| Title | : | The Shuttered Room and Other Tales of Terror |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 166 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1959 |
The Shuttered Room and Other Tales of Terror Reviews
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Como bien es sabido, el bueno de August Derleth, una vez fallecido el maestro Lovecraft, encontró entre sus papeles apuntes e ideas para futuros relatos o simplemente para relatos que no llegaron a entusiasmarle. Los cuentos recopilados en este volumen son el fruto de esta "colaboración", por llamarle de alguna manera; ya desde el primer relato, te das cuenta de quién los ha escrito. La prosa de Lovecraft es inconfundible, por mucho que digan. Derleth fue un muy buen discípulo del Maestro de Providence, y estos relatos son un gran ejemplo de su buen hacer; incluso puedo decir que alguno de ellos es imprescindible para todo aficionado al género del terror sobrenatural y cósmico.
Estos relatos tratan sobre todo de los Mitos de Cthulhu, de los Dioses Arquetípicos, los Primordiales y la Gran Raza, detallándose en alguno de ellos cómo alguna de las especies extraterrestres tienen planeado hacerse con el planeta Tierra.
Estos son los diez relatos contenidos en el libro:
- EL SUPERVIVIENTE (THE SURVIVOR) (****). El protagonista, anticuario, decide alquilar la casa del doctor Charriere, de la cuál se dice está embrujada, fallecido hace tres años, y en cuyo testamento dejó dicho que uno de sus descendientes volvería para habitarla, algo que todavía no ha sucedido ni tiene visos que vaya a suceder.
- EL DÍA DE HAHUM WENTWORTH (WENTWORTH'S DAY) (***). Por el norte de Dunwich, Massachusetts, viaja el protagonista tras realizar un encargo. Pero de repente cae una tormenta y ha de buscar refugio en una vieja casa apartada del camino.
- EL LEGADO PEABODY (THE PEABODY HERITAGE) (****). El protagonista recibe como herencia la propiedad de su bisabuelo, Asaph Peabody. Entre arreglo y arreglo de la casa, decide reunir a todos los muertos de la familia en el cementerio de la misma. Será cuando mueva el ataúd de su bisabuelo cuando descubra cuál es el "legado Peabody".
- LA VENTANA EN LA BUHARDILLA (THE GABLE WINDOWS) (****). El protagonista decide trasladarse a casa de su primo Wilbur Akeley, cuando éste muere inesperadamente. Wilbur, estudiante de arqueología y antropología, guarda muchos libros antiguos y diarios con sus investigaciones, haciendo referencia entre ellos a cierto cristal de Leng, de cuya destrucción deja instrucciones en una carta.
- EL ANTEPASADO (THE ANCESTOR) (***). Ambrose Perry ofrece a su primo Henry un trabajo de secretario. Ambrose, retirado de la práctica de la medicina y recluido en su casa, se dedica a ciertos experimentos de cuyos detalles entrará en conocimiento Henry al transcribir sus notas. Estos experimentos parecen consistir en un viaje regresivo a la memoria hereditaria.
- LA SOMBRA FUERA DEL ESPACIO (THE SHADOW OUT OF SPACE) (***). Nathaniel Corey, psicoanalista, recibe como paciente a Amos Piper, famoso por sus investigaciones antropológicas. Amos sufrió un cambio de personalidad inexplicable, que provocó una serie de viajes a lugares lejanos y de lecturas de extraños libros. Tras su recuperación, padece continuas y aterradoras alucionaciones.
- LA LÁMPARA DE ALHAZRED (THE LAMP OF ALHAZRED) (*****). Ward Phillips recibe una lámpara de su desaparecido abuelo, dado por muerto tras pasados siete años. Según su abuelo, se trata de su tesoro más valioso. Esta lámpara perteneció a un árabe loco llamado Abdul Alhazred... "Puede proporcionar tanto placer encencida como apagada. Igualmente puede traer dolor. Es la fuente del éxtasis o del terror". Esta historia es todo un homenaje a Lovecraft.
- EL PESCADOR DEL CABO DEL HALCÓN (THE FISHERMAN OF FALCON POINT) (**). En el puerto de Innsmouth, se habla mucho de Enoch Conger, que una noche vió algo maravilloso, algo que pescó con su red.
