Maciek's Reviews > The Dunwich Horror and Other Stories

When a traveller in north central Massachusetts takes the wrong fork at the junction of the Aylesbury pike just beyond Dean’s Corners he comes upon a lonely and curious country.

The Dunwich Horror is set in the isolated and derelict village of Dunwich, and is the story of an isolated and derelict family - the Whateleys. The story is centered around the youngest Whateley, Wilbur, who is a most unusual person - son of an albino mother and an unknown father, he grows up much faster than other children, reaching maturity in just ten years. There are whispers of the Whateley grandfather strange and disturbing influence on the boy, as old Whateley constantly buys more and more cattle, having a seemingly unending amount of money - yet the size of his her never increases. The Whateley farm is also a topic of many hushed talks - there's an omen of a strange presence in the farmhouse, which the Whateleys keep rebuilding, and strange noises frighten infrequent visitors.

The Dunwich Horror builds up slowly to the actual horror, which occurs at the very end; most of the novel focuses on the disintegration of the Whateley family, and the growing strangeness of young Wilbur. At fourteen Wilbur resembles a gargoyle rather than a man, and is universally hated by dogs; he has to buy a gun to be able to defend himself from them. Lovecraft's trademark Miskatonic University in Arkham makes an appearance as the place where young Wilbur ventures to study the infamous Necronomicon. The actual horror occurs at the end of the novel, and affects most of Dunwich in its grotesque monstrosity; it is notable that The Dunwich Horror remains one of the very few (if not only) Lovecraft stories where a group of heroes not only actively study the nature of said horror, but put up successful resistance against it. Still, the story lacks the intrigue and suspense of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, which I thought was much more engaging and enjoyable.

As always with Lovecraft, you can freely and legally read this story online, or download a copy for your eReader.