , then , that " D e a d Giveaway" s h o u l d ap-

pear in The New Lovecraft Circle, a sequel to Derleth's v o l u m e .

G h o u l i s h delvings have a lso retr ieved the tale that represents

l a m e s Wade in the present volume, " T h o s e W h o Wait . " Like Shea's,

this s t o r y has b e f o r e now only appeared in an o b s c u r e fanzine, the

s e c o n d issue o f the p r o m i s i n g but abort ive Dark Brotherhood Journal

( 1 9 7 2 ) . I m u s t repeat here Wade ' s w a r n i n g issued there that " T h o s e

W h o W a i t " was the s t o r y m o s t o f us have wr i t ten : a fannish e f for t a t

aping Lovecraft , penned in the heat o f ear ly Lovecraf t e n t h u s i a s m

( h e was o n l y 16 w h e n he w r o t e it) . He said it s h o u l d really have been

t i t led " T h e Rover B o y s at R'lyeh." Nonetheless , W a d e generous ly al-

lowed it to b e publ ished as a cur ios i ty a n d t o satisfy M y t h o s c o m -

pletists. I a m h a p p y to i n c l u d e i t here for the s a m e reasons. Wade ' s

c a n o n o f Lovecraf t ian stories is too small for any o f the tales, even j u -

venilia, to be excluded f r o m it.

T h e r e was o n e m o r e writer w h o had been o r d a i n e d b y Der le th

h i m s e l f to take a seat , l ike R a n d o l p h C a r t e r in " T h r o u g h the G a t e s o f

the Silver Key," a m o n g the ranks o f the N e w Lovecraf t Circ le . But ,

again, l ike R a n d o l p h Carter , the t h r o n e was denied h i m . Der le th had

p r o m i s e d t o b r i n g o u t an A r k h a m col lec t ion o f M y t h o s stories by

English weird fictioneer J o h n Glasby. Glasby had wri t ten a huge

n u m b e r o f tales for the Engl i sh p a p e r b a c k m a g a z i n e Supernatural

Stories, s o m e few o f t h e m Lovecraf t - re lated.

T h e tragic dea th o f the m a s t e r m i n d o f A r k h a m House t h r e w

I N T R O D U C T I O N X X I I I

m a n y planned projects in to L i m b o . Sadly, Glasby's The Brooding City

was o n e o f these . I publ ished all the s tor ies in two issues o f Crypt of

Cthulhu (#s 6 7 a n d 7 1 ) , a n d it m a y b e that F e d o g a n & B r e m e r will yet

b r i n g t h e m o u t as the h a r d c o v e r t h e y s h o u l d have been . T h u s 1 in-

c lude n o n e o f t h e m here . R a t h e r 1 have c h o s e n to reprint two m u c h

rarer M y t h o s tales C l a s b y wrote for Supernatural Stories,"The Keeper

o f D a r k P o i n t " a n d " T h e B lack Mirror . " In fact these tales are even

rarer than that : t h e y a r e the original vers ions o f stories which ap-

peared in pr int edi tor ia l ly s h o r n o f most o f the i r Lovecraft ian associ -

a t ions . Here they a r e in all the i r Lovecraf t ian glory. T h u s Glasby finds

himsel f , years later, jus t where he be longs , a s e c u r e m e m b e r o f the

N e w Lovecraft Circ le .

T h e C i r c l e has e x p a n d e d in the years s i n c e it first a p p e a r e d ,

with n e w wri ters t a k i n g the places o f those w h o h a d fal len. T h e late

Karl Fdward Wagner , jus t ly r e n o w n e d as the c r e a t o r o f the S w o r d - & -

S o r c e r y ser ies o f K a n e novels and a s the edi tor o f DAW's year's Best

Horror Stories co l lec t ions , was also a n a c c o m p l i s h e d h o r r o r writer.

His Lovecraf t ian t r ibute t o Lee B r o w n Coye , Sticks, appeared in the

n e w edi t ion o f Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos. He c o n t i n u e d m i n i n g ( o r

is it s u c k i n g ? ) that vein h e r e in " I ' v e C o m e to Talk W i t h You Again. "

W e have the high h o n o r o f present ing here Karl 's last s tory, which

y o u will find eer i ly prophet i c .

A n o t h e r S w o r d - & - S o r c e r y scr ibe w h o has not hesitated to m a k e

use o f the C t h u l h u M y t h o s is Richard L. T i e r n e y , w h o s e seminal essay

" T h e Der le th M y t h o s " ushered in a w h o l e era o f Lovecraf t in terpre ta -

t ion that d o m i n a t e d the field in the 70s a n d 80s . T h o u g h keen-eyed

a n d critical in his de l inea t ion o f Derleth's e m b e l l i s h m e n t s o f Love-

craft 's M y t h o s , T i e r n e y has always m a i n t a i n e d that there is n o reason

n o t to c o n t i n u e w r i t i n g M y t h o s fiction in the t r a j e c t o r y Der le th

m a r k e d o u t . Even if it is n o t what the O l d G e n t h i m s e l f had in m i n d ,

it has its o w n integri ty a n d it is a lot o f ftin.

T ierney ' s o b j e c t in " T h e Der le th M y t h o s " was s i m p l y to m a r k

the d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n Lovecraft 's vision and Derleth's , not to turn

the c lock back. As a result he has m a d e e x t r e m e l y creative use o f the

M y t h i c systems o f b o t h m e n , c o m b i n i n g t h e m in intr icate ways w i t h

the fictional wor lds o f R o b e r t E . Howard and C l a r k A s h t o n S m i t h a s

well . ( T h e r e was even o n e draft o f a s t o r y in which T ierney ' s hero Si-

m o n o f C i t t a teamed up with Wagner ' s Kane, but copyright p r o b l e m s

X X I V I N T R O D U C T I O N

proved too f o r m i d a b l e a f o e for even these two stalwart barbar ians !

Rest assured o n e c o p y o f the suppressed vers ion rests in m y archives.

You m a y yet s e e it. You k n o w how these f o r b i d d e n m a n u s c r i p t s have

a way o f c o m i n g to l ight ! ) In T ierney ' s work we see a s m o o t h l y har-

monized and integrated fictional universe that I have elsewhere dubbed

" t h e Weird Tales c o s m o l o g y . "

His tale in this anthology , " T h e H o w l e r in the Dark , " first ap-

peared in Cryyt of Cthulhu #24 , albeit with o n e l ine o f text miss ing.

T h a t o m i s s i o n is correc ted here .

Few readers will fail to recognize the n a m e s o f Alan D e a n Foster

a n d Richard Lupoff . Both a r e fami l iar in m a n y c o n n e c t i o n s in the

worlds o f sc ience fiction, fantasy, even m o v i e s a n d c o m i c s , r e a l m s

b e t w e e n which most o f u s m o v e rather easily. B u t it m a y c o m e a s

s o m e t h i n g o f a surpr ise to learn that b o t h m e n have written q u i t e in-

terest ing M y t h o s stories . Foster 's " T h e H o r r o r o n the B e a c h " was

publ ished b y Kenneth K r u e g e r in an edi t ion that was d is integrat ing

as s o o n as it was publ ished in 1978 . It deserves a w i d e r publ ic a n d a

m o r e a b i d i n g i n c a r n a t i o n .

Y o u have n o d o u b t seen L u p o f f ' s exce l lent " D i s c o v e r y o f

the G h o o r i c Z o n e — M a r c h , 2 3 3 7 " in the n e w version o f Tales of the

Cthulhu Mythos, where it had b e e n repr inted f r o m its or ig ina l ap-

p e a r a n c e in Chrysalis #1 ( 1 9 7 7 ) . F r o m the pages o f Fantastic n o w

reappears Lupof f ' s " T h e Whisperers . " His " L i g h t s ! C a m e r a ! S h u b -

N i g g u r a t h ! " appears h e r e for the first t ime . T h e novelet te f o r m e d the

basis for Lupof f ' s novel The Forever City. T h e original was o n c e slated

for publ i ca t ion , but the mag had the bad luck to fo ld . N o t e : Lupof f ' s

sequel to " T h e D u n w i c h Horror , " " T h e Devil 's H o p Yard" ( f r o m

Chrysalis « 2 ) appears in m y a n t h o l o g y The Dumvich Cycle ( C h a o -

s ium, Inc . , 1 9 9 6 ) . His sequel to " T h e W h i s p e r e r in D a r k n e s s , " " D o c u -

m e n t s in the Case o f El izabeth Akeley" ( T h e Magazine of Fantasy &

Science Fiction, M a r c h 1 9 8 2 ) , appears in m y a n t h o l o g y The Hastur

Cycle ( C h a o s i u m , Inc. , 1 9 9 3 ) .

F r o m the c r u m b l i n g pages o f Etchings & Odysseys ( # 5 , 1 9 8 4 ) , o n e

o f the premiere Lovecraf t ian magaz ines o f the 70s Lovecraft revival,

c o m e s m y o w n " S a u c e r s F r o m Yaddith." Unl ike Lin Carter , w h o

showed a s imilar u n f o r t u n a t e t e n d e n c y to i n c l u d e his o w n fiction in

h is antho log ies , I wil l n o t declare myse l f the Last Disc iple , for the

n u m b e r still grows.


And o n e o f the most interest ing things a b o u t s o m e o f the newer

Circ le m e m b e r s is that they s e e m to b e mas ter ing the diff icult a r t

o f p e n n i n g tales o f the k i n d P u g m i r e sought , tales n o t explici t ly o f

the C t h u l h u M y t h o s , but ra ther m o r e strictly Lovecraf t ian in style,

m o o d , c o s m i c impl ica t ion , o r plot s t ruc ture . T h o m a s Ligott i ' s "Vas-

tar ien , " which first appeared in Crypt of Cthulhu « 4 8 , is, I th ink, the

perfect rendi t ion o f a t h e m e o n e might by now c o n s i d e r fatally hack-

neyed, that o f the f o r b i d d e n b o o k . W h e t h e r it was suggested b y I.ove-

cralt 's first three " F u n g i F r o m Y u g g o t h " s o n n e t s , or b y the i r prose

c o u n t e r p a r t , the f r a g m e n t " T h e B o o k , " or b y neither, "Vas tar ien" d o e s

the best j o b I have e v e r seen o f u n f o l d i n g the n o t i o n o f "n ighted

worlds o f i l l " kept at bay b e t w e e n a n t i q u e covers .

Peter C a n n o n ' s " T h e M a d n e s s o u t o f S p a c e " was first foisted

o n the L o v e c r a f t i a n r e a d i n g p u b l i c a s a t o n g u e - i n - c h e e k h o a x in

the pages o f Eldritch Tales » s 8 ( 1 9 8 2 ) and 9 ( 1 9 8 3 ) where C a n n o n

c l a i m e d to have d iscovered a lost Lovecraft m a n u s c r i p t by a ser ies o f

odd c h a n c e s o n a trip to N e w E n g l a n d . T h e r e were c lues aplenty to

tell y o u o therwise , but C a n n o n had d o n e a fine j o b at the diff icult a r t

o f Lovecraf t past iche . Crypt of Cthulhu - 3 4 featured a s o m e w h a t

edited vers ion, a n d sti l l a third vers ion appears here .

Roger J o h n s o n ' s "Al iah W a r d e n " was wri t ten o n request for the

special Lovecraf t issue o f The Count Dracula Fan Club Annual in

1985 . T h o u g h he h i m s e l f is the last to c la im that i t holds any sur-

prises for the reader, I have always cons idered it a little g e m o f stylis-

t i c Lovecraf t past iche , a n d I am glad n o w to share it with a w i d e r

a u d i e n c e .

D o n a l d R. Bur leson, k n o w n b o t h for his innovat ive h o r r o r fic-

t ion a n d his l i terary c r i t i c i s m o f h o r r o r fiction (see his H.P. Lovecraft:

A Critical Study; Lovecraft: Disturbing the Universe and his Begging to

Differ: Deconstructionist Readings) is a n o t h e r o f t h o s e w i t h the rare

gift o f invoking Lovecraft the hard way, by style a n d theme, n o t w i t h

code n a m e s . Ear ly o n he w r o t e a s m a l l n u m b e r o f br ie f tales recall ing

the Lovecraf t o f elegant g r u e , the Lovecraf t o f " T h e H o u n d , " " T h e

Loved D e a d , " " T h e S t a t e m e n t o f R a n d o l p h Carter . " T h e first a n d best

o f these, " T h e Last Supper ," which appeared first in D i r k Mosig 's fan

m a g a z i n e The Miskatonic ( # 2 3 , 1 9 7 8 ) , then in revised vers ions in El-

dritch Tales 3 7 , a n d in Crypt of Cthulhu #34 , appears here pol i shed a

b i t fur ther .

X X V I I N T R O D U C T I O N

Despi te the a n t i p a t h y o f m a i n s t r e a m editors t o Lovecraf t ian fic-

t ion , D a v i d K a u f m a n m a n a g e d to sneak a l ine e x a m p l e o f it in to the

pages of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (April , 1 9 8 7 ) . I guess

he was able to d o it because o f the line subt le ty o f his wri t ing . " T h e

C h u r c h at Gar lock ' s B e n d " features n a r y a M y t h o s c l i che , yet in its

b r o o d i n g a t m o s p h e r e o f the o m i n o u s l y l ingering past, it s e e m s t o m e

perfect ly Lovecraf t ian . W h a t K a u f m a n does here, few Lovecraf t ians

have even tried.

S t e p h e n M a r k Rainey, ed i tor o f Deathrealm, is a n o t h e r rising s tar

in today's weird fiction field, as a look at his fine c o l l e c t i o n The Fugue

Devil will readily verify. Like Brian L u m l e y he s e e m s to have per-

fected the art o f revivifying a c c u s t o m e d Lovecraf t ian e l e m e n t s by

creat ing elusively s imi lar var iant versions o f t h e m . In " T h e S p h e r e s

Beyond S o u n d , " you will discover a myster ious M a e s t r o Z a n n , a u t h o r

o f a n e n i g m a t i c treat ise o n mus ic . Yet, y o u s h o u l d know, this b o o k

actual ly exists! O n e o t h e r thing you s h o u l d k n o w : a n ear l ier version

o f this s t o r y appeared u n d e r the title " T h r e n o d y " in Deathrealm " 2

( S u m m e r , 1987) , whi le a very different s t o r y with a l m o s t exactly the

s a m e title ( " T h e S p h e r e B e y o n d S o u n d " ) appeared s o o n after in Tales

of Lovecraftian Horror S2 d u n e , 1 9 8 8 ) .

At last, I must express m y grat i tude to several individuals for

b r i n g i n g s o m e o f the tales in this a n d m y previous a n t h o l o g y to m y

a t ten t ion w h e n 1 would certa inly n e v e r have seen t h e m otherwise .

Possessors o f such s h a r p ( t h r e e - l o b e d b u r n i n g ) eyes a r e C h a r l e s

Garofa lo , Tani Jantsang, Dan G o b b e t t , the late R o n a l d Shearer , M i k e

Ashley, S . T . Josh i , W i l l i a m Fulwiler, and C h a r l e s Gray. And t h a n k s

also to Steffan Aletti , t rus ty scr ibe , w h o helped m e in the sani ty-

blast ing labor o f proofreading !

Rober t M . Price

B loomf ie ld , N e w Jersey

July, 1996

The New Lovecraft Circle

The Plain o f Sound

R a m s e y Campbel l

Verily do we know little of the other universes beyond the gate

which YOG-SOTHOTH guards. Of those which come through

the gate and make their habitation in this world none can tell;

although Ibn Schacabao tells of the beings which crawl from

the Gulf ofS'glhuo that they may be known by their sound. In

that Gulf the very worlds are of sound, and matter is known

but as an odor; and the notes of our pipes in this world may

create beauty or bring forth abominations in S'glhuo. For the

barrier between haply grows thin, and when sourceless sounds

occur we may justly look to the denizens of S'glhuo. They can

do little harm to those of Earth, and fear only that shape which

a certain sound may form in their universe.

hen Frank Nuttall , T o n y Roles, a n d I reached the Inn at Sev-

ernford , we f o u n d that it was c losed .

It was s u m m e r o f 1958 , a n d as we had n o t h i n g par t i cu lar to d o

at Br i ches te r Univers i ty that day we had decided to go o u t walk ing .

I had suggested a t r i p to G o a t s w o o d — t h e legends there interested

m e — b u t Tony had heard things which m a d e h i m dislike that town.

T h e n F r a n k had told u s a b o u t an a d v e r t i s e m e n t in the Brichester

Weekly News about a year back which h a d referred to an i n n at the

ALLDUL AIJIAZRKI): NECBONOMICON

31 T H E N E W L O V E C R A F T C I R C L E

c e n t e r o f Severnford as " o n e o f the oldest in England." W e c o u l d walk

there in the m o r n i n g a n d q u e n c h the thirst caused by the j o u r n e y ; af-

terward we c o u l d take the bus back to Br ichester if we d id n o t feel

l ike walk ing .

Tony was n o t enthus ias t i c . " W h y g o all that way to get drunk , " he

inquired , "even if it is so old? Besides, that ad in the paper 's old t o o —

by now the place has probab ly fallen d o w n . . H o w e v e r , F r a n k and I

wanted to try it, a n d finally we overruled his protests .

W e would have d o n e bet ter to agree with h i m , for we f o u n d the

inn's d o o r s a n d w i n d o w s boarded up and a n e a r b y sign saying: " T e m -

porar i ly c losed to the publ ic . " T h e only course was to visit the m o d -

e r n publ ic h o u s e up the street . W e looked r o u n d the town a little; this

did n o t o c c u p y us long, for Severnford has few places o f interest ,

m o s t o f it b e i n g dock land . B e f o r e two o ' c l o c k we were searching for a

b u s - s t o p ; w h e n it e luded us, we entered a newsagent 's for d i rec t ions .

" B u s ť Brichester? N o , o n l y in the mornin ' s , " the propr ie tor to ld

us. " U p f r o m the University, a r e y o u ? "

" T h e n how d o we get b a c k ? " Tony asked.

" W a l k , I s 'pose , " suggested the newsagent . " W h y ' d y o u c o m e u p

a n y w a y — o h , t ' l o o k at the Inn? N o , y o u w o n ' t get in there n o w — s o

m a n y o ' t h e m b l o o d y teenagers 've b e e n breakin ' the winders an' such

that C o u n c i l says it'll o n l y o p e n ť people with special permiss ion .

G o o d j o b , t o o — t h o u g h I ' m n o t sayin ' as it's k ids like you as d o e s it.

Still, you' l l b e w a n t i n ' ť get b a c k ť Br ichester , a n ' I k n o w the s h o r t -

est way."

He began to give us c o m p l i c a t e d direc t ions , which he repeated in

detail . W h e n we still looked u n c e r t a i n he waited whi le F r a n k g o t o u t

n o t e b o o k a n d pencil a n d t o o k d o w n the route . At the e n d o f this I

was n o t yet sure which way to go, but, a s I r e m a r k e d : " I f we get lost,

we can always ask."

" O h , no," protes ted o u r i n f o r m a n t . " Y o u won't go w r o n g i f y o u

fol low that ."

" R i g h t , thanks , " F r a n k said. "And I suppose there will b e passers-

by to ask i f we do go w r o n g ? "

" I wouldn' t . " T h e n e w s a g e n t turned to rearrange papers in the

rack . "You might ask the w r o n g people."

Hear ing n o m o r e f r o m h i m , we went o u t in to the street and

T H E P L A I N O F S O U N D 32

turned right toward Brichester . O n c e o n e leaves b e h i n d the c e n t r a l

area o f Severnford where a g r o u p o f archaic bui ldings is preserved,

a n d c o m e s to the s u r r o u n d i n g r e d - b r i c k h o u s e s , there is little to in-

terest the s ight-seer . M u c h o f Severnford is d o c k l a n d , and even the

c o u n t r y beyond is n o t n o t i c e a b l y pleasant to the forced hiker. Be-

sides, s o m e o f the roads are not i ceab ly rough, though that m a y have

been b e c a u s e we took the w r o n g t u r n i n g — f o r , a n h o u r o u t o f Sev-

ernford , we realized we were lost.

" T u r n left a t the s ignpost about a m i l e out, it says here," said Frank.

" B u t we've c o m e m o r e than a mile a l ready—where ' s the s ignpost?"

" S o w h a t d o we d o — g o back and ask?" T o n y suggested.

" T o o far for that . L o o k , " F r a n k asked m e , " h a v e you got that

c o m p a s s you're always c a r r y i n g , Les? Br i ches te r is a lmost southeas t o f

Severnford . If we keep o n in that direct ion, we won't go far w r o n g . "

T h e road we had been fo l lowing ran east -west . Now, w h e n we

turned o f f in to o p e n country , we c o u l d rely o n l y o n m y c o m p a s s , and

we s o o n f o u n d that we needed it. O n c e , w h e n a s c e n d i n g a s lope , we

had t o d e t o u r r o u n d a thickly overgrown forest , where we would cer-

ta in ly have b e c o m e fur ther lost. A l t e r that we c rossed m o n o t o n o u s

fields, never seeing a bui ld ing o r a n o t h e r h u m a n b e i n g . Two a n d a

ha l f h o u r s o u t o f Severnford, we reached an area o f grassy hil locks,

a n d f r o m there descended in to a n d c l a m b e r e d o u t o f m i n i a t u r e val-

leys. A b o u t h a l f - a - m i l e in to th i s reg ion , Tony signalled u s to keep

quiet .

"All I can hear is the s t ream," said F r a n k . " A m I s u p p o s e d to hear

s o m e t h i n g i m p o r t a n t ? You hear a n y t h i n g . Les?"

T h e r u s h i n g s t ream we had jus t c rossed effectively d r o w n e d

m o s t distant sounds , but I t h o u g h t I heard a n e a r b y m e c h a n i c a l

whirr ing . It rose and fell l ike the sound o f a m o v i n g vehicle , but w i t h

the loudly splashing water I could dis t inguish n o detai ls .

" I ' m n o t sure , " I answered. " T h e r e ' s s o m e t h i n g that could b e a

t ractor , I t h i n k — "

" T h a t ' s w h a t I thought , " agreed Tony. " I t ' s ahead s o m e w h e r e —

m a y b e the driver can direct us. If, o f c o u r s e , he 's n o t o n e o f that

newsagent 's w r o n g p e o p l e ! "

T h e m e c h a n i c a l t h r o b b i n g l o u d e n e d as we crossed two hills and

c a m e o n t o a s tr ip o f level g r o u n d f r o n t i n g a long, low ridge. I was the


first to reach the ridge, c l i m b it and s tand a top it. As m y head rose

above the ridge, I threw myse l f b a c k .

O n the o t h e r s ide lay a r o u g h l y square plain, s u r r o u n d e d by four

r idges . T h e plain was a b o u t f o u r h u n d r e d yards square , a n d at the

o p p o s i t e s ide was a o n e - s t o r y bui lding. Apart f r o m th i s the plain was

total ly b a r e , a n d that was what start led m e m o s t . For f r o m that b a r e

stretch o f land rose a d e a f e n i n g f lood o f s o u n d . Here was the s o u r c e

o f that m e c h a n i c a l whirr ing ; it t h r o b b e d overpower ingly upward ,

incessant ly f luctuat ing t h r o u g h three notes . B e h i n d it were o t h e r

sounds ; a faint bass h u m m i n g which hovered o n the edge o f audi-

bility, a n d o t h e r s — w h i s t l i n g a n d h i g h - p i t c h e d twangs which s o m e -

t i m e s were inaudible a n d s o m e t i m e s a s l o u d as the w h i r r i n g .

By now T o n y and Frank were beside m e , s tar ing d o w n .

" S u r e l y it can't be c o m i n g f r o m that h u t ? " Frank said. " I t ' s n o

t ractor , that 's cer ta in , a n d a hut that size could never c o n t a i n any-

t h i n g that 'd m a k e that row."

" I thought it was c o m i n g f r o m u n d e r g r o u n d s o m e w h e r e , " sug-

gested Tony. " M i n i n g o p e r a t i o n s , maybe . "

" W h a t e v e r it is, there's that hut," I said. " W e c a n ask the way

there . "

Tony looked d o w n doubtfully. " I don ' t k n o w — i t might well b e

dangerous . You k n o w dr iv ing over s u b s i d e n c e c a n b e dangerous , and

h o w d o we k n o w they ' re n o t work ing o n s o m e t h i n g like that here?"

" T h e r e ' d b e s igns i f they were," I reassured h i m . " N o , c o m e o n —

there m a y b e nowhere else we c a n ask, a n d there 's n o use keeping o n

in the w r o n g direct ion. "

W e d e s c e n d e d the ridge and walked perhaps twenty yards a c r o s s

the plain.

It was l ike w a l k i n g in to a tidal wave. T h e s o u n d was s u d d e n l y all

a r o u n d us; the m o r e overpower ing because though it beat o n u s f r o m

all sides, we c o u l d n o t fight b a c k — l i k e b e i n g engul fed in jelly. I could

n o t have s t o o d it for l o n g — I put m y h a n d s over m y ears a n d yelled

" R u n ! " And I s taggered across the plain, the sound which I c o u l d n o t

shut o u t b o o m i n g at m e , until I reached the bui ld ing o n the o t h e r

side.

It was a b r o w n s t o n e house , n o t a hut as we had t h o u g h t . It had

an arched d o o r w a y in the wall facing us, b o r d e r e d b y t w o low w i n -


d o w s w i t h o u t cur ta ins . F r o m what we could see the r o o m o n the loft

was the l i v i n g - r o o m , that o n the r ight a b e d r o o m , but g r i m e o n the

windows prevented us f r o m seeing more , except that the r o o m s were

u n o c c u p i e d . W e did n o t t h i n k to look in any windows at the back.

T h e d o o r had n o bell o r knocker , but F r a n k p o u n d e d o n a panel .

T h e r e was n o answer a n d he knocked harder. O n the s e c o n d

k n o c k the d o o r swung open, reveal ing that it o p e n e d in to the l iving-

r o o m . F r a n k looked in a n d called: " A n y b o d y at h o m e ? " Still n o b o d y

answered, a n d he t u r n e d b a c k t o us.

" D o y o u t h i n k we'd b e t t e r g o i n ? " he asked. " M a y b e we could

wait for the o w n e r , or t h e r e might b e s o m e t h i n g in the h o u s e that 'd

direct us."

Tony pushed past m e to l o o k . "Fley, w h a t — F r a n k , d o you n o t i c e

anyth ing here? S o m e t h i n g tells m e that whoever the o w n e r is, he isn't

h o u s e - p r o u d . "

W e could see w h a t he m e a n t . T h e r e were w o o d e n chairs , a table ,

b o o k c a s e s , a ragged c a r p e t — a n d all th ick w i t h dus t . W e hesitated a

m i n u t e , wai t ing for s o m e o n e to make a dec i s ion ; then Frank entered .

He s topped inside the d o o r a n d pointed. L o o k i n g over his s h o u l d e r

we c o u l d s e e t h e r e were n o f o o t p r i n t s anywhere in the dust .

W e looked r o u n d for s o m e e x p l a n a t i o n . Whi le F r a n k closed the

d o o r and cut o f f the t h r o b b i n g f r o m outs ide , T o n y — o u r b i b l i o p h i l e —

crossed to the b o o k c a s e s a n d looked at the spines . I not iced a news-

p a p e r o n the table and idly p icked it up.

" T h e o w n e r must b e a bit p e c u l i a r . . . La Strega, by Pico della

M i r a n d o l a , " Tony r e a d , " — D i s c o v e r y of Witches—The Red Dragon—

hey, Revelations of Glaaki; isn't that the b o o k the Univers i ty can ' t get

for the i r restricted sect ion? Here 's a diary, b ig one , too , but I hadn' t

bet ter touch that ."

W h e n I turned to the front page o f the newspaper , I saw it was

the Camside Observer. As I looked closer, 1 saw s o m e t h i n g which

m a d e m e call the o thers . " L o o k at t h i s — D e c e m b e r 8 , 1930! You're

r ight about this m a n b e i n g p e c u l i a r — w h a t s o r t o f person keeps a

newspaper for twenty-e ight years?"

" I ' m going to look in the b e d r o o m , " F r a n k dec lared . He knocked

o n the d o o r o f f the l i v i n g - r o o m , a n d , w h e n we c a m e up b e s i d e him,

o p e n e d it. T h e r o o m was a lmost b a r e : a w a r d r o b e , a h a n g i n g wall-


m i r r o r , a n d a bed, were the o n l y furn ish ings . T h e bed, as we had ex-

pected, was e m p t y ; but the m a r k o f a s leeping b o d y was c lear ly de-

fined, though filled with dus t . We m o v e d c loser , n o t i n g the absence o f

f o o t p r i n t s o n the floor; and b e n d i n g over the bed, I thought I saw

s o m e t h i n g besides dust in the hol lows left by the s l e e p e r — s o m e t h i n g

like g r o u n d glass, spark l ing greenly.

" W h a t ' s h a p p e n e d ? " T o n y asked in a ra ther f r ightened tone.

" O h , probab ly n o t h i n g o u t o f the ordinary," said Frank. " M a y b e

there 's a n o t h e r e n t r a n c e r o u n d the b a c k — m a y b e he can't s tand all the

noise, whatever it is, and has a b e d r o o m o n the other side. I .ook, there's

a d o o r in that wall; that m a y b e it."

I went across a n d o p e n e d it, but o n l y a very primit ive lavatory

lay b e y o n d .