- LA HERMANDAD NEGRA (THE DARK BROTHERHOOD) (*****). A Arthur Phillips le gusta mucho dar paseos nocturnos, encontrarse con lugares extraños e insólitos. En estos paseos le acompaña normalmente su amiga Rose Dexter. Será en uno de aquéllos cuando se encuentren con un hombre muy singular llamado Allan, cuyo parecido con Edgar Allan Poe es increíble, y en cuya presencia, tanto Arthur como Rose sintieron algo extraño. Nunca imaginará Arthur lo que significará este encuentro en el futuro...
- LA HABITACIÓN CERRADA (THE SHUTTERED ROOM) (*****). Abner Whateley regresa a Dunwich para hacerse cargo de la propiedad de su abuelo Luther Whateley, recientemente fallecido. Esto no caerá muy bien a los habitantes de la zona, que recuerdan la pesadilla que se vivió en la cima de Sentinel Hill debida a su primo Wilbur. Abner recuerda cosas de su vida en la casa, entre ellos el encierro de su tía Sarah en su habitación. El abuelo Luther le ha dejado a Abner una carta en la que le ordena que parte de la casa sea destruida, y que cualquier cosa viva que encuentre sea eliminada, sin importar su tamaño... Este relato es el mejor de la recopilación. Imprescindible. -
-A partir de borradores de uno, el otro completa alguna vez y perpetra otras.-
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. Diez relatos construidos por Derleth a partir de diferentes borradores e ideas de Lovecraft, que nos llevarán a conocer varios legados distintos, a recelar de las casas apartadas, a descubrir investigaciones sobre memoria hereditaria y a enfrentar el resultado de conocer cosas que un mero humano nunca debería saber, entre otros temas.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com.... -
Here I review the specific book ‘The Shuttered Room and Other Pieces’ Arkham House 1959.
The reason I specify this is because I am not exclusively reviewing the story itself, but the collection and all the individual chapters within.
The story is regularly available, collected with others of a similar ‘collaboration’, but the additional material is harder to find, fragmented into other collections or just not available at all. It is a great shame as there were so few of these printed (2,500) and far too many will be on dealers and collector’s shelves…all wrapped up and looked after, but not read.
For me this is where so much of HPL is lost, the words of the people who actually knew him. Complicated is far too simple a word for the old gent, and I increasingly find that I am more interested in the man himself, than actually reading his stories; bear in mind he himself stated that the majority of his work was ‘below par’ and it is true that much of the work does not really stand for repeated reading...but when he got it right…that’s the gold-dust, stories and images that no other writer can touch.
Take for instance The Shuttered Room itself. August Derleth did many great things, and without him HPL may have been lost altogether…but he couldn’t write like him and this is a prime example. Some great imagery, but overall far too clumsy. The Fisherman of Falcon Point is actually better, although still not anywhere near 'Innsmouth' standard.
You can skip the Juvenalia – again interesting to a point, but of little worth otherwise; likewise The Commonplace Book and the poetry.
But then the book becomes really interesting – Lovecraft in Providence will tell you more about the man than any internet search…reprinted in Lovecraft Remembered in 1998 – again now out of print and, as such, at a much-inflated price. Further chapters of reminiscence and encounters help paint a much more colourful picture of how he lived his life - 'Thee Hours With HPL' being an absolute joy; before Lin Carter provides an awesome overview of the Tomes and Gods that fill Lovecraft’s world, as well as the greater Cthulhu Mythos.
The final chapter before a quick reprint of three of his finer, shorter work (Dagon, The Strange High House In The Mist and The Outsider), is the only one the really disappoints. Lovecraft’s First Book by William L Crawford tells of the publication of The Shadow Over Innsmouth in 1936. Only 400 copies made, of which less than 200 survive, this deserves so much more than the 4 pages of text presented – surely Derleth should have demanded more detail, more reaction….a story that deserved to be told by the only man that could tell it…opportunity missed.
