The Lurking Fear
| "The Lurking Fear" | |
|---|---|
| Author | H. P. Lovecraft |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror short story |
| Published in | Home Brew |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | Jan-Apr, 1923 |
"The Lurking Fear" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft in the horror fiction genre. Written in November 1922, it was first published in the January through April 1923 issues of Home Brew.
Like "Herbert West–Reanimator", earlier published in Home Brew, "The Lurking Fear" was solicited by editor George Julian Houtain expressly to be published as a serial. Unlike with "Herbert West", however, Houtain ran recaps of the story so far with each installment after the first, relieving Lovecraft of the need for objectionable repetition.
In 1921, an unnamed reporter and local monster-hunter travels to Tempest Mountain, in the Catskills range, after reports of various attack by an unidentified creature against the local inhabitants reaches the media. A month before, a massive thunderstorm, even larger than the ones which usually plague the region, had drifted across the mountains, and brought with it destruction. The next morning, many homes were destroyed, seemingly by the storm, but upon closer inspection, the destruction seemed to be left by an enraged beast. The affected area, originally home to only 75 citizens, was completely decimated, leaving no survivors. Gathering what information he can from the locals, he finds out that most of the legends surround the foreboding Martense mansion, a century-old Dutch homestead, which has been disregarded by the police as it's apparently abandoned. The narrator, bringing with him two companions as his bodyguards, enters the mansion at night, just when another thunderstorm approaches, and takes up residence in the room of Jan Martense, a member of the family believed to have been murdered. The mansion is completely deserted, but the narrator and his friends take precautions and plans several methods of escape, in case they are attacked during the night by whatever force haunts the house. Despite their careful preparation, keeping watch in shifts and sleeping armed, the group eventually drift off to sleep. The narrator wakes up to discover both his companions missing and, in a flash of lightning, witnesses a demonic shadow briefly cast upon the mansion's chimney by a grotesque monster. Neither of his companions are ever seen again.
Traumatized by the disappearance of his two friends, and the disturbing shadow he viewed in the fireplace, the narrator continues his investigation. He befriends another reporter named Arthur Monroe, and tells him of the things he has experienced so far. Munroe agrees to help him, and the two scour across the countryside for any clues to the murderous creature or possible remains of the Martenses. There is no trace of the mysterious family, but they manage to uncover an ancestral diary which once belonged to them. All the while, the narrator has the constant feeling of being watched. However, he and Arthur are trapped by yet another thunderstorm, and seek shelter in an abandoned cabin, where the narrator thinks back of the horrible events back at the mansion. As an unusually large thunderbolt clashes across the sky, Munroe walks over to the window to survey the damage, and the storm soon clears up. However, Munroe doesn't move from the window, and when the narrator tries to rouse him, he finds his face hideously gnawed away by some unseen horror outside.
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