" W a i t a m i n u t e , I t h i n k t h e r e was a d o o r next to the b o o k c a s e , "

recol lec ted Tony. He returned to the l i v i n g - r o o m and o p e n e d the

d o o r he had not iced. As we fol lowed h i m , he exc la imed: " M y G o d —

now what?"

T h e fourth r o o m was longer than any o f the o thers , but it was

the c o n t e n t s that had drawn Tony's e x c l a m a t i o n . Nearest us o n the

b a r e floor was s o m e t h i n g like a television screen, a b o u t two feet

across , w i t h a b lue-glass light bulb beh ind it, s t rangely distorted

a n d with th ick wires a t t a c h e d . Next to it a n o t h e r pair o f wires led

f r o m a m e g a p h o n e - s h a p e d receiver. In b e t w e e n the o p p o s i t e wall and

these i n s t r u m e n t s lay a s t range a r r a n g e m e n t o f crystals , i n d u c t i o n

coils, a n d tubes, f r o m which wires h u n g at each end for poss ib le at-

t a c h m e n t to the o t h e r appl iances . T h e far c o r n e r o f the cei l ing had

recent ly col lapsed, a l lowing rain to dr ip o n t o a s o u n d i n g - b o a r d car-

ry ing a d o z e n str ings, a large lever and a m o t o r c o n n e c t e d b y cogs to

a p l e c t r u m - c o v e r e d cylinder. Out o f cur ios i ty I c rossed a n d plucked a

string; but s u c h a d i scord t r e m b l e d t h r o u g h the b o a r d that I quickly

m u f f l e d it.

" S o m e t h i n g very fiinnv is go ing o n here," Frank said. "There ' s n o

other r o o m , so where c a n he sleep? And the dust, and the n e w s p a p e r —

and n o w these th ings—I 've never seen anything like t h e m . . . "

" W h y don ' t we look at his d iary?" suggested Tony. " I t doesn ' t

look like he' l l b e back , a n d I for o n e w a n t to k n o w what 's h a p p e n e d

here."

S o we went back i n t o the l i v i n g - r o o m a n d Tony t o o k d o w n the


heavy volume. He o p e n e d it t o its last e n t r y : D e c e m b e r 8 , 1 9 3 0 . " I f we

all try a n d read it, it'll take three t imes as long," he said.

" Y o u t w o sit d o w n a n d I'll t ry and read you the re levant bi ts . " He

was silent for a few minutes , then :

" P r o f e s s o r A r n o l d Hird, e x - B r i c h e s t e r Univers i ty : n e v e r heard o f

h i m — m u s t ' v e b e e n before o u r t ime .

"Ah here we a r e —

" ' J a n u a r y 3, 1930 : T o d a y m o v e d i n t o n e w h o u s e ( i f it can b e

called a h o u s e ! ) . Noises are q u e e r — s u p p o s e it's only b e c a u s e there 's

so m u c h supers t i t ion a b o u t t h e m that nobody 's investigated b e f o r e .

Intend to make full s t u d y — m e t e o r o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s , 8cc: feel that

w i n d s b l o w i n g over ridges m a y v ibra te a n d cause s o u n d s . T o m o r r o w

to look round, take m e a s u r e m e n t s , find o u t if anyth ing will in terrupt

s o u n d s . Pecul iar that s o u n d s e e m s to be d e a f e n i n g in cer ta in radius,

relatively faint b e y o n d — n o gradual fading.'

" ' J a n u a r y 4 : S leep uneasy last n i g h t — u n a c c u s t o m e d dreams.

Ci ty o n great m o u n t a i n — a n g l e d streets, spira l ing pillars and cones .

S t r a n g e i n h a b i t a n t s ; t a l l e r t h a n h u m a n , sca ly sk in , b o n e l e s s fin-

gers, yet s o m e h o w n o t repulsive. Were aware o f m e , in fact seemed

to await m y arrival, but e a c h t i m e o n e a p p r o a c h e d m e I awoke . Re-

peated several t imes.

" 'Progress negative. Screens o n top o f r idges did n o t in terrupt

s o u n d ; u n d i m i n i s h e d t h o u g h little wind . M e a s u r e m e n t s — n o r t h w e s t

ridge 4 2 3 y a r d s . . . 'Wel l , there 's a lot m o r e like that ."

" M a k e sure you don ' t miss anyth ing i m p o r t a n t , " F r a n k said a s

Tony t u r n e d pages.

" ' J a n u a r y 6 : D r e a m s again. S a m e city, figures a s though wait ing.

Leader a p p r o a c h e d . S e e m e d to b e c o m m u n i c a t i n g w i t h m e telepathi-

cal ly: I caught the t h o u g h t — D o not be afraid; we are the sounds.

W h o l e scene faded.

" ' N o progress whatever . U n a b l e to c o n c e n t r a t e o n findings;

d r e a m s distract ing. '

" ' J a n u a r y 7: Insane perhaps , but am o f f to Br i t ish M u s e u m

t o m o r r o w . In last night 's dream was to ld : Check Necronomicon—

formula for aiding us to reach you. Page reference given. Expect and

h o p e this will be false a l a r m — d r e a m s taking a l together t o o m u c h

o u t o f m e . But what if s o m e t h i n g o n that page? A m not interested in

that field—impossible to k n o w in n o r m a l w a y . . . '

1 0 T H E N E W L O V E C R A F T C I R C L E

" ' J a n u a r y 9 : B a c k f r o m L o n d o n . M a o r i l e — o n page I l o o k e d

u p — e x a c t l y as descr ibed in d r e a m ! Don' t k n o w what it will do, but

will per form it ton ight to find o u t . S t range n o d r e a m s while a w a y —

s o m e i n f l u e n c e ex is t ing only here? '

" ' J a n u a r y 10: Didn' t wake till late a f t e r n o o n . D r e a m s b e g a n a s

s o o n as s leep after r i te . D o n ' t k n o w what to th ink . Alternat ives b o t h

d is turb ing : e i t h e r bra in receiving t ransmiss ion , o r s u b c o n s c i o u s l y in-

vent ing e v e r y t h i n g — b u t wd. sane m i n d act thus?

" ' I f t r u e that t ransmiss ion external , learned fo l lowing :

" ' S o u n d s in this area are equivalents o f matter in another dimen-

sion. Said d i m e n s i o n overlaps ours at this p o i n t a n d cer ta in o thers .

Ci ty a n d i n h a b i t a n t s in dream d o n o t a p p e a r a s in own sphere , but a s

wd. a p p e a r i f cons is t ing o f matter . Dif ferent s o u n d s h e r e c o r r e s p o n d

to var ious o b j e c t s in o t h e r d i m e n s i o n ; w h i r r i n g equals pillars &

c o n e s , bass t h r o b b i n g is g r o u n d , o t h e r varying s o u n d s are people o f

c i ty & o t h e r m o v i n g ob jec t s . Mat ter o n o u r s ide t h e y sense a s o d o r s .

" ' T h e i n h a b i t a n t s can t r a n s m i t w h o l e c o n c e p t s mental ly . Leader

asked m e to t ry n o t to make s o u n d s in radius o f point o f c o n n e c t i o n .

C a r r i e d over t o their d i m e n s i o n . M y f o o t s t e p s — h u g e crystals ap-

peared o n streets o f city. M y b r e a t h i n g — s o m e t h i n g living which t h e y

refused to s h o w m e . H a d to b e killed at o n c e .

" ' I n h a b i t a n t s interested in c o m m u n i c a t i o n with o u r d i m e n s i o n .

N o t d r e a m — t r a n s m i s s i o n — f r e q u e n t use o f M a o rite dangerous .

Translator to b e built o n this s i d e — e n a b l e s s o u n d to b e translated

in to visual t e r m s o n screen, as in d r e a m , but little else. W h e n they

bui ld c o u n t e r p a r t l ink will be e f f e c t e d — c o m p l e t e passage between

d i m e n s i o n s . Unfortunate ly , the i r t rans la tor c o m p l e t e l y di f ferent

f r o m ours and n o t yet successful . Leader told m e : Look in The Revela-

tions of Glaaki for the plans. A l s o gave m e page re ference & said where

to get copy.

" ' M u s t get copy. If n o plan, all c o i n c i d e n c e & can return to nor -

m a l research . I f plan, can bui ld m a c h i n e , c l a i m discovery o f o t h e r

d i m e n s i o n ! ' "

" I 've been th ink ing , " I in terrupted . "Arnold H i r d — t h e r e was

s o m e t h i n g — w a s n ' t he asked t o leave the Univers i ty b e c a u s e he a t -

tacked s o m e o n e w h e n t h e y disagreed with h i m ? Said he 'd re turn and

as tonish e v e r y b o d y s o m e day, but was n e v e r heard o f again."


" I don ' t know," said Tony. "Anyway, he c o n t i n u e s :

" ' J a n u a r y 12: G o t Revelations of Glaaki. H a d to take dras t i c mea-

sures to o b t a i n it, too . Plan h e r e — b o o k 9 , pp. 2 0 5 7 - 9 . Wi l l take s o m e

t i m e to bui ld , but w o r t h it. T o t h i n k that besides m e , only superst i -

t ious k n o w o f t h i s — b u t will s o o n b e able to prove it! '

" H m m m — w e l l , there don ' t s e e m to be any very interes t ing en-

tr ies after that . Just ' n o t m u c h progress today' or 'screen a r r a n g e m e n t

c o m p l e t e d ' o r here ' d o w n to Severnford t o d a y — h a d to o r d e r s t r ings

at m u s i c s h o p . Don' t like idea o f using it, but m u s t keep it h a n d y

in c a s e . ' "

" S o that 's it," F r a n k said, s tanding up. " T h e m a n was a lunatic ,

a n d we've been sitt ing h e r e l istening to his ravings. N o w o n d e r he

was kicked o u t o f the University."

" I don ' t t h i n k so," 1 disagreed. " I t s e e m s far t o o c o m p l e x — "

"Wait a minute, here's another entry,"called Tony . " ' — D e c e m b e r 7 . ' "

Frank gave h i m a protest ing look, but sat d o w n again.

" ' D e c e m b e r 7 : G o t through. Image faint, but c o n t a c t s u f f i c i e n t —

be ings aware. S h o w e d m e u n f i n i s h e d t rans la tor o n the i r s i d e — m a y

take s o m e t i m e before c o m p l e t i o n . Few m o r e days to perfect image,

then will publicize. '

" ' D e c e m b e r 8 : M u s t b e sure a b o u t w e a p o n I have c o n s t r u c t e d .

Revelations give reason for use, but way o f dea th is h o r r i b l e . I f u n n e c -

essary, def ini te ly will destroy. T o n i g h t will find o u t — w i l l call Alala.' "

"Wel l , F r a n k ? " 1 asked as Tony replaced the diary a n d began to s e a r c h

the shelves. "Crazy, m a y b e — b u t there a r e those s o u n d s — a n d he

called something that n i g h t where h is d i a r y e n d s — a n d there 's that

pecul iar s t u f f all over the b e d — "

" B u t h o w will we k n o w e i t h e r way?" T o n y asked, r e m o v i n g

a b o o k .

"Se t up all that paraphernal ia , obviously, and see what c o m e s

t h r o u g h o n the screen. "

" I don't know," Tony said. " I want to look in the Revelations of

Glaaki—that's what I 've got h e r e — b u t as for trying it ourselves, I

t h i n k that 's go ing a bit far. You'll not ice h o w careful he was about it,

a n d s o m e t h i n g h a p p e n e d to h im."


" C o m e o n , let's l o o k at the b o o k , " i n t e r r u p t e d F r a n k . " T h a t can ' t

d o a n y h a r m . "

Tony finally o p e n e d it and placed it o n the table . O n the page

we e x a m i n e d diagrams, a n d learned that " t h e screen is a t tached to

the centra l p o r t i o n a n d viewed, whi le the receiver is directed toward

the s o u n d s b e f o r e a t t a c h m e n t . " N o p o w e r was necessary , for " t h e

very s o u n d s in their pass ing m a n i p u l a t e the i n s t r u m e n t . " T h e dia-

g r a m s were c rude but intel l igible, a n d b o t h F r a n k and I were ready

to e x p e r i m e n t . But T o n y p o i n t e d t o a passage at the e n d o f the

sec t ion :

" T h e i n t e n t i o n s o f the inhabi tants o f S ' g l h u o are u n c e r t a i n .

T h o s e w h o use the t rans la tor would b e wise to keep by t h e m the

s tr inged s o u n d i n g - b o a r d , the only ear th ly weapon to touch S 'g lhuo.

For when t h e y bui ld the t rans la tor to c o m p l e t e the c o n n e x i o n , w h o

k n o w s what they m a y b r i n g through with them? T h e y are adept

in c o n c e a l i n g the i r i n t e n t i o n s in d r e a m - c o m m u n i c a t i o n , and the

s o u n d i n g - b o a r d s h o u l d b e used at the first hosti le a c t i o n . "

"You see?" Tony said t r iumphant ly . " T h e s e things are u n f r i e n d l y —

the b o o k says so . "

" O h , n o , it doesn ' t , " c o n t r a d i c t e d Frank, " a n d anyway it's a load

o f ba l l s—l iv ing sounds , hah! B u t jus t suppose it was t r u e — i f we g o t

t h r o u g h , we c o u l d c la im the d i s c o v e r y — a f t e r all, the b o o k says you're

safe w i t h this 'weapon. ' And there's n o rush back to the University."

A r g u m e n t s ensued, but finally we o p e n e d the d o o r s and dragged

the i n s t r u m e n t s outs ide . I r e t u r n e d for the s o u n d i n g - b o a r d , n o t i c i n g

h o w rusted it was, a n d Tony b r o u g h t the v o l u m e o f the Revelations.

W e stood at the edge o f the area o f sound and placed the receiver

a b o u t midway. T h e s c r e e n was c o n n e c t e d to the centra l sec t ion , and

at last we c l ipped the wire f r o m the screen to the rest.

For a m i n u t e n o t h i n g h a p p e n e d . T h e screen stayed blank; the

coils and wire d id n o t r e s p o n d . T o n y looked at the s o u n d i n g - b o a r d .

T h e v ibra t ions had taken o n a s o m e h o w e x p e c t a n t quali ty, as i f aware

o f o u r e x p e r i m e n t . And then the blue light bulb flickered, a n d an im-

age slowly f o r m e d o n the screen .

It was a landscape o f d r e a m . In the background, great glaciers and

crystal m o u n t a i n s sparkled, while at their peaks e n o r m o u s s t o n e build-

ings stretched up into the mist . T h e r e were translucent shapes flitting

T H E P L A I N O F S O U N D 1 3

about those buildings. But the foreground was most n o t i c e a b l e — t h e

s lanting streets a n d twisted pil lar-supported c o n e s which f o r m e d a city

o n o n e o f the i cy m o u n t a i n s . W e could see n o life in the c i ty brooding

in a sourceless blue light; only a great m a c h i n e o f tubes and crystals

which s tood before u s o n the street.

W h e n a f igure rose in to the s c r e e n , we recoiled. I felt a chi l l o f

terror, for this was o n e o f the city's i n h a b i t a n t s — a n d it was not hu-

m a n . It was too thin a n d tall, with huge pupi l less eyes, a n d a skin cov-

ered with tiny r ippl ing scales . T h e l ingers were bone less , a n d 1 felt a

surge o f revulsion as the white eyes s tared unaware in m y direc t ion .

But I s o m e h o w felt that this was an intel l igent b e i n g , a n d n o t defi -

nitely hosti le .

T h e being t o o k o u t o f its meta l l i c r o b e a thin rod, which it held

vertically a n d s t roked several t i m e s . W h a t e v e r the pr inciple , this m u s t

have b e e n a s u m m o n s , for in a few m i n u t e s a c r o w d had f o r m e d

a b o u t the i n s t r u m e n t in the street . W h a t fol lowed m a y o n l y have

been their m e t h o d o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , but 1 f o u n d it horr ib le ; they

s tood in a c i rc le and their f ingers s t re tched fully two feet to inter lace

in the center . T h e y dispersed after a shor t t ime and spread o u t , a

small g r o u p r e m a i n i n g by the m a c h i n e .

" L o o k at that t h i n g in the street , " said Tony. " D o you s u p p o s e — "

" N o t now," Frank, w h o was watch ing in fasc inat ion, in terrupted .

"1 don ' t k n o w if it'd be bet ter to switch o f f now a n d get s o m e o n e

d o w n f r o m the U n i v e r s i t y — n o hell, let's watch a b i t longer . T o t h i n k

that we're watch ing a n o t h e r w o r l d ! "

T h e g r o u p a r o u n d the m a c h i n e were t u r n i n g it, a n d at that m o -

m e n t a set o f three t u b e s c a m e in to view, point ing s tra ight at us. O n e

o f the be ings went to a s w i t c h b o a r d and c lu tched a lever with long

t w i n i n g fingers. Tony began to speak, but s i m u l t a n e o u s l y 1 realized

what he was t h i n k i n g .

" F r a n k , " I s h o u t e d , " that 's their t rans la tor ! T h e y ' r e going to m a k e

the c o n n e x i o n ! "

" D o you t h i n k I 'd bet ter switch off , t h e n ? "

" B u t suppose that's not e n o u g h ? " yelled Tony. " D o you w a n t t h e m

t o c o m e t h r o u g h w i t h o u t k n o w i n g w h a t they ' l l d o ? You read the

b o o k — f o r God 's sake use the weapon before it's t o o late!"

His hysteria affected us all. F r a n k ran t o the s o u n d i n g - b o a r d and


g r a b b e d the lever. I watched the b e i n g o n the m a c h i n e , and saw that

it was near ly ready to c o m p l e t e the c o n n e x i o n .

" W h y aren' t you d o i n g a n y t h i n g ? " Tony s c r e a m e d at Frank.

He called b a c k : " T h e lever won't m o v e ! Must b e rust in the

w o r k s — q u i c k . Les, see if you can get t h e m uns tuck . "

I ran over and began to s c r a p e at the gears w i t h a knife. Acciden-

tally the b lade s l ipped and twanged a c r o s s the str ings .

" T h e r e ' s s o m e t h i n g f o r m i n g , I can ' t q u i t e see," Tony s a i d —

Frank was s t r a i n i n g so hard at the lever that I was afraid it would

s n a p — t h e n it j e rked free, the gears moved , the p l e c t r u m cy l inder

spun and an a t r o c i o u s s o u n d c a m e from the str ings . It was a scrap-

ing, w h i n i n g discord which c lawed at o u r ears; it b lo t ted o u t t h o s e

o t h e r sounds , and I could not have s tood it for long.

T h e n Tony s c r e a m e d . We whirled to see h i m kick in the screen

a n d s t a m p ferociously o n the wires, still shr iek ing . F r a n k s h o u t e d at

h i m — a n d as he turned we saw the s lackness o f his m o u t h a n d the

saliva d r o o l i n g d o w n his c h i n .

W e finally locked h i m in the back r o o m o f the h o u s e while we

f o u n d o u r way back to Br ichester . W e to ld the d o c t o r s only that he

had b e c o m e separated from us, a n d that by the t ime we f o u n d h i m

everyth ing was a s t h e y saw it. W h e n they removed Tony f r o m the

house , F r a n k t o o k the o p p o r t u n i t y to tear a few pages o u t o f The

Revelations of Glaaki. Perhaps because o f this, the team o f Br i ches te r

professors a n d o thers s tudying c o n d i t i o n s there are m a k i n g litt le

progress . F r a n k and 1 will n e v e r go there again; the e v e n t s o f that

a f t e r n o o n have left t o o d e e p a m a r k .

O f c o u r s e , they affected Tony far m o r e . He is comple te ly insane,

a n d the d o c t o r s foresee n o recovery. At h is worst he is total ly i n c o h e r -

ent , and at tacks a n y o n e w h o c a n n o t sat is factor i ly explain every

s o u n d he hears. He gives n o indica t ion in his c o h e r e n t per iods o f

what drove h i m mad. Fie imagines he saw s o m e t h i n g m o r e o n that

screen, but never descr ibes what he saw.

O c c a s i o n a l l y he refers to the o b j e c t he th inks he saw. O v e r the

years he has m e n t i o n e d details which would suggest s o m e t h i n g in-

credibly al ien, but o f c o u r s e it m u s t have been s o m e t h i n g else which

u n b a l a n c e d h i m . He speaks o f " t h e s n a i l h o r n s , " " t h e b l u e crystal-

l ine lenses," " t h e m o b i l i t y o f the faces," " t h e living flame a n d water,"

T H E P L A I N O F S O U N D 1 5

" t h e b e l l - s h a p e d a p p e n d a g e s , " a n d " t h e c o m m o n h e a d o f m a n y

b o d i e s . "

But these per iods o f c o m p a r a t i v e c o h e r e n c y d o n o t last long.

Usually they end w h e n a look o f h o r r o r spreads over his lace, he stiff-

e n s a n d s c r e a m s s o m e t h i n g which he has not yet expla ined:

" I saw what it t o o k f r o m its v ic t ims ! / saw what it look from its

victims!"

The Stone on the Island

R a m s e y Campbel l

rr iving h o m o that n ight , M i c h a e l Nash t h o u g h t at first that h is

father was asleep.

Dr. S t a n l e y Nash, his father, was lying back in an a r m c h a i r in the

l i v i n g - r o o m . O n the table beside h i m s tood an e m p t y glass, prop-

p i n g up a sealed envelope , a n d near these lay a l ibrary b o o k . It was all

quite ord inary , a n d M i c h a e l o n l y g lanced at h i m b e f o r e e n t e r i n g the

ki tchen in search o f cof fee . Fifteen m i n u t e s later he tried to wake h is

father, and realized what the c o n t e n t s o f the glass m u s t have been .

Nash sensed the e v e n t s o f the n e x t few days with n u m b e d nerves.

W h i l e he realized that any fur ther ev idence he m i g h t give would b e

disbelieved, he heard the words " s u i c i d e whi le the ba lance o f the

m i n d was d i s t u r b e d " with a feeling o f guil t ; he fingered that enve lope

in his p o c k e t , but forced h i m s e l f to keep it there . Af ter that arrived

t h o s e people w h o saw the a d m i r a t i o n o f Nash's medical abil i ty a s a

pretext for taking a ha l f -day o f f work ; then the largely i n c o m p r e h e n -

sible funeral service , the ratt le o f ear th o n wood, a n d the faster j o u r -

ney h o m e .

Var ious duties prevented M i c h a e l f r o m e x a m i n i n g his father 's

papers unt i l O c t o b e r 2 7 , 1 9 6 2 . He might n o t have plunged in to t h e m

even then but for the explici t i n j u n c t i o n in his father 's final n o t e .

T h u s it was that as the sun flamed redly o n the windows o f G l a d s t o n e

Place, Nash sat in the s tudy o f N o . 6 , with the enve lope before h i m o n

the desk a n d the enclosed sheet spread o u t for reading.

" M y recent research" ( M i c h a e l read) " h a s pried in to regions

T H E S T O N E O N T H E I S L A N D 1 7

w h o s e d a n g e r I did n o t realize. You k n o w e n o u g h o f these hidden

forces which I have a t t e m p t e d to des t roy to s e e that, in cer ta in cases,

dea th is the only way out . S o m e t h i n g has fastened i tself u p o n m e , but

I will suic ide b e f o r e its highest pi tch o f p o t e n c y is reached. It has to

d o with the island b e y o n d Severnford, and my notes a n d diary will

furnish m o r e deta i l s than I have t i m e to give. I f y o u w a n t to car ry o n

m y work, c o n f i n e yourse l f to o t h e r p o w e r s — a n d take m y case as a

w a r n i n g n o t to go too far."

T h a t was all; and n o d o u b t m a n y people would have torn up the

letter. But M i c h a e l Nash k n e w e n o u g h o f the bas i s o f h is father 's b e -

liefs n o t to treat t h e m lightly; indeed, he held the s a m e creeds . F r o m

an ear ly age he had read h is father 's secret l ibrary o f rare books , and

f r o m these had acqui red an awareness which the m a j o r i t y o f people

n e v e r possess. Even in the m o d e r n off ice bui ld ing where he worked

or in the c rowded streets o f centra l Brichester , he c o u l d sense th ings

dr i f t ing invisibly w h o s e ex is tence the c r o w d never suspected , and he

k n e w very well o f the h i d d e n forces which clustered a b o u t a h o u s e in

V i c t o r i a Road, a d e m o l i s h e d wall a t the b o t t o m o f M e r c y Hill, and

such t o w n s as C l o t t o n , Temphi l l and G o a t s w o o d . So he did n o t s c o f f

at his father 's last n o t e , but o n l y turned to the pr ivate papers kept in

the study.

In the desk drawer he f o u n d the re levant d o c u m e n t s , inside a file

cover covert ly removed f r o m his o f f i ce bu i ld ing . T h e file c o n t a i n e d a

p h o t o g r a p h o f the island beyond Severnford by daylight , snapped

f r o m the Severn b a n k and h e n c e undeta i led; a n o t h e r p h o t o g r a p h ,

taken b y a m e m b e r o f the S o c i e t y for Psychical Research, o f the island

with d i m white ovals f loat ing above it, m o r e l ikely re f lec t ions o n the

c a m e r a lens than psychic mani fes ta t ions , but inexpl icable e n o u g h to

b e reported in the Brichester Weekly News]; and several sheets o f

n o t e p a p e r inscr ibed in v a r i - c o l o u r e d inks. T o these pages M i c h a e l

turned .

T h e wri t ing cons i s ted o f a descr ip t ion o f the island and a

c h r o n o l o g y o f various e v e n t s c o n n e c t e d with it. "Approx. 2 0 0 ft.

across , r o u g h l y c ircular . Litt le vegetation except s h o r t grass . R u i n s o f

R o m a n temple to u n n a m e d deity at c e n t r e o f island ( t o p o f s l ight

h i l l ) . O p p . s ide o f hill f r o m Severnford , about 3 5 ft. d o w n , art i f ic ia l

ho l low e x t e n d i n g back 10 ft. a n d c o n t a i n i n g s tone .

" I s land c o n t i n u o u s l y site o f place o f worship. Poss. p r e - R o m a n


nature deity ( s t o n e predates R o m a n o c c u p a t i o n ) ; then R o m a n t e m -

ple bui l t . In medieval t i m e s witch supposed to live o n island. In 17th

c e n . wi tchcul t m e t there a n d invoked water e l e m e n t a l s . In all cases

s t o n e avoided. Circa 1 7 9 0 wi tchcul t d i sbanded , but s t ray bel ievers

c o n t i n u e d to visit.

" 1 8 0 3 : Joseph N o r t o n to island t o worship. F o u n d s o o n after in

S e v e m f o r d , mut i la ted a n d raving a b o u t 'go ing too near t o s tone . '

Died s a m e day.

" 1 8 0 4 : R e c u r r i n g stories o f pa le o b j e c t floating over island.

Vaguely g l o b u l a r a n d inexpl icably d i s t u r b i n g .

" 1 8 2 6 : Nevili Ravner , c l e r g y m a n at S e v e m f o r d , to island ( ' I m u s t

rid m y flock o f this e v i l ' ) . F o u n d in c h u r c h the day after, alive but

mut i la ted .

" 1 8 3 6 : A t t e m p t by u n k n o w n t r a m p to steal b o a t a n d s p e n d night

o n island. Returns frantical ly to S e v e m f o r d , but wil l only say s o m e -

t h i n g had ' f luttered at h i m ' as he g r o u n d e d the b o a t .

" 1 8 6 6 : Prost i tute s t rangled a n d d u m p e d o n island, but regains

c o n s c i o u s n e s s . Taken ofl" b y p a r t y o f d o c k s i d e workers and t rans-

p o r t e d t o Br ichester C e n t r a l Hospital . Two days later f o u n d h o r r i b l y

m u t i l a t e d in hospi ta l ward . At tacker n e v e r discovered.

" 1 8 7 0 : onward : R e c r u d e s c e n c e o f r u m o u r s a b o u t pale globes o n

island.

" 1 8 9 0 : Alan T h o r p e , invest igat ing local c u s t o m s , visits is land.

Removes a s t o n e a n d takes it to L o n d o n . T h r e e days later is found

w o u n d e d h o r r i b l y — a n d s t o n e is back o n island.

" 1 9 3 0 : Br i ches te r Univers i ty s tudents visit is land. O n e is

s t randed b y o thers as a j o k e . Taken o f f in m o r n i n g in hysterical c o n -

di t ion over s o m e t h i n g he has seen . F o u r days later runs s c r e a m i n g

f r o m M e r c y Hill Flospital , a n d is run over. Mut i la t ions n o t all ac -

c o u n t e d for b y c a r acc ident .

" T o date n o m o r e visits to i s l a n d — g e n e r a l l y s h u n n e d . "

S o m u c h for the historical data; now Nash h u n t e d for the d i a r y to

clarity this synopsis . But the diary was n o t to be found in the study,

n o r indeed in the house , a n d he had learned very little a b o u t the is-

land. But what he had learned d id n o t s e e m par t icular ly fr ightening.

T H E S T O N E O N T H E I S L A N D 19

After all, p e r h a p s his father had " g o n e l o o near the s tone , " whatever

that m e a n t , which he was n o t going to do ; further , he would take

s o m e o f the five-pointed s tones f r o m the study c u p b o a r d ; a n d there

was always the S a a a m a a a Ri tual if th ings got too dangerous . He m o s t

cer ta inly must go, for this t h i n g o n the island had driven his father to

p o i s o n himsel f , and might d o worse if n o t s topped. It was dark now,

a n d he d id n o t in tend to make a n o c t u r n a l trip; but t o m o r r o w , S u n -

day, he would h i re a b o a t a n d visit the island.

