Question about HPL's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward"

[trancejeremy]

I was re-reading this last night, and was reminded of a question that's bugged me about it. Just who was it that Dr. Willett accidently ressurects while exploring Curwen's catacombs?

It was someone with a beard. And someone who apparently knew magic of some sort (to cover over the catacomb entrance so quickly, and take out Curwen's pen pals). And someone from 8th-9th century England, since that's what he wrote in (according to the text).

And who was Curwen trying to call up? It seems he wanted someone else, someone presumably homicidal, because he was surprised that Willett was still alive.

I'm sure HPL had someone in mind, but I can't think of anything, except maybe Merlin, but that seems too romantic and common for him to pick.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I don't know why, but I always had the impression it was Socrates. (Although your point about 8th-9th c. England pretty much shoots down that idea.) Well, that wasn't very helpful, was it?

I can't remember from the story -- does Willett ever put down the person he accidentally called up? Or is the mysterious Mr. X still out there somewhere...? We need a sequel!

 

[trancejeremy]

No, probably not Socrates, since the text says the guy wrote latin in "pointed Saxon minuscules of the eighth or ninth century A.D.", and then mentions they brought memories of Caerleon, Hexham, and Hadrian's crumbling wall.

That's the general area of King Arthur and company, but about 200 too late. So dunno about my Merlin idea.

I've been trying to look up Saxon magicians, but all I get is pages about John Saxon (who apparently had done movies where he's played a magician. Both occult and stage).

Then I thought maybe it's a tie in to Howard's Brank Mak Morn stories. But I think that's a lot earlier than that.

But anyway, the guy should still be floating around. Willett fainted after seeing him, then the guy wrote the note in latin (telling Willett to take care of Curwen), put it in his pocket, carried him out of the catacombs, covered over the entrance (and blew it up?), then presumably left for Europe to kill Orne and Hutchinson (both places get blown up). Willett never saw him again.

(I probably should ask on Yog-Sothoth.com - they knew the answer about the mythos story with the giant tractors, but I always forget my password.)

 

[sckeener]

(I probably should ask on Yog-Sothoth.com - they knew the answer about the mythos story with the giant tractors, but I always forget my password.)

If you don't mind, please post the answer if you find out. I'm interested.

 

[Joshua Randall]

mythos story with the giant tractors, but I always forget my password

Er... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over?

 

[trancejeremy]

I got cute with my password there, making it Cthulhu themed. But I can never remember it. So I always have to go through the password retreieval thing which is a pain.

Or if you mean the giant tractor bit, several months I posted a question here about a short mythos based novel that I had read in the 80s, but I couldn't remember the name of. (But wanted to read it again)

It involved an expedition that used giant tractors, and was kinda like At the Mountains of Madness (involved a lost city anyway). No one here knew it, but they knew it over there (It was "The Great White Space" by Basil Copper and not an easy book to track down.)

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

The thread at yog-sothoth.com is here, if anyone's interested.


Barendd Nobeard here, CharlesDexterWard over there