It'll cost you over £150 to buy this book…and that’s a real shame as for as long as this detail is harder to find, the more a distorted caricature of Lovecraft will prevail and the man will ultimately be lost. -
I've heard of HP Lovecraft, the classic, tragic writer of creepy stories from the 1920's, but I'd never read anything by him. So, when this wandered into my path (hey, free book!) I decided to give it a go. It seemed really interesting from a historical perspective, and I love his name. Besides, the book itself was creepy- old and yellowed with notes written in spidery handwriting in the margins (Who takes notes on a horror story?). I settled in, prepared to be a little disturbed.
As it turns out, things that were creepy in the 1920s wouldn't make you bat an eye today. There was a lizard monster, a couple of possessed kids, maybe some wizened townsfolk scattered about...but it was almost sweet, how un-scary this book was. -
Mr. Derleth really likes Mr. Lovecraft. Some days, when Mr. Derleth wakes up in the morning, he likes Mr. Lovecraft so much, that he thinks he is Mr. Lovecraft. On days like these, which aren't rare, he picks up a pen, sits behind a sheet of paper, and he writes a story. One day he wrote a story called 'The Shadow Out of Space' and he was proud; his smile stretched the contours of his face; he went to bed that night contented. But, Mr. Derleth, isn't your story very similar to Mr. Lovecraft's 'The Shadow Out of Time'? "Yes", Mr. Derleth says, "it is".
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Old-school creepy stories, really had fun reading this.
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Six stories by August Derleth.
Derleth deserves credit for maintaining the legacy of H P Lovecraft.
But he was not the equal of H P Lovecraft, and this collection shows why. -
Should have listened to his grandfather.
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Pretty good collection of Lovecraft stories from later in his life. Most were unfinished, at least until August Derleth got a hold of them. As a result, they read a bit non-Lovecraftian, though for me at least, that's a good thing.
There's some actual dialogue! (Something Lovecraft seemingly hated and rarely included) and the beginning of each story is a bit less dull than usual. I'll have to read some of Derleth's own stuff to see just how much of the difference was him, versus Lovecraft's change over time.
The stories themselves are standard Lovecraft: reclusive, educated 1920s/30s gent stumbles across ancestral land/home in Massachusetts (or Providence, in one story) and encounters inexplicable weirdness. These stories have less of the weirdness than his earlier stuff, probably due to Derleth, but it's hard to say. It might be why they were unfinished. Big names like Cthulhu and the Elder Gods and such rarely intrude in these stories.
The collection does highlight one of Lovecraft's biggest weaknesses though: every narrator, no matter who they are, writes in exactly the same style (Lovecraft's, obviously). As an author, he didn't have the ability or perhaps inclination to contemplate how different people would write in different styles and perspectives (not everyone is exhaustively verbose in describing everyday events, or takes 10 pages to get to the crux of a story, even when relating events to the police!).
That's Lovecraft though, and if you read more than one of his stories you start recognizing the pattern and style and how it rarely, if ever, changes. Every narrator is the same guy, even when it's not. Every plot is the same, and every threat is the same (well, it's either aliens or monsters, but even they generally come from the same thing if you think about it).
Which is an admittedly long-winded way of saying that if you like Lovecraft, and are cool with his style, you'll like this collection. It's also conspicuously bereft of Lovecraft's usual racism, which is nice. It's probably Derleth's influence here, but from most accounts Lovecraft came around somewhat on the issue at the end of his life, so maybe he made some progress. Let's hope so.
