Horror Story Review: "The Tomb" by H. P. Lovecraft

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Jervas Dudley, dreamer and visionary, writes from his “confinement within this refuge for the demented,” or what others might call an insane asylum. He understands this revelation might cause the reader to doubt what he has to say, but really, most of humanity is just too limited in its vision when it comes to understanding the true nature of reality. “Men of broader intellect know there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal,” Jervas says, “that all things appear as they do only by virtue of the delicate individual physical and mental media through which we are made conscious of them…” In childhood, Jervas spent much of his free time in a wooded hollow, reading, thinking, dreaming. In the same wooded hollow, in the darkest of the hillside thicket, stood the deserted tomb of the Hydes, a vault of ancient, weathered granite. Its door is fastened ajar, the opening too small to admit entrance. Jervas, who is related to the Hydes through his mother, finds a key to the chains holding the door… or did he dream it? And what he finds inside… Though this is a horror story, it is imbued with an odd dreamy quality to it. It won’t be to everyone’s taste. It is engaging and atmospheric. Lovecraft is given to archaic language and a wordy style. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. There’s no sex and the violence is implied. A sliver of comic relief lightens the mood a bit, but only for a little while. The text of this story is available online below. _____ Title: “The Tomb” Author: H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) First published: written in 1917, first published in The Vagrant March 1922 Source: ISFDB *An earlier version of this review appeared on another site. It has been updated and expanded for its inclusion at myLot.*