"The Haunter of the Dark" is a horror

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written between 5–9 November

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

and published in the December

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

edition of ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...

'' (Vol. 28, No. 5, p. 538–53). It was the last written of the author's known works, and is part of the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...

. The epigraph to the story is the second stanza of Lovecraft's 1917 poem "Nemesis". The story is a sequel to "

The Shambler from the Stars "The Shambler from the Stars" is a horror short story by American writer Robert Bloch, first published in the September 1935 issue of'' Weird Tales''. It was later included as part of his first published book, ''The Opener of the Way'' (1945), a ...

" by

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

. Bloch wrote a third story in the sequence, " The Shadow from the Steeple", in 1950.

Plot

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, Robert Blake, a young writer with an interest in the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

, becomes fascinated by a large disused church on Federal Hill which he can see from his lodgings on the city's east side. His research reveals that the church has a sinister history involving a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

called the Church of Starry Wisdom and is dreaded by the local migrant inhabitants as being haunted by a primordial evil. Blake enters the church and ascends the tower, where he discovers the skeleton of Edwin M. Lillibridge, a reporter who disappeared in 1893. He also discovers an ancient stone artifact known as the "Shining

Trapezohedron In geometry, an trapezohedron, -trapezohedron, -antidipyramid, -antibipyramid, or -deltohedron is the dual polyhedron of an antiprism. The faces of an are congruent and symmetrically staggered; they are called ''twisted kites''. With a hi ...

" which has the property of being able to summon a terrible being from the depths of time and space. The trapezohedron rests in a metal box with a hinged lid; the box is incised with designs representing living but distinctly alien creatures. The whole sits atop a column which is also incised with alien designs or characters. Blake's interference inadvertently summons the malign being of the title, and he flees the church. The being can only go abroad in darkness, and is hence constrained to the tower at night by the presence of the lights of the city. However, when the city's electrical power is weakened during a thunderstorm, the local people are terrified by the sounds coming from the church and call on their

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priests to lead prayers against the demon. Blake, aware of what he has let loose, also prays for the power to remain on. However, an outage occurs and the being flies towards Blake's quarters. He is subsequently found dead, staring out of his window at the church with a look of horror on his face. His last words refer to his perception of the approaching being: "I see it-- coming here-- hell-wind-- titan-blur-- black wings--

Yog-Sothoth American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) created a number of fictional deities throughout the course of his literary career. These entities are usually depicted as immensely powerful and utterly indifferent to humans who can barely begin to c ...

save me-- the three-lobed burning eye..."

Characters

Robert Blake

Robert Harrison Blake is a fictional horror writer who first appears, unnamed, in Robert Bloch's 1935 story "

". In Lovecraft's sequel, Blake dies while investigating the Starry Wisdom cult of Enoch Bowen. Lovecraft modeled Blake on Bloch, but also gave him characteristics that evoke

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...

and Lovecraft himself. Lovecraft indicated in his letters with then-young writer

, that the character Robert Blake was an intentionally thinly veiled gesture at killing off one of his friendly correspondents. In 1936, Bloch published a story that continued the professional fun, in which Blake did not actually die, but was possessed by Nyarlathotep, and kills off a character based on Lovecraft. Blake's death is the starting point for another sequel by Bloch, "The Shadow from the Steeple" (1950). Blake's fiction is referred to in

Ramsey Campbell Ramsey Campbell (born 4 January 1946) is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awa ...

's "The Franklyn Paragraphs" (1973) and

Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for his sequences of novels, especially the ''World of Tiers ...

's "The Freshman" (1979). Lovecraft's tale names five stories written by Robert Blake: "The Burrowers Beneath"; "Shaggai"; "The Stairs in the Crypt"; "In the Vale of Pnath" and "The Feaster from the Stars" which as Robert M. Price has pointed out are friendly spoofs of tales written by Robert Bloch (for more info see Price's anthology ''The Book of Eibon'' (Chaosium, 2002, p. 191)). Author

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...

wrote stories which are pastiches of either Lovecraft or

utilising all five titles. Shaggai is mentioned in "The Haunter of the Dark" as a planet more distant from Earth than

Yuggoth ''The Whisperer in Darkness'' is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in ''Weird Tales'', August 1931. Similar to '' The Colour Out of Space'' (1927), it is a ble ...

; this may suggest that Blake's writing of a story with that title is a foreshadowing of his mental link with the 'Haunter', which Blake believes to be an

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

Nyarlathotep Nyarlathotep is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft. The character is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem "Nyarlathotep", he was later mentioned in other works by ...