I mean, he still casts shade on various dark-skinned tribes and groups in far-flung locales, who are generally the ones keeping his ancient Lovecraftian horrors alive in their various hidden cults, but it's not nearly as blatant as in his earlier stories. -
Obra maestra. Hace años que no leía cuentos tan maravillosos. Prosa excelente. Enganchan desde el primer momento. Casi todos los cuentos tienen varios elementos comunes como la casa abandonada, la herencia, el testamento del muerto, el pueblo alejado, los vecinos, el campo, las leyendas y las supersticiones. Tiene algo de folclórico, antropológico y científico. Se nota que los autores eran grandes lectores y amantes de la naturaleza y la ciencia. En el fondo, se vislumbra el ímpetu por saber por qué estamos en este mundo, quien es el ser humano en el cosmos, quiénes habitan en otros planetas, qué inteligencias gobiernan aquellos otros mundos desconocidos. En los cuentos de Lovecraft, vemos hombres solitarios, vecinos poco amigables, monstruos mitad humanos mitad batracios y siempre un comienzo que es el principio de una nueva vida para ese personaje. Una esencia muy americana de nuevo comienzo de hombres solitarios con infancias solitarias, eruditos y poco sociables. Un poco como la vida de Lovecraft. No hay mujeres casi. Atmósferas oscuras aunque, no se equivoque el lector. No aterroriza como otro tipo de historias. Hay un punto hilarante en la crónica de la atmósfera de las historias. Los relatos están tan bien narrados que uno no puede dejar de pensar que cuando un escritor quiere asustar, en el fondo, se está riendo de todos nosotros. Y eso, de alguna manera, se transmite. Este libro es un gol. Altamente recomendable.
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Відгук на головне оповідання збірки.
Ебнер Уотлі, як ми вже звикли, успадковує будинок у глушині. Цього разу доля закидає персонажа в Данвіч. У своєму прощальному листі нині покійний дід Лютер наказав знищити водяний млин і все живе, що може звідти вилізти, але Ебнер не приділяє цьому уваги і не вбиває жаби, яку знаходить у зачиненій кімнаті над млином. Згодом у Данвічі щось починає вбивати худобу, а потім – людей, і не треба бути математиком, щоб скласти два і два, і зрозуміти, яку істоту насправді звільнив Ебнер з тієї кімнати. -
Con excepción de «La hermandad negra», todos los relatos de este volumen responden a la misma fórmula:
Jebediah Azram (o cualquier anagrama de referente masculino, como Zaharia Djebem, Jared H. Miazabe, Ahab Zeedmaijr, etc.) llega a
a) Providence
b) Arkham
c) Innsmouth
porque ha heredado allí
a) una casa
b) una casa llena de libros
c) una casa y un diario manuscrito.
Se suceden felices coincidencias y recuerdos desdichados, hasta que, involuntariamente, el protagonista
a) pronuncia un sortilegio
b) abre una puerta condenada
c) se sume en un sueño lúcido
y debe enfrentarse a
a) un batracio
b) un gasterópodo de otra dimensión
c) un pariente al que creía muerto (y que casi siempre se ha transformado en batracio). -
This book is credited to H.P. Lovecraft; the actual book cover credits Lovecraft and, in much smaller print, August Derleth. In reality, the stories herein were all written by Derleth, long after Lovecraft's death, sometimes based on stray lines from Lovecraft's letters or his notebooks. They are considerably inferior to Lovecraft's own stories, but they did help to keep Lovecraft's concepts alive for a certain generation of readers. Now that Lovecraft's own stories are available in definitive editions edited by S.T. Joshi, and the world of Mythos writing itself has expanded to include writers of real merit and originality like W.H. Pugmire and others, we may look back on these pastiches with a certain fondness, aware of the act of homage they represent, while equally sensible to how far they fall short of their originals.
I am re-reading this book at present and will update this review with short notes on each of the stories as I finish reading them. -
De lectura imprescindible, La Habitación Cerrada contiene una serie de elementos que encaminan a los iniciados en el culto Lovecraftniano a asomarse en el mundo monstruoso de los Dioses Primigenios y sus alcances.
Conjuros, alianzas, cultos, presencias innombrables y enfrentamiento cara a cara con descendientes de la legendaria cosmogonía.
Con cuentos que crispan la piel, Howard Phillips Lovecraft y August Derleth logran introducirnos a la asfixiante atmósfera que domina en sus escenarios. En algunos dan la pauta para entender este oscuro mundo. Basta La Lámpara de Alhazred para que, auto-protagonizándose, H. Phillips nos guie por los horrores de su imaginario.
Y cerrando con el cuento que da nombre al compendio, una espeluznante imagen nos invadirá al terminar con el relato.
