“There are horrors beyond horrors, and this was one of those nuclei of all dreamable hideousness
which the cosmos saves to blast an accursed and unhappy few.”
(The Shunned House, pg.310)
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First off, can we take a moment to talk about how Lovecraft had a conversation with Harry Houdini before crafting this story? That’s so cool! Apparently Houdini had some kind of wild tale regarding his visit to Egypt. It made me wonder just what the hell sort of story Houdini had. Granted, Lovecraft embellished with his own style and didn’t think Houdini’s tale was actually real, but still. Does that mean Houdini has a story about being tied up and chucked into a pyramid, only to escape (as one does, being Houdini)? Who knows? We’re here for Lovecraft though, so I’ll have to do my research on Houdini some other time.
The character in the story is indeed supposed to be Houdini himself, and was even published under his name by Weird Tales (the story itself commissioned by the owner at the time). The vast majority of the story is descriptions of Houdini and his wife’s exploration of Egypt, from Cairo to other areas. They hire a random guide who does them fairly well, and then finally one night Houdini hangs out with the guy alone, only to eventually find himself bound, gagged, and blindfolded, and lowered far, far below one of the pyramids. Once escaping his bonds (because, again, Houdini), he sees terrible mummified creatures, as well as dead Pharaoh Khephren and Queen Nitokris (first referenced in “The Outsider”). Everyone is throwing something awful into a large black abyss – and something finally comes out to eat.
Houdini faints several times throughout this story, saving us time as well as giving him a chance to continually tell himself that what he saw was only a dream. After all, a few moments within the story defy explanation (not just the monsters), and given how far down he went and what he experienced, he’s doing his best to note that none of it actually happened. He certainly seems more calm about it than a lot of other past narrators who are usually mad by the time the end of the story arrives (some to the point of suicide), however we are dealing with a man who was, in fact, alive at the time this story was written. So it only stands that the narration has to be different from what we usually see from Lovecraft. Can’t have Houdini be insane at the end, now can we?
Definitely something different, and for that I appreciate it.
This was a good story. The intro states that it was rejected initially by Weird Tales because it was too slow, which I can agree with in some part. There’s a decent amount of extra at the beginning that really we could do without. Basically Lovecraft just describes the house, the street it’s on, and even starts about how Edgar Allen Poe passed by it all the time yet never noticed it. Unnecessary – let’s move on.
For the most part it chronicles a young man’s (first person voice, yet again) fascination with this shunned house. His uncle has been studying it in an academic fashion – so no one is claiming anything supernatural. Even as they continue to find odd connections and the young man figures out various links to the house, they do their best to stay scientific about it. In a nutshell, people die in this house, and they have for generations until everyone bailed on it and left it to rot, which, even though it’s got mold and weird fungus and gnarled trees growing all around it, is somehow still standing.
While the story is interesting and you wonder just what the hell is down in the cellar creating all this mess, I really liked that the man and his uncle didn’t play around. They realized that, while something like ghosts or vampires aren’t likely to blame, they don’t rule out anything that is unknown to the world of science. They acknowledge that science has only uncovered a tiny slice of the universe so who knows? Maybe they’ll run into beings of pure energy. They bring various apparatuses to deal with a potentially hostile situation – from a radiation generating mechanism to flamethrowers. I love it when practicality and sense win out in horror stories. They even make sure to leave the door open for an escape route since it goes right to the street. And then even after the supernatural shit hits the fan, the main character takes some time to plan his next move and then takes care of business in the light of day. Give this guy a round of applause!
While we may never know exactly what was down there (it almost put me in mind of the giant grub creature from Scott Sigler’s Generations Trilogy – gross), but it’s probably for the best. Besides, the main character had enough sense to see enough, realize that was plenty, and then kill it with a lot of sulfuric acid. And, interestingly enough, we actually have a positive ending. Neat.
Featured image © Nicole Taft
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