O n the edge o f the d o c k s next day he found a small hut ( " H i r e

a b o a t a n d s e e the Severn at its b e s t ! " ) where he paid 7/6 a n d was

helped in to a r a t h e r wet, ra ther unpainted m o t o r b o a t . He spun the

wheel and hissed t h r o u g h the water . Upriver the island c l i m b e d into

view a n d rushed at h i m . At the t o p o f its hill s tood an isolated frag-

m e n t o f t e m p l e wall, but o therwise it was o n l y a g r e e n d o m e r o u n d

which water r ippled, w i t h faint c o n n o t a t i o n s o f a w o m a n in the b a t h .

He twisted the wheel and the island h u r r i e d to o n e side. T h e b o a t

r o u n d e d the verdant tip; he switched o f f the m o t o r , pulled the b o a t in-

shore and g r o u n d e d it; he looked up, and there , g l i m m e r i n g faintly

f r o m the shadow) ' hol low, was the s tone .

It was carved o f s o m e white rock , in the shape o f a g l o b e sup-

p o r t e d by a small pillar. Nash n o t i c e d at o n c e its vaguely l u m i n o u s

quali ty; it s e e m e d to flicker dimly, a l m o s t a s if cont inua l ly a p p e a r i n g

a n d vanishing. And it looked very h a r m l e s s a n d purposeless . F u r t h e r

up the hill he m o m e n t a r i l y thought s o m e t h i n g pale wavered; but h is

s h a r p g l a n c e c a u g h t noth ing .

His h a n d c losed o n the five-pointed s tar he carried, but he d id

n o t draw it out . Ins tead, a s u d d e n feeling engul fed h i m that he could

n o t a p p r o a c h that s t o n e , that he was physically incapable o f d o i n g so.

He c o u l d n o t m o v e h is f o o t — b u t , w i t h a great e f for t , he m a n a g e d to

lift it a n d take a s t e p forward. He forced h i m s e l f toward the s tone,

a n d succeeded in pushing h i m s e l f w i t h i n a foot o f it. However, whi le

he m i g h t have reached it, he was unable to touch it. His h a n d could

n o t reach o u t — b u t he s t r a i n e d it o u t t rembl ing , a n d o n e fin-

ger poked the hard surface . A shiver o f cold ran up h is a r m , a n d that

was all .

I m m e d i a t e l y he k n e w that he had d o n e the w r o n g th ing . T h e

w h o l e p lace s e e m e d t o grow dark a n d c o l d , a n d s o m e w h e r e there was

a faint shi f t ing noise. W i t h o u t k n o w i n g why, Nash t h r e w h i m s e l f


back f r o m Ihe s tone a n d s t u m b l e d d o w n the hill to the boat . He

s tar ted the m o t o r , s l a m m e d the wheel left a n d cut away t h r o u g h the

w a t e r — a n d n o t unt i l the island had d r o p p e d o u t o f sight did he b e -

gin to a p p r o a c h the b a n k .

"You didn't have to c o m e back to work so s o o n , y o u know."

" I know." Nash said, " b u t I t h i n k I'll feel b e t t e r here," a n d he

crossed to his desk. T h e post had m o u n t e d up, he noted disgustedly,

t h o u g h there were few e n o u g h pieces to suggest that s o m e o n e had

tried to help him o u t — G l o r i a , probably . He began t o s o r t the b i t s o f

p a p e r into order ; A m b r o s e Dickens , F. M . Donnel ly , H . Dyck, E r n e s t

E a r l — a n d having marr ied the post with the relevant files, he sat

d o w n again. T h e first o n e o n l y required issue o f a f o r m , but o n e o f

which he h a d n o s t o c k .

"Baa l , " he r e m a r k e d to s o m e perverse deity, and i m m e d i a t e l y af-

terward discovered that G l o r i a a lso lacked the f o r m . A s e a r c h a r o u n d

the o f f i ce ga ined h i m five o r s ix , but these would n o t last long .

" I th ink this cal ls for a trip downstairs , " he r e m a r k e d to Glor ia .

" N o t today," s h e i n f o r m e d h im.

" S i n c e you've been away, they've b r o u g h t in a n e w a r r a n g e m e n t —

e v e r y b o d y m a k e s o u t a list o f w h a t t h e y want , a n d o n Wednesdays

o n e p e r s o n goes d o w n a n d gets the lot . T h e rest o f the t ime the store-

r o o m is locked."

" G r e a t , " said Nash resignedly, " s o we have to h a n g o n for three

d a y s . . . W h a t else has h a p p e n e d ? "

"Wel l , you've not iced the new arrival over t h e r e — h e r n a m e ' s

J a c k i e — a n d there 's s o m e o n e n e w o n the third floor too . D o n ' t k n o w

his n a m e , but he likes foreign films, s o John got ta lk ing to h i m at

o n c e o f c o u r s e . . . . "

" J a c k i e — " he m u s e d . " . . . O h hell , that reminds m e ! I ' m sup-

posed to b e cal l ing o n Jack Purvis today where he w o r k s in Camside ,

to col lect s o m e m o n e y he owes m e ! "

"Wel l , w h a t a r e y o u going to d o ? "

" T a k e the a f t e r n o o n off , m a y b e — " a n d he began to fill in h is

leave sheet . H e passed the new girl 's desk where John was unsuccess-

fully a t t e m p t i n g to discover any interest in C o n t i n e n t a l films ( " N o ,


I n g m u r " ) and c o n t i n u e d to a s l ight a r g u m e n t with M r . F a b e r over his

pro jec ted leave, finally granted b e c a u s e o f his recent b e r e a v e m e n t .

T h a t a f t e r n o o n he col lected the debt in C a m s i d e a n d c a u g h t the

b u s h o m e . It was dark by the t ime the vehicle drew up at the b o t t o m

o f M e r c y Hill, a n d the s treets were a lmost deser ted . As he c l i m b e d the

hill his footsteps c la t tered b a c k f r o m the t h r e e - s t o r y walls, a n d he

slipped o n the frost which was b e g i n n i n g to gl is ten in the pavement ' s

pores . L u n a r sickles e c h o e d f r o m G l a d s t o n e Place's w i n d o w a n d slid

f r o m the panes o f the f ront d o o r a s he o p e n e d it. He h u n g up his

c o a t , gathered the envelopes f r o m the d o o r m a t a n d , peel ing o n e

o p e n , entered the l i v i n g - r o o m a n d s w i t c h e d o n the light.

He saw i m m e d i a t e l y the face watch ing h i m between the cur ta ins .

For a m i n u t e N'ash cons idered the courses o p e n to h im. H e could

t u r n a n d r u n f r o m the house , but the in t ruder would b e free in the

b u i l d i n g — a n d bes ides he d id n o t like to t u r n his back. T h e te lephone

was in the study, and h e n c e inaccessible. He saw the o n e remain ing

course in detail , c a m e o u t o f his t r a n c e a n d , grabbing a poker f r o m the

fireplace, slowly approached the cur ta ins , s tar ing into the other 's eyes.

" C o m e o u t , " he said, " o r I'll spli t your head w i t h this . I m e a n

that . "

T h e eyes watched h i m u n m o v i n g , and there was n o m o t i o n un-

d e r the c u r t a i n .

" I f y o u don ' t c o m e o u t n o w — " Nash warned again.

He wai ted for s o m e m o v e m e n t , then he s w u n g the p o k e r at

the p o i n t b e h i n d the c u r t a i n w h e r e he j u d g e d the m a n ' s s t o m a c h

to b e . T h e r e was n o r e s p o n s e f r o m the face , but a t i n k l e o f g lass

s o u n d e d . C o n f u s e d , Nash poised the p o k e r again a n d , w i t h his o t h e r

h a n d , w r e n c h e d the cur ta ins apart .

T h e n he s c r e a m e d .

T h e face h u n g there for a m o m e n t then fluttered o u t t h r o u g h the

b r o k e n pane.

N e x t m o r n i n g , af ter a sleepless and h e r m e t i c night, Nash decided

to go to the off ice .

O n the bus, af ter a j o l t o f m e m o r y caused by the c o n d u c t o r ' s

pale re f lec t ion , he could n o t avoid t h o u g h t s o f last night's events .

T h a t t h e y were c o n n e c t e d w i t h the i s land b e y o n d Severnford he

did n o t d o u b t ; he had acted unwisely there, but n o w he knew to b e


wary. Ho m u s t take e v e r y precaut ion , a n d that was why he was work-

ing today; to b a r r i c a d e his sani ty against the in ter loper . He carr ied a

five-pointed star in his pocket , and c lu tched it a s he left the bus.

T h e lift caught h i m up and raised h i m to the f o u r t h f loor. He re-

turned greet ings a u t o m a t i c a l l y a s he passed desks, but his face stiff-

e n e d any a t t e m p t e d smile , a n d he was s u r e that everybody wondered

" W h a t ' s w r o n g w i t h M i k e this m o r n i n g ? " H a n g i n g up his c o a t , he

g lanced at the teapot , and r e m e m b e r e d that he and Glor ia were to

m a k e it that week.

M a n y o f the files o n h is desk, he saw bitterly, re lated to cases

n e e d i n g that elusive f o r m . H e wandered d o w n to the third floor, b o r -

rowed a few copies, and o n the way o u t not iced s o m e o n e ' s back view

which s e e m e d u n f a m i l i a r — t h e new arrival , he realized, and headed

for the lift.

"Wel l , " G l o r i a b r o k e in s o m e t ime later, " I 'd bet ter col lect the

cups."

Nash col lected the teapot a n d fol lowed h e r o u t . In a r o o m at the

end o f the passage water b u b b l e d in a header, a n d the room's d o o r -

way g a p e d lightlessly. His t h o u g h t s t u r n e d to h is pocke t as he

switched o n the light. T h e y filled u p the p o t a n d transferred the tea to

the c u p s .

" I ' l l take o u r e n d o f the off ice ," he remarked, and b a l a n c e d the

tray in to the off ice .

Two faces were pressed against the window, staring in at h im.

He m a n a g e d to save the tray, but o n e c u p toppled and inundated

M r . Faber 's desk. " S o r r y — I ' m s o r r y — h e r e , let m e m o p it up, quick , "

he said hurriedly, a n d the faces r ippled h o r r i b l y in a stray breeze.

T h i n k i n g in a m u d d l e d w a y o f the t h i n g s o u t s i d e the w i n d o w ,

the pentac le in h is pocket , a n d the disgust o f M r . Faber 's cl ient o n

rece iv ing t e a s t a i n e d c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , he sp lashed the tray t o the

r e m a i n i n g desks a n d p o s i t i o n e d his a n d G l o r i a ' s c u p s a t o p the i r

b e e r m a t s .

He glared for a m i n u t e in to the bizarrely-set eyes beyond the pane,

not iced a pigeon perched o n the opposite roof , and turned to Glor ia .

" W h a t ' s wrong with that p igeon?" he inquired, point ing with an un-

steady finger. T h e faces must b lock any view o f the bird f r o m h e r desk.

" W h a t , that o n e over there? I don ' t see anyth ing w r o n g with it,"

she replied, looking stra ight t h r o u g h the faces.


" O h , I . . . thought it was i n j u r e d , " answered Nash, u n a b l e to

f r a m e any f u r t h e r r e m a r k (Am I going mad or what?)—and the tele-

p h o n e rang. Glor ia glanced at h i m quest ioningly , then lifted the re-

ceiver. " G o o d m o r n i n g , c a n I help you?" s h e asked and scr ibbled o n

a s c r a p o f paper. "And y o u r initials? Yes, hold o n a m i n u t e , p l e a s e . . .

G . F. E. D i c k m a n ' s o n e o f yours, isn't it, M i k e ? "

" W h a t . . . O h , yes," and he extracted the file a n d , o n e eye o n the

si lent watchers outs ide , re turned to his desk. ( F o r G o d ' s sake, they ' re

only l o o k i n g . . . n o t doing a n y t h i n g ! ) " H e l l o — M r . D i c k m a n ? "

" . . . M y . . . m a r r i e d r e c e n t l y . . . " filtered t h r o u g h off ice m u r m u r

a n d cl ient 's m u m b l e .

" W o u l d y o u like to speak up, please? I ' m afraid I can ' t hear you."

T h e faces wavered toward the point where his gaze was resolutely

fixed.

" M y s o n D a — "

" C o u l d y o u repeat your son's n a m e , please?" T h e faces fol lowed

his turt ive g l a n c e .

" W h a t ' d you say?"

" C o u l d you repeat that p l e a s e ! " (Leave m e a l o n e y o u bastards ! )

" M y s o n David I said! I f I'd k n o w n this was all I'd get, I 'd o f

c o m e r o u n d m e s e l f i "

"Wel l , I m i g h t suggest that the next t i m e y o u call, y o u take a few

e l o c u t i o n lessons first!—Hello?"... F ie let the receiver c l i c k back list-

lessly, a n d the faces were caught by the wind and f lapped away over

the roof tops .

G l o r i a said: " O h , M i k e , w h a t d id y o u d o ? "

T h e res t o f the m o r n i n g passed q u i c k l y a n d unpleasant ly .

M r . F a b e r b e c a m e e m p h a t i c over the c o r r e c t w a y to treat c l i en ts ,

a n d several p e o p l e s t o p p e d in p a s s i n g to r e m a r k that t h e y wished

t h e y h a d the c o u r a g e t o answer cal ls that way. ( " E v e r y o n e s e e m s t o

have f o r g o t t e n a b o u t y o u r father , " s a i d G l o r i a . ) But o n e o ' c l o c k a r -

r ived at last, a n d N a s h left for the c a n t e e n . He sti l l l o o k e d a r o u n d

s h a r p l y at e v e r y r e f l e c t i o n in a p la teg lass w i n d o w , but m a n a g e d to

forget t e m p o r a r i l y in a s e a r c h a r o u n d the b o o k s h o p s for a n e w

L a w r e n c e D u r r e l l , w i t h the a w a r e n e s s o f his p o c k e t ' s c o n t e n t s c o m -

f o r t i n g h i m .

At t w o o ' c l o c k he r e t u r n e d to the off ice . At three he m a n a g e d

to t r a n s p o r t the tray w i t h o u t m i s h a p ; at four , u n k n o w n t o Nash, a


still enraged G . F. E. D i c k m a n arrived, a n d a l four - th i r ty left, a lit-

tle moll i f ied. A few m i n u t e s later a p h o n e message c a m e f r o m Mr.

Mil ler .

"Wel l , M r . Nash. " said M r . Miller, s i t t ing back in his chair, " I

bel ieve y o u had a l itt le t roub le this m o r n i n g . W i t h a M r . D i c k m a n , I

th ink . I hear y o u got a b i t impat ient with h i m . "

" I ' m afraid that ' s true," Nash agreed. " Y o u see, he was m u m b l i n g

so m u c h I c o u l d n ' t m a k e it o u t , a n d he got disagreeable w h e n I asked

h i m to s p e a k up."

"Ah . . . yes, I know," M r . M i l l e r i n t e r r u p t e d , " b u t I t h i n k y o u said

a l itt le m o r e t o h i m than that . E r — a b u s i v e language . Well , n o w I

k n o w I feel myse l f l ike saying a few th ings to s o m e o f the people w h o

p h o n e , but 1 feel th i s isn't the way . . . Is s o m e t h i n g the m a t t e r ? " He

fol lowed Nash's gaze to the w i n d o w a n d turned back to h im. "Any-

t h i n g w r o n g ? "

" N o . . . no, n o t h i n g at all." (Three n o w ? G o d , how m a n y o f t h e m

are there?)

"Wel l , as I was saying, there's a r ight a n d a w r o n g way to h a n d l e

c l ients . 1 k n o w ' t h e c u s t o m e r is always r ight ' is a s tock p h r a s e — i t

o f ten isn't t r u e here anyway, as y o u k n o w — b u t we m u s t t ry and

avoid any direc t o f f e n c e . T h a t o n l y leads to ill feeling, and that w o n ' t

d o anybody a n y good. N o w I had Mr. D i c k m a n a r o u n d here this

a f t e r n o o n , and I f o u n d it q u i t e hard to s m o o t h him d o w n . I h o p e I

won't have to d o it aga in . "

"Yes, I realize how y o u feel," Nash answered, peer ing frantical ly at

the window, " b u t y o u m u s t u n d e r s t a n d m y s i tuat ion."

" W h a t s i tuat ion is t h a t ? "

"Wel l , s ince m y f a t h e r died. T h a t is, the way he d i e d — "

" O h , o f c o u r s e 1 realize that , but really you can ' t m a k e it the ex-

c u s e for everyth ing . "

"Wel l , if that 's y o u r stupid o p i n i o n — ! "

M r . Mil ler looked up, but said n o t h i n g .

"All r ight , " Nash said w e a r i l y . " I ' m sorry, b u t — y o u k n o w — "

" O f course , " M r . Mil ler replied coldly. " B u t I would ask y o u to

use a l itt le m o r e tact in the future ."

S o m e t h i n g white b o b b e d o u t s i d e the p a n e and disappeared in

the d i s tance .


T h a i n ight , despite the strain o f the day, Nash slept. H e woke fre-

q u e n t l y f r o m odd d r e a m s o f the s tone a n d o f h is father w i t h s o m e

mut i la t ion he c o u l d never r e m e m b e r o n w a k i n g . B u t w h e n he

b o a r d e d the bus the n e x t day he felt few q u a l m s w h e n he r e m e m -

b e r e d the haunters ; he was m o r e dis turbed b y the tens ion he was

bui ld ing up in the off ice . After all, i f the faces were c o n f i n i n g t h e m -

selves to m e n t a l torture , he was g r o w i n g a lmost used to t h e m b y now.

T h e i r a l ienness repulsed h i m , but he c o u l d b e a r t o look at t h e m ; and

i f they c o u l d a t tack h i m physically, surely t h e y would already have

d o n e so .

T h e lift h u m m e d s ixty feet . Nash reached his desk via the c loak-

r o o m , found the D i c k m a n file still lying before h i m a n d s lung it vi-

c iously o u t o f his way. He s tar ted at the h e a p o f files awai t ing f o r m s

to b e issued, then involuntar i ly g lanced o u t o f the window.

" N e v e r m i n d , " G l o r i a r e m a r k e d , her back to the radiator. "You' l l

b e a b l e t o s tock u p o n t h o s e f o r m s today."

At ten o ' c l o c k M r . F a b e r l o o k e d u p over the tea- tray; " I w o n d e r if

you'd m i n d going d o w n for the s t o c k today?"

At 10 :10 , af ter s p e n d i n g ten m i n u t e s over h is own cup, Nash rose

with a wry gr in at G l o r i a a n d sank in the lift. T h e s t o r e r o o m seemed

deserted, b r o o d i n g silently, but as the d o o r was o p e n he entered and

began to s e a r c h for i tems o n the list. He dragged a s tepladder in to

o n e o f the aisles a n d c l i m b e d to reach s tocks o f the elusive f o r m s . He

leaned over ; looked d o w n , a n d saw the fourth face s tar ing up at him

f r o m the darkness o f the o t h e r aisle .

He wi thdrew his h a n d f r o m the s h e l f a n d stared at the pale vis-

age. For a m o m e n t there was tota l s i l e n c e — t h e n the thing's lips

twi tched a n d the m o u t h b e g a n to o p e n .

He k n e w he would n o t be a b l e to bear the thing's v o i c e — a n d

what it might say. He drew back his foot and kicked the watcher in

the eye, drew it back a n d kicked again. T h e face fell o u t o f the or i f i ce

a n d Nash heard a t h u d o n the o t h e r side o f the shelves .

A faint u n e a s e o v e r t o o k Nash . Fie c la t tered d o w n the ladder,

turned in to the next aisle a n d pulled the hanging l ight cord . For a

m o m e n t he glared at the m a n ' s b o d y lying o n the floor, at the burs t


eyeball a n d the general a p p e a r a n c e which t o o late he vaguely recog-

nized, a n d r e m e m b e r e d Glor ia 's r e m a r k : " T h e r e ' s s o m e b o d y n e w o n

the third floor"—and then he fled. He t h r e w o p e n the d o o r at the far

end o f the r o o m , reeled d o w n the backsta i rs a n d o u t the rear en-

t rance , a n d j u m p e d a b o a r d the first b u s o u t o f Br ichester . He should

have hidden the b o d y — h e realized that a s s o o n as he had paid h is

fare, for s o m e o n e (please, n o t Glor ia ! ) would s o o n g o to the store-

r o o m in search o f Nash or the other , a n d make a d i s c o v e r y — b u t it

was too late now. All he c o u l d d o was get o u t at the t e r m i n u s and

h ide there . He looked b a c k a s if to g l i m p s e the s i tuat ion in the o f f i ce

bui ld ing , a n d saw the four faces straggl ing whi te ly after h i m over the

m e t a l b u s r o o f s .

T h e bus, he realized o n r e a c h i n g the t e r m i n u s , went as far a s

Severnford .

T h o u g h it lost him all s h a r p out l ines , he r e m o v e d his spec ta -

cles a n d strol led with s t i f f facial musc les for s o m e t ime . O n the

t h e o r y that anyth ing in plain s ight is invisible to the searcher , he ex-

plored b o o k s h o p s a n d at twelve o ' c l o c k headed for the H a r r i s o n

Hotel at the edge o f d o c k l a n d . T h r e e - a n d - a - h a l f hours went quickly

by, b r o k e n only b y a n e a r - a r g u m e n t with a dar ts -p layer seeking a

p a r t n e r and u n a b l e to u n d e r s t a n d Nash's inabi l i ty to s e e the board.

Nash r e m i n d e d h i m s e l f n o t to draw a t ten t ion in any c i r cumstances ,

a n d left.

A c i n e m a across the r o a d c a u g h t h is eyes, a n d he t u m b l e d w i t h

h is wallet . It s h o u l d b e sa fe t o d o n his glasses now, he t h o u g h t , put

t h e m o n — a n d t h r e w h i m s e l f back o u t o f sight o f the p o l i c e m a n talk-

ing at the paybox.

W h e r e was there left to hide? ( A n d what about t o m o r r o w . . . ?)

He hurr ied away f r o m the c i n e m a a n d searched for a n o t h e r b o o k -

shop, a l ibrary e v e n — a n d two streets away discovered a g r i m y li-

brary, entered a n d browsed ticketless. H o w long, he w o n d e r e d , b e f o r e

the l ibrarian a p p r o a c h e d with a " C a n 1 b e o f any ass is tance?" and ac -

quired an i m p r e s s i o n which he might later t r a n s m i t to the police?

But five-thirty arrived a n d n o help h a d been of fered; even t h o u g h he

had a g r i m few m i n u t e s as he passed the l ibrar ian who, seeing him

leave w i t h n o b o o k apparent might have suspected him o f r e m o v i n g

a v o l u m e u n d e r cover o f his c o a t .


He c o n t i n u e d his j o u r n e y in the s a m e d i rec t ion , a n d the l a m p -

posts m o v e d f u r t h e r apart , the s treets nar rowed a n d the roadways

grew rougher . Nearby ships blared o u t o f the n ight , a n d s o m e w h e r e a

child was c r y i n g . N o b o d y passed him, t h o u g h o c c a s i o n a l l y s o m e o n e

peered languidly f r o m a d o o r w a y o r s t r e e t - c o m e r .

T h e h o u s e s c lustered closer, m o r e n a r r o w arched passages ap-

peared b e t w e e n t h e m , m o r e l a m p p o s t s were twisted o r lightless, and

still he went o n — u n t i l he realized w i t h a start , o n reaching a hill and

viewing the way ahead, that the s treets s o o n gave o u t . He c o u l d n o t

b r i n g h i m s e l f to cross o p e n c o u n t r y at n ight jus t yet , a n d turned to

an alley o n the l e f t — a n d was c o n f r o n t e d w i t h r e d - g l o w i n g m i n i a t u r e

fires a n d dull b lack- lea ther shadows . No, that was n o t the way. He

s t ruck oft" t h r o u g h a n o t h e r alley, past two high-se t gas l a m p s a n d was

suddenly o n the b a n k o f the Severn .

A wind b l e w icily over the water, r ippl ing it and s t i rr ing the

weeds. A l ight w e n t o u t s o m e w h e r e beh ind h i m , the water splashed

nearby, a n d five faces rose f r o m the river.

T h e y fluttered toward h i m o n a glacial breeze. H e s t o o d and

watched as t h e y a p p r o a c h e d , spreading in a semic irc le , a circle, c los-

ing the circle, rustl ing pallidly. He t h r e w o u t h is a r m s to ward t h e m

off , and t o u c h e d o n e w i t h h is left h a n d . It was cold and w e t — t h e s e n -

sa t ions o f the grave. He s c r e a m e d and hit o u t , but the faces still ap-

p r o a c h e d , o n e set t l ing over his face, the o t h e r fol lowing, a n d a

c l a m m y film choked his m o u t h a n d n o s e so that he had n o c h a n c e to

s c r e a m , even to brea the until t h e y had finished.

W h e n the Severnford police f o u n d h i m , he could d o n o t h i n g but

s c r e a m . T h e y did n o t c o n n e c t him at first w i t h the m u r d e r e r for

w h o m the Br ichester c o n s t a b u l a r y were searching ; a n d w h e n the lat-

ter identi f ied h i m he c o u l d n o t o f c o u r s e b e prosecuted .

" I ' v e never seen anyth ing like it," said I n s p e c t o r Daniels f r o m

Brichester .

"Wel l , we t ry to keep these dockside gangs u n d e r c o n t r o l , " said

Inspector B lackwood o f Severnford , " b u t people get beaten u p n o w

a n d t h e n — n o t h i n g like this t h o u g h . . . . But you can be sure we'll

find the attacker, even so."


T h e y have n o t yet found the attacker. I n s p e c t o r B l a c k w o o d sus-

pected homic ida l m a n i a at first, but there was n o s imi lar c r i m e . B u t

he d o e s n o t like to t h i n k that even Severnford 's gangs would b e c a p a -

ble o f s u c h a c r i m e . It would , he contends , take a very c o n f i r m e d and

a c c o m p l i s h e d sadist to r e m o v e , c leanly in o n e piece, the skin o f a

m a n ' s face.

The Statement o f One

J o h n Gibson

Brian Lumley

If only, I tell myself . I f o n l y . . .

I f o n l y J a m e s Ogilvy, o f S i m o n s , S i m o n s a n d Ogilvy, had n o t suf-

fered that acc ident u p o n m y very doors tep . If he had n o t d ied in m y

arms, f u m b l i n g m y father's last wil l a n d tes tament o u t o f h is ins ide

p o c k e t . A n d if his last words had been o t h e r than what t h e y were,

which I mis taken ly t o o k to be a n a d j u r a t i o n that I o p e n m y father 's

b u r e a u at o n c e a n d s tudy m o s t careful ly all which I m i g h t find

wi th in .

O f course I k n o w n o w that old O g i l v y m e a n t m e to des t roy u t -

terly that b u r e a u a n d its c o n t e n t s , which would have b e e n to c o m p l y

with m y father 's will; but at the t ime all was c h a o s , where c o n f u s i o n

re igned. And k n o w i n g what I know, perhaps that i tsel f is n o s t r a n g e

th ing, Ogi lvy's dea th n o mere c o i n c i d e n c e . Forces govern th i s world

we naively a s s u m e to b e ours , in this universe we s u p p o s e to b e the

O n e Universe , which so beli t t le the affairs o f m e n as to make t h e m

meaning less . W h a t is the life o f o u r world , o f M a n k i n d itself, but a

s ingle t i ck o f t ime in the great C l o c k o f Eternity?

I m u s t n o t s t r a y . . .

M y father d ied o f s o m e c r e e p i n g organ ic m a l f u n c t i o n which aged

h i m well b e f o r e h is t i m e a n d withered h i m to death s o m e five days

ago, s ince w h e n I have hardly s e e m e d t o sleep, a n d d u r i n g which pe-

r iod o f t ime I have investigated a n d a c q u a i n t e d myse l f with mat ters


o f c o s m i c — y e s , c o s m i c — i m p o r t a n c e . W i t h my m o t h e r in a m a d -

house , a n d myse l f sole heir apparent to the G i b s o n f o r t u n e a n d prop-

erty, I wai ted u p o n w o r d f r o m m y father 's so l ic i tors that all was in

order and I m i g h t indeed a s s u m e that lordly r a n k a n d off ice .

T h e n . . . the t e l e p h o n e message f r o m Ogilvy, saying that he was

o n his way to see m e , a n d that p u r s u a n t u p o n o n e a l l - i m p o r t a n t di-

rect ive I would be the legi t imate G i b s o n heir b e y o n d any f u r t h e r b e -

hest o r r e q u i r e m e n t . Fol lowing which call , wi thin the hal f -hour , there

had c o m e that c r a s h which sent m e flying f r o m the h o u s e to Ogilvy's

car, c r u m p l e d and blazing where, for no reason I c o u l d plainly see,

it had c rashed h e a d l o n g in to a n old o a k growing b y the verge o f

m y gravel driveway a lmost direct ly oppos i te the very d o o r o f the

h o u s e .

Ogi lvy had m a n a g e d to stagger f r o m the wreck, his j a c k e t s m o u l -

der ing, his face b a d l y b u r n e d , to col lapse at the foot o f m y steps.

T h e r e I found him, and cradling his u p p e r b o d y and head in m y arms,

seeing that it was all up with h i m , I asked if there was anyth ing at all I

c o u l d d o for h im.

" F o r . . . for your father, J o h n . . . for h i m and . . . for yourse l f . "

"Yes, yes. W h a t is it?"

