The Dunwich Horror
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
"The Dunwich Horror" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. It takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town in Massachusettes one arrives at when they take "the wrong fork at the junction of Aylesbury pike just beyond Dean's Corners," according to the story.
"The Dunwich Horror" tells the story of Wilbur Whateley, son of a deformed albino mother and an unknown father. The story tells of the strange events surrounding his birth and development, including his indoctrination into dark rituals and his study of witchcraft by his sorceror grandfather, until Wilbur grows into an evil young man bent on summoning and nurturing an unseen monster at his home in Dunwich. The monster is connected to the Lovecraftian Outer God Yog-Sothoth.
The story culminates with "the actual Dunwich horror," the day when the monster destroys the Whateley farm and begins rampaging across Dunwich. The frightful town is terrorized by the invisible creature for several days until Dr. Armitage, Professor Rice, and Dr. Morgan, all of Lovecraft's Miskatonic University, arrive with the knowledge and weapons needed to defeat the creature. In the end, its nature as Wilbur Whateley's twin and child of the Outer God is revealed.
External Links
- The Dunwich Horror text online (http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/thedunwichhorror.htm)
- Wikisource - The Dunwich Horror
