Inspired by the
awesome-looking figures being produced by Workhouse Games, I decided
to revisit one of my favorite Lovecraft tales, Dreams in the
Witch House. I honestly cannot recall when I last read it, but it
has some great characters that the Kickstarter is bringing to life.
I decided to approach this in a couple of ways. I would
listen to the Dark
Adventures Radio Theatre audio drama version from our friends at the
H.P. Lovecraft
Historical Society, and read the story. I thought about also
watching the Masters of Horror version of it, but I recall not being wowed by
that, so I’ll forego that.
The story starts off introducing Walter Gilman. He’s
student at Miskatonic, a gifted mathematician and folklore dabbler who is
troubled by a brain fever and the dreams it causes. Or did the dreams cause the
fever? Like Lovecraft, Mr. Gilman does not strive to maintain his health. There
are frequent mentions of the need to visit a specialist, but Gilman never quite
makes time for that appointment.
The dreams bring about some weird, trippy visions which
are called indescribable but are nonetheless described. They are subtle and
suggestive, and sometimes Lovecraft’s prose gets in the way. However, it’s
rewarding to carefully sift through the vast gulf of adjectives to see what’s
hinted at.
The witch in the witch house is Keziah Mason, described
as a mundane old woman who suddenly and inexplicably becomes a mathematical
genius. This is shocking and the intolerant people of Arkham turn against her,
suspecting some pact with dark powers. In their defense, if I were to suddenly
demonstrate mathematical genius, most people who know me would (perhaps rightly
so) suspect the same thing.
Keziah is delightfully menacing. However, the real treat
is Brown Jenkin, her awful human-faced rat familiar with human hands for paws.
Keziah and Brown Jenkin are some of the evilest characters in Lovecraft’s
works, right up there with Wilbur Whately.
The story itself concerns the seduction of Gilman,
initially through his exploration of esoteric mathematics and its potential for
opening paths through space and time. In this he is drawn along by Mason
visiting times and places, encountering strange beings along the way. (I was
delighted by the appearance of the Elder Things, something I had either missed
entirely or forgotten from my earlier readings.) This less malignant journey
evolves into darker business later in the tale.
I found the second half of the story more enjoyable than
first. The dreams themselves were a bit of a slog for me. The cleaner, more
realized scenes later on were more enjoyable. As a character, Gilman was heroic
in his efforts, if not in his results. All in all, it was a very enjoyable
read.
Listening to the HPLHS Dark Adventure Radio Theater
(DART) audio dramatization around the same time I was reading the story allowed
for some fun comparing and contrasting between the two depictions. The audio
drama adds life to many of the characters mentioned in the story. All of this
helps to enhance the enjoyment. The narrative element which the audio drama
necessitates adds to the experience. This is well done with this particular addition
to the DART series. Just enough was added to the story to enhance things. I
would have liked to have heard a few more things from the final portion of the
story related to the fate of the Witch House itself, but more attention was
paid to the characters. This is a quibbling thing. All in all, the production
was rich and added to the experience.
In summation, Dreams
in the Witch House is a fine story. I encourage you all to crack open your
copy of the story and give it an another read. The minis from the Workhouse
Games Kickstarter help to visualize the characters brilliantly. Finally, the
HPLHS DART audio drama rounds out the experience by giving voice to the
characters you meet along the way. Pleasant dreams!