The Rats in the Walls (Lovecraft)
Short Summary
England, 1923. After restoring his ancestral home, Exham Priory, an American moved into the ancient estate despite local villagers' fears and superstitions about the place's dark history.
Strange events began occurring as his cats became agitated, particularly his old black cat, Nigger-Man. The animals seemed to hear rats in the walls, though no rats had been seen there for centuries. The sounds grew worse, and the narrator heard them too - vast hordes of rats seemingly moving downward through the old walls.
With a group of scholars, he investigated the sub-cellar, where they discovered a hidden entrance. Below, they found a horrific sight.
Through a nearly square opening in the tiled floor... was a ghastly array of human or semi-human bones. Those which retained their collocation as skeletons shewed attitudes of panic fear.
They discovered an ancient underground city where his ancestors had bred and herded human cattle for food across generations. Following his cat into the depths, the narrator was overcome by ancestral memories and madness. He was found hours later, having partially eaten Captain Norrys. The story ended with him confined to an asylum, still haunted by the sound of rats in the walls.
Detailed Summary
Chapter divisions added by editors.
Return to the Ancestral Estate
In July 1923, a wealthy retired manufacturer moved into his restored ancestral home, Exham Priory in England.
On July 16, 1923, I moved into Exham Priory after the last workman had finished his labours. The restoration had been a stupendous task, for little had remained of the deserted pile but a shell-like ruin.
The estate had a dark history. In the reign of James I, a tragedy struck when the master killed most of his family and fled to Virginia, becoming the narrator's ancestor. The property had remained abandoned since then, though studied for its unique architecture combining Gothic, Saxon, Roman, and even Druidic elements. Local villagers feared and hated the place, viewing it as a haunt of evil. The narrator learned more about his family's history through his son, who served in England during World War I.
Mysterious Disturbances Begin
After moving in with seven servants and nine cats, the narrator began experiencing unusual events. His favorite cat, Nigger-Man, showed signs of anxiety, constantly sniffing the walls of the old structure.
Behind it I heard a low, distinct scurrying as of rats or mice... Nigger-Man raced up and down the floor by this part of the wall, clawing the fallen arras and seemingly trying at times to insert a paw.
The narrator consulted his neighbor, Captain Edward Norrys, about the disturbances. Despite the fact that rats had been extinct in the region for centuries, they heard distinct sounds of rodent activity within the walls.
Investigation of Ancient Secrets
The narrator and Norrys assembled a team of five experts to investigate the phenomenon. They discovered that the priory was built on the site of a prehistoric temple, with evidence of Roman and Druidic worship. Ancient inscriptions and legends suggested dark rituals and human sacrifices had taken place there.
I seemed to be looking down from an immense height upon a twilit grotto, knee-deep with filth, where a white-bearded daemon swineherd drove about with his staff a flock of fungous, flabby beasts.
During their investigation, the narrator experienced disturbing dreams of a grotto where a demonic swineherd tended to grotesque creatures. The cats became increasingly agitated, and the sounds of rats grew more pronounced, seeming to move downward through the building's foundations.
Discoveries in the Ancient Underground Chambers
The team discovered a vast underground grotto beneath the priory. They found evidence of centuries of horrific practices: pens that had held human cattle, butcher shops, and countless bones showing signs of being gnawed by rats. The anthropologist examined skulls ranging from primitive to modern human types.
Horror piled on horror as we began to interpret the architectural remains. The quadruped things had been kept in stone pens... There had been great herds of them, evidently fattened on coarse vegetables.
They realized that the de la Poer family had maintained an ancient cult that bred and fed upon human cattle for centuries. This discovery explained why the narrator's ancestor, Walter de la Poer, had killed his family and fled to America after learning the truth.
Final Descent into Ancestral Madness
As they explored deeper into the caverns, they encountered bottomless pits filled with bones. The narrator's cat suddenly darted into the darkness, and he followed, drawn by the sound of rats. In the depths, ancestral memories overwhelmed him, and he experienced a psychological breakdown.
When the others found him three hours later, he was crouching over Captain Norrys's half-eaten body, while his cat attacked his throat. The narrator was confined to a mental institution, and Exham Priory was destroyed.
Now they have blown up Exham Priory, taken my Nigger-Man away from me, and shut me into this barred room at Hanwell with fearful whispers about my heredity and experiences.
In his confinement, the narrator insisted that rats still scurried behind the asylum walls, though no one else could hear them. His descent into madness mirrored that of his ancestors, revealing the dark heritage that had haunted his family for generations.