Brian Lumley Brian Lumley (born 2 December 1937) is an English author of horror fiction. He came to prominence in the 1970s writing in the Cthulhu Mythos created by American writer H. P. Lovecraft but featuring the new character Titus Crow, and went on to ...

borrowed the title ''The Burrowers Beneath'' for his first novel (1974).

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

also used the title "The Burrower Beneath" for a story which became "The Tunneler Below" and finally "The Terror from the Depths" (in ''Disciples of Cthulhu''

Cthulhu Mythos anthology A Cthulhu Mythos anthology is a type of short story collection that contains stories written in, or related to, the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction launched by H. P. Lovecraft. Such anthologies have helped to define and popularize the gen ...

Robert M. Price Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...

has also used the title "The Burrower Beneath" for a story set in the Eibonic mythos of

—see Price's anthology ''The Book of Eibon'' (Chaosium, 2002).

Leigh Blackmore Leigh (David) Blackmore (born 1959) is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist, musician and proponent of post-left anarchy. He was the Australian representative for the Horror Writers of America (1994–95) and served as the se ...

's poem "The Conjuration" (in his collection ''Spores from Sharnoth and Other Madnesses'', P'rea Press, 2008) was inspired by the title "The Feaster from the Stars". Blackmore's story "The Stairs in the Crypt" (not to be confused with Lin Carter's story of the same title) was also inspired by the name of Robert Blake's tale.

Other characters

;Edwin M. Lillibridge :Lillibridge was an inquisitive reporter for the ''Providence Telegram'' (a real paper) who first investigated the Church of Starry Wisdom and disappeared in 1893. Blake finds his skeleton while investigating the Free-Will Church on Federal Hill, and finds a notebook on his body. He also finds a

cryptogram A cryptogram is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encrypted text. Generally the cipher used to encrypt the text is simple enough that the cryptogram can be solved by hand. Substitution ciphers where each letter is replaced by ...

which he takes away to decipher and eventually deduces is written in

Aklo Aklo is the name of a fictional language that has been used by many authors from its first reference in 1899.History of the ''Necronomicon''. Later, Lillibridge's oddly damaged skeleton disappears from the church; it is not found when police go to investigate the reports of movement in the church steeple. ;Enoch Bowen :In Lovecraft's "The Haunter of the Dark", Enoch Bowen is a renowned occultist and archaeologist who lived in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. In 1843, Bowen earned some measure of fame when he found the tomb of the unknown pharaoh Nephren-Ka (a reference to Robert Bloch's story "The Fane of the Black Pharaoh", published 1937). A year later, Bowen mysteriously ceased his archaeological dig and returned to Providence where he founded the Church of Starry Wisdom. He dies circa 1865.He also appears in "The Shadow from the Steeple", Robert Bloch's sequel to "The Haunter of the Dark". ;Ambrose Dexter :In "The Haunter of the Dark", he is referred to only as "superstitious Doctor Dexter", who threw the Shining Trapezohedron into "the deepest channel of

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...

" after the death of Robert Blake. :In "The Shadow From the Steeple", Bloch's sequel, the darkness of the bay's bottom gives

the power to possess Dr. Dexter (who is given the first name of Ambrose). The possessed Dr. Dexter takes a position on a

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

team developing advanced

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s. ;Nephren-Ka :In "The Haunter of the Dark", Nephren-Ka is said to have "built around it he Shining Trapezohedrona temple with a windowless crypt, and did that which caused his name to be stricken from all monuments and records". The Shining Trapezohedron then remained in the ruins of the temple until it was re-discovered by Enoch Bowen in 1843.

Inspiration

Lovecraft wrote this tale as a reply to "

" (

) by Robert Bloch, in which Bloch kills the Lovecraft-inspired character. Lovecraft returned the favor in this tale, killing off

Robert Harrison Blake "The Haunter of the Dark" is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written between 5–9 November 1935 and published in the December 1936 edition of ''Weird Tales'' (Vol. 28, No. 5, p. 538–53). It was the last writt ...

(aka Robert Bloch). Bloch later wrote a third story, "The Shadow from the Steeple" ( 1950), to create a trilogy. Several of the surface details of the plot were taken directly from

Hanns Heinz Ewers Hanns Heinz Ewers (3 November 1871 – 12 June 1943) was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is now known mainly for his works of horror, particularly his trilo ...

' "The Spider", which Lovecraft read in

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

's anthology ''Creeps By Night'' (1931). In Blake's final notes, he refers to "Roderick Usher", an allusion to

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

's "

The Fall of the House of Usher "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'', then included in the collection ''Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque'' in 1840. The short story ...

", which Lovecraft described in "

Supernatural Horror in Literature "Supernatural Horror in Literature" is a 28,000 word essay by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, surveying the development and achievements of horror fiction as the field stood in the 1920s and 30s. The essay was researched and written between Nove ...

