The Shunned House - H. P. Lovecraft

Image via WikipediaThe very name of H. P. Lovecraft is so often uttered with the same breath as Edgar Allan Poe. Having been an admirer of Poe's for quite some time, Lovecraft has always been on my radar, but "The Shunned House" is the first of his stories that I have read. "The Shunned House" can be found, for free, at Gutenberg.org.

It's a tale about a haunted house. Every inhabitant to live in the house has been cursed, and had subsequently died in that house or had had their minds twisted such that they were then sent to an asylum.

The hero of the story is never named. Though, it is written in first person. Perhaps I am to assume that the hero is Lovecraft himself. Through an all night vigil, he and his uncle watch the basement of the 'shunned house' to see what might be seen. However, this is to exact the cost of his uncle who somehow mysteriously vanishes or putrefies. Thereafter, armed with a pick-axe and acid, the hero manages to banish the spectre of horror from the house.

The language is positively amusing in how heavily it depends on macabre vocabulary. It is also amusing to read about the use of bleeding edge technology in the era within which this tale was written. Of course, seeming primitive to the early twenty-first century, it also makes me think of all the technology used in modern ghost busters' arsenal.

I still believe that people who are afraid of ghosts are more susceptible to believing in them. Hearing or seeing one, to me, would be a great curiosity that would not induce fear. Surely, how could I not engage in an interview with a ghost? Since I shall surely become one in the not too distant future...