" H i s . . . b u r e a u , my boy. His b u r e a u . . . "

"Yes, I k n o w it. G o o n — "

His eyes had b y then glazed over, but still he m a n a g e d to force

o u t these final words :

"Glub . . . glub . . . l ook in . . . b u r e a u . . . des t roy . . . glub . .

And with that the old m a n was g o n e forever f r o m the wor ld o f m e n .

At the t i m e o f r e c o r d i n g this s t a t e m e n t , o f c o u r s e , I k n o w that

what Ogi lvy had said was " d o not l o o k in the bureau, " that I was to

des t roy the b u r e a u intact , but his voice was so quiet , so distorted

by pain a n d the ratt le o f death, that I took h is words to m e a n the

oppos i te .

But I had t i m e for n e i t h e r will n o r b u r e a u n o r anyth ing else r ight

then ; instead I must speak t o Ogilvy's o f f i ce in the city, call the pol i ce ,

an a m b u l a n c e . . . m a n y th ings ; so that it was s o m e hours later w h e n I

r e m e m b e r e d his s u p p o s e d ins t ruct ion that I look in the b u r e a u .

Even at that point all might have been well, had I but taken m y

father 's will f r o m m y pocket and read it. But no, the d y i n g m a n had

T H E S T A T E M E N T O F O N E I O H N G I B S O N 3 1

m a d e a d e c l a r a t i o n o f s o r t s — o r rather, a r e q u e s t — a n d if o n l y for his

m e m o r y ' s sake it was o n e with which I would c o m p l y .

T h e a m b u l a n c e was long g o n e , the police had towed away the

wrecked car, a n d the dav was drawing to its c lose b y the t ime I found

myse l f a t last a l o n e in the old and now exceedingly lone ly h o u s e m y

fami ly h a d occupied and m a d e its seat for m o r e than a ha l f dozen

generat ions ; a n d then I went to m y father 's r o o m , where in a little

whi le I found the key to his bureau . In fact only o n e c u p b o a r d was

locked, but s ince the rest o f the b u r e a u s tood e m p t y I k n e w that this

m u s t b e the place I s h o u l d look.

Actually, I felt a little a n n o y e d w i t h myse l f that I had n o t d o n e s o

before , but m y father 's r o o m had always b e e n inviolate, " o u t o f

b o u n d s , " as it were, a n d I suppose that I h a d u n c o n s c i o u s l y kept it s o

even after his d e a t h .

But n o w . . .

T h e d o o r o p e n e d easi ly o n oiled o f t e n - u s e d hinges, a n d the c o n -

tents lay in dark pigeonhole recesses, neatly apport ioned and labeled, dry

and well preserved. T h e y were, o f course, papers, books , d o c u m e n t s —

s o m e rolled and fas tened w i t h bands , o t h e r s enveloped, the b o o k s

p r o t e c t e d by laminated covers and whol ly wrapped in g r e a s e - p r o o f

p a p e r s — e x a c t l y w h a t o n e would expec t to find in a bureau .

If anything, I was d i s a p p o i n t e d . Plainly there was s o m e t h i n g h e r e

which m y f a t h e r h a d wanted m e to read ( o r s o I t h o u g h t ) , but where

to start?

At first I was t e m p t e d s imply to c lose up the b u r e a u and re-

t u r n to it a t s o m e m o r e propi t ious t i m e ; but as I was a b o u t to c lose

the d o o r m y eyes l ighted u p o n an i tem o t h e r than the m a i n l y paper

c o n t e n t s — s o m e t h i n g which had a gl int , perhaps o f s o m e dull meta l .

In the g l o o m o f the bureau it was hard to tell. But u p o n drawing the

t h i n g for th I perceived it to b e a medal l ion o f sorts , o f a tarnished sil-

ver o r s o m e s imilar m e t a l — p e r h a p s an a l l o y — o n a cha in o f the s a m e

s u b s t a n c e .

And n o w I n o longer desired t o c lose up the b u r e a u .

T h e r e was s o m e t h i n g about this medal l ion that s t ruck an i n n e r

c h o r d . S o m e par t o f m y m e m o r y was given a jo l t . I felt that I had seen

the thing before , a n d the s h o r t hairs at the b a c k o f m y n e c k st i f fened

in a s o r t o f s u b c o n s c i o u s but definite a p p r e h e n s i o n . In m y h a n d it


felt chilly, with a low, unseasonal t e m p e r a t u r e o u t o f keeping w i t h

that o f the r o o m and b u r e a u . And as for the thing's design . . .

I c a n n o t say what m o r b i d genius cut o r s t a m p e d o r m i n t e d the

m e d a l l i o n except that his m i n d — i f indeed the m a k e r was a man,

or, m o r e to the point , h u m a n — m u s t work a l o n g lines whol ly o p -

posed to the c o n v e n t i o n a l in art o r art is t ic impress ion . Shall I say

it was pr imit ive? N o , for the detail s e e m e d exquisi te . Cubis t? N o , for

despite cer ta in pecul iar i t ies o f g e o m e t r y the w o r k was n o t surreal .

A l i e n . . . ?

It was n o t q u i t e c ircular , perhaps two i n c h e s across at its widest

p o i n t , o n e - e i g h t h to m a y b e t h r e e - s i x t e e n t h s o f an i n c h thick, and

b o r e u p o n o n e s ide a p ic ture or s cene and o n the o t h e r a legend in

s o m e g l y p h with which I was n o t fami l iar . . . or s h o u l d n o t have

been . But again I exper ienced that pecul iar sensat ion o f o lden affin-

ity; s o that now, against all c o m m o n sense, 1 s u d d e n l y found myse l f

eager to t ip o u t the bureau's ent i re c o n t e n t s a n d e x a m i n e e a c h i t e m

in its t u r n .

I resisted the impulse . First there was the p ic ture o n the medal -

l ion, which was cer ta in ly w o r t h y o f c loser e x a m i n a t i o n . S ince I could

m a k e nei ther head nor tail o f the glyphs, perhaps the fine detai l o f

the art i tsel f might tell m e s o m e t h i n g .

I fe tched a m a g n i f i e r . . . .

If I say that the p ic ture graven u p o n that s m a l l disk had all the

detail o f a canvas—say , especially, a B o s c h — o f several s q u a r e metres

in area, a n d that even with the glass I had diff iculty in d i scern ing the

very smal lest figures, o b j e c t s a n d finer po ints o f shading and stip-

pling, et cetera , then I s h o u l d doubt less b e cal led a liar. But it is t rue .

O u r finest c r a f t s m e n , given all the i r skills, u l t r a - m o d e r n tools and

t e c h n i q u e s o f n u m i s m a t i c engravature , c o u l d n o t have dupl icated

this piece. And yet I k n e w that far f r o m m o d e r n , the m e d a l l i o n was

anc ient beyond r e c k o n i n g . F low was that p o s s i b l e ? — h o w c a n I say?

Perhaps I am a l iar twice over.

T h e scene was n o t o f Ear th , n o t m u n d a n e in any way. In the

b a c k g r o u n d there s e e m e d a sunrise , or at least a d a w n i n g o f s o r t s (I

suspected the a p p r o a c h o f s o m e a w e s o m e event or B e i n g ) . T h i s was

portrayed in a burs t o f light beyond a h o r i z o n o f s t range ly angled ar-

ch i tec tura l s t ruc tures , windowless towers and turrets w h o s e unba l -

a n c e d g e o m e t r y m a d e t h e m s e e m b o t h c o n c a v e and convex at o n e


a n d the s a m e l i m e : like l o o k i n g at t h a i f a m o u s opt ica l i l lusion o f

m a r c h i n g men or m o n k s c l i m b i n g the stairs o f a tower w i t h o u t ever

gaining elevat ion. T h e c i ty o n the medall ion ( I assume it was a c i ty)

had precisely the s a m e effect o f t rapping the eye in its o w n visual maze .

In the f o r e g r o u n d figures tied toward m e .

Now, I say figures. A t the t i m e I t h o u g h t o f t h e m a s figures, b e -

cause I was uncer ta in o f the i r na ture . T h a t is to say, I was n o t s u r e the

art ist had intended they should b e seen as living crea tures . T h e y

seemed rather m o r e s y m b o l i c o f life (however dreadful) than repre-

sentative, perhaps in the way o f e lementa ls . B u t not the e l e m e n t a l s

o f any sane Ear th nature ; though I m u s t a d m i t that Air, at least, was

inc luded . Yes, and p e r h a p s Water, too .

T h e s e two, fleeing forward f r o m the advent o f whatever " d a w n -

i n g " o r ca tac lysm I c o u l d n o t say, were perhaps the most clearly de-

fined o f t h e — " r e f u g e e s " ? O n e o f t h e m , a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c , the a ir

e l e m e n t a l , s t rode above , h is great feet hidden in the c louds , whilst the

o t h e r — a vaguely o c t o p o i d shape, a n d yet a l so having features loosely

m a n l i k e — s l i t h e r e d or flopped below. B o t h had faces, the express ions

d e m o n i a c . Later I was to discover that the first was I thaqua , the

T h i n g T h a t Walks o n the W i n d , a n d the o t h e r loathly Lord C t h u l h u ;

but I'll get to that in its turn.

As for the o thers : T h e r e was a b l a c k goat s h a p e , satanic in its

bipedal , upr ight flight; a mass o f surg ing bubbles ; a s e e t h i n g some-

thing that bo i led forward u p o n the earth; a sp ider - th ing o f m a n y

j o i n t e d legs; a featureless, leathery slug thing; a heaving m o n s t r o s i t y

o f toss ing tentacles , c laws and eyes, o h , a n d o thers quite b e y o n d m y

l imited powers o f d e s c r i p t i o n . And all o f t h e m b e y o n d a n y s h a d o w o f

d o u b t evil as the pit. I knew this, that t h e y were evil , even c o n s i d e r i n g

t h e m unreal , o r at best figments o f s o m e feverish i m a g i n a t i o n or im-

ages o f t ime- los t m y t h .

But s t ranger by far than those outre d e m o n s o r e l e m e n t a l s

viewed t h r o u g h m y glass was m y g r o w i n g feeling o f famil iar i ty w i t h

t h e m , the d i s t u r b i n g c o n v i c t i o n that I should recognize w h a t I saw

a n d b e a b l e to place a n d n a m e it. Perhaps the scene was f r o m s o m e

o b s c u r e m y t h o l o g y o n c e g l impsed in the pages o f o n e o f m y father 's

b o o k s a n d till n o w f o r g o t t e n .


I t u r n e d o n the l ight , m a d e m y s e l f c o m f o r t a b l e , heaved a s igh o f

r e s i g n a t i o n — f o r I knew now that I must c o n t i n u e — a n d t o o k o u t the

papers, packages, d o c u m e n t s a n d b o o k s o n e by o n e , e x a m i n i n g t h e m

as I went. T h e s e a r e the things I d i scovered :

O n e : a n o t e b o o k dat ing f r o m about 1955 in m y father's hand.

"Rvo: five bulky vo lumes o f letters in b o o k f o r m , b e i n g the Selected

Letters o f H . P. Lovecraft , a m a c a b r e a u t h o r I h a d heard to b e o f note,

s e c o n d a r y o n l y to Poe a n d s o m e would say Poe's peer. T h r e e : a n o t h e r

b o o k in the s a m e f o r m a t , t i t led The Horror in the Museum, being s to-

ries revised b y Lovecraft f r o m the work o f o t h e r a u t h o r s and pub-

lished by the s a m e house , A r k h a m H o u s e publ ishers , in 1970 . Four :

a s h e a f o f A - 4 photos ta ts . Five: a c r u m b l i n g c o p y o f Weird Tales, an

old " p u l p " m a g a z i n e with a faded but still lurid cover. S ix : a b u n d l e

o f old letters. S e v e n : a n u m b e r o f larger p h o t o c o p i e d sheets b e a r i n g

m a n y lines o f those pecul iar - looking r u n e s I had e x a m i n e d u p o n the

m e d a l l i o n , these rolled up and fastened with elastic bands . Eight: sev-

eral family trees o n s imilarly large sheets. N i n e : A g r e a s e p r o o f parcel

o f five old books , their titles b e i n g The Cthaat Aquaditigen, Von

Junzt 's Unaussprechlichen Kulten, Feery 's Notes on the Necronomicon

a n d that s a m e author ' s s tudy o f the Book of Dzyan, a n d a must)' ,

l ea ther - jacketed v o l u m e w h o s e spine b o r e the faded a n d c o n j e c t u r a l

legend Ghorl Nigral.

T h e s e latter w o r k s m i g h t have provoked a s h u d d e r in a person

o t h e r than myself , but here it m u s t b e stated that m y life had been

o n e w h o s e p r o x i m i t y to darkl ing mat ters had rather inured me. T h a t

is to say, m y father had b e e n a delver in o b s c u r e myths a n d m y t h -

cycles, a searcher o f nighted c rypts a n d b e n e a t h desert mas tabas , a n d

a pursuer o f all th ings e s o t e r i c a n d exci t ing to his s o r t o f super-

imaginat ive m i n d . He h a d not been a cultist , n o ( t h o u g h in h is t i m e I

bel ieve he h a d s o m e s m a l l dealings w i t h the O r d e r o f T h e G o l d e n

D a w n ) ; but in h is p e r s o n a l s t u d i e s — h i s at t i m e s a l l - c o n s u m i n g

s t u d i e s — h e h a d c o n c e r n e d h i m s e l f a great deal with all m a n n e r o f

Earth's e lder h o r r o r s and myster ies , so that he could well b e said to b e

an a u t h o r i t y in such d u b i o u s a n d legend-shrouded mat ters .

Natural ly, a l i tt le o f h is personal i ty , his s t range bent for the

m a c a b r e s ide o f existence, had r u b b e d o f f o n m e ; t h o u g h 1 would

n e v e r have dared a d m i t it in his presence . N o indeed, for t ime and

t i m e over he had w a r n e d m e :


" J o h n , m y boy, have n o t h i n g to d o with the dark side. Avoid

m e d i u m s and spiri tualists , cult ists and ghost -seekers . And m o s t o f

all s teer clear o f any w h o aspire to d e m o n o l o g y . Avoid ' e m like the

plague. T h e y w o r k m i s c h i e f . . . have worked it s ince t i m e i m m e m o -

rial. O h , t h e r e are w a r n i n g s e n o u g h in the G o o d B o o k — a n d it is a

good b o o k , bel ieve m e . N o , they wouldn ' t suf fer a witch or wizard to

live in t h o s e days, and rightly so . Take heed, J o h n , for I 've looked

d e e p in to such things and speak f r o m exper ience . "

T h i s was the s o r t o f thing he would say i f ever he f o u n d m e w i t h

o n e o f h is b o o k s o f s t range knowledge , o r por ing over the astrologi -

cal char ts with which M o t h e r o f ten a m u s e d herself . At least, I

t h o u g h t s h e s tudied such char ts for a m u s e m e n t . N o w . . . well, n o w I

a m not so sure .

But a s I g r e w f r o m a s m a l l child to a tall if s o m e w h a t frail youth,

it b e c a m e m o r e diff icult to find such b o o k s a n d char ts . M y p a r e n t s

were ever m o r e careful , a n d would n o t leave the h o u s e w i t h o u t first

l o c k i n g away anyth ing t h e y c o n s i d e r e d (yes, I see it n o w ) d a n g e r o u s

to m e . For he was right, m y father, such knowledge is d a n g e r o u s —

a n d it was especial ly s o to m e

But dark l ing b o o k s a n d c o s m i c myster ies were n o t all they kept

f r o m m e . In m y m i d - t e e n s , w h e n o t h e r y o u t h s were c o u r t i n g the i r

first gir l fr iends, I was kept at m y s tudies u n d e r an a r m y o f private tu-

tors ; a n d whi le o t h e r lads o f m y age were steal ing the i r first kisses, I

would b e deeply i m m e r s e d in Chr i s t ian a n d o t h e r theologica l in-

s t r u c t i o n . O n e would have thought ( i n d e e d I o f ten did t h i n k i t ! ) that

m y p a r e n t s intended I should b e a priest !

Priests o r holy m e n o f m a n y rel igions d o n o t marry. T h e y a r e

cel ibate . . . t h e y d o not have ch i ldren . And their w o r k is such that

t h e y shun what F a t h e r would have cal led " t h e dark s i d e . . . " A m o n g s t

the p r i e s t h o o d s only e x o r c i s t s — a n d there are few o f those these

d a y s — a t t a i n to that sort o f knowledge . O h , yes, I see it all : I was to b e

the last o f the G i b s o n line, and n o t w i t h o u t g o o d reason. A n d the

feeling g r o w s in m e , perhaps I shall b e the last af ter all .

But now, r e c o r d i n g this for w h o e v e r shall hear it, I realize that in

m y o p e n i n g or i n t r o d u c t o r y paragraphs this s t a t e m e n t is i n c o m p l e t e ;

or rather, it is insuff ic ient . I talk a b o u t the p r i m a r y c i r c u m s t a n c e s

which have brought m e to m y present pass, but I have n o t e x p l a i n e d . . .

mysel f . M y o w n genesis is still a mystery to the listener. Fie k n o w s I


a m John G i b s o n , b u l he k n o w s very little o f my line, m y b e g i n n i n g s .

Very well, perhaps this is as g o o d a j u n c t u r e as a n y for a word or t w o

o f c lar i f icat ion

(HF.RE A B R I E F B R E A K IN T H E N A R R A T I V E )

M y m o t h e r c a m e f r o m an old D u t c h line, the Sleghts , fo rmer ly

Van der S laeten. And t h o u g h she could accurate ly trace her ac tual

English l ineage b a c k as far a s 1 7 2 0 o r thereabouts , there was still a

h i n t o f the character is t ic w i d e - m o u t h a b o u t her which is indicat ive

o f Dutch b lood . T h e m o u t h a n d the s t ra ightness o f the eyebrows

were especially dist inct ive in her features.

As for m y father : he was descended f r o m the B o s t o n G i b s o n s ,

w h o in turn c a m e d o w n f r o m the Typers o f New H a m p s h i r e , a family

rarely f o u n d in those parts nowadays. M o t h e r always remarked u p o n

the hollow, sal low cast o f his face by referr ing to the T y p e r s in his an-

cestry, for a p p a r e n t l y all o f t h e m had been k n o w n for the c o a r s e , al-

m o s t greenish cast o f their features . T h e earliest Typers o n record had

been Ulster C o u n t y people , but that b r a n c h is long e x t i n c t .

N o w t o mysel f :

T h e records s h o w that I was b o r n at m i d n i g h t , April 30, 1957 , a

date few would have di f f icul ty in recogniz ing as the old Walpurgis -

Eve; t h o u g h that is a fact which previously m e a n t prec ious l itt le o r

n o t h i n g to m e . But to c o n t i n u e :

M y c h i l d h o o d years were spent here, in this venerable , ivied,

m a n y - w i n g e d h o u s e o f the G i b s o n s in Surrey, E n g l a n d , centered in a

countrys ide o f small villages a n d towns, sec luded in a forested estate

o f m a n y acres. In those years, m y father 's co l lec t ion o f b o o k s was ex-

tensive, over f lowing f r o m the off icial l ibrary o n the first f loor and ex-

tending in to m a n y smal ler r o o m s o n that level. As I grew older he

would take the n o t u n n a t u r a l precaut ion o f l o c k i n g l ibrary d o o r s and

o f plac ing in sa fe -keeping those vo lumes which were extremely rare,

old, o r valuable ; a m e a s u r e o f pro tec t ion against s m a l l a n d careless,

t h o u g h never del iberate ly m a l i c i o u s , fingers. For in m a n y ways I was

jus t like any o t h e r b o y m y age. B u t in o t h e r s . . .

It was early apparent that m y m o t h e r was o f a n e x t r e m e l y ner-

vous d ispos i t ion . F r o m s n a t c h e s o f conversat ion I had deduced that


m u c h o f h e r t roub le s t e m m e d f r o m m y b i r t h , which m u s t have been

diff icult and later c a u s e d h e r to g r o w ill, so that she was incapable o f

t ending m e in m y first year or s o o f life. S h e had developed that aver-

s ion to m e which is n o t rare a m o n g w o m e n o f b r o o d i n g o r exc i tab le

natures . In m y advent , I had hurt her, a n d the w o u n d was m o r e in h e r

m i n d than b o d y ; s o that it was s o m e t i m e b e f o r e s h e was a b l e to take

m e to h e r b o s o m . But I was her s o n , af ter all, a n d so in the end b lood

won t h r o u g h . Alas, over the course o f the last five years I have seen

such a d e c l i n e in h e r that I have despaired. M y father, too , unt i l in the

end he was obl iged to place h e r in that s o called " re fuge" for the

i n s a n e .

However :

I have m o r e than hinted that m y c h i l d h o o d was n o t a n o r m a l

one , and have expla ined s o m e t h i n g o f m y father's h a n d in this and

m y m o t h e r ' s inabi l i ty to provide the stabi l i ty necessary for a chi ld 's

welfare. Perhaps it was this ear ly state o f a f f a i r s — a cold o n e at best,

t h o u g h n o t h u r t f u l — w h i c h f o r m e d m e in to the chill c r e a t u r e that I

a m , not given to e x t r e m e s o f e m o t i o n a n d little c a r i n g for worldly

mat ters o r the wealth I now c o n t r o l ; m o r e interested in the m i n d

than the b o d y a n d spirit ; m o r e dwel l ing in deep wells o f t h o u g h t

than act ive in the living, breathing world o f m e n . P e r h a p s . . .

But be that as it may, w h e t h e r o r n o t the sec lusion o f m y early

life and the id iosyncras ies o f m y p a r e n t s affected m e , the fact r e m a i n s

that I was a d is t inc t ly pecul iar child. A d r e a m e r , and o f n o sane o r

hea l thy things.

O n e n i g h t m a r e in part icular stays with m e still; o r rather, its

m e m o r y — t h a t m e m o r y which this m o r n i n g o n c e m o r e b e c a m e

reality! Heaven f o r b i d that I s h o u l d ever d r e a m that thing aga in , and

u n t h i n k a b l e that it should b e with the f r e q u e n c y and recurrent m a -

l ignancy o f m y early teens. It is the p r i m e reason I will take t h o s e

steps which m u s t now b e taken . And the dream was always the s a m e :

I was t rapped in a dark place. An empty, lightless, negative place. I

k n e w . . . little. Bereft o f m e m o r y , o f m i n d — b u t n o t q u i t e o f will, o f

basic k n o w l e d g e — I felt that I was prisoned, locked away in a t imeless

solitude. What c r i m e I had c o m m i t t e d against what society, I knew not .

O n l y that this was m y p u n i s h m e n t . And I r e m e m b e r ( h o w s t range)

that in that dream the idea o f c r i m e or c r i m i n a l t h o u g h t or intent had


little or n o m e a n i n g to m e . 1 did n o t think o f my m i s d e e d — w h a t e v e r

it had b e e n — a s a c r i m e but as a mis take . I had o f f e n d e d n o t b y im-

m o r a l i t y but amora l i ty . I did n o t k n o w wickedness . O r would n o t ad-

mit o f it. I had d o n e n o t h i n g to hurt , disgust , a larm or destroy. N o t

deliberately. Not to achieve those specific ends . If, through ac t ions o f

m i n e , h a r m had c o m e , the h a r m itself was n o t o f m y design. O n l y the

will to d o what I had d o n e had been del iberate .

And here I am r e m i n d e d o f Crowley's d i c t u m : " D o w h a t y o u will

shall b e the w o r d . . ." And I shudder . However o n e applies it, it is a

d i c t u m o f a b o m i n a t i o n , a negat ion o f all law, order a n d sanity.

But the d r e a m :

I was chained, but not in any c h a i n s w r o u g h t o f i r o n . T h e s e were

m i n d - c h a i n s , as if I had suffered the equivalent o f a prefrontal l o b o t -

omy. And yet it was s t r o n g e r than anyth ing like that, this force which

held m e i m m o b i l e . T h e n I would r e m e m b e r .

I w a s . . . enscorce l led! Yes, u n d e r a spell. Cruc i f ied undying o n a

cross o f Sc ience greater than Man's, m u m m i f i e d with my viscera intact

in a p lace m o r e l ightless than any Pharaoh's s u b t e r r a n e a n , p y r a m i d -

capped t o m b . For m y " s i n " I had b e e n b a n i s h e d f r o m the Universe to

a place "outs ide , " a n d here I must stay unt i l T i m e o r E n t r o p y found

a n d freed m e , o r until the o lden spells broke d o w n , or unt i l s o m e

O t h e r s h o u l d c o m e a n d speak the W o r d s o f F r e e d o m , the Rune o f

Release.

T h e Rune o f R e l e a s e . . .

I myse l f had o n c e k n o w n that rune , deep, d e e p inside, but even if

I could r e m e m b e r it I n o longer had m e a n s o f u t te rance . M y prison

was l ike a dream f r o m which there is n o awakening . B u t if I s t r a i n e d ,

i f I fought , if I tossed a n d t u r n e d a n d w o r k e d at m y m e n t a l b o n d s — i f

I sent o u t m i n d - m e s s a g e s o f m y fate, as a shipwrecked sa i lor s e n d s

messages in b o t t l e s — a n d if s o m e w h e r e s o m e o n e should hear o r read

such a m e s s a g e . . . and c o m e to find a n d release m e .

For I knew that inside m e , if only the r ight words were spoken ,

was a Power u n i m a g i n a b l e , a b u r n i n g o f stars , a co l l i s ion o f galaxies .

O h , yes! I w a s — h a d b e e n — a g o d ! O r a devil .

And at th i s p o i n t in m y d r e a m — a l w a y s at this p o i n t — I would

w o n d e r what I looked like, what shape 1 wore, and I would t ry to re-

m e m b e r how I had been be fore m y i m p r i s o n m e n t . And it was that


m e m o r y , burst ing in m y bra in , which would wake m e up s h r i e k i n g —

jus t as it woke m e this m o r n i n g , af ter all these long years o f peace.

M y G o d ! M y G o d ! O r m a y I n o longer call u p o n h i m ?

For s tart ing awake, a m e r e chi ld , f r o m this dream o f ut ter terror,

a n d m y cr ies br inging parents a n d servants r u n n i n g to m y r o o m , I

would find... I would find . . .

It is a terr ible thing to i m a g i n e o n e s e l f awake, to believe o n e has

risen u p f r o m sleep a n d escaped the m i r e o f n a m e l e s s n ightmares ,

only to discover that the h o r r o r is still u p o n o n e . For the wors t thing

was this; that I would see, u p o n m y pi l low or t w i n i n g o n the covers o r

pulsat ing in the sheets where m y f rant i c tossing and t u r n i n g had dis-

arrayed m y blankets , a l eprous greenish-grey tentacle t h i n g — a n d I

would see that this m e m b e r pro jec ted from the sleeve o f m y p a j a m a

jacket , and I would k n o w that th i s was m y a r m !

[ H E R E A B R I E F B R E A K IN T H E T A P E ' S M E S S A G E

W H E R E G I B S O N P A U S E D )

T h i s then was my n i g h t m a r e , w h o s e s o u r c e I could never, o r

dared never , imagine . And n o w the thing has re turned , a n d I c a n n o t

b e a r it. For n o w I know, o r suspect that I know, what that forbidden

source is a n d what I m u s t d o to c o n f i r m , o n e way or the other , m y

worst suspic ions . O n l y o n e p e r s o n r e m a i n s w h o k n o w s the t r u t h , and

she is m a d . And w h a t d r o v e her m a d , I a sk m y s e l f . . . or d o I a lready

k n o w ?

T o b e sure I m u s t visit her ; a visit n o t o f duty or pi ty but o f in-

quis i t ion . T h i s I have ar ranged and will see h e r today, at n o o n . I wil l

take the recorder w i t h me. But b e f o r e that I m u s t finish, as best I can ,

m y s t a t e m e n t .

And where was I . . . ?

A h , y e s — t h e c o n t e n t s o f m y father 's bureau . T h e books , papers,

letters a n d d o c u m e n t s .

For three long n ights a n d three m o r n i n g s I have p o r e d over t h e m ,

a n d t h r o u g h t h e m finally I have c o m e to grasp cer ta in truths. T h e

old, h o a r y b o o k s o f e l d e r m a g i c to ld m e this: that M a n was not the

first sent ient dweller u p o n th i s p lanet , but in the b e g i n n i n g were o t h -

ers c o m e o u t o f s t r a n g e stars and distant d i m e n s i o n s . T h e s e were the


Beings or d e m o n s o f the C t h u l h u Cycle , which Lovecraft in h is wis-

d o m c loaked in secrecy a n d s h r o u d e d in c r y p t i c hal f - t ruths , s o that

the i r lull h o r r o r might n e v e r b e k n o w n . But b e c a u s e he was a writer

o f dark tales he c o u l d not comple te ly ignore the m o n s t r o u s and ever-

reverberat ing call o f C t h u l h u . No, he m u s t s o m e h o w tell the world ,

but in such a way that the wor ld would cons ider the thing a fic-

t ion . In order to d o th i s he utilized a m y t h o l o g y o lder than m a n k i n d ,

which is this :

T h a t for deeds so base , for b lasphemies s o e n o r m o u s , the G r e a t

O l d O n e s o f that fabulous C t h u l h u M y t h o s were banished f r o m

the lands o f their prev ious d o m i n i o n and locked away in var ious

pr isons . And s o m e o f these p r i s o n s — c e r t a i n l y one o f which I k n e w —

were too c lose to man's h a b i t a t i o n a n d t o o accessible, as a result o f

w h i c h . . .

