******Beginning of Part Eight******

Here we are, at my number 1 recommended story by HP Lovecraft. This is my favorite story by the author. Honestly, something about it just speaks to me. What is it, you have been pondering for a long while now. And without further adieu, my 1# is . . .

1# Whisperer In Darkness

This is the one HPL story I remember first reading. Yes, no audiobook or comic or movie or anything but simple text on paper. And what a ride it was. This was the story that got me hooked and interested in HPL’s work. Honestly, I read this in my twenties and I regret not discovering it sooner.

Everything about this story just falls into place for me. The mystery, the mythology, the macabre, and even the monster/alien featured in this tale inspires the imagination. I could go on and on with this introduction, gushing over how excited I am to revisit this classic in Horror/Sci-fi. Even that title of the story evokes terror and intrigue.

Before we get into it, I will link to the HP Lovecraft Historical Society once again. And yes I am using the audiobook from them as I have all others that came before it. This time though, I am linking to the movie the HPLHS made based on “Whisperer in Darkness”. I highly recommend checking it out because it is a charming and well made little indie flick.

https://www.hplhs.org/mptwid.php

BTW, I was just skimming through the page and they have a log of their production for the movie. One entry is called “Lawyers, Guns, and Money” which is undoubtedly a reference to one of my favorite musicians, Warren Zevon. Love that song!

I own the DVD of this movie because, well, I’m a sucker for that old school black and white horror movie style and the story is executed just so freaking good. The HPLHS do the tale justice with its adaptation. It’s super well done and worth checking out. I look forward to more of their motion pictures.

Anyway, get those brains in those jars ready, let's dive right into “Whisperer in Darkness” . . .

I — So we open with a narrator who is a Miskatonic University professor of New England folklore, which feels like it would be HPL’s dream job. And the inciting incident that begins the story is a flood that happens in Vermont during November 1927. This flood actually happen and looks eerily familiar to the floods caused by hurricanes today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vermont_Flood_of_1927

So this first chapter sets up my favorite Lovecraftian alien/monster, the Mi-Go. These guys are possibly the coolest and creepiest designed monster in his fiction. And they are an intelligent alien race that has been sighted and made into folklore all across the world for generations. I so love how the narrator was the skeptic before getting into the investigation. It's like a reverse Mulder from X-Files, a nonbeliever with all the knowledge becoming a believer after encountering the alien.

II — We learn that our narrator is called Albert N. Wilmarth. And I learned a new latin phrase: “Ex nihilo nihil fit” which means “Nothing comes from nothing”. I always found latin fascinating and sadly never really learned the language. Apparently the phrase is a key element in rational philosophy which makes sense.

So, Wilmarth has correspondence through letters with one Henry Akeley, a man of higher education who lives near one of the Mi-Go colonies. And offers vague hints of their origin and intent on earth. Also, another Necronomicon mention! It’s almost like HPL was building a lore or something, especially with his novellas. And so many Cthulhuian mythos entities are mentioned in this chapter that I kind of got excited. And to hear anyone try to pronounce these wacky names is a treat to the ears.

My fav Azathoth is mentioned, as is Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, “Mythos Garfield” Tsathoggua, and many others. Makes me wonder what HPL’s notes look like. All these weird and hard to pronounce names and how many did he actually manage to use? I wonder if he had a plethora of names he feverishly wrote down after a bout of sleep paralysis.

HPL with sleep paralysis . . . oh yeah, I would be surprised if he didn’t have episodes of that.

Oh, and a planet beyond Neptune is mentioned, that is relevant for later . . .

III — I want to say this is the first story to mention Shub-Niggurath which, yah, that’s a name right there. But it's doctored enough to be more weird than problematic.

I do like how Wilmarth and Akeley’s correspondences are being intercepted by the Mi-Go. At least, that is what Akeley tells Wilmarth through letters. Interfering with postal services is a crime though if the Mi-Go do it incognito then they could get away with it.

And even though the Mi-Go are an alien race capable of interstellar travel, they still believe in religion and worship and rites. Reminds me of “Dune” and how religion plays a heavy part in that whole series even though mankind is able to fly through space, essentially pierce the heavens and go beyond the terrestrial reach of any deity.

Makes me wonder about modern humanity and if we ever leave earth, what will we be bring with us into the cosmos?

IV — Now things are getting good. Bullets are flying! But fair warning, dogs do die numerous times as mentioned in Akeley’s letters. And we get a fair amount of letters too. I like how a lot of the horror thus far is only through the account of one scholar remembering letters sent to him by a lone hermit he had not met before.

And of course a story like this could only be told in the early days of wired communication, when morse code was still being used and telephones had rotary dials and still needed switch operators. And after typing that sentence, I guarantee many who are reading this are looking up certain out-of-date terms. I remember rotary phones at least, but they became obsolete by the time I was going to school.

Still, the 1920s led to a lot of the horror HPL was writing. There are no smartphones, or Google searches, or even wireless communication outside of radios. Information was traveling but not to the extent or abundance of today's technology. Geez, the Mi-Go would be screwed today with how fast and wide spread communication is today.

V — Another Latin phrase comes up, “modus vivendi” which means “way of life”. Cool.

And Akeley is typing his letters to Wilmarth with a Corona typewriter. I cannot see the word corona without thinking back to 2020 and the mess we are still experiencing today. Anyway, not suspicious at all that a man who used to hand write his letters suddenly changes to typing and his attitude changes as well.

That’s not sus at all! 🤨

And Wilmarth still falls for it. I guess the promise of eldritch knowledge is too much for a Miskatonic Professor to pass up. Yeah, this will end well.

VI — And he takes all of the stuff Akeley gave him, letter, photos, and the phonograph. And he tells no one, as Akeley’s typed letter told him. Wow, people were so naive—no, people are still naive when faced with things they wanted to believe.

And this is the chapter where HPL goes heavy into the scenery and setting of the story’s local. I remember when I read this story for the first time, it was Wilmarth’s journey to Akeley’s farm residence that I began to space out a bit. That is until something interesting like Wilmarth discovery of weird prints brought me back into the story.

As an author and reader, I always have struggled with visualizing settings for some reason. Maybe I am so hyperfocused on the characters and story, I overlook the background. And it is very clear that HPL loved the New England countryside. He almost describes the rivers and forests like a narrator in a romance novel would describe a love interest.

Man, I wish I had that skill and enthusiasm for setting. I just struggle with that aspect of writing and the struggle is so very real. I try to improve and maybe someday, I will write a competent setting description worth of HPL.

VII — Oh yeah, this is the chapter. This is the chapter where things get interesting. Pretty much the chapter where the whole story revolves around. This is going to be gooooood!

And good it is! Holy smokes, this still gives me chills. Now, HPL did not invent the concept of “Brain in a vat” but this story did popularize the idea. And so many stories take influence from the very thought of the human brain being separated from the body and placed into a device that would give it a whole new autonomy.

So many anime, video games, and movies like “the Matrix” use the concept to create strange and horrible stories that make one question the reality around them. Akeley seems excited to have his brain in a cylinder and being carried all across the cosmos. Sounds like a good time! 👍

And Akeley is just sick, he’s okay. Don’t mind the fact that Wilmarth thinks he looks corpse-like and repulsive, nevermind all that!

VIII — Pluto is discovered and its still a planet, damnit. Or we can just call it Yoggoth and assume the best! Yeah!

So not spoiling as always, certainly not this story. But damn what an ending! So good! So damn gooooood!

Anyway, if I were to pick only one story from this list then “Whisperer In Darkness” gets my glowing recommendation. It is sci-fi horror at its finest. And I think what makes it so effective is that the narrator, Wilmarth, only really gets the horror second hand and through the letters and phonograph that Akeley sent him.

I will recommend the HPLHS’s film adaptation of the story. Sooo Goooooood!

And so we come to the conclusion of my “Top Ten Recommended Stories by HP Lovecraft” and man what a ride this has been. And one hell of a project, I’ve been at this for most of January. And I’ve only scratched the surface of HP Lovecraft's body of work. He has done so much that its almost dizzying and brain-shattering to think about.

Again, I will give thanks to the HP Lovecraft Historical Society for their audiobooks I have listened to throughout this project. It was fun and exhilarating to revisit HPL’s work with narrations by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman. Three thumbs up, gentlemen! Thank you!

https://www.hplhs.org/completefiction.php

And I would like to thank the HP Lovecraft Archives for providing text for me to follow as I listened to the HPLHS audiobooks. I own a couple physical prints of HPL’s work but a browser base text doc made this all the more a smooth project to undertake. And the site continues to update, which is awesome! Thank you!

https://www.hplovecraft.com/

And thank you, intrepid reader, for coming this far. I do hope you check out HPL’s work and enjoy my little commentaries of praise, critique, and snark along the way. And check out other works by the author, which are numerous. And so I close this by quoting the HPLHS motto which is Latin and I shall leave you, dear reader, to translate. It pretty much sums up why I did this article to begin with:

🦑 “Ludo Fore Putavimus” 🦑

Good Luck and Azathoth sees you as you sleep . . .

—Buck

PS . . . sees you, because you ARE Azathoth’s dream, as are ALL things! 👁️‍🗨️

PPS: After completing the first draft, this article ended up being just under 13,500 words long, half a “Whisperer in Darkness.” Wow, just wow! 😱 THE HORROR! 🙀