Por favor léanlo sin prejuicios, solos o acompañados. De todos modos, de nada servirá, pues el miedo será nuestro mejor anfitrión. -
Algunos me han dejado un poco meh pero la gran mayoría me han ENCANTADO, pensaba que no me gustaría, porque de alguna forma asocio a Lovecraft y a Poe... y bueno, Poe no me gustó nada en su momento (aunque me plantearé darle una segunda oportunidad y hacerle una reseña si le dais mucho amor a la que le toca a Lovecraft)
Si queréis ver la reseña conjunta de todos los relatos que he leído en este libro de Lovecraft, la subiré pronto (probablemente en marzo) a mi Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/lucybellhaner -
Weird, creative, dark. Will give you like 10 words for 'gross'.
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Cuando vi los nombres Lovecraft y Derleth bajo el sello de Alianza Editorial, que suele tener un plus en sus ediciones, no dude ni un segundo en comprarlo. Expectativa por mas relatos de unos de mis autores favoritos y aun más por los de Derleth de quien solo había leído uno o dos relatos .
Vaya sorpresa me di cuando al indagar un poco que todas las historias son exclusivas de Derleth quien sumo a Lovecraft en la autoría solo como un homenaje póstumo. No me sentí estafado ni engañado, pues de Derleth fue el más entusiasta preservando y expandiendo el legado Lovecraft. Pero las diferencias entre ambos se van haciendo notorias.
A pesar de los argumentos recurrentes (fuerzas superiores al ser humano, fragilidad mental, herencias familiares ) la visión de Derleth tiende a ser más explicita y polarizada entre el bien y mal. Por momentos tiene ideas fantásticas pero lamentablemente esta selección no adhiere mucho, salvo en algunos relatos específicos. El mayor problema es que termina en su mayoría convirtiéndose en una reescritura de conocidos títulos de Lovecraft. Bajo ningún motivo recomendaría empezar con los mitos aquí; la sorpresa, ambientación y atmósfera no se pierde en la fuente original. Sin embargo hay un par que valen la pena y uno que debería ser esencial.
El Superviviente: predecible pero con buena ambientación 3/5
El dia de Nahum Wentworth: el climax fue un poco flojo pero me gusto 2/5
El legado Peabody 2/5
La ventana en la buhardilla : poco pesada pero buena idea 2.5/5
El antepasado: mejor leer Los perros de Tindalos" y "La bestia en la cueva" 1/5
La sombra fuera del espacio: copia de En la noche de los tiempos, pero entretiene 3/5
La lámpara de Alhazred : el que me gusto más, toma elementos pasados y crea una biografía ficticia de Lovecraft 5/5
El pescador de Cabo Halcón: skip it 1/5
La hermandad negra: Otra vez juega con Lovecraft como personaje ademas de un incluir a un autor muy conocido 3/5
La habitación cerrada: referencias a relatos pasados, me quedo la sensación de que era otro El Horror de Dunwich 2/5
No me he rendido contigo Derleth!!! Se que sus otros trabajos son los que aportan mas originalidad, los leeré en algún momento pero por ahora es suficiente. -
None of these stories ever acheive quite the effect of sheer cosmic horror that seems to be Lovecraft's truly unique gift, but they sure give the impression of someone having an absolute whale of a time messing about in the sandbox, and they have lots of nice touches here and there, such as female characters with dialogue and agency and who, y'know, have actual sex with the protagonist rather than engaging in unholy breeding programmes. It all serves to highlight Lovecraft's own unique preoccupations, somewhat, given that they were written contemporaneously. Even the racism is only occasional and rather bog-standard or perhaps even just there because it's a Lovecraftian feature like Dunwich and calling frogs 'brachians.' I'd quite like to read more of these if I can find them.
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"Si hay algo que nos salva en este mundo... Es la incapacidad de la mente humana para correlacionar todos sus contenidos. Vivimos en una isla de ignorancia en medio de los mares negros del infinito, y no estamos hechos para viajar lejos" Excelente compilación de relatos cortos de horror, ciencia ficción y de claro homenaje al mismo Lovecraft. El único detalle es que para entender al 100% y que llegue la lectura super fluida es que tienes que saber algo básico de los mitos de Cthulhu. Pero fuera de eso los relatos son excelentes.