" as featuring "an abnormally linked trinity of entities...a brother, his twin sister, and their incredibly ancient house all sharing a single soul and meeting one common dissolution at the same moment." ''An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'' suggests that this interpretation is the key to understanding the ending of "The Haunter of the Dark": " are to believe that the entity in the church--the Haunter of the Dark, described as an avatar of Nyarlathotep--has possessed Blake's mind but, at the moment of doing so, is struck by lightning and killed, and Blake dies as well."

Connections with other tales

* The Shining Trapezohedron is mentioned as having been fashioned on

, an outpost of the Mi-Go mentioned in "

The Whisperer in Darkness ''The Whisperer in Darkness'' is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in ''Weird Tales'', August 1931. Similar to ''The Colour Out of Space'' (1927), it is a blend ...

". * "It (i.e. The Shining Trapezohedron) was treasured and placed in its curious box by the

crinoid Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which are ...

things of Antarctica", suggesting a connection with the Elder Things from ''

At the Mountains of Madness ''At the Mountains of Madness'' is a science fiction-horror novella by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by ''Weird Tales'' editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was or ...

''. * The

Serpent Men Serpent Men are a fictional race created by Robert E. Howard for his King Kull tales. They first appeared in "The Shadow Kingdom", published in '' Weird Tales'' in August 1929. They were later adapted for the Marvel Comics Conan comics by Roy ...

of Valusia also held possession of the Shining Trapezohedron at one point, connecting it to the

Kull Kull may refer to: Arts * Kull of Atlantis, a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard ** ''Kull the Conqueror'', a 1997 fantasy action film based on Howard's character and starring Kevin Sorbo * King Kull (DC Comics), a Fawcett Comics and D ...

tales of Robert E. Howard. * The "catacombs of Nephren-Ka" are mentioned as the haunt of

ghouls A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a certa ...

in " The Outsider", and Nephren-Ka is mentioned as the Pharaoh who built a temple with a lightless crypt to the Shining Trapezohedron and "did that which caused his name to be stricken from all monuments and records". * The events of this story are alluded to in ''

The Illuminatus! Trilogy ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anto ...

'', in which they are depicted as having actually happened, and Lovecraft's story having been inspired by them. * The Shining Trapezohedron, along with several other aspects of "The Haunter of the Dark" and

Lovecraftian horror Lovecraftian horror, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror", is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named a ...

in general, are central to the plot of Edward Lee's 2009 book, ''Haunter of the Threshold''. *

's 1977 novel, ''

Our Lady of Darkness ''Our Lady of Darkness'' (1977) is an urban fantasy novel by American author Fritz Leiber. The novel is distinguished for three elements: the heavily autobiographical elements in the story, the use of Jungian psychology that informs the narrative, ...

'', features a horror writer, aware of Lovecraft's story, who becomes fascinated by a place visible from his San Francisco window, and decides to visit it.

Reception

In a discussion of Lovecraft's work,

described the "Haunter of the Dark" as "one of his finer tales (and his last)". The horror historian R. S. Hadji included "The Haunter of the Dark" on his

list A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

of the most frightening horror stories.

Adaptations

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

illustrated a ten-page comic-book adaptation in Marvel's ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stori ...

'' #4 (1973). *

Alberto Breccia Alberto Breccia (April 15, 1919 – November 10, 1993) was an Uruguayan-born Argentina, Argentine artist and cartoonist. A gifted penciller and inker, Breccia is one of the most celebrated and famous comics/Historieta creators in the world, and sp ...

illustrated a seventeen-page adaptation in 1975. *John Coulthart illustrated another version of the story in 1988 that was reprinted in ''The Haunter of the Dark: And Other Grotesque Visions'' in 1999. *Robert Cappelletto took elements of the story for his 2009 feature film ''Pickman's Muse''.

The Robert Bloch Award

The Robert Bloch Award is presented at the annual Necronomicon convention. Its recipient in 2013 was editor and scholar S. T. Joshi. The award is in the shape of the Shining Trapezohedron.

Notes

References

Sources

* Lovecraft, Howard P. "The Haunter of the Dark" (1936) in ''The Dunwich Horror and Others'', S. T. Joshi (ed.), Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1984. . Definitive version. * With explanatory footnotes.

External links

*
Full-text
at The H. P. Lovecraft Archive *Audio recording of the story a

*Audio recording of the story at th
HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haunter Of The Dark, The 1936 short stories Cthulhu Mythos short stories Fantasy short stories Fiction set in 1935 Horror short stories Rhode Island in fiction Short stories adapted into films Short stories by H. P. Lovecraft Works originally published in Weird Tales