But I must get o n .

T h e ageless o r d e r o f b e n i g n Elder G o d s o f O r i o n took u p o n

themselves the task o f p u n i s h i n g the b l a s p h e m o u s B e i n g s o f the

M y t h o s . C t h u l h u , leader o f s o m e m o n s t r o u s upr i s ing or rebe l l ion ,

was t racked d o w n to Ear th a n d sunken in to the d e p t h s o f the Pacif ic

in R' lyeh, h is h o u s e o f p r i m a l s t o n e , a n d I t h a q u a the W i n d Walker

banished forever to the icy Arctic wastes . Y o g - S o t h o t h , because o f h is

sheer m i n d l e s s best ial i ty a n d endless appetite for all th ings a b e r r a n t ,

was secured at a place where all po ints o f t ime a n d space and d i m e n -

sions beyond the ken o f m e n c o m e together , c reat ing s u c h a m a t r i x o f

weird gravi tat ion that his prison is inescapable as the funne l o f a

black hole . Hastur , Cthulhu's ha l f -brother , was hurled o u t in to the

bleak e m p t i n e s s o f space , where s o m e legends have it he walks the

wind between the worlds, a n d o t h e r s that he b u b b l e s a n d b l a s p h e m e s

in the h i d e o u s d e p t h s o f Hali. T h e T indlos i H o u n d s , too , those famil-

iars o f the G r e a t O l d O n e s : they were banished to the dark angles o f

t ime, a place lacking in three o f the f o u r d i m e n s i o n s k n o w n to m a n ,

where t h e y exist c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s with all space but n e v e r a b l e to

e n t e r it, jus t a s the legended Flying D u t c h m a n m a y n e v e r c o m e to

rest in a p o r t o f the living. And so o n . And all o f these Beings and

o thers like t h e m held in p lace b y the ageless spells o f the Elder Gods .

B u t . . . the M y t h o s deit ies had a messenger , Nyar lathotep, a n d o f

all o f t h e m he a l o n e was n o t pr i soned. Free, his t ime is spent c a r r y i n g

word between the Great O l d O n e s in the i r var ious c o n f i n e m e n t s , as-


sist ing in their never -ending p lo t t ing for f reedom. For t h e y would b e

o u t a n d ravaging again, and ever they seek a m e a n s o f release. O n e

such way would b e to inf luence the m i n d s o f m e n , evolved in the

t i m e elapsed s ince their i m m e m o r i a l i m p r i s o n m e n t , a n d in th i s they

have been partly successful . Telepathic , the G r e a t O l d O n e s have b e -

c o m e mas ters o f d r e a m s , and a r e responsible for m u c h that is n ight -

m a r i s h in the d r e a m s o f m e n . Indeed , they are respons ib le for a

m a j o r i t y o f the world's m a d n e s s . And they have caused to c o m e in to

b e i n g t h o s e secret cu l t s a n d soc ie t ies w h o s e p u r p o s e — o f t e n unsus -

pected even by the cult ists themselves , gull ible fools at b e s t — i s the

resurrec t ion o f C t h u l h u a n d his s tar - spawn band.

And for these reasons if for n o o thers , surely my father 's w a r n i n g

that I avoid cultists, m e d i u m s , ghost -seekers a n d the like, was n o t idly

issued. W h o would k n o w bet ter t h a n he? H i m w i t h his life spent in

t o m b - d e l v i n g a n d far - f lung discovery o f o lden m y s t e r i e s — i n c l u d i n g

that final t r i p which ended s o disastrously.

But I g o ahead o f mysel f .

Apart f r o m the old b o o k s a n d their M y t h o s lore, there were those

char ts o f Mother ' s , the anc ient fami ly trees, and f r o m t h e m also I un-

raveled m o r e o f the mystery : that indeed the o l d "typer a n d Van d e r

Slaeten b l o o d is m o r e ev ident in my p a r e n t s and myse l f t h a n ever

t h e y h a d a d m i t t e d . Yes, a n d m o r e t h a n mere ly "typer and Slaeten

b lood .

But it was f r o m the b o o k s o f terror fiction that I learned the

worst o f it, f r o m t h e m and f r o m my father 's n o t e b o o k . In the latter

he speaks o f Lovecraft 's revision a n d " f i c t i o n a l i z a t i o n " o f W i l l i a m

Lumley's work, " T h e Diary o f A l o n z o Typer," h int ing that in t r u t h the

or ig ina l s t o r y was based u p o n mat ters o f fact. And it was h is research

in to this thing which after m a n y years s e n t him a n d m y mother , p o o r

M o t h e r , o n that last i l l -fated trip o f theirs to A m e r i c a — a n d to Attica,

N e w York!

But this is i n f o r m a t i o n which will c o n v e y litt le to the l istener un-

less he, too , has read " T h e Diary o f A l o n z o Typer." At which p o i n t I

find myse l f o f two m i n d s . I f I a m r i g h t — a n d I fear that I a m , h o r r i b l y

r i g h t — m i g h t n o t this recorded s t a t e m e n t o f m i n e send o t h e r s o u t

u p o n the s a m e trail? O r will it ac t as a w a r n i n g that t h e y s h o u l d on no

account fo l low that trail? In any case, t ruth doubt less will o u t . I m u s t

say o n . . . .


M y parents , then , d iscover ing this l ink b e t w e e n themselves and

the d o o m e d hero o f a tale o f supposed h o r r o r fiction, went o u t to

A m e r i c a t o t rack the thing d o w n . T h e years had n o t passed idly, how-

ever, and t h e y d id n o t go u n p r e p a r e d . N o t entirely. N o t as A l o n z o

TVper h a d g o n e b e f o r e t h e m . N o , the adventure was in n o way lightly

u n d e r t a k e n .

T h e G i b s o n bus iness was h a n d e d over t e m p o r a r i l y to m y father 's

par tners , as it h a d been o n s o m a n y previous occas ions ; but s ince he

o w n e d a m a j o r i t y o f shares and was little m o r e t h a n a figurehead

where the ac tual work was c o n c e r n e d , this was hardly p r o b l e m a t i c .

But that was m y father 's way; he was t h o r o u g h in a lmost everything.

But I have stated that he was n o t u n p r e p a r e d , and in this I d o n o t

refer to the affairs o f the G i b s o n bus iness . M y m e a n i n g is that he was

n o t unprepared for what he might find . . .

M y g r e a t - u n c l e V i c t o r G i b s o n was a Professor o f A n t h r o p o l o g y ,

specia l iz ing in E t h n o l o g y a n d Mythology , at Heide lberg . T h a t was

unt i l he retired in 1893 . But p r i o r to his posi t ion at that e s t i m a b l e

universi ty he was n o less a wanderer a n d delver than m y father h i m -

self. Yes, a n d he was o n e o f A l o n z o Typer ' s tutors . Typer studied at

Heidelberg, a n d a c c o r d i n g to c o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e t w e e n m y f a t h e r and

that venerable seat o f learning, he was o n e o f m y great -unc le ' s

favourite pupils . I can o n l y bel ieve, as Father o b v i o u s l y believed b e -

fore m e , that the " V " o f Wi l l iam I .umley's a l leged fiction was in

fact G r e a t - U n c l e V i c t o r .

But here, an apparent ambigui ty . T h a t V is n o t m e n t i o n e d

( o r d o e s not a p p e a r to have been m e n t i o n e d ) in the or ig ina l s t o r y

before Lovecraf t ' s revis ion. H o w d o I k n o w this? S imple : a m o n g s t

the m a n y p h o t o c o p i e d sheets in the bureau, m y f a t h e r had pro-

cured f r o m s o m e w h e r e a n d reproduced n o t only Lumley's p u r p o r t e d

o r i g i n a l — w h i c h n o w rests sans V in the J o h n Hay Library at

Brown U n i v e r s i t y — b u t a lso the real or ig ina l , cons is t ing o f r o u g h ,

h a n d w r i t t e n , u n a m e n d e d notes . T h i s was where V was first

m e n t i o n e d , a n d Lovecraft , n o t k n o w i n g V was real, left h i m in

the s t o r y to a d d ver is imil i tude, as well as a d d i n g m u c h addi t iona l es-

oter ic i n f o r m a t i o n o f his o w n invent ion . ( O r perhaps, the t h o u g h t

dawns, he did k n o w he was real; in which case his p u r p o s e m u s t re-

m a i n u n f a t h o m e d . )


As for the s u p p o s e d L u m l e y original at the John Hay L ibrary in

R h o d e Island: that is e i ther a f a k e . . . or L u m l e y s u b s e q u e n t l y saw fit

to remove every m e n t i o n o f V f r o m it. B u t why would he d o

that? Perhaps Lovecraf t ' s dea th early in 1 9 3 6 — a l m o s t exac t ly o n e

year before the first publ i ca t ion o f the s t o r y in that c r u m b l i n g old

pulp, Weird Tales, in F e b r u a r y 1 9 3 8 — p r o m p t e d his a c t i o n in m a k i n g

a final "revis ion" . Yes, I t h i n k that this is the answer, a n d I think Fa-

t h e r thought so before m e . HPL's death s e e m e d natura l e n o u g h , a n d

y e t . . .

[ H F . R F A P A U S E IN T H E N A R R A T I V E )

M y c o n c e n t r a t e d invest igat ion having taken m e all t h r o u g h the

night a n d in to the next day, it was n o o n before I c o u l d finally tear

myse l f f r o m the c o n t e n t s o f the b u r e a u , a n d have c o o k fix m e a m e a l ;

fo l lowing w h i c h , a r m e d with a large jug o f coffee , I re turned bleary-

eyed t o the task in hand.

And as the coffee began to w o r k o n m e , even as I r e m e m b e r e d

m y invest igat ions, I found myse l f asking what drove m e on? W h a t

m a d d e n i n g pat tern o r t h e m e was there h e r e which drew m e like

i ron-f i l ings to a m a g n e t — o r a m o t h to the candle 's flame?

And then , even d o u b t i n g the c o m m o n s e n s e o r validity o f w h a t I

was a b o u t , I c a m e u p o n that which m u s t surely b e the c o r n e r s t o n e

i tem o f all m y findings, the f o u n d a t i o n u p o n which to bui ld m y final

c o n c l u s i o n . It was a letter, f r o m m y g r e a t - u n c l e V i c t o r to m y father,

dated 18th M a y 1920 , which was s o m e three m o n t h s before he

died, aged a sprightly eighty-f ive. C a u s e o f d e a t h , apparently, a hear t

at tack.

I have the letter before m e now; it is terse, to the p o i n t , but I shall

abbreviate it even m o r e and so b e d o n e with it:

N e p h e w —

I 'm an old m a n a n d d y i n g , I fear, but I 've lived a long life

a n d have few regrets. O n e o f the few I d o have, however, is

that I have been lured by the o lden mysteries. In this y o u are

m o r e like m e than y o u r own father, m y depar ted brother ,

a n d s o I leave what I have to y o u . But a s well a s worldly


goods , which will n o t a m o u n t to m u c h , I leave y o u s o m e -

t h i n g o f greater value by far : a warning!

T h e r e ' s that in y o u r b l o o d which is bad. It is in m i n e ,

too , which gives m e the r ight to tell y o u o f it. I have been

lucky. It has n o t h a r m e d m e despite all I 've d o n e and seen in

so m a n y s t range parts. You m a y n o t b e s o f o r t u n a t e .

If, w h e n you o p e n the parcel which a c c o m p a n i e s this

letter, y o u feel n o t h i n g — i f y o u feel n o affinity for the medal -

l ion y o u shall discover w i t h i n — t h e n perhaps these words

are unnecessary . But if you recoil f r o m the th ing, or worse

still find yourse l f fascinated b y it, then m y w a r n i n g is valid

indeed. In which case des t roy it a t o n c e i f y o u can, a n d o n c e

a n d for all t u r n your eyes f r o m the course o f dark learning.

As for the medal l ion : I b r o u g h t it b a c k w i t h m e m a n y

years a g o f r o m Y i a n - H o , w h o s e very existence m a n y will

d o u b t . But it was after that p lace that I sett led at last to h o n -

est w o r k at Heide lberg . D o n ' t th ink, however , that s taying

h e r e has been easy; always there was the urge in m e to b e u p

a n d away aga in . T h e medal l ion is the s o u l - s y m b o l o f T h o s e

W h o Wait a n d W h i s p e r in Darkness and in D r e a m s , T h o s e

W h o are C h a i n e d but will b e Free. It has a co ldness n o t o f

this F a r t h (which is o n l y na tura l , for it is not o f this E a r t h )

a n d this is the aff ini ty o f which I have s p o k e n .

And the t h o u g h t c o m e s to m e that perhaps I err . If the

b l o o d r u n s true in your veins my w a r n i n g will b e o f l i tt le

use. It m a y well have the oppos i te effect. Well then , so b e it. I

would n o t keep a m a n f r o m his destiny, whatever it m a y be.

Your U n c l e V i c t o r G i b s o n

And having read that letter m y h e a d whir led , even as reading it

n o w it whirls, and 1 began to total up the integers in this p o r t e n t o u s

s u m o f c u m u l a t i v e facts a n d evidences :

Alonzo Typer would appear to have had b l o o d o f m y b lood in

h i m . Fie d ied mysteriously, perhaps horrifically, u n d e r an old h o u s e in

Attica in April 1908 ; but before that he studied u n d e r m y g r e a t - u n c l e

V i c t o r G i b s o n in Heidelberg. Yes, and what d id he learn from h i m ?

As for G r e a t - U n c l e Victor , he died twelve years later in 1920 . B e -


fore Ihat he s e n t m y father a letter and a medal l ion . M y father

pa tent ly ignored the w a r n i n g , o r perhaps like myse l f felt d r a w n to the

m e d a l l i o n and lured b y it. He k n e w o f the Typer s t o r y ; perhaps he

had heard earlier o f Typer from my grea t -unc le , I can't say. But in

early July 1956 , af ter m a n y years o f research in to the se l f same mys-

tery ( o r perhaps after reading the Typer tale in that old c o p y o f Weird

Tales, or m a y b e in a n o t h e r b o o k I f o u n d m e n t i o n e d in his n o t e b o o k :

Beyond (he Wall of Sleep—Lovecraft a g a i n ! — p u b l i s h e d in 1943) , he

t o o k m y m o t h e r w i t h h i m and went t o Attica, for a reason I can n o w

well u n d e r s t a n d . T h a t s a m e reason that relative o f ours , "typer h i m -

self, went there.

T h e n . . . then . . . what he f o u n d there . . . a n d s o m e t h i n g o f

what transpired b e f o r e he c o u l d say the Runes o f E x o r c i s m . T h e

T h i n g — t h a t m o n s t r o u s , tentacled, grey-green G r e a t O l d O n e — w a s

destroyed, m a d e inert or s e n t outs ide , I k n o w n o t which. But too late!

[ S H O R T B R E A K I N T H E N A R R A T I V E ]

And there y o u have the facts, or suff ic ient o f t h e m . O h , t h e r e is

m o r e , if you wish t o delve. H i n t s a n d a l lus ions in my father 's n o t e -

b o o k ; n i g h t m a r i s h suggest ions and whispers in the e l d e r g r i m o i r e s —

all o f which I have n o w s c a n n e d and u n d e r s t a n d as best I can . And

now, too, I must d o o n e last th ing . I m u s t drive to the a s y l u m for m y

visit with M o t h e r , w h o a l o n e might explain why, in the wee h o u r s o f

the m o r n i n g , I d r e a m e d again that d r e a m . . . a n d why u p o n awaken-

ing I thought I s a w . . . thought that I s a w . . .

|SHORT" B R E A K IN N A R R A T I V E )

| N O T E : F r o m this p o i n t o n the r e c o r d i n g is divided between t w o

voices , o n e being that o f J o h n G i b s o n , the o t h e r presumably that o f

h is m o t h e r . T h i s is fairly well c o r r o b o r a t e d by staff a t the H a m m e r -

smi th Inst i tute for the M e n t a l l y Dis turbed , where u p o n a d m i t t a n c e

G i b s o n was seen to b e c a r r y i n g a s m a l l por tab le recorder. He still had

this m a c h i n e with h i m w h e n he was left in private w i t h the lady,

which s i tuat ion was n o t u n u s u a l as h e r disorder was n o t b y incl ina-

t ion violent . T h e tape c o n t i n u e s . )


. . H o w are you today. M o t h e r ? "

" O h , J o h n ! I 'm so glad y o u could c o m e . B u t . . . why d o y o u s tare

so? You look so s t range , s o haggard. Is his dea th preying u p o n your

m i n d ? Strange , I find only p e a c e . .

" M o t h e r , there 's s o m e t h i n g I m u s t ask you. S o m e t h i n g ver) ' im-

p o r t a n t to m e . "

" I m p o r t a n t ? " |Here a quickening , a q u i t e audible gasp) " l o h n ,

a r o u n d your neck. You're w e a r i n g — "

" T h e medal l ion? This? O h , yes. And I k n o w what it is. I k n o w

where it c a m e f r o m a n d w h o b r o u g h t it o u t o f that place. And . . . I

k n o w where it led Father. And y o u . . . "

" J o h n , " [ t h e voice gasping, a la rmed n o w ] " b e careful . T h e r e ' s

danger for y o u — i n m e ! C o m e , forget these ques t ions o f yours . T h e y

are meaning less . Let m e hold you."

" M o t h e r , I must k n o w ! D o n ' t try to put m e of f . Tell m e what hap-

p e n e d that n ight . Father 's n o t e b o o k h ints o f it, b u t — "

|Again the gasping, l o u d e r now] "You've read his papers? You've

been in h is b u r e a u ! O h , J o h n ! "

" T h e n it's true. And he b r o u g h t m e up, a l lowed m e to live a s . . .

as a m a n ! Even k n o w i n g I wasn't his s o n . W a s he b l i n d — o r was he

s i m p l y m a d d e r than you? And m y bir th : n i n e m o n t h s to the day after

y o u f o u n d that hellish place, that awful T h i n g in the d a r k n e s s ! "

" W e c o u l d n ' t b e sure , J o h n . Surely y o u c a n see t h a t ? "

" N o , I can't s e e it." (Gibson ' s voice harsh now, uglyj

" B u t as a b a b y you were s o — "

" N o r m a l ? "

"Yes, n o r m a l ! And I c a m e to love you. And so, w h e n finally we

knew, we kept it f r o m you. And because y o u were m i n e , a n d b e c a u s e

your father held h i m s e l f r e s p o n s i b l e — a l s o b e c a u s e y o u had n o h a r m

in y o u — "

[A g r u n t ] " H e let m e live."

|A m e r e whisper ] " Y e s . . . . "

"And y o u , m o t h e r , s a n e but locked in here . Not b e c a u s e you're

m a d , n o , but b e c a u s e your nerves are such that they c a n n o t b e a r the

outs ide w o r l d — b e c a u s e you k n o w what y o u b r o u g h t in to it! And

n o w I know, t o o . . . . " (Gibson ' s voice n o w dark , s inister]

" J o h n , don ' t s q u e e z e m e so . You're h u r t i n g m e ! "

" H u r t i n g ? Pain? Y e s — b u t what is that to m e ? W h a t is y o u r ent i re


h u m a n r a c e to m e ? D o you t h i n k I w o n ' t hurt t h e m , too? It is m y n a -

ture, M o t h e r , m y des t iny ! "

" J o h n , I love you. D o n ' t make m e — "

" M a k e y o u w h a t ? " (Gibson ' s voice was coarse but alert )

| His mother ' s voice was a choked rattle) " J o h n . . . danger in m e . . .

I have the exorc i sm . . . words o f d i sso lut ion . D o n ' t make m e . . . use

t h e m ! "

(Gibson ' s voice, d i s tor ted a l m o s t beyond r e c o g n i t i o n ) "Gha, ngh!

Hyuh, hyuh, wagl, tilling ai gha! S e e , M o t h e r , the change! So y o u love

m e , d o you? D o y o u love this f

" J o h n ! " [A m e r e c r o a k ] " O h , m y G o d ! — m y s o n . . . "

" Y o u r s o n , y e s — b u t also His son. T h e s o n o f It!"

" J o h n , n o — t h e Seven W o r d s — m y G o d — S U A M E T I N E A M E -

V U O D F E S F . O D K N E O B T E H C S F . J S E I M S E I D ! N o , n o — n o o o ! "

( T h e c r y t a p e r i n g o f f into a gurgle , which is lost in a s i m u l t a n e o u s

lapping or swish ing s o u n d , a n d a whist l ing s c r e a m such as s t e a m

m a k e s in its escape from a kett le . And n o m o r e until m u f f l e d voices , a

h a m m e r i n g at the d o o r a n d the s o u n d o f sp l in ter ing w o o d . . . )

E N D N O T E :

O n hearing the u p r o a r f r o m R o o m 217 , which is a private ward

in the trustee wing, m a l e - n u r s e s Frankl in and l o n e s went to the

r o o m but had to b r e a k d o w n the d o o r against s o m e internal o b s t r u c -

t ion . Inside, sprawled o n the floor at the d o o r itself, they found Mrs .

Evangel ine G i b s o n dead. O f her s o n there was n o trace , but his

r e c o r d e r was there a n d still switched o n . It h a d jus t reached the end

o f the tape a n d s w i t c h e d itself o f f automat ica l ly .

M r . G i b s o n had not been seen to leave the inst i tute 's g r o u n d s

but m u s t have d o n e so in the general c o n f u s i o n which fol lowed.

S ince he c a n n o t b e f o u n d to voice any denial or e x p l a n a t i o n , and

in light o f the c i r c u m s t a n c e s s u r r o u n d i n g his d i sappearance , o n e

can only a s s u m e that he m u r d e r e d his m o t h e r . It would a p p e a r

that he achieved h e r dea th by use o f s o m e c o r r o s i v e poison , which

he s o m e h o w p o u r e d l iberally in to her . S m a l l p o o l s o f the b lack ,

n o x i o u s s t u f f — s o volati le that it qu ick ly e v a p o r a t e d in air, leaving

only s t icky stains, were seen all over the floor. S u c h had been h e r

dosage that the poison was still r u n n i n g o u t M r s . Gibson ' s m o u t h


a n d nose w h e n Frankl in and J o n e s entered the r o o m . Amidst the

stains was f o u n d a half-dissolved metal disk o n a badly c o r r o d e d

c h a i n .

Police a c t i o n in post ing wanted not i ces in the n a m e and descr ip-

t ion o f John G i b s o n would s e e m to c o r r o b o r a t e the inst i tut ion's

reso lut ion .

A coroner ' s repor t is awaited.

Board and IVustees o f the

H a m m e r s m i t h Inst i tute for

the M e n t a l l y Dis turbed

Dated 11 D e c e m b e r 1982 .

» » »

Author 's Note: ( F o r the w o u l d - b e investigator o f m a l i g n a n t

occurrences , in order that he b e spared t ime and expense . )

S t r a n g e o c c u r r e n c e s in the anna ls o f insane asy lums are le-

g ion . T h e F l a m m e r s m i t h Inc ident was not my inspi ra t ion .

Indeed I d o n o t believe such an inst i tute exists .

T h e Seven W o r d s o f Disso lu t ion have n o m e a n i n g what-

soever, t h o u g h it m a y a m u s e the reader to believe he can

find a pat tern in t h e m or sources for t h e m .

T h e fact that I was b o m n i n e m o n t h s after Lovecraf t ' s

dea th ( o n 2 n d D e c e m b e r 1937 , not 1936 , as Mr. Der le th

qui rk i ly had it in Dark Things—though doubt less he had h is

reasons for that, o r e lse it was a pr inter ' s e r r o r ) is ent ire ly

co inc identa l .

I d id have a g r e a t - u n c l e w h o e m i g r a t e d to Amer ica in

the m i d - N i n e t e e n t h Century , but see this as b e i n g insuffi-

c ient ev idence u p o n which to l ink myse l f in any way to W i l -

l iam Lumley. ( A n o p i n i o n 1 presented to M r . D e C a m p s o m e

years a g o u p o n his inquiry . )

As for W i l l i a m L u m l e y the wri ter : I bel ieve Lovecraft


h i m s e l f s o m e w h e r e p o i n t s o u t that W L was an e x t r e m e l y

c r e d u l o u s p e r s o n .

T h e r e are n e i t h e r T y p e r s or S leghts in m y ancestry,

which is as old a line as E n g l a n d itself. Indeed the present

day Earl o f S c a r b o r o u g h is a Lumley, a s is Lord H e x h a m , but

n e i t h e r d o I c l a i m re la t ionship t o t h e m .

Finally, the fact that 1 live in C r o u c h End is also ent ire ly

co inc identa l . W o u l d - b e visi tors are, however , def ini te ly not

e n c o u r a g e d

Demoniacal

David S u t t o n

I

4 6 A nd anyway," Bart said in a hurt tone, " s o what? If they want

x l l o include incantat ions , why shouldn't it b e aesthet ic?" He

sipped at his lager and s lumped back in the chair like an angry child.

His dr ink ing partner, Nuttall, really knew h o w to get him going. How-

ever, for all their arguing, they r e m a i n e d the best o f friends.

Bart s c a n n e d the i n h a b i t a n t s o f the l o u n g e bar. P r e d o m i n a n t l y

s tudents , the long-ha i red , f a s h i o n - f l a u n t i n g set , total ly geared to

s e m i - i d e a l i s m , u n d e r g r o u n d and folk mus ic and frank, u n i n h i b i t e d

c h a t t e r o n any and ever) ' top ic . T h e W i n d s o r was a g o o d scene, but

n o t the most respected p u b in t o w n . At any o n e t ime Bar t could

see, if he looked hard e n o u g h , c a n n a b i s b o u g h t and sold , the easy

pickups, the h a n g e r s - o n , the ers twhi le C N D m o b , its n u m b e r s di-

m i n i s h i n g night ly a s the local g r o u p broke up t h r o u g h s ingularly

n o n p e a c e t u l s i tuat ions . T h e a t m o s p h e r e was relaxed a n d proved the

ideal p lace for Bar t a n d Nuttall to g o to, their politics b e i n g o f a s imi-

lar type to the rest o f the c l iente le .

Nutta l l decided to c lose the latest d i scuss ion which had reached

the e n d o f its tether, a s far a s Bart was c o n c e r n e d , and said, " I ' m

sorry, Alan, but it jus t s e e m s to m e that a progressive g r o u p like Fried

Sp iders needn' t use g i m m i c k s to m a k e g o o d m u s i c . . . . "

Bart s tared at his par tner . " L o o k , Ray, the invocat ions a r e all par t

o f the t h e m e in this case. T h e y a r e integral and, no m a t t e r what y o u

D E M O N I A C A L 5 1

say, you'll find I 'm r ight , o n c e you've heard the LP a c o u p l e o f t imes."

He g lanced at the e m p t y glasses. " A n o t h e r ? "

He tossed b a c k his long , b r o w n , cur ly hair as he s tepped u p

to the bar . Whi le he was g o n e , Nuttall picked u p a newspaper which

had been left o n the table . He slid his sunglasses upwards unt i l they

caught in h is t ight, b lack hair. His sk in was olive a n d s m o o t h tex-

tured. W i t h his dark hair a n d b l a c k leather j acket , he t o o k o n a s o m -

bre , a l o o f a p p e a r a n c e . He had a lack o f p u r p o s e a b o u t h i m a n d less

ins ight , or so it s e e m e d . H e resisted cult ideas and sneered o p e n l y at

the order l iness that infected most people ' s lives. He was a lso r i ch

e n o u g h to d o so . T h r o u g h dark , weak eyes, he read parts o f the news-

paper, h is eyelids th ick and heavy over the eyeballs, his m o u t h a c o n -

t e m p t u o u s l ine o f pale pink. He had the a p p e a r a n c e o f a vul ture over

its prey. However, his looks belied a h u m o u r that, f requent ly in the

e x t r e m e s o f i rony and s a r c a s m , was m o r e o f ten than n o t the bas i s o f

h is u n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f r iendl iness .

Bart r e t u r n e d w i t h the drinks, to which Nutta l l nodded a " t h a n k

y o u " whi le r e m a i n i n g glued to an art ic le in the c e n t r e pages. Bar t slid

a b o o k f r o m his pocket and began to read, c o m b i n g the hair o f f h is

face, away f r o m his eyes. He had a m o r e ser ious turn o f m i n d than

Nutta l l a n d looked for s o m e p u r p o s e in l i f e—preferab ly o n e which

would crush the present day s o c i e t y which p o n d e r s o n the b r i n k o f

des t ruc t ion with careless ease . His pale forehead was near ly always

creased in c o n c e n t r a t i o n , tackl ing a prob lem in his m i n d . As a

youngster , he had had no awareness . Having b e e n o u t o f s c h o o l six

years, his w h o l e character a n d o u t l o o k had c o m e forward to s h o u t

the i r existence in what , up until then , had been an a u t o m a t o n . Pale,

l ike candle wax, h is b l u e eyes were o r b s o f azure fire set in his face; h is

l ips ruddy o n their cadaverous b a c k g r o u n d .

Nutta l l took up his pint a n d pulled heavily o n it. He looked away

f r o m the p a p e r a n d said, " G u e s s what? Your Fried Sp iders have

caused a sensat ion in occul t circles."

" O h ? " Bar t said interestedly.

