The Dunwich Horror (Lovecraft)

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The Dunwich Horror
1929
Summary of the book
Microsummary: An isolated village witnessed the birth of monstrous twins. One studied dark magic but died revealing its true form. Its giant invisible sibling terrorized the area until scholars banished it.

Short Summary

North central Massachusetts, 1928. In the isolated village of Dunwich, Lavinia Whateley gave birth to a strange child named Wilbur.

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Wilbur Whateley — half-human hybrid, unusually tall and goatish-looking with dark eyes, thick lips, yellowish skin and coarse hair, precocious and educated in dark arts, speaks in strange dialect.

The boy grew at an incredible rate and displayed unnatural intelligence. His grandfather taught him ancient lore from mysterious books, while strange noises emanated from their sealed-off farmhouse. After his grandfather's death, Wilbur attempted to steal a copy of the Necronomicon from Miskatonic University's library.

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Dr. Henry Armitage — elderly librarian at Miskatonic University, 73 years old, learned scholar of occult lore, brave and determined to stop supernatural evil.

During this attempt, Wilbur died, revealing his monstrous non-human body. Shortly after, a terrible invisible creature began terrorizing Dunwich, destroying houses and killing people and cattle. Dr. Armitage discovered that this entity was Wilbur's twin brother, who had grown to enormous size in the sealed upper floor of the farmhouse.

Armitage and two colleagues climbed Sentinel Hill to confront the monster. Using a special powder, they made it briefly visible. One witness described the horror:

That face with the red eyes an' crinkly albino hair, an' no chin, like the Whateleys... It was a octopus, centipede, spider kind o' thing, but they was a haff-shaped man's face on top of it.

Using ancient spells, Armitage and his colleagues banished the creature back to the dimension from which it came. They later explained that the Whateley twins were meant to help their inhuman father bring about the end of humanity, but their plan was thwarted by Wilbur's death and his brother's banishment.

Detailed Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Chapter titles are conditional.

Chapter 1. The Cursed Village of Dunwich

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.

In the decaying village of Dunwich, Massachusetts, the locals avoided discussing the dark history of witch-blood and devil-worship. The village was known for its degenerate inhabitants and mysterious stone circles atop the hills. Strange noises often emanated from the hills, and whippoorwills gathered in unusual numbers. The village's isolation and sinister reputation kept visitors away, especially after the horror of 1928.

Chapter 2. The Birth of Wilbur Whateley

On February 2, 1913, at an isolated farmhouse, a child was born to Lavinia Whateley. The birth was accompanied by strange noises from the hills and persistent barking of dogs.

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Lavinia Whateley — deformed albino woman, 35 years old, Wilbur's mother, unattractive and uneducated but knowledgeable in dark magic, eventually disappears mysteriously.

The child, named Wilbur, was unusually dark and goatish-looking, contrasting sharply with his albino mother. Lavinia lived with her elderly, half-insane father, who was known for practicing dark magic.

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Old Whateley — elderly wizard, Wilbur's grandfather, practitioner of dark magic, half-insane but cunning, teaches grandson forbidden knowledge.

Chapter 3. Wilbur's Unnatural Development

Wilbur's growth was phenomenally rapid. He walked at seven months and talked at eleven months with surprising eloquence. By age four, he looked like a fifteen-year-old, with an unsettling intelligence in his dark eyes. His appearance was increasingly grotesque, with thick lips, yellowish skin, and coarse hair.

Chapter 4. The Mysterious Renovations

Old Whateley began extensive renovations to their farmhouse, focusing on the sealed upper floor. He also started buying cattle without any visible increase in his herd. Wilbur spent much time studying ancient books, guided by his grandfather. When Wilbur was fifteen, his grandfather died, leaving him specific instructions about maintaining something in the sealed upper floor and performing certain rituals.

Chapter 5. The Search for Forbidden Knowledge

By 1927, Wilbur had grown to nearly seven feet tall. He traveled to Miskatonic University's library to consult the dreaded Necronomicon. There he met Dr. Henry Armitage, who became suspicious of his intentions.

The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them, They walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen. Yog-Sothoth knows the gate.

Chapter 6. Wilbur's Fatal Visit

In August 1928, Wilbur attempted to break into the library to steal the Necronomicon. The guard dog attacked him, tearing off his clothes and revealing his true form. Dr. Armitage and his colleagues discovered Wilbur dying on the floor.

The thing that lay half-bent on its side in a foetid pool of greenish-yellow ichor and tarry stickiness was almost nine feet tall, and the dog had torn off all the clothing and some of the skin.

His body was a horrifying hybrid: partly human above the waist but with a scaly, tentacled lower portion. As he died, he called out to Yog-Sothoth in an inhuman language.

Chapter 7. The Horror Emerges

After Wilbur's death, strange events began occurring around the Whateley farmhouse. The building collapsed, revealing that something massive had escaped. Huge tracks appeared in the countryside, and cattle were found mutilated. The horror that Wilbur had been feeding in the sealed upper floor was now loose.

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Earl Sawyer — local farmer who tends to Whateley's cattle, develops nervous condition, witness to strange events.

Chapter 8. The Terror Spreads

The invisible monster terrorized the countryside, destroying farms and killing livestock. Local residents reported seeing trees bending and hearing strange sounds as the creature moved. Several families were killed, including the Fryes and the Bishops. The horror seemed to be growing larger and more destructive.

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Sally Sawyer — housekeeper at Seth Bishop's place, witness to strange events, spreads news about the horror.

Chapter 9. Armitage's Preparation

Dr. Armitage, having decoded Wilbur's diary, understood the nature of the threat. The creature was Wilbur's twin brother, but it took more after their alien father, Yog-Sothoth. Armitage prepared to confront the horror with his colleagues, Professor Warren Rice and Dr. Francis Morgan.

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Professor Warren Rice — stocky professor with iron-grey hair, colleague of Armitage, assists in confronting the horror.
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Dr. Francis Morgan — lean and youngish professor, colleague of Armitage, assists in confronting the horror.

We have no business calling in such things from outside, and only very wicked people and very wicked cults ever try to. There was some of it in Wilbur Whateley himself - enough to make a devil of him.

Chapter 10. The Final Confrontation

The three professors tracked the monster to Sentinel Hill. Using a special powder, they made the creature briefly visible to onlookers. Curtis Whateley, who witnessed this moment through a telescope, described a horrifying sight of a massive, tentacled entity with a face resembling Wilbur's.

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Curtis Whateley — member of the undecayed branch of Whateleys, witness to the horror, provides crucial testimony about the monster's appearance.

Armitage and his colleagues performed an ancient banishing ritual while the monster attempted to break through to another dimension. The creature called out to Yog-Sothoth in both alien and human languages before being destroyed in a massive burst of light and energy.

It was like its father - and most of it has gone back to him in some vague realm or dimension outside our material universe; some vague abyss out of which only the most accursed rites could ever have called him.

After the horror was banished, Armitage explained to the townspeople that the Whateleys had been trying to use Wilbur's twin to clear the Earth of human life and open the way for the return of the Old Ones. The elderly Zebulon Whateley recalled an old prophecy about hearing Lavinia's child calling its father's name from Sentinel Hill.

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Zebulon Whateley — elderly member of partially decayed Whateley branch, knowledgeable about old traditions and dark rituals.

Outsiders visit Dunwich as seldom as possible, and since a certain season of horror all the signboards pointing toward it have been taken down... people shun it without knowing exactly why.