El legado de Peabody es del que sentí escalofríos.
La hermandad Oscura es horror cósmico puro. Y muchos otros son los que te dejaran pensando antes de dormir. -
Gulp-size stories. The narrators were often unbelievably thick-headed unable to see what was coming (and I wasn't sure if Lovecraft expected the reader, too, to be that dense), or else, I was able to foresee because so many similar plots have spawned from H. P. Lovecraft. His focus on isolated backwoods regions as the seat of evil is interesting. It is true that rural towns are often shut, immured to the energy of a crisscrossing world. He displayed evil thriving herein, undisturbed and unquestioned. It was only when outsiders came upon the scene, or communities gathered together, that they were able to drive it out.
Also, I won't be able to look at frogs the same way, for a while! -
A decent collection of short stories.
I wasn't blown away by this, but I had fun reading a few stories, especially 'The Shuttered Room', which is brilliant!
I am a massive fan of old-fashioned horror/ghost stories, but overall, this collection didn't quite hit the sweet spot.
Look out for 'The Shuttered Room' as a standalone story. For me, this is easily the best story of the bunch.
Worth a read if you manage to get your hands on a copy. -
Overall, these stories are pretty lame, and I'm fairly sure That they are written by Derleth. Lovecraft does a MUCH better job. Shame on you, Derleth.
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Reads like a massive crossover fanfic of Lovecraft's most famous characters
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"But what am I, without being a study of science?"
Get used to reading variations of the above quote if you want to read the Shuttered Room by August Derleth (despite being quoted as a co-writer, he had very little to do with the actual book. Every story in the book is reflective of the each other, the two last.
The first story, the Shutter Room, is probably the longest of the six stories written for this book. It is also the most Lovecraftian a young man leaves his cosmopolitan for the lonely hamlet of Dunwich (the setting for not just one, but two of the stories of this book). When he arrives he is warned by the locals to beware what his grandfather had inside the house that the young man was staying in. He ignores this as crazy superstition even though he admits he has no better idea of what's going on, so he tries to take the scientific process into his exploration of the situation, because there is no way any thing crazy could be going on.
And then a giant fish man tries to eat him so he runs away.
Congratulations! You now don't have to read the next four stories!Well, minus the fish man. But really, Witches Hollow, The Horror From the Middle Span, and The Shadow in the Attic all follow the same process of The Shuttered Room. That being:
1.Man from civilization goes into a secluded, dark place.
2. Strange happenings and/or locals warn him to beware.The man ignores it though, as he is a man of the new scientific age.
3.Man explores for a while.
4. Man gets attacked by elder gods/old ones, barely escapes/becomes food for Cthulhu.
And that what the first four stories represent. The fifth story, The Fisherman of Falcon Point, is the story about a very lonely fisherman who then becomes a fishman, tying in greatly with The Shuttered Room.
The Dark Brotherhood, final story of the book, is the most unique. Because it involves several alien Edger Allen Poes coming down and trying to impregnate our women. Sadly, I found it to be in fact rather dull, and it wasn't really as well written as the other stories.
Yes, the book is in fact well written! August Derleth is, in my opinion, a very goo writer. Only problem is, that he also only knows how to write one type of story. Which is sad, because I think it would be amazing to read other types of stories, as his work seems to be atmospheric and moody, but constantly work off of notes of the departed Lovecraft, I feel, just served to hold him back as a writer. Overall, if you've never read Lovecraft before, and are interested, go a head and read a story to get a feel for the mythos with out having to start memorizing names of elder gods. Otherwise, I wouldn't really bother if you're either a long time fan or are just not really interested.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn! -
So most of these tales were just okay with the highlight being -The Fisherman of Falcon Point- which as you may have guessed has to do with good ole Dagon and fishy people. In -Witch's Hollow- no one dies or goes insane which was kind of strange for a Lovecraft story. The worst thing about this collection is that 3 of the 6 stories are of the well-tread Lovecraftian "relative-from-europe-comes-to-america-to-collect-his-inheritance-in-the-form-of-an-old-house" variety. This leads me to believe that there was a reason that Lovecraft didn't finish these fragments and that they should have just been left to die (or go insane).