" L e t m e read you this ." His f r iend p a u s e d . " 'Several o c c u l t soci-

eties a n d w e l l - k n o w n experts have c o n d e m n e d a record released last

week b y a B i r m i n g h a m g r o u p k n o w n as Fr ied Sp iders . T h i s long-

playing record c o m b i n e s several lines o f i n c a n t a t i o n s o n o n e o f the

songs w h i c h , said T h o m a s Mi l lwr ight , s c h o l a r o f B lack Magic , could


b e h igh ly dangerous . Q u e s t i o n e d further , M r . Mi l lwr ight stated that

these rituals a r e o f a very a n c i e n t ceremony, possibly quite harmful ,

taken f r o m a rare b o o k o f magic . Luckily, he c o n t i n u e d , s e c t i o n s o f

the i n v o c a t i o n s have b e e n o m i t t e d o n the record and it is unl ikely

that the o r d i n a r y l istener would c o m e to any h a r m . A novice in the

Black A r t s m i g h t find the spell e x t r e m e l y useful a n d possibly danger -

ous, however. ' H o w a b o u t that , Alan?"

" H m m . You k n o w what the papers a r e like, Ray. M i n d you, the

s t u f f o n the LP is the real th ing; the band looked it up especially. B u t

as far as the press is c o n c e r n e d , it's jus t l ike those scandal ised s tor ies

o f rituals in graveyards, d u g u p graves, t h o r n - p i e r c e d hearts and

so o n . "

" I thought you had a kind eye towards o c c u l t i s m a n d all t h a t ? "

" I do , t h o u g h n o t th i s widely publicised a n d suitably glorified

s t u f f y o u read a b o u t . B lack Magic , a n d W h i t e for that mat ter , d o e s g o

o n a n d , I bel ieve, with s o m e s u c c e s s — b e h i n d locked and secret

d o o r s . N o n e o f it reaches the popular press."

Nutta l l , however , had n o w b e c o m e m o r e interested in the group.

" W h a t was the title o f the L P aga in?"

"Ocean of Minds. W h y ? Thinking o f b u y i n g i t ? "

" N o , I'll b o r r o w yours if I want to hear it," Nuttall answered.

" O h , yes . . . " Bar t said in m o c k d e r i s i o n . " I thought y o u d idn ' t

l ike g i m m i c k groups . "

"Yes, but a s you say, I have to give it a fair h e a r i n g . W h y not b r i n g

it over to m y flat t o m o r r o w night and we'll see h o w it goes . "

"All r ight , Ray, but don ' t expec t too m u c h , will you. T h e r e a r e

only two tracks o n it. Ocean of Minds and Demoniacal, which is the

o n e with the controvers ia l c o n t e n t , you might say."

"Ah, but o n m y hi-f i I can give it the best t r e a t m e n t , can ' t I,"

Ray said rhetorical ly . " B e s i d e s , m a y b e we can call up B e e l z e b u b at

the s a m e t ime! S e e you t o m o r r o w , then . " He laughed and got u p

to go.

"Yes, sure," Bar t said. " S e e y o u at e i g h t . . . . " He was not at all

sure that his f r iend was act ing normal ly . His sudden interest in

the L P m a d e Bar t w o n d e r jus t what he was up to . T h e feeling o f un-

ease was probab ly jus t a b o u t o f Bart 's oversensit ive imaginat ion

m a k i n g u p for the weeks o f mater ia l i s t i c study he had jus t been

put t ing in .


II

Alan B a r l sl id the disc f r o m the rack, its b lack cover sh in ing , the

dazzle hiding a half -seen negat ive p h o t o g r a p h o f a n u d e d a n c e r in

erot ic posture . He s h r u g g e d o n a tat tered overcoat a n d left the house.

As he waited for the bus, he p o n d e r e d o n Nuttal l ' s s t range behavior .

O n l y a few m i n u t e s before asking to hear the record, he had argued

quite bi t ter ly o n the art i f ices used b y b a n d s pre tending to p r o d u c e

mus ic . Yet it would hardly b o t h e r Nuttall s ince he had n o s t r o n g feel-

ing a b o u t a n y t h i n g . In fact , thought Bart , he argued m o s t o f ten jus t

for the sake o f it a n d would take an o p p o s i n g v i e w p o i n t to keep a dis-

cuss ion boi l ing.

T h e bus came, sc reech ing inevitably past the stop. Bar t ran to

meet the o p e n i n g d o o r s . He sat d o w n s t a i r s at the rear a n d gazed o u t

o f the window. For whatever r e a s o n Nuttall wanted to hear the

record , it would be nice , he t h o u g h t , to hear the m a c a b r e m u s i c o n

stereo e q u i p m e n t for a change , ra ther t h a n h is old record player. Nut-

tall was o n e o f t h o s e hip c h a r a c t e r s w h o had b e e n b o r n w i t h si lver

s p o o n s in the i r m o u t h s . It was easy for t h e m to ignore the irra-

t iona l and bizarre society in which t h e y lived, easy t o sl ip in to a

quiet , workless way o f e x i s t e n c e — t i n k e r i n g with whatever t o o k the i r

fancy. T h u s , the p r o b l e m s which affect the rest o f work ing h u m a n i t y

did not apply t o Nutta l l . His fiat was a lavish affair ; it was really

s o m e t h i n g n o t to miss w h e n he held a party a n d that was q u i t e fre-

q u e n t l y . . . W h a t was it a b o u t p a r t i e s . . . ? S o m e t h i n g Bart c o u l d n o t

quite r e m e m b e r . N o t a party, but s o m e t h i n g else Nuttall had d o n e at

h is fiat... ?

Bar t , c o n v e r s e l y , f o u n d s o c i e t y at o d d s w i t h h i m . W o r k i n g

t h r o u g h w h a t he c o n s i d e r e d was a hate fu l w o r k i n g c lass society ,

he had achieved se l f - inte l lec tual ism b y h is own h a r d - e a r n e d effort .

T h e s e t w o inseparable f r iends were a pair that, o n the surface , did

n o t m a t c h . T h e y were social ly at e a c h e n d o f the scale, but it is s o m e -

t h i n g a b i t d e e p e r t h a n personal b a c k g r o u n d s which tie two people

together .

A cold night wind bi t in to Bart ' s h a n d s a s he m a d e h is way up a

l i t t e r -b lown street to Nuttal l ' s flat. He pressed the d o o r - b e l l twice.

" H u l l o , Alan, c o m e o n in," Nuttall cordial ly invited. " C o f f e e ? "

"Yes please, Ray. It's b l o o d y c o l d tonight . "


" I see you've got the record. B e f o r e we play it. let m e s h o w y o u

s o m e t h i n g . "

Bart fol lowed h i m in to the llat, a large o n e with a s p a c i o u s

l o u n g e . W i t h a tastefulness which o n e thought Nutta l l would n o t

care to possess, the r o o m was d e c o r a t e d in an u n u s u a l m a n n e r . Ex-

pensive l ight ing c o u l d b e d i m m e d d o w n at a touch o f a b u t t o n . T h e

walls were painted sof t b r o w n and taking the w h o l e length o f o n e

wall was the r a n g e o f hi-f i e q u i p m e n t : tape, t ranscr ipt ion u n i t , radio

a n d all. T h e speakers were set unos tenta t ious ly near the floor o n

w o o d e n stands. T h e furn i ture was soft , luxur ious nut b r o w n cor -

d u r o y chairs and sofa .

T h e w h o l e r o o m , in fact , had an u n n e r v i n g ef fect . It appeared to

isolate its o c c u p a n t s f r o m the wor ld . It was q u i e t , a s t h o u g h wait ing

for m u s i c to b r i n g it to life. In its way it was severe, with no o r n a m e n -

tat ion or b r i c - a - b r a c ; yet the s m o o t h , w a r m features o p p o s e d this

idea. T h e y suggested c o m f o r t a n d re laxat ion . Did the r o o m have a

d o u b l e purpose? It was an u n u s u a l one , certainly, a n d not to b e

stayed in for any length o f t ime w i t h o u t c o m p a n y o r s o u n d

" T a k e a look at this, whi le I make co f fee , " Nuttall said, h a n d i n g

h is friend a b o o k . It was the o ldest l o o k i n g t o m e Bar t had ever seen.

B o u n d in b r o w n leather w i t h metal clasps, it was e x t r e m e l y bat tered.

He u n d i d the fastenings gent ly a n d turned o p e n the cover.

" U g h ! H o w old is this th ing, Ray? It reeks w i t h must , " he called.

" O h , a few h u n d r e d years." Nuttall r e t u r n e d f r o m the ki tchen

with two s t e a m i n g m u g s . " S o b e careful with it; it's pract ical ly falling

to pieces."

" I c a n see t h a t ! " Nutta l l handed h i m his dr ink . " T h a n k s . "

" I t was written b y a n E n g l i s h m a n , n a m e o f Berkley. As y o u can

see, he never put a title to it, though it was s o m e t i m e s referred to a s

'Mad Berkley's Book.'"

" B u t what exac t ly is it, Ray?"

"A b o o k o f magic , spells, and s o f o r t h . Y o u know, there were

lots o f these th ings written by so-ca l led magic ians in those days.

S o m e t i m e s they were b a n n e d by the c h u r c h a n d b u r n e d , or driven

u n d e r g r o u n d . Consequent ly , m a n y o f these b o o k s have b e c o m e very

rare . "

Bart s ipped his cof fee . It tasted s l ight ly bitter.

D E M O N I A C A L 82

Nuttal l not iced his e x p r e s s i o n . " Jus t a little s o m e t h i n g to keep u s

alert ," he said.

" A l e r t . . . ? "

He ignored the query . "Anyway, it was w h e n I was reading y o u

that newspaper i tem last n ight . S o m e t h i n g s t r u c k m e a b o u t that

Black M a g i c expert they m e n t i o n e d , T h o m a s Mil lwright . I'd read or

heard a b o u t h i m s o m e w h e r e before . I looked t h r o u g h a b u n c h o f old

magaz ines a n d , by s o m e fluke, I c a m e a c r o s s a n art ic le o n him wr i t -

ten a b o u t a year ago. He was apparent ly m a k i n g a study o f o n e par-

t icular b o o k o f m a g i c — M a d Berkley's Book, in fact . It's e x t r e m e l y

rare . Y o u k n o w m y g r a n d f a t h e r for d igging up relics; well, he gave m e

a pile o f old b o o k s a few m o n t h s back. You can imagine m y surpr ise

w h e n — "

" H a n g o n a m i n u t e , Ray," Bar t in terrupted . " W h a t has all this g o t

to d o with the r e c o r d ? "

" I was c o m i n g to that . It's q u i t e s i m p l e . Mi l lwr ight has devoted

these last m o n t h s to s t u d y i n g o n e b o o k in part icular , right? N o w isn't

it quite likely that , w h e n he m e n t i o n e d the b o o k in the newspaper, he

was talking about the very o n e he was studying? T h e o n e we have

here . So , i f I 'm r ight , we have the complete text o f the i n c a n t a t i o n s o n

the LP."

Bart felt that th i s was too m u c h o f a c o i n c i d e n c e . Even if it was

the b o o k , so what? Sure ly Nuttall was n o t th inking o f pract is ing

magic? T h e n Bar t r e m e m b e r e d what he was trying to think o f o n the

bus. Just vague r u m o u r s ; n o t h i n g substant ia l . But was it not Nutta l l

w h o had been involved in that B lack M a g i c scandal a c o u p l e o f years

back . . . b e f o r e Bar t had real ly got to k n o w h i m ? Using his h o m e a s

m e e t i n g place for the r i t u a l s . . . ? N o , it was t o o a b s u r d .

" W h a t ' s the p o i n t o f the exercise, Ray?"

" O h , " he answered vaguely, " jus t for the research value a n d to s e e

what the b a n d make o f the spells. I jus t thought you'd b e interested.

After all, we do have the genuine ar t i c le ! "

" I a m , Ray," he said and t o o k a long d r i n k o f cof fee .

" C a n I have a look at the record sleeve?" Bar t handed it to h i m

a n d he o p e n e d it o u t and read the n o t e s o n the m u s i c . " 'Demoniacal

c o n t a i n s ac tual i n v o c a t i o n s f r o m an a n c i e n t c e r e m o n y u s e d , ' " Nut-

tall q u o t e d , " ' for the c o n j u r a t i o n o f a d e m o n f r o m the ne therwor ld .


T h e y b e g i n : H e W h o Is T h e B lack O n e , T h e Fil ler O f Space, W h o Is

T o Be Lei O u t O f His P lace O n t o T h e E a r l h . . . ' S o u n d s typically

m u m b o - j u m b o ; but nice o f t h e m to give us the b e g i n n i n g o f the

ceremony. N o w we can look it up, before playing the music . "

Nutta l l b e g a n careful ly leafing t h r o u g h the pages o f the un-

tit led t o m e . As he did so, Bar t b e c a m e m o r e interested in this a u t h e n -

t i c research and fol lowed the pa ins tak ing work . It was a massive

b o o k and a lot o f text had faded with t ime . S o m e pages h a d a l m o s t

c r u m b l e d to powder, a s if they had b e e n exposed for a t h o u s a n d

years. D i a g r a m s were dot ted a b o u t h e r e a n d t h e r e a n d m a r g i n a l

n o t e s in ink still showed, however faded, the wri t ing o f a n e r v o u s

h a n d . It was Bar t w h o f o u n d the r i tual first. " T h e r e ! " He po in ted to

the page.

"Yes, yes." A pause . " T h i s first bit here deals with the p r e c a u t i o n s

the asp i r ing war lock s h o u l d take before going ahead, " Nutta l l

laughed.

" I d o u b t that he would b e a b l e to take any nowadays , w i t h

all that faded script. S o m e t h i n g there a b o u t a new m o o n a n d then

that w h o l e sec t ion there is b lo t ted o u t . T h e n it goes o n about a n un-

b r o k e n p e n t a g r a m . Anyway, Ray, we 've got the text. Let's hear the

m u s i c ! "

Bart s l ipped the disc f r o m the sleeve and Nuttall p laced it o n the

t u r n t a b l e . After a p r e l i m i n a r y c l e a n i n g , he lowered the a r m and

turned u p the v o l u m e . He then d i m m e d the lights unt i l it was o n l y

jus t possible to read in the d a r k e n e d r o o m . T o g e t h e r t h e y sat o n the

sofa , w i t h the b o o k a c r o s s the i r knees .

T h e m u s i c was heavily e l e c t r o n i c , and the weird c o s m i c s o u n d s

were really effect ive in the d a r k e n e d r o o m . A chi l l ing series o f b u b -

b l ing e lec t ronics blasted out . T h e n , quietly, a faint s c r e a m i n g began

in the b a c k g r o u n d ; the vocalist h a u n t i n g l y w a r b l e d . B o t h men

looked at the b o o k a n d fol lowed the w o r d s w i t h s o m e difficulty. T h e

m u s i c ins inuated in a h o r r i b l e fashion; chi l l ingly whisper ing , the

c h a n t w e n t o n , given evil a n d fr ightful life with distorted voice and

i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n . An organ intoned dreamlike, s o m e w h e r e , and d r u m s

beat o u t a hypnot ic r h y t h m .

T h e mus ic was start l ing, all the m o r e so, for whatever Nutta l l had

put in the coffee was n o w taking ef fect . Bar t felt detached, f loat ing


free in a w o m b o f c o s m i c s o u n d . He b e c a m e f r ightened; the drug had

intensi f ied his awareness , yet he felt he c o u l d n o t m o v e o f his own

free will. He dr i f ted in space, weightless, u n a b l e to c o n t r o l his l imbs .

T h e old b o o k before h i m s w a m away, its pages flapping slowly, the

m u s t y s m e l l d r i f t i n g like s o m e tangib le s m o k e in to his nostri ls . He

c o u l d not reach the b o o k . He was too far away, t u r n i n g hot ly within a

chrysal is o f s t icky s o u n d .

T h e mus ic c a m e to h i m w i t h full s t e r e o p h o n i c c lar i ty and, deeply

ins ide his m i n d , the b leat ing c h a n t clattered, r e s o u n d i n g o n s c r e a m -

ing gui tar pluckings . A thin, high screech dashed t h r o u g h the wall o f

sound. H a n d d r u m s c a m e in, bea t ing a frenzied a n d h y p n o t i c pattern

o n t o the vocalist 's words . T imeless , terr ible ch i t te r ings shattered in

Bart 's m i n d . It s o u n d e d like the swir l ing o f the universe had instanta-

n e o u s l y f o u n d voice inside his h e a d . He spun in s tar -dust a n d n e b u -

lae a n d in novae o f e n o r m o u s s o u n d s waves.

T h e b o o m i n g mus ic toned d o w n , quiet . . . soft . S u d d e n l y the

s inging s topped, but the i n s t r u m e n t s played o n as he k n e w they

would . H e swam in the lush d a r k n e s s as the beat developed and the

s o u n d was all there was in this huge , w a r m world.

T h e n the i n c a n t a t i o n c o n t i n u e d . But that had n o t b e e n o n the

record before ! A sparkl ing, i r r i ta t ing a n d terr i fying thought glanced

across Bart ' s s w i m m i n g m i n d . It s o u n d e d like Nuttal l ' s v o i c e . . .

S u d d e n l y Nuttall s c r e a m e d . Far away it seemed. Terrif ied now,

Bart s h o o k h is head t o regain s o m e c o n s c i o u s n e s s . T h e r o o m was

co ld . H e sti l l sat o n the sofa , but his c o m p a n i o n lay sprawled o n the

fioor. T h e r o o m was i m m e a s u r a b l y cold a n d black a n d the b l a c k

filled all space. It c l u n g wetly to h im, a m i r e o f dark , a s w a m p o f chi l l

n ight . Bar t j u m p e d up a n d shrieked . . . the b lackness m o v e d . . . It

rol led a n d sl i thered in the n o w si lent r o o m . It had invisible eyes, in-

credibly evil eyes which looked at h i m .

It swam, m i n g l i n g with the true dark , towards h i m ! He felt the

wetness , the horr ib le , filthy n a u s e o u s fingers o f s l i m e o n his face . . .

it was tasting his sk in . . . tasting him . . . licking rapturously with its

invisible, quivering lips!

He lurched up a n d staggered along, c l u t c h i n g the wall. His fin-

gers c a u g h t s o m e t h i n g . T h e l ights went o n and the vile p r o t o p l a s m o f

night i m p l o d e d in o n i tself a n d vanished. Bar t sl id d o w n the wall. H e


was covered in a c l inging , u l i g i n o u s liquid which wallowed around

his eyes a n d d r o o l e d from his sagging m o u t h . He retched.

N'uttall lay g r o a n i n g o n the floor, t r y i n g to l ift h i m s e l f o u t

o f a p o o l o f c l e a r g l u t i n o u s o o z e . " T h a n k G o d for the l ight . . .

A l a n . . . A l a n , we f o r g o t the p e n t a g r a m . . . T h e B lack O n e . . . it's

o u t n o w ! "

The Kiss o f Bugg-Shash

Brian Lumley

I

i ť V ^ o u let it o u t ? " T h o m a s Mil lwright i n c r e d u l o u s l y repealed Ray

A Nuttal l ' s obl iquely of fered a d m i s s i o n . Alan Bar t , Nuttal l ' s

s o m e w h a t y o u n g e r c o m p a n i o n , nodded in eager if apprehens ive

a g r e e m e n t , shiver ing despi te the w a r m t h o f the L o n d o n e r ' s c i ty flat.

"Yes, we did, sir," he b lurted, " b u t n o t intentionally, you m u s t

u n d e r s t a n d tha t . G o d , never t h a t — a n d certa inly n o t i f we'd k n o w n

what we were doing, b u t — "

" C h r i s t , Alan, but you're g i b b e r i n g ! " Nuttall 's disgusted e x c l a m a -

t ion cut Bar t o f f in m i d - s e n t e n c e , his w e a k eyes p e e r i n g nervously

a b o u t the flat a n d giving the lie to h is c o o l c o n t r o l l e d t o n e o f voice.

" I ' m sure Mr. Mi l lwr ight u n d e r s t a n d s everyth ing we've told h im.

T h e r e ' s really n o need to g o o n so."

Alan Bart 's c y n i c a l - s e e m i n g f r iend had pulled h i m s e l f together

s o m e w h a t . He had accepted the h o r r o r o f the thing far m o r e readily

than the younger m a n , s ince that ser ies o f events which three n ights

ear l ier had c u l m i n a t e d w h e n the two, a lbe i t unwitt ingly, h a d indeed

called u p a d e m o n , or d e m o n i c device, f r o m nameless ne ther -gul f s

in to the wor ld o f m e n .

" O h yes, I u n d e r s t a n d perfect ly what you've to ld m e , " answered

the s a t u r n i n e , d a r k - e y e d occul t scholar , " t h o u g h 1 m u s t a d m i t to

finding s o m e diff iculty in be l i ev ing t h a t — "

" T h a t a c o u p l e o f r a n k amateurs , b u n g l i n g a b o u t w i t h a ra ther


weird and esoter ic g r a m o p h o n e record and a n evocat ion f r o m s o m e

old eccentr ic ' s b o o k o f spells, c o u l d actual ly c o n j u r e such a be ing?"

Nutta l l f inished it for h i m .

" I n a nutshe l l , y e s . . . exactly." T h e occul t i s t m a d e n o b o n e s o f it.

" M i n d you, I can readily e n o u g h u n d e r s t a n d h o w y o u m i g h t have

c o n v i n c e d yourselves that it was so . Se l f -hypnos is is the basis o f m a n y

so-ca l led cases o f d e m o n i c possession."

" W e thought y o u might say s o m e t h i n g like that ," Nuttall told

h i m , " b u t we can prove o u r s t o r y very easily." His voice was suddenly

t r e m b l i n g ; he plainly f o u g h t to m a i n t a i n a g r i p o n himsel f . " H o w -

ever, it's n o t a pleasant e x p e r i e n c e . .

" I t ' s horr ib le , h o r r i b l e ! " T h e y o u n g e r m a n , Bart , j u m p e d up. His

n o r m a l l y sa l low features were s u d d e n l y m a n y shades lighter. " D o n ' t

m a k e us prove it, M r . Mil lwright ! N o t that again, G o d , not t h a t ! " h is

voice began to r ise hysterically.

" Y o u n e e d n ' t stay for it, Alan." Nutta l l t o o k pi ty o n the weaker

m a n . " I can s tand it o n my o w n , I th ink, a n d anyway it will o n l y b e

for a s e c o n d . And I w o n ' t really b e a lone , as M r . Mi l lwr ight will b e

with m e . "

Mi l lwr ight f rowned and rose to his feet f r o m the c o u c h where he

had been rec l ining. His face plainly showed his interest . " Jus t w h a t

would this ' p r o o f ' o f y o u r s consis t o f ? "

" W e would s imply t u r n o f f the l ights for a m o m e n t , " Nutta l l an-

swered, r e a c h i n g h is h a n d o u t to the l ight switch o n the wall.

" W a i t ! " Bar t s c r e a m e d , g r a b b i n g his c o m p a n i o n ' s a r m . " W a i t , " he

gulped, h is eyes wide and fearful . He turned to the occult is t : " I s there

a l ight in y o u r b a t h r o o m ? "

" O f course , " Mi l lwr ight answered, f rowning again. He showed

Bart to the b a t h r o o m d o o r a n d watched b e m u s e d a s the y o u n g m a n

t r e m b l i n g l y entered . He n o t i c e d how Bar t m a d e s u r e that the l ight in

the s m a l l r o o m was o n before he w e n t in . T h e n he heard the ca tch g o

h o m e o n the ins ide o f the door .

S u d d e n l y Mi l lwr ight b e g a n to bel ieve. T h e s e two night visi tors ,

with their arsenal o f pocke t t o r c h e s and their pa tent ly p s y c h o t i c fear

o f darkness , were n o t really pull ing his leg. But m o s t p r o b a b l y it was

as he had diagnosed; the o d d s were all in favour o f se l f -hypnosis .

T h e y had desired so b a d l y that their e x p e r i m e n t s h o u l d w o r k and

T H E K I S S O F B U G G - S H A S H 6 1

t h e y h a d probably b e e n in such a state o f se l f - induced hysteria at the

t ime, t h r o u g h the m u s i c a n d their esoter ic c h a n t i n g s , that t h e y ac tu-

ally believed t h e y had cal led u p a d e m o n f r o m hell.

O n the o t h e r h a n d . . . well . Mi l lwr ight was n o t inexper ienced in

the darker myster ies . Black Magic , pract ised with a degree o f discre-

t ion , a n d the various carefully edi ted w o r k s he had wri t ten in the

s a m e vein, had m a d e life very easy for h i m for the past fifteen years.

Now, t h o u g h , he had to see for h i m s e l f — o r , at least, e x p e r i e n c e — t h i s

" p r o o f that these young m e n had of fered h im. S u c h p r o o f would

n o t b e p leasant , the m a n cal led Nuttall h a d w a r n e d h i m . Well , very

few magica l o r n e c r o m a n t i c exper iences were pleasant ; but o f c o u r s e ,

Nutta l l would hardly b e will ing to d e m o n s t r a t e the t h i n g — w h a t e v e r

it w a s — i f it were really d a n g e r o u s . . .

T h e y had n o t explained exac t ly w h a t t h e y believed they had re-

leased f r o m its n e t h e r h a b i t a t i o n , but possibly t h e y d id not know.

T h e y h a d to ld h i m , however , that t h e y k n e w he was a n " e x p e r t "

in this s o r t o f th ing, which was why they had approached h i m for

h is help.

And n o w . . . there was o n e easy way to find o u t w h a t the truth o f

the matter really was. Mil lwright r e t u r n e d to his s tudy and in to the

presence o f the o l ive-skinned m a n cal led Nuttal l . He saw that h is

vis i tor was sweat ing in a n t i c i p a t i o n , though he still m a i n t a i n e d the

vestiges o f se l f assurance .

"All right, Mr. Nuttal l , " Mi l lwr ight said, c los ing the study d o o r

b e h i n d h im. "Le t ' s have y o u r d e m o n s t r a t i o n . "

Nuttal l ' s Adam's apple was visibly b o b b i n g . " I have to stay r ight

here," he mut tered , "bes ide the l ight switch , s o that I can switch

it o n aga in . And you'll need to hold m y h a n d , I th ink, to r e a l l y —

a p p r e c i a t e — t h e th ing . Are you ready?"

Despi te his few r e m a i n i n g d o u b t s regards the verac i ty o f the i r

story, the occul t i s t nevertheless felt a thrill o f u n s e e n energies , weird

forces , bui ld ing in the air. He a lmost cal led a halt to the e x p e r i m e n t

there and then . Later, he wished that he had

Instead, he n o d d e d his readiness a n d , at that , Nuttall switched

o f f the l ight .

In the bright ly lit b a t h r o o m , huddled fearfully in o n e c o r n e r w i t h

his face screwed up in dread expectat ion , Alan Bar t heard Mil lwright 's


h i g h - p i t c h e d s c r e a m a n d , s e c o n d s later, his s o b b i n g accusat ions and

vic ious swearing. He knew then that Ray had " d e m o n s t r a t e d . " Weak-

kneed, he let h i m s e l f o u t o f the b a t h r o o m and m a d e his way un-

steadily back to the occult ist 's study.

T h e r e he f o u n d w h a t he k n e w he would find: the h o r r o r which

he h i m s e l f had exper ienced twice already. T h e two m e n , h is friend

Nutta l l a n d the still s teadily swearing, bulge-eyed occul t i s t , were

hast i ly r e m o v i n g the i r outer g a r m e n t s . All the while, they were fren-

ziedly w i p i n g at their faces, shaking the i r a r m s a n d h a n d s a n d kicking

the i r legs in a c o n c e r t e d e f for t to be rid o f the viscous, c lear j e l ly that

covered t h e m head to toe in shiny, gluey envelopes. T h i s was the snail-

trail , the res idue o f the B lack O n e — t h e Fil ler o f S p a c e — H e W h o

C o m e s in the D a r k ! — t h a t c r e a t u r e o r p o w e r o f outer d i m e n s i o n s

which only the pur i ty o f the light might disperse!

Nutta l l sat wrapped in a towel, pale, d r a w n a n d shiver ing beside the

w a r m t h o f a gas fire w h o s e g lowing logs looked so very near ly real.

He a n d the occult ist had showered to c l eanse themselves o f the o b -

n o x i o u s , s l imy c o v e r i n g s and now Mi l lwr ight sat , l is tening, whi le

Bart explained the m o s t intr icate details o f w h a t had g o n e o n before .

Bart narra ted how he a n d Nuttall had s t u m b l e d across the m e a n s

o f drawing the h o r r o r o f the j e l ly -subs tance t h r o u g h the fabric o f

al ien d i m e n s i o n s to the i r o w n world; h o w t h e y had discovered that

l ight held this c r e a t u r e o f darkness , this fiy-the-light, at bay; a n d how

thereafter, w h e n e v e r t h e y f o u n d themselves in darkness , the thing that

lived a n d chi t tered in d a r k n e s s would return to t ry to drown t h e m in

its e x u d e d essence . At this m e n t i o n , all eyes flickered towards that

th ick liquid which even n o w s l imed the floor in s t inking, drying pud-

dles, that j u i c e which not o n e o f the three could a s yet b r i n g h i m s e l f

to touch or c lear away.

"And y o u actual ly have a c o p y o f Mad Berkley's Bookľ" the

shaken occult ist asked, the silver tassels o f h is o r ien ta l dress ing-gown

m o v i n g to the shudders o f his body.

