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LOVECRAFT STUDIES INSTITUTE
xxx WELLESLEY STREET EAST, # xxx (BUZZ xxx)
TORONTO, ON M4Y 1H5
MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 19, 2011 MEETING
ATTENDANCE: Patrick, Bloch, King, Joshi, Cannon (Members). Three Guests.
2:25 P.M Meeting Convened
2:27 P.M. Approval of Minutes for Meeting of November 6, 2010
2:28 P.M. Chair proposes reading of "Harbingers" manuscript Chapter 6 ("Miasma"). UNANIMOUS
7:03 P.M. Reading concludes.
7:04 P.M. Chair proposes open discussion. UNANIMOUS
[FULL TRANSCRIPT FROM AUDIO]
PATRICK: Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen. The cipher Lovecraft used for this and the next handful of chapters was a difficult one to break. However, I think you'll agree with me that the results were certainly worth the wait. In this chapter alone, we're introduced to an interesting new character, experience profound tