Un classique lovecraftien. Efficace dans la suggestion de l'horreur sans jamais la montrer en face (et c'est le plus terrifiant). ( )

As Lovecraft himself declined to have this story published, I had a disquieting feeling that I might not be driven beyond horror through Cyclopean ruins and preternatural visions of madness! Paradoxically, my fears were both expunged and loathsomely augmented as I delved deep into the endless catacombs of Pawtuxet, searching out horrors both nameless and unimaginable and yet so cosmically effulgent in Lovecraft's accursed manuscript of alchemical necromancy!!

"He screamed and screamed and screamed in a voice whose falsetto panic no acquaintance of his would ever have recognised; and though he could not rise to his feet he crawled and rolled desperately away over the damp pavement where dozens of Tartarean wells poured forth their exhausted whining and yelping to answer his own insane cries." ...yes, it's that good.

P.S. OGTHROD AI’F GEB’L—EE’H YOG-SOTHOTH ’NGAH’NG AI’Y ZHRO !!! ( )

Set across 18th and early 20th Century New England, this Lovecraft’s longest single story, telling of the eponymous Charles and his fateful obsession with a powerful ancestor, and the darkest of arts. Lacks some of the impact of his best short stories, but does create a good atmosphere that keeps the reader entertained until the end. Some predictable aspects of the plot, but the anticipation of the worst is part of the enjoyment of horror. ( )

I first discovered Lovecraft when I was young, perhaps in junior high? I read everything of his at that time, but this particular work was a bit beyond me.

Now, re-reading it decades later, I understand and respect it more. I like his masterful use of dramatic irony as the characters are slow to discover or understand the cosmic horror which the reader is already privy to, creating a tension that ensnares the reader. I think this novella is less ambiguous than many of his other works, and he tells us almost everything about what finally befell poor Charles Dexter Ward. The setting of Old Providence is beautifully done, and the scenes set underground are particularly chilling. Granted, there are some rambling, slow passages, and a smidge of the racism that mars some of his writing. It is a product of its time, but still enjoyable. ( )

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