The Haunter of the Dark

So yeah, I’m working through some reading still. Recently it was the story “The Haunter of the Dark.” At the start it was a search for references to Nyarlathotep. There is a quick reference in the story but it is so fleeting to not be worth the trouble.

Which brings me to a bit more. See, when you start digging you eventually find you have done little more but raise more questions. And this is exactly what happened as I am digging into a bit of the history of this story.

Essentially, what I have found now is this is actually a second part of a story that came out a year prior (Haunter was published in December of 1936 (it was written in November of 1935)). So yeah, it’s an old story. But that by itself isn’t all that impressive. Instead we look at the deeper origin of the story. This was actually written as the second part of a story previously published by Robert Block. Not only was it a follow up to a story by a different author, Lovecraft wrote this as a bit of jest for Robert Block.

The main Character in the story is an author of occult stories by the name of Robert Blake. Names were embellished to protect the innocent. While at the same time, there is a mention of a few of the books that Mr. Blake had written. Each title is an homage to stories written by Robert Block. Puts a more interesting spin on how I look at the story now.

Anyway, I will be reading the first story shortly, so I can’t say how it all ties together within the story itself. The best I can comment on right now is how the story I have read plays out.

The story itself is written through the eyes of Mr. Blake’s journal. Through the course of the story we watch him descend into madness and eventually perish due to the thing he awakened in an old haunted church.

But I digress…

I ended up reading through the story twice. Mainly it had been a bit from when I first started reading it the first time and when I first finished it. I felt a bit lost, like I had missed some important information when I started trying to piece it all together. On the second reading I ended up being prepared for what I could experience.

And the thing is, I actually only found a slight reference to Nyarlathotep. So of course, the reason I am reading these stories right now, the main reason, and it is little more than a footnote. Yeah…

If I look at it as a failure and waste of my time, then I am not really doing my research justice. There is so much more in there that I have gained from this story. Mostly, it is all new rabbit holes to dig through but nothing wrong with that really. Maybe this is where the madness comes from. You dig and dig for specific information and all you really do is uncover more that fills you with questions you need answered. It’s a never ending cycle.

In the end, it’s a cycle of digging and searching and coming up with new questions. This is the kind of stuff I live for. Well, maybe not entirely. But still, I like finding more things that enhance the mystery. I may never come to the end of it all but in the quest, I will become richer none the less. And as we all know, a little knowledge…

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If you enjoy these stories, consider leaving some coffee money in the jar or you could buy a book or two. Either way helps keep the stories flowing.