"Yes, it b e l o n g e d to Ray's grandfa ther , " Bar t agreed. " W e ' v e

b r o u g h t it with us." He c rossed the r o o m to where his coa t hung and

t r e m u l o u s l y r e m o v e d f r o m a large i n n e r pocket a l e a t h e r - b o u n d vol-

u m e in i ron clasps. He h a n d e d the b o o k to the occul t i s t w h o o p e n e d


i t , s t u d i e d its c o n t e n t s f o r a f e w m o m e n t s , then s n a p p e d it d e c i -

sively s h u t .

" O h yes, that ' s Mad Berkley's Book all right. And, indeed, it's in

bet ter c o n d i t i o n than m y o w n copy. O l d Berkley 's believed to have

c o m b i n e d all the worst e l e m e n t s o f a s c o r e o f e s o t e r i c vo lumes in

this w o r k — t h e Necronomicon, the Cihaat Aquadingen, the G e r m a n

Unaussprechlichen Kulten—and, b y G o d , I can readily e n o u g h believe

it now! I myse l f have n e v e r used the b o o k . 1 k n e w that a lot o f the

s t u f f Old Berkley put d o w n o n paper was d a m n a b l y d a n g e r o u s , o f

course , but this! T h i s is a m o n s t r o u s e v i l ! "

He paused for a m o m e n t , his h a n d s s h a k i n g terribly; then his

eyes hardened as he turned t h e m u p o n Nuttall by the gas fire. " Y o u

b l o o d y f o o l ! You've d a m n e d m e with the s a m e h i d e o u s curse ! D i d n ' t

y o u realise that o n c e I had exper ienced t h a t — t h i n g — t h a t I, too,

would be s u b j e c t to such v is i ta t ions?"

Nutta l l looked up, a s h a d o w o f h is prev ious cynica l c o n t r o l re-

t u r n i n g to d r a w n , haggard features. " I guessed it m i g h t b e so, yes," he

admit ted , then hast i ly went o n ; " b u t don ' t you see it had to b e this

way? H o w else could 1 b e sure you'd help us? N o w that you're in the

s a m e b o a t , y o u have to help. I f y o u c a n . . . exorc i se . . . this horror ,

then we'll all b e safe. A t least you have an i n c e n t i v e . . . n o w ! "

" W h y , y o u d a m n e d y o u n g . . ." Mi l lwr ight rose in a fury, but Bar t

caught at h is sleeve.

" W h a t use t o fight about it, Mr. Mi l lwright? D o n ' t y o u see that

there 's no t i m e for that? S o o n e r o r later, unless we find . . . w e l l . . . an

ant idote , o n e b y one , accidental ly , we'll all b e c a u g h t in the dark.

W h e n that h a p p e n s . . . then . . . " Bar t ' s voice trai led o m i n o u s l y away

as he left the sentence unf in ished.

" B u t I don ' t k n o w o f a n y 'ant idote ' as you put it," the occul t i s t

r o u n d e d o n h i m , his voice harsh.

" T h e n we'd bet ter start l o o k i n g for o n e r ight away," Ray Nutta l l

snapped, the s i tuat ion finally get t ing the bet ter o f his nerves . "Sure ly

y o u have s o m e idea o f what the t h i n g is? 1 m e a n , you're the e x p e r t , af-

ter all . Are t h e r e n o o t h e r occul t is ts we can consul t ? "

" I k n o w o f three or four o thers in England o f m o r e t h a n ord i -

n a r y power, yes," Mil lwright answered, p o n d e r i n g their p r o b l e m .

T h e n he s h o o k his h e a d . " N o use to c o n t a c t t h e m , however. T h e y

wouldn ' t help m e . I m i g h t as well a d m i t it r ight n o w — m y reputat ion


in occul t c ircles is n o t good. I 've used w h a t I k n o w o f the dark powers

to m y own ends far too often for the liking o f cer ta in lily-livered c o n -

t e m p o r a r i e s , I 'm afraid. T h e r e a r e so-cal led 'e th ics ' even i n mat ters

such as these . T h e only m e n I k n o w w h o might have h e l p e d — t h o u g h

even that is d o u b t f u l — h a v e a lso fallen foul o f s o m e evil, I fear.

"You've heard o f T i t u s C r o w a n d H e n r i - L a u r e n t d e Marigny?

Yes? Wel l , t h e y disappeared together s o m e m o n t h s ago, w h e n Crow's

h o m e was destroyed in a freak l ightning s t o r m . T h a t rules t h e m out .

N o , if I ' m to beat this th ing, then I ' m to d o it o n m y o w n . . . but y o u

t w o will help m e . Now, we've m u c h to d o . There ' l l b e n o s leep for u s

ton ight . Personally, I doubt i f I shall ever s leep a g a i n ! "

II

W i t h all the l ights o f the flat ablaze, m i d n i g h t f o u n d the three in

var ious a t t i tudes o f u n e a s y study. Mi l lwr ight h a d heard the i r s t o r y

t h r o u g h o n c e m o r e in all its detai l b e f o r e dec id ing o n a def ini te

course o f ac t ion . At the m e n t i o n o f the newspaper art ic le that quoted

Mi l lwr ight a n d had sparked o f f Nuttall 's interest in the progressive

group, Fried Spiders , the occul t i s t admit ted that his only interest

at the t i m e had been in g a i n i n g p u b l i c i t y for his recent b o o k o n

occul t t h e m e s . In fact , he had never s o m u c h a s heard the L P in

q u e s t i o n .

Mi l lwr ight c o n c l u d e d that the t w o acc identa l ly hit u p o n the per-

fect a t m o s p h e r e and sett ing, l eading up to the c o n j u r a t i o n . D o u b t l e s s

the sof t drugs Nutta l l had access to h a d helped b r i n g about a p r o p e r

c o n n e c t i o n with o u t s i d e spheres , h a d c o n t r i b u t e d in f o r m i n g a l ink,

as it were, with al ien d i m e n s i o n s . W h e n the g r o u p h a d finished the i r

few l ines o f i n t o n e d invocat ion , Nuttall h a d taken up the c h a n t to its

c o n c l u s i o n . . . A n d then c a m e the B lack O n e ! Never guessing that

any such vis i tat ion might actual ly occur , Nuttall had failed to take the

t radi t ional precaut ion o f pr isoning the h o r r o r in a p e n t a g r a m .

And it 1W7S a h o r r o r ! A thing w i t h invisible, evil eyes that saw in

the dark, with m o u t h s and lips that sucked and s l o b b e r e d . T h e y had

driven it o f f s i m p l y by swi tch ing o n the light. I f they had n o t . . . then

s o o n t h e y would have d r o w n e d in its h i d e o u s residual s l ime, the

j u i c e s it e x u d e d f r o m al ien agglut inous pores .


Having driven i h e Ihing off , t h e y had thought that t h e y were rid

o f it. However, later that n ight , af ter c l e a n i n g up, w h e n Bar t s o u g h t to

leave Nuttal l ' s place to r e t u r n h o m e , o u t in the dark the thing had

c o m e to h i m aga in . He h a d bare ly been a b l e to make it b a c k to Nut-

tall's d o o r a n d the s a n c t u a r y o f the blessed l ight wi th in .

Now, u n s e e n , the B lack O n e waited for the s u m m o n s o f its

beloved d a r k n e s s , w h e n it c o u l d re turn again with its s u c k i n g m o u t h s

to drown its l iberators in l o a t h s o m e s l ime. And now, too , it waited

for M i l l w r i g h t . . .

T h e occul t i s t was only too well aware o f the h o r r o r o f l iving w i t h

this n i g h t m a r e — o f never k n o w i n g w h e n the l ights might fail; the

c o n s t a n t fear o f acc identa l ly k n o c k i n g o n e s e l f u n c o n s c i o u s and wak-

ing at n ight in a d a r k e n e d r o o m , o r perhaps n o t waking at all! Now,

at the m i d n i g h t hour , t ired as he was, he pat ient ly turned the leaves o f

a great a n d a n c i e n t l y e s o t e r i c t e x t b o o k , hopeful o f finding s o m e c l u e

as to the n a t u r e o f the thing his visi tors had cal led u p f r o m the d a r k e r

spheres.

Nutta l l and Bar t were s imi lar ly employed , albeit w i t h lesser

w o r k s o f re ference . O n l y the d r y rustles o f flipped pages, the o c c a -

sional m u t t e r e d curse as a p r o m i s i n g s t ream o f research went d r y

a n d the t icking o f Mi l lwr ight ' s wa l l - c lock dis turbed the s i lence. T h e i r

task s e e m e d imposs ib le ; a n d yet by m o r n i n g , through sheer d i l igence

a n d hard w o r k — e n g e n d e r e d o f a dreadful f e a r — t h e y had learned

m u c h o f the h o r r o r that even now stalked the d a r k places and

awaited t h e m hungri ly. T h o u g h what t h e y h a d discovered had only

served to increase their terror .

T h i s c r e a t u r e , b e i n g o r power, had been k n o w n in the pre-

dawn world to the earliest B lack M a g i c i a n s a n d N e c r o m a n c e r s . Rec-

ords had c o m e d o w n even f r o m predeluge Atlantis o f " T h e N i g h t

T h i n g " — " T h e B lack O n e " — " T h e Fil ler o f S p a c e " — " B u g g - S h a s h the

T e r r i b l e " — a d e m o n w h o m E i b o n o f M h u T h u l a n h i m s e l f had writ-

ten o f a s be ing :

O n e o f the darkest B e i n g s o f the Netherworld , w h o s e Trail is

as that o f a m o n s t r o u s Snai l , w h o hails f r o m the b lackest Pits

o f the m o s t r e m o t e Spheres . C o u s i n to Yibb-Tst l l , Bugg-

S h a s h , t o o is a D r o w n e r ; His l ips d o s u c k a n d lick; His Kiss is


the s l imy Kiss o f the h i d e o u s Death . He wakes the very Dead

t o His C o m m a n d , and e n c a s e d in the h o r r o r o f His Essence

even the w o r m - r a v a g e d Lich hastens to His B i d d i n g . . .

T h i s f r o m that t o m e so careful ly scrut in ized a n d guarded f r o m

the v i e w o f h is t w o assistants by Mil lwright .

And f r o m Feery 's Notes on the Cthaat Aquadlngen—though Mil l -

wr ight h a d w a r n e d that Feery's r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s and t rans la t ions were

o f ten at fault o r fanc i ful in their t r e a t m e n t o f the or ig ina l w o r k s —

Bart had cul led the fo l lowing c r y p t i c i n f o r m a t i o n :

Lest any b r a s h o r inexper ienced W i z a r d b e tempted to call

for th o n e o f ye D r o w n e r s — b e it Yibb-Tst l l or B u g g - S h a s h

this W a r n i n g shall gu ide h i m & i n f o r m him o f his Folly. For

ye D r o w n e r s a r e o f a like t r e a c h e r o u s & require even ye m o s t

del icate Handl ing & m i n u t e s t A t t e n t i o n to t h a u m a t u r g i c

Detai l . Yibb-Tst l l m a y o n l y b e contro l led by use o f ye Soul -

sear ing B a r r i e r o f N a a c h - T i t h , & Bugg-Shash m a y only b e

c o n t a i n e d in ye P e n t a g r a m o f Power. Too, ye D r o w n e r s m u s t

b e s e n t early about ye Business o f t h e m , which is Death , lest

t h e y find ways to turn u p o n ye Caller . Cal l N O T u p o n Bug-

Shash for ye sake o f m e r e idle cur ios i ty ; for ye G r e a t B lack

O n e , n e i t h e r H i m n o r His C o u s i n , will re turn o f His own

Accord to His Place, but will seek o u t by a n y M e a n s a Vic-

t im, b e i n g o f ten that s a m e Wizard which uttered ye Cal l ing.

O f ye two is B u g g - S h a s h m o s t t reacherous & vilely c u n n i n g ,

for should n o Sacr i f i ce o r V i c t i m b e prepared for His C o m -

ing, He will n o t g o back w i t h o u t He takes His Caller w i t h

H i m , m u s t needs He stay an h u n d r e d Years to a c c o m p l i s h

His P u r p o s e . . .

Nutta l l supplied the smal lest c o n t r i b u t i o n towards their knowl-

edge o f the h o r r o r lurking in the darkness . T h i s f r a g m e n t was f r o m a

heavy, handwri t ten t o m e w h o s e t i t le had been care lul ly removed

f r o m its s p i n e by b u r n i n g with a h o t i r o n — a n d it was a f r a g m e n t . O f

the Filler o f Space , the b o o k related only this :

Bugg-Shash is u n b e a r a b l e ! His l ips suck; He knows not defeat


but b r i n g s d o w n His v i c t i m at the last; aye, even t h o u g h He follows

that v ic t im u n t o D e a t h and beyond to ach ieve His p u r p o s e . And

there was a riddle k n o w n to m y forefathers :

What evil wakes that should lie dead,

Swathed in horror toe to head<

" T h a t ' s f r o m the Neeronomicon!" Mi l lwr ight cr ied when, towards

dawn, Nuttall found this piece a n d read it a loud in the br ight ly lit

study. " I t is A l h a z r e d ! " T h e occul t i s t s n a t c h e d the b o o k f r o m the

other 's h a n d s to pore eagerly over the p a g e — t h e n t h r e w it d o w n in

disgust .

" O n l y that , " he g r u m b l e d , " n o t h i n g m o r e . B u t it's a c lue! T h i s

b o o k is s i m p l y a h o d g e - p o d g e o f occul t l o r e a n d legend, but perhaps

the M a d Arab's Necronoinicon—in which I 'm sure those l ines have

the i r o r i g i n — p e r h a p s that b o o k c o n t a i n s m o r e o n the s a m e sub jec t .

It's ce r ta in ly worth a try. Fortunately , the blacker s ide o f m y repu-

tat ion has n o t yet reached the a u t h o r i t i e s at the British M u s e u m .

T h e y recognise m e a s an ' a u t h o r i t y ' in m y o w n r i g h t — a s a g e n u i n e

scholar . T h r o u g h t h e m , I have access to archives f o r b i d d e n to m o s t

o thers . I a d m i t that these scraps we've found w o r r y m e . . . horr ib ly !

But we m u s t r e m e m b e r that every magica l c o n j u r a t i o n has its d a n -

gers. S o far in th i s bus iness I have—wel l , I 've e s c a p e d just ice , s o to

speak. Yes, a n d I h o p e to d o s o again.

" I f there is a way t o . . . d e f l e c t . . . this horror , then I now believe

I s tand every c h a n c e o f f inding it, t h o u g h that m a y take s o m e t ime .

T h i s c l u e is the o n e I needed. " He tapped the b o o k with a finger-

nail . " I f n o t . . . at least we k n o w what we're u p against . Personally,

well, y o u will n e v e r find m y h o m e want ing for a gross o f candles ; I

will always have a s t o r e o f d r y ba t te r ies a n d e lec tr ic l ight bulbs; I wil l

always c a r r y o n m y person at least o n e c igare t te l ighter and a m e t a l

box o f fresh, d r y m a t c h e s . B u g g - S h a s h will n o t find m e unprepared

w h e n darkness f a l l s . . . "

T h r o u g h the m o r n i n g , Bar t a n d Nutta l l s lept a n d , e v e n t h o u g h

dayl ight s t r e a m e d in a c r o s s M i l l w r i g h t ' s b a l c o n y a n d t h r o u g h his


windows, still the electric lights burned while candles sank d o w n slowly

o n the i r wicks. In m i d - a f t e r n o o n , w h e n the occul t i s t r e t u r n e d in cau-

t ious t r i u m p h , the two were up and a b o u t .

" I have it," he said, c los ing the d o o r o f the s u m p t u o u s tlat beh ind

h i m . "At least, I th ink so . It is the T h i r d Sathlat ta . T h e r e was m o r e

o n B u g g - S h a s h in the Necronomicon, a n d that in turn led m e to

the Cthaat Aquadingen," he s h u d d e r e d . " I t is a counter - spe l l to b e

i n v o k e d — a s with m a n y o f the S a t h l a t t a e — a t midnight . Tonight we'll

free ourselves o f B u g g - S h a s h forever . . . unless . . . " As he f inished

the occul t i s t f rowned . Despite h is words , there was u n c e r t a i n t y in

h is t o n e .

"Yes?" Nuttall p r o m p t e d h i m . " U n l e s s what? Is s o m e t h i n g

w r o n g ? "

" N o , n o , " Mil lwright s h o o k his h e a d angrily, tiredly. " I t ' s just

t h a t . . . again I 've c o m e a c r o s s this pecul iar w a r n i n g ! "

" W h a t w a r n i n g is t h a t ? " Bar t worr iedly asked, h is face twi tch ing

nervously.

" O h , there are def ini te warnings , o f sor ts , " Mi l lwr ight answered,

" b u t they're never clearly stated. C o n f o u n d that d a m n e d Arab! It

s e e m s he never o n c e w r o t e a w o r d w i t h o u t that he wrapped it in a

riddle!" He col lapsed in to a chair .

" G o o n , " p r o m p t e d Nuttall , "expla in . How d o e s th i s ' c o u n t e r -

spell ' o f y o u r s w o r k . . . and what are these ' w a r n i n g s ' that you're s o

worr ied a b o u t ? "

"As to y o u r first q u e s t i o n : I don ' t bel ieve there 's any need to ex-

plain m o r e t h a n I've d o n e already. But to enl ighten you, albeit brief ly;

the Sa th la t tae consis t o f w o r k i n g spel ls a n d counterspe l l s . T h e third

Sathlat ta is o f the latter order. As to w h a t I ' m f r ightened of , w e l l . . . "

"Yes?" Nuttall impat ient ly p r o m p t e d h i m again.

"As applicable to o u r present si tuation," Mil lwright finally went o n ,

" — i n this predicament we're i n — t h e third Sathlatta i s . . . incomplete ! "

" Y o u m e a n it won't w o r k ? " Bart d e m a n d e d , his eyes wide and

fearful .

" O h , yes, it'll work all r ight . B u t — "

" F o r God 's sake ! " Nuttall c r ied , his usual ly disc ipl ined nerves

s t re tched n o w to the b r e a k i n g point , e v i d e n c e o f which showed

clear ly in his high, q u a v e r i n g voice. " G e t o n , m a n ! "


" H o w d o I explain s o m e t h i n g which I can't readily u n d e r s t a n d

m y s e l f ? " Mil lwright snar led, r o u n d i n g o n the f r ightened m a n . "And

you'd b e t t e r n o t s tar t s h o u t i n g at m e , m y friend. Why, but for your

m e d d l i n g , n o n e o f us would b e in this p o s i t i o n . . . and r e m e m b e r

that , w i t h o u t m y help, you ' re s tuck with it forever ! "

At that, Nuttall 's face w e n t very white and he began a stuttered

apology. T h e occul t i s t cut him s h o r t . " F o r g e t it. I'll tell y o u why I ' m

worr ied . T o put it simply, the third Sa th la t ta carr ies a c l a u s e ! "

"A c l a u s e ? " Bar t repeated the w o r d wonderingly , plainly failing to

u n d e r s t a n d .

" T o q u o t e Alhazred," Mi l lwr ight ignored h i m , " t h e counterspe l l ' s

pro tec t ion l a s t s ' o n l y u n t o d e a t h ' ! "

For a m o m e n t t h e r e was s i lence; then Bar t gave a shor t , s t ra ined

laugh. " O n l y u n t o death? Why, w h o c o u l d ask fairer than that? I really

don ' t s e e . .

"And o n e o t h e r th ing , " the occul t i s t c o n t i n u e d . " T h e third S a t h -

latta is not i rrevocable . Its a c t i o n m a y be reversed s i m p l y by ut ter ing

the Sa th la t ta i tsel f in reverse order . "

Mi l lwr ight ' s guest stared at h i m for a few m o m e n t s with-

o u t speak ing ; then Nuttall said: " D o e s anyone else k n o w o f o u r . . .

p r o b l e m ? "

" N o t unless you've told s o m e o n e else," the occul t i s t answered, a

d e e p f r o w n creas ing h is forehead. " H a v e y o u ? "

" N o , " Nuttall answered, " w e h a v e n ' t . . . but y o u s e e what I m e a n ,

don ' t you? W h a t is there to w o r r y a b o u t , i f it's all as s i m p l e as y o u say?

W e , certainly, will never mess about w i t h this s o r t o f thing again . . .

a n d w h o else is there to k n o w what 's happened? Even if s o m e o n e was

aware that we'd c o n j u r e d up a devil , it's unl ikely he'd k n o w h o w to re-

verse this process o f yours . It 's d o u b t f u l a n y o n e would even w a n t or

dare to, isn't i t?"

Mi l lwr ight cons idered it a n d gradual ly his m a n n e r b e c a m e

m o r e relaxed. "Yes, you're r ight , o f course , " he answered. " I t ' s jus t

that I don ' t like c o m p l i c a t i o n s in these th ings . You see, I k n o w

s o m e t h i n g o f the O l d Adepts . T h e y d idn ' t issue the sort o f w a r n i n g s

I've seen h e r e for n o t h i n g . T h i s B u g g - S h a s h — w h a t e v e r he i s — m u s t

b e the very worst order o f d e m o n s . Everything about him is . . .

d e m o n i a c a l ! "


I I I

T h a i s a m e evening , f r o m c o p i o u s notes c o p i e d in the rare b o o k s

d e p a r t m e n t o f the Br i t ish M u s e u m , Mi l lwr ight set u p all the para-

pherna l ia o f h is task. He c leared the floor o f his study. T h e n , in w h a t

appeared to Nutta l l a n d Bar t comple te ly r a n d o m p o s i t i o n s — w h i c h

were, in fact, careful ly measured , i f in utter ly al ien t a b l e s — u p o n the

n a k e d floor, he placed candles , c e n s o r s a n d c u r i o u s c o p p e r bowls .

W h e n he was satisfied w i t h the a r r a n g e m e n t o f these i m p l e m e n t s ,

leaving the centre o f the floor clear, he chalked o n the r e m a i n i n g sur-

r o u n d i n g floor-space s t range a n d d i s t u r b i n g magica l s y m b o l s in a

s imilarly c o n f u s i n g a n d apparent ly illogical over-all des ign. C e n t r a l

to all these p r e p a r a t o r y devices , he drew a plain w h i t e circle and, a s

the m i d n i g h t h o u r approached , he invited h is guests to e n t e r w i t h

h i m in to this protect ive r ing.

D u r i n g the final p r e p a r a t i o n s the candles h a d been lit. T h e c o n -

tents o f the c e n s o r s a n d bowls, too , n o w s e n t up to the cei l ing thinly

wavering c o l u m n s o f co loured s m o k e and incense . Moreover , the

purely electr ical l ights o f the r o o m had been switched o f f — v e r y

m u c h to the a l m o s t hysterical Bart ' s d i s l i k e — s o that o n l y the candles

gave a genuine , if flickering, l ight whi le the powders and herbs in

the i r bowls a n d c e n s o r s mere ly glowed a dull red.

As the first s t r o k e o f m i d n i g h t s o u n d e d f r o m the c l o c k o n the

wall , M i l l w r i g h t drew f r o m his pocke t a c a r e f u l l y folded sheet o f

paper . In a voice dead o f e m o t i o n — d e v o i d , a l m o s t , o f all h u m a n

i n f l e c t i o n — h e read the w o r d s s o c a r e f u l l y c o p i e d e a r l i e r that day

f r o m a n e a r - f o r g o t t e n t o m e in the d i m m e r r e a c h e s o f the B r i t i s h

M u s e u m .

It is d o u b t t u l w h e t h e r Bar t o r Nuttall c o u l d ever have recalled

the j u m b l e o f alien vowels, syllables a n d d iscordants that rolled in

s e e m i n g l y c h a o t i c d i sorder o f f Mil lwright 's t o n g u e in that d imly lit

r o o m . Certainly , it would have b e e n imposs ib le for any m e r e m o r -

tal, unversed in t h o s e ar ts w i t h which Mi l lwr ight h a d m a d e h i m s e l f

famil iar , to repeat that h ideous ly j a r r i n g , incredible s e q u e n c e o f

s o u n d s . T o utter the thing backwards , t h e n — " i n reverse order," a s

Mi l lwr ight had had i t — m u s t plainly b e o u t o f the ques t ion . T h i s

t h o u g h t , i f n o t the u p p e r m o s t in their m i n d s , u n d o u b t e d l y o c c u r r e d


to the two init iates as the occul t i s t c a m e to the end o f his per for -

m a n c e and the e c h o e s o f h is hellish l i turgy died a w a y . . . b u t , within

the space o f seconds, this and all o t h e r t h o u g h t s were driven f r o m

the i r m i n d s by s h e e r te r ror !

Even Mi l lwr ight believed, at first, that he had m a d e s o m e terr ible

mis take , for n o w there fell u p o n the three men in the chalked c i rc le a

tangib le weight o f h o r r o r a n d i m p e n d i n g d o o m ! Bar t s c r e a m e d and

would have fled the c i rc le and the r o o m at o n c e — d o u b t l e s s to his

d e a t h — b u t the occul t i s t g r a b b e d h i m and held h i m firmly.

S lowly but surely, the candles d i m m e d as the i r flames inexpl ica-

b ly lowered. T h e n , o n e b y o n e , t h e y began to flicker o u t , apparent ly

se l f -ext inguished. Bart ' s s truggles a n d s c r e a m i n g b e c a m e s u c h that

Nutta l l , too , had to h o l d o n to h i m to prevent his rushing f r o m the

circle . Suddenly, there c a m e to the ears o f the t h r e e — a s i f f r o m a

t h o u s a n d miles a w a y — t h e meres t whisper at first, a s u s u r r a t i o n , a s

heard in a s o u n d i n g shel l . T h e rust l ing chi t ter ings o f what c o u l d only

b e . . . a presence!

Bart p r o m p t l y fainted. Mil lwright and Nutta l l lowered h i m to

the floor a n d c r o u c h e d beside h is u n c o n s c i o u s f o r m , still holding

h i m tightly in the i r terror, s tar ing in to the s u r r o u n d i n g shadows . T h e

h ideous ly evil chi t ter ings , m a d l y mus ica l in a n indef inable alien

m a n n e r , grew louder. And then . . . s o m e t h i n g s l i m y a n d wet m o v e d

gela t inously in the darker s h a d o w s o f the room's c o r n e r s !

" M i l l w r i g h t ! " Nuttall 's voice c racked o n that o n e e x c l a m a t i o n .

T h e word had been a n a lmost inart iculate u t t e r a n c e , such as a child

m i g h t make , c r y i n g o u t for its m o t h e r in the m i d d l e o f a part icular ly

f r i g h t e n i n g n i g h t m a r e .

" S t a y still! And b e quie t ! " Mi l lwr ight c o m m a n d e d , his own voice

n o less c racked a n d h i g h - p i t c h e d .

O n l y two candles b u r n e d now, so low a n d d i m that they mere ly

p u s h e d b a c k the i m m e d i a t e shadows . As the occul t i s t reached o u t a

t r e m u l o u s h a n d to draw o n e o f these in to the c i rc le . . . so the o t h e r

b l inked o u t , leaving o n l y a spiral o f grey s m o k e hanging in the near-

c o m p l e t e darkness .

At this, the a b o m i n a b l e chi t ter ing grew louder still. It surrounded

the c i rc le comple te ly n o w a n d , for the first t ime, the two c o n s c i o u s

m e n clearly saw that which the single, tiny remain ing flame held at


bay. Creeping up o n all sides, lo the very line o f the chalked circle, the

T h i n g c a m e ; a glistening, shudder ing wall o f jel ly-l ike oo/.e in which

m a n y m o u t h s gaped a n d just as m a n y eyes mons t rous ly ogled! T h i s

was B u g g - S h a s h the Drowner , T h e Black O n e , T h e Filler o f Space . In-

deed, the bulk o f t h i s . . . B e i n g ? . . . did s e e m to fill the ent i re study!

All bar the blessed sanc tuary o f the circle .

T h e eyes were . . . b e y o n d words, but worse still were t h o s e

m o u t h s . S u c k i n g a n d whist l ing w i t h thickly viscous lips, the m o u t h s

gl is tened a n d s lobbered a n d , f r o m o u t o f those g l u t t o n o u s or i f ices

p o u r e d the lunat ic ch i t te r ings o f al ien s o n g — t h e S o n g o f Bugg-

S h a s h — a s Flis s u b s t a n c e towered up a n d leaned inwards to f o r m a

s l imy cei l ing over the i r very heads!

Nutta l l closed h is eyes and began to pray o u t loud, whi le Mil l -

wr ight s i m p l y m o a n e d and groaned in h is terror, u n a b l e to voice

prayers to a G o d he h a d long forsaken; but though it s e e m e d that all

was lost, the T h i r d Sathlat ta had n o t failed t h e m . Even as the cei l ing

o f jel ly began an apparent ly inexorable descent , s o the r e m a i n i n g

candle flared u p and, at that , the bulk o f B u g g - S h a s h broke and ran

like water t h r o u g h a shattered d a m . T h e wall a n d cei l ing o f qu iver ing

p r o t o p l a s m with its l o a t h s o m e eyes and m o u t h s s e e m e d to wave and

s h r i n k before Mil lwright 's eyes as the awful B lack O n e drew back to

the d a r k e r shadows .

T h e n , miraculously , the m a n y ex t inc t candles flared up, re turn-

ing to life o n e by o n e a n d n o less myster ious ly than they had snuffed

themse lves o u t . T h e occul t i s t knew then that what he had seen had

mere ly been an i m m a t e r i a l vis i tat ion, a vis ion o f what might have

been, but for the p o w e r o f the T h i r d Sathlat ta .

