THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD by H.P. Lovecraft

THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD by H.P. Lovecraft

Lovecraft, H. P. (1971). The case of Charles Dexter Ward. New York: Ballantine Books.

GENRE: Horror

ANNOTATION: An strange mix of Icarus and Dante, this tale speaks caution and union to the speaker. Do not be so much a visitor of the past, that you become a stranger in your own land.

SUMMARY: Charles Dexter Ward was a student, who delved too deeply in a subject beyond his ken. Studious research and a mysterious religious rite result in fundamental change in the young man. He began to take on the airs of his subject – antiquities in all forms. So much so, that it seems he lost his way in the modern world. Unable to cope, he was committed to an asylum. But the facts support another version of events – whereby the essence of his ancestor became manifest and murdered Charles, taking the place of his murdered descendant.

EVALUATION: 4 - In the vein of true horror, the unspoken evens are the most troubling. One’s imagination fills in the blanks, making each reader’s experience that much more personal. The story’s use of supernatural causes is a creative and challenging source of ideas.