S i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h Bart 's re turn to c o n s c i o u s n e s s . Mi l lwr ight

shouted : " W e ' v e w o n ! "

As N'uttall ventured to o p e n i n c r e d u l o u s eyes the occul t i s t

s tepped o u t o f the circle, crossed to the l ight switch and flooded the

r o o m with light. T h e t h i n g he and Nutta l l h a d witnessed m u s t indeed

have b e e n mere ly a v i s i o n — a d e m o n - i n s p i r e d h a l l u c i n a t i o n — f o r n o

sign o f the h o r r o r r e m a i n e d . T h e floor, the walls a n d bookshelves , the

pushed-as ide furn i ture , all were c lean a n d dry, free o f the horr id

Essence o f B u g g - S h a s h . N o s ingle trace o f His visit showed in any

par t o f the r o o m ; n o s ingle c r a c k o r crevice o f the p ine floor k n e w

the m o r b i d l o a t h s o m e n e s s o f His snai l - t ra i l s l i m e . . .


I V

" R a y ! " Alan B a r l cr ied , s h o u l d e r i n g his way t h r o u g h the long-

haired, tassel - jacketed patrons o f T h e W i n d s o r ' s s m o k e r o o m . Nutta l l

saw him, waved him in the d i rec t ion o f a table a n d ordered a n o t h e r

dr ink . W i t h a glass in e a c h h a n d he then m a d e h is way from the bar,

t h r o u g h the c r u s h o f regulars, to where Bar t n o w sat w i t h his back to

the wall, his fist w r a p p e d tightly a r o u n d an evening newspaper .

O v e r a week had passed s ince their terr i fying e x p e r i e n c e at the

L o n d o n fiat o f T h o m a s Mil lwright . S i n c e then , they had s tar ted to

grow back in to their old creeds a n d c u s t o m s . A l t h o u g h t h e y still did

n o t quite trust the dark, t h e y had long s ince proved for themselves

the e f f icacy o f Mi l lwr ight ' s T h i r d Sathlat ta . Ever the cynic , and de-

spite the fact that he still t rembled in dark places, Nuttall now in-

sisted u p o n taking long walks a l o n g l o n e c o u n t r y lanes o f a n evening,

usually e n d i n g up at T h e W i n d s o r before c l o s i n g t ime . T h u s Bar t had

k n o w n where to find h i m .

" W h a t ' s u p ? " Nuttall ques t ioned a s he took a seat beside the

y o u n g e r m a n . He noted with a s l ight t r e m o r o f a larm the drawn,

worr ied texture o f h is fr iend's face.

"Mi l lwr ight ' s d e a d ! " Bar t abrupt ly b lurted, w i t h o u t preamble .

" H e ' s d e a d — a traf f ic a c c i d e n t — r u n d o w n by a lor ry n o t far f r o m his

fiat. He was identi f ied in the m o r t u a r y . It's all in the paper." He spread

the newspaper before Nuttall w h o hardly g lanced at it.

If the o l ive - sk inned m a n was shocked , it did n o t s h o w ; h is weak

eyes had w i d e n e d slightly at Bart 's disclosure, n o t h i n g m o r e . He let

the news s ink in, then shrugged his shoulders .

Bart was c o m p l e t e l y taken aback b y his fr iend's negat ive at t i tude.

" W e did know h i m ! " he protested.

"Brief ly , " Nutta l l acknowledged ; a n d then , to Bart ' s a m a z e m e n t ,

he s m i l e d . " T h a t ' s a relief ," he m u t t e r e d .

Bart drew away f r o m him. " W h a t ? Did I hear y o u s a y — "

" I t ' s a relief, yes," Nuttall snapped . " D o n ' t y o u see? H e was the

only o n e we knew w h o c o u l d ever have b r o u g h t that . . . th ing . . .

d o w n o n us aga in . And n o w he's g o n e . "

For a while t h e y sat in s i lence, tas t ing the i r dr inks , a l lowing the

h u m a n noises o f the c r o w d e d r o o m to close in a n d impinge u p o n

the i r be ings . T h e n Bar t said: "Ray, d o y o u suppose t h a t . . . ? "


" H m m ? " Nuttall looked at h im. " D o I s u p p o s e what , A l a n ? "

" O h , n o t h i n g really. I was just th inking about w h a t Mi l lwr ight

to ld us; a b o u t the pro tec t ion o f that spell o f his lasting 'on ly u n t o

d e a t h ' ! "

" O h ? " Nutta l l answered. "Wel l , if I were you, I s h o u l d n ' t bo ther .

It's s o m e t h i n g 1 don ' t in tend t o find o u t a b o u t for a l o n g t ime. "

"And there's s o m e t h i n g else b o t h e r i n g m e , " Bar t a d m i t t e d , n o t

really l istening to Nuttall 's p e r f t m c t o r y answer. " I t ' s s o m e t h i n g I can ' t

quite pin d o w n — p a r t o f what we discovered that night at Mil l -

wright 's place, when we were going t h r o u g h all t h o s e old b o o k s .

D a m n e d if I can r e m e m b e r what it is, t h o u g h ! "

" T h e n forget i t ! " Nutta l l gr inned. "And while you ' re at it, how

a b o u t a drink? It's your round. "

Against his bet ter inst incts , but n o t want ing Nuttall to see h o w des-

perate ly he feared the darkness still, Bar t a l lowed h i m s e l f to b e talked

in to walking h o m e . Nuttall lived in a flat in o n e o f the ra ther m o r e

" f l a s h " areas o f the city, but walking t h e y would have to pass Bart ' s

place first. Bar t did n o t m i n d the d a r k so m u c h — h e s a i d — s o l o n g as

he was n o t a l o n e .

Low, s c u d d i n g c l o u d s o b s c u r e d the s tars a s t h e y walked a n d

a chi l l a u t u m n wind b l e w discarded w r a p p e r s , the o c c a s i o n a l lea f

a n d loose, eer i ly- f lapping sheets o f evening " r a c i n g spec ia l s " against

the i r legs.

Nuttal l ' s flat was c i ty-s ide o f a s u b u r b a n estate, whi le Bart ' s place

lay m o r e o n the outskir ts o f the city proper. T h e w h o l e area, t h o u g h ,

was sti l l quite new, s o that s o o n the dis tances b e t w e e n w e l c o m e

l a m p - p o s t s increased; there was n o need for a lo t o f light way o u t

here . W i t h the resul tant c los ing- in o f darkness , Bar t shuddered and

pressed c loser to his apparent ly fearless f r iend. He d id n o t k n o w it,

but Nutta l l was deep in worr ied t h o u g h t . Bart ' s w o r d s in the s m o k e -

r o o m o f T h e W i n d s o r had b r o u g h t niggling d o u b t s flooding to the

f o r e f r o n t o f his c o n s c i o u s n e s s ; he could quite c lear ly recall all that

t h e y had uncovered at Mi l lwr ight ' s h o m e — i n c l u d i n g that which Bar t

had f o r g o t t e n . . .

At the c i ty end o f Bart 's road , a l m o s t ha l f -way to Nuttal l ' s flat

a n d within ha l f a m i l e o f Bart 's door , t h e y saw a m a n a t o p a ladder


at tending to an a p p a r e n t l y m a l f u n c t i o n i n g street lamp. T h e l ight

flickered, flared, then died as they approached the l a m p - p o s t a n d the

base o f the ladder.

" T h e s e people," Bar t asserted with a little shudder , "are the

grafters . O u t here all h o u r s o f the n i g h t — j u s t to make sure that we

h a v e . . . l ight."

W i t h o u t a brea th o f warning, s i m u l t a n e o u s w i t h Bart ' s shivery

ut ter ing o f the word " l ight , " the great bowl o f the street l a m p crashed

d o w n f r o m above to shatter into a mil l ion glass f ragments at their feet.

" M y G o d ! " Nuttall s h o u t e d up at the black s i lhouet te c l a m b e r i n g

unsteadi ly d o w n the ladder. " T a k e it easy, old chap. You b l o o d y near

d r o p p e d that t h i n g r ight o n o u r heads ! "

T h e t w o m e n s topped in the dark street to s teady the precar ious -

l o o k i n g ladder a n d , a s they d id so, a splat ter ing o f liquid drople t s fell

f r o m above , s tr iking their hands and u p t u r n e d faces . In the d a r k -

ness they c o u l d not see those l iquid droplets . . . but they c o u l d feel

the c l i n g i n g s l iminess o f t h e m ! Frozen in s p o n t a n e o u s horror , they

stared at e a c h o t h e r t h r o u g h the s h r o u d i n g night as the figure o n the

ladder s tepped d o w n b e t w e e n t h e m .

Bart 's pocket torch cut a jerky swath o f light across Nuttall 's frozen

features until it played u p o n the face o f the m a n f r o m the ladder. T h a t

face—st icki ly wet and hideously vacant , dr ipping n ightmare s l ime as it

w a s — w a s nevertheless the face of Millwright!

Mil lwr ight , the pawn o f the B lack O n e , fled f r o m the m o r t u a r y —

where B u g g - S h a s h had found his b o d y in the d a r k — t o a c c o m p l i s h

that Being's purpose , the p u r p o s e He must pursue b e f o r e He could

re turn to His own hellish d i m e n s i o n !

O n l y b l ind inst inct , the inst inct o f se l f -preservat ion , had caused

Bart to reach for his torch; but the s ight revealed by its b e a m had

comple te ly u n n e r v e d h im. His torch fell f r o m uselessly twi tch ing fin-

gers, c la t ter ing o n the p a v e m e n t , a n d the dead m a n ' s heel c a m e d o w n

u p o n it with shat ter ing force. Again the d a r k n e s s c losed in .

T h e n the s l imy figure b e t w e e n the two m e n m o v e d and they felt

fingers l ike b a n d s o f i ron e n c l o s i n g the i r wrists . T h e z o m b i e that was

Mi l lwr ight exerted fantast ic s t rength to hold t h e m — o r rather, Bugg-

Shash exerted His s t rength t h r o u g h the occul t i s t ' s c o r p s e — a s dead

l ips o p e n e d to utter the ghastly, soul -des t roy ing s t r a i n s o f the re-

versed T h i r d Sathlat ta !


In Ihc near -d is tant d a r k n e s s fa int , delighted chi t ter ings c o m -

m e n c e d ; a n d the weird tr io thrashed about across the road, to a n d f r o

in a leaping, twist ing, s c r e a m i n g t u g - o ' - w a r o f dea th as, a t last, the

t h i n g that Bar t had forgotten c a m e b a c k to his co l laps ing, n i g h t m a r e -

blasted m i n d :

He wakes the very D e a d to His C o m m a n d , a n d encased in

the h o r r o r o f his Essence even the w o r m - r a v a g e d I.ich has-

tens to His b i d d i n g - . .

T h e hellish d a n c e lasted, as did the sc reaming , unt i l t h e y felt the l ips

o f B u g g - S h a s h a n d his m o n s t r o u s k i s s e s . . .

The Slitherer from the Slime

H. P. L o w c r a f ť

It is my firm belief thai we are but the puppets of some evil,

malignant Thing, beyond all mortal comprehension, that tor-

ments man and has done so since the very Dawn of Time; and

that the foul worship of Incarnate Darkness still goes on in the

far corners of the globe.

LOUISA M A E Al ton

Had I but received s o m e occul t p r e m o n i t i o n o f the ghast ly hor -

rors that awaited m e that fatetul even ing , 1 have n o d o u b t but

that 1 would have turned m y c o a c h a b o u t and g o n e back to A r k h a m

f o r t h w i t h . However, n o such w a r n i n g f r o m the B e y o n d was m i n e ,

a n d m y m i n d was at ease a s 1 drove m y lathered horses up the s t o r m -

swept, t r e a c h e r o u s r o a d to the m o u l d e r i n g , incredib ly anc ient cast le

that c r o w n e d G a l l o w s Hill. It was a night o f unbel ievable h ideous -

ness ; the l i g h t n i n g flamed and flared in the sky like a b u r n i n g iron

held in the h a n d o f a slavering d e m o n with which to t o r t u r e a help-

less, c h a i n - b o u n d god; the wind shrieked and bel lowed like a f ren-

zied h o r d e o f s h a m b l i n g ghouls , mad with u n m e n t i o n a b l e hungers ,

a n d the rain poured d o w n to sweep a s i n - d r u n k m a n k i n d f r o m this

" T h i s c u r i o u s m a n u s c r i p t , b e l i e v e d b y p r o m i n e n t L o w c r a f t a u t h o r i t y A u g u s t S e p t e m b e r t o

b e a u t h e n t i c , a n d p e r h a p s t h e L i t t h i n g L o w c r a f t w r o < e , is p u b l i s h e d h e r e f o r t h e first t i m e ,

w i t h t h e p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e o w n e r s o l t h e m a n u s c r i p t , L i n C a r t e r a n d H a v e Holey .


c o s m i c g lobe o f fecund s l ime. In the gob l in - f l i cker ing o f the levin-

b o l t s that racked the t o r t u r e d w e l k i n w i t h the i r d e m o n i a c fires,

I c a u g h t i n t e r m i t t e n t g l i m p s e s o f c r u m b l i n g , ivy-covered C a s t l e

D r u m g o o l where it c r o u c h e d , rot t ing w i t h the centur ies , a top the

b a r r e n hill like s o m e wait ing m o n s t e r . T h e leering c o r n i c e s , the b l ind

windows , the c r u m b l i n g cupolas , the tot ter ing turrets, the s l imy por-

t icos , all cast a pall o f unut terab le desola t ion within the h i d d e n advts

o f m y s h u d d e r i n g h e a r t .

As t h u n d e r ( o r was it t h u n d e r ? ) w h o o p e d and gobbled d o w n the

inky skies l ike the b a b b l i n g s o f a n insane g o d , I drove m y c u r i o u s l y

unwil l ing steeds t h r o u g h the tot ter ing a r c h , over -grown w i t h pecu-

liarly u n w h o l e s o m e fungoids o f o b s c e n e shapes and eldri tch co lours ,

a n d in to the m o u l d e r i n g cour tyard . A s o d d e n g r o o m appeared f r o m

the d a r k n e s s to seize the reins, a n d as he led m y m a r e s o f f to the sta-

bles, I f o u n d myse l f specu la t ing o d d l y o n his s h a m b l i n g , loping gai t ,

a n d the sca ly ba t rach ian a p p e a r a n c e o f his b loa ted , grayish face w i t h

its leering, d i s turb ing ly m o c k i n g eyes.

M y u n k n o w n h o s t was n o t at the c r u m b l i n g por ta l t o g r e e t

m e , so I p u s h e d o p e n the a n c i e n t , d e c a y i n g , o a k e n - p a n e l l e d door ,

a n d entered the g l o o m - s h r o u d e d , d u s t - m a n t l e d , dark and fetid vault

o f the castle vestibule. B lack unseen h o r r o r s s e e m e d to flutter back

in to the shadows at m y a p p r o a c h , a n d I watched with growing un-

ease as the faint a n d g h o s t l y shaft o f l ight f r o m the o u t s i d e narrowed

a n d was g o n e . T h e rot t ing oaken d o o r b o o m e d shut b e h i n d m e and I

f o u n d myse l f a l o n e in the hell ish, stygian hall o f the c u r s e d a n d b e -

n ighted C a s t l e D r u m g o o l .

A foul and decaying foe tor rose f r o m d e e p within the dark halls ,

a n d as it e n v e l o p e d m e , I felt m y heart s h u d d e r and quai l . I backed

toward the door , involuntarily, a n d at length, unable to b e a r for a sec-

o n d longer the n a u s e o u s m i a s m a that assaulted m y nostr i l s , turned

to leave. But o n the instant , f r o m d e e p within the g l o o m y d e p t h s

o f the ghost ly halls , there issued a s o u n d o f crusted metal squeal ing

as an inner d o o r swung o p e n . M y fingers froze o n the latch, and I

c o u l d d o n o t h i n g but stare in growing h o r r o r as the bent and s h a m -

bl ing figure o f a m a n (or was it a m a n ? ) m a d e its way toward m e

across the e c h o i n g c h a m b e r . T h e r e s o u n d e d a voice f r o m th i s twisted

travesty o f a h u m a n , and as he approached my unwil l ing eyes beheld

h is c o r p s e - l i k e pallor, a n d the subt ly rotted aspect o f his dress. His

T H E S 1 . 1 T H E R E R F R O M T H E S I . I M E 7 9

eyes fixed m e w i t h a stare, a n d repeated that phrase which I had n o t

before heard, or perhaps had refused to h e a r — " W e l c o m e to Castle

Drumgool.'"

M y frame q u a k e d as the full i m p o r t o f these words s t r u c k m e ,

a n d I staggered back a pace in order to protec t myse l f f r o m the a u r a

o f evil that s p r a n g up a l m o s t tangibly a r o u n d the e b o n a p p a r i t i o n .

M y hear t sank in m y breast as, f r o m a fold o f his decaying robe , he

p r o d u c e d a taper, a n d I was for the first t i m e s u b j e c t e d to the s ight

o f the face o f the m a s t e r o f Cast le D r u m g o o l o f G a l l o w s Hill ( o r was

it a hi l l?) . T h e wavering flame o f the candle , that was, m y shudder-

ing m i n d c o n j e c t u r e d , fashioned perhaps o f c o r p s e - f a t , r e v e a l e d — a h ,

i m a g i n e , i f y o u but can, the r o t u n d , w o r m - s o f t , s lug-l ike, u n w h o l e -

s o m e l y b l o a t e d figure that m e t my c r i n g i n g gaze; a swol len-cheeked

visage w h o s e pallid flesh s e e m e d acrawl w i t h pulpy maggots ; and

eyes, ha l f bur ied within the folds o f flaccid flesh, g l int ing hell ishly

with a diabol ica l counter fe i t o f f r iendly w e l c o m e . Hasti ly I m u t t e r e d

s o m e c o n v e n t i o n a l a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f his greet ing, whi le m y fear-

frozen gaze took in, with what inward quaking m y reader is at l ib-

er ty to surmise , the unut terab le l o a t h s o m e n e s s o f his robe ( w h i c h I

n o w perceived to be a s m o k i n g j a c k e t ) , h is o b s c e n e felt s l ippers, the

h i d e o u s travesty o f jol l i ty in h is s m i r k i n g face. M y host ushered m e

in to a large, dimly- l i t cavern o f a r o o m , and s h o w e d m e to a seat,

whi le he rung, os tens ib ly to s u m m o n a servi tor , a l t h o u g h m y terror-

f raught m i n d v is ioned all too c lear ly the ghastly creatures h is a l a r m

was m e a n t to rouse , a bel l . T h e r o o m , m y paralyzed senses gradual ly

perceived, was a l ibrary, a n d , in an e f for t to c a l m m y leaping pulse, I

tore m y eyes away f r o m his g r u e s o m e l y r u b i c u n d visage, and fixed

t h e m u p o n the t o m e s that c r o w d e d his shelves .

A thri l l o f pure h o r r o r pierced m y i n n e r m o s t soul , a s I g l impsed

the titles lettered in gold (or MIS it gold?) u p o n the b indings . T h e

books , if such they could b e cal led, e x u d e d an a lmost pa lpable o d o u r

o f foulness a n d decay, a grave s tench b e f o r e w h o s e u n n e r v i n g assault

m y nostr i l s c r ink led involuntari ly . T h e r e I g l impsed that hellish text

which celebrates the sp lendours o f the Elder D a r k , that m o n s t r o u s

v o l u m e o f d e m o n - w o r s h i p . Black Beauty; n e x t to it rested a c o p y o f

that u n h o l y a n d b l a s p h e m o u s h is tory o f a n e c r o m a n c e r famed in el-

dr ich legend. The Wizard of Oz; bes ide that , b o u n d in the rott ing,

o p h i d i a n h ide o f s o m e l o a t h s o m e serpent , was that foul t o m e which


the anc ient pagan deit ies o f the w o o d s hold sacred, Peter Pan; and

n e x t to it, that c h a o t i c and m o n s t r o u s v o l u m e , that incredib ly an-

cient c o m p i l a t i o n o f e ldri tch lore, that vast a n t h o l o g y o f d e m o n i a c

w i s d o m cul led f r o m forgotten ages, The Pickwick Papers'.

T h o u g h I, a s the reader o f these tor tured words m i g h t well

perceive, f o u n d m y soul reel ing in revulsion as e a c h n e w ti t le de-

filed m y eyes, still I was n o t a b l e to tear t h e m f r o m the c o n t i n u -

ing shelves o f l i terary h o r r o r s w h i c h sprawled a r o u n d the walls o f

the d a r k e n e d c h a m b e r . M y unwil l ing eyes pressed o n i n t o the d a r k

c o r n e r s o f that d a m n e d a n d b e n i g h t e d library, a n d each t u r n o f the

s h e l f b r o u g h t s o m e n e w terror, s o m e m o r e m o n s t r o u s a n d perverted

b lasphemy.

M y s h u d d e r i n g gaze fell u p o n a c o p y o f that b l a c k a n d nefar i -

o u s tale o f al ien life o n Ear th , that hellish c h r o n i c l e o f that dwel ler

in the dark and sinister depths o f haunted woodlands , Winnie the

Pooh. Rest ing n e x t t o it, I behe ld a v o l u m e o f the foul and ghastly leg-

ends and lore which are k n o w n to the h o r r o r s o f the n ight ; that

fiendish c o m p i l a t i o n o f eldrich terrors , that awful and s o u l - s e a r i n g

t o m e , Aesop's Fables. And at last, t h o u g h m y b r a i n reeled in re jec-

t ion o f this c r o w n i n g horror , I forced myse l f to gaze u p o n the vol-

u m e which inhab i ted the last space o n the w o r m - e a t e n s h e l v e s — a

w o r k o f u n s p e a k a b l e l o a t h e s o m e n e s s and terrif ic monstros i ty , a

t o m e o f ghast ly a n d c o n s u m i n g hel l ishness , that foul and blasphe-

m o u s atrocity, which n o o n e m a y n a m e a loud, a n d at the wri t ing

o f w h o s e title m y pen recoi ls f r o m the paper. The Power of Positive

Thinking!

I s truggled w i t h m y tortured m i n d , a t t e m p t i n g to regain s o m e

s e m b l a n c e o f c o m p o s u r e , so that m y host would n o t perceive that I

had discerned h is devilish nature , but n o s o o n e r had I suppressed the

express ion o f loath ing a n d fear which threatened to c o n t o r t m y face,

w h e n a new and m o r e frightful h o r r o r b e c a m e a p p a r e n t . A thri l l o f

ter ror shot across m y bra in , as I saw the latch o f the l ibrary d o o r ( o r

was it a d o o r ? ) slowly l i f t i n g — w i t h o u t any visible hand to raise it!

I s h r a n k b a c k in to the c u s h i o n s o f the u n s p e a k a b l y l o a t h s o m e

chair in which I was seated, in a t r a n s p o r t o f h o r r o r . M y frozen brain

searched frantical ly for s o m e explanat ion o f the ghast ly p h e n o m e -

n o n which was taking place before m y very e y e s — s o m e sane , rat io-

T H E S 1 . 1 T H E R E R F R O M T H E S I . I M E 8 1

nal physical force which c o u l d raise a d o o r latch w i t h o u t m a k i n g it-

se l f apparent in any o t h e r fashion . M y m i n d boggled, however , a n d I

c o u l d only watch n u m b l y a s the latch was raised to its l imit , a n d the

d o o r was s lowly o p e n e d .

A t h i n g s tood in the doorway, ha l f in shadow, a n d for the first

t i m e in that dark a n d g r i m evening I was s t ruck with the diabol ica l

c leverness o f m y e ldr i t ch host . T h e p h a n t o m s which n o d o u b t o c c u -

pied the c h a m b e r h a d not , af ter all, m a d e themselves k n o w n . No, m y

host was far too clever. T h e ra is ing o f the latch had been d o n e b y the

dark creature which s t o o d n o w in the doorway, del iberate ly c a l c u -

lated to c o n v i n c e m e that the c h a m b e r was i n d e e d the a b o d e o f spir-

its f r o m hell , and to then dispel the i l lusion a n d c o n v i n c e m e o f the

oppos i te . But I was far t o o c l e v e r — I was n o w m o r e firmly c o n v i n c e d

than ever!

T h e c r e a t u r e o n the threshold entered , a n d I saw at o n c e that he

was dressed in the att ire o f a m a n s e r v a n t . His c o s t u m e , however , was

o f such a material and aspect as to present an impress ion o f n a k e d ,

r o t t i n g flesh, s e e m i n g , in the firelight, to b e acrawl with maggots . His

face w a s a fiendishly clever imi ta t ion o f a h u m a n c o u n t e n a n c e , but,

a p p r e h e n d i n g his hidden nature , it was n o t di f f icul t to s e e b e n e a t h

this m a s k to the lurking m o n s t e r b e n e a t h . His eyes b u r n e d like t w i n

coa ls dying in a cup o f h e m l o c k , and his m o u t h was like s o m e rot-

ted w o u n d as he o p e n e d it to shape this grotesque p h r a s e — " T h e

brandy, sir"

T h e very walls o f C a s t l e D r u m g o o l rocked a b o u t m e a s his words

fell u p o n m y ears . I wanted to s h o u t , to c r y for help, to beseech s o m e -

o n e f r o m the world o f l ight to c o m e a n d rescue m e f r o m the c l o u d o f

evil that held m e in its c r u s h i n g c lutch . T h r o u g h a haze o f palpi ta t ing

d i sconcer t , I watched the m a n - s e r v a n t - t h i n g c r o s s the r o o m , a n d set

a t ray o f beverage u p o n a table . M y hellish host , w h o had been, w i t h a

fiendish counter fe i t o f c o m p o s u r e , l ighting w h a t s e e m e d to b e a b r i a r

pipe, as I had gazed at his servi tor , now cleared h is throat ( o f w h a t

u n m e n t i o n a b l e p h l e g m I could but c o n j e c t u r e ) , and said, in his dia-

bol ica l travesty o f a voice, " T h e night is co ld . W o u l d y o u c a r e for a

w a r m i n g beverage, s i r?"

T h e very Universe s e e m e d to shatter , as before the m a d p u m m e l -

ings o f s o m e id io t -god , and c r u m b l e a b o u t m y frozen m i n d , as the


t r u e h i d d e n m e a n i n g lurking b e h i n d the o b v i o u s h i d d e n m e a n i n g

b e h i n d his apparently o r d i n a r y invitat ion dawned within m y panic -

riven bra in . W h a t c o u l d I d o but a c c e p t h is ghoul i sh invitat ion? W e r e

I to reftise his offer, then he would know, beyond a n y w a n p h a n t o m

o f a d o u b t , that 1 was aware o f h is true, indescr ibably nauseat ing

identity. F o r c i n g m y visage, w i t h a co lossa l effort o f will, to s h o w n o

s ign o f m y r e v u l s i o n , I m u r m u r e d a c c e p t a n c e , a n d w a t c h e d w i t h

c o n g e a l i n g b l o o d as he p o u r e d a gelid, i n c a r n a d i n e d fluid i n t o a

g r u e s o m e l y - c a r v e n g o b l e t o f what m a y , or may not, have b e e n

crystal . 1 received the goble t he handed m e ( w r i t h i n g inwardly as h is

r o t t i n g ta lons t o u c h e d m y flesh), and sat n u m b l y , m y m i n d a c h a o s

o f b o i l i n g shadows, gazing at the s q u a m o u s liquid o f which I m u s t

i m b i b e .

W i t h a vulpine leer, m y host uttered these d a m n a b l e words,

which burned, as a s m o k i n g iron in the c laws o f a t i t ter ing fiend, in to

m y q u a k i n g b r a i n — " T h e r e , old man, drink tip now!"

M y t i m e h a d c o m e .

W i t h a s u p r a - h u m a n e f for t , 1 lifted the n o i s o m e goble t to m y

cracked , p a r c h e d lips, a n d drank down the s l imy brew, c o n j e c t u r i n g

( a s the reader m i g h t well i m a g i n e ) in b l ind p e r t u r b a t i o n u p o n w h a t

n e c r o m a n t i c pot ion , what n i g h t m a r e phi l tre , what u n u t t e r a b l y un-

m e n t i o n a b l e ingredients c o m p r i s e d the devi l ish draught . T h e r o o m

spun a b o u t m e — t h e evil, ghoul i sh leer o n m y host 's b loated c o u n t e -

n a n c e , the z o m b i e - b l a n k face o f the s e r v a n t - t h i n g , the rot t ing row o f

d e m o n i a c t o m e s — a l l l o o m e d m a d l y as the ins idious poison b u b b l e d

t h r o u g h m y veins. S p a c e a n d t i m e seemed to c r a c k ; the world c r u m -

bled f r o m b e n e a t h m y feet ; I went c a r e e n i n g o f f in to a c h a o s o f spin-

n i n g stars

And then , with a flash like that o f an ent i re universe o f planets

e x p l o d i n g at the c o m m a n d o f a b l o o d - m a d , s a t a n i c god, the full im-

p o r t o f the i n c r e d i b l e t r u t h b u r s t u p o n m y b r a i n . Nothing what-

ever had been in the brandy! M y host , f r o m w h a t e v e r pit o f he l l

he ha i led , h a d b e e n c lever e n o u g h not to p o i s o n the b r a n d y . T h e n

w h a t , m y s h u d d e r i n g soul asked, u n t h o u g h t - o f t o r m e n t had he

p l a n n e d for m e ?

As m y m i n d s o u g h t desperate ly to answer th i s quest ion , the fell

servant moved the goblet f r o m m y c lutch a n d left the r o o m , o m i n o u s l y

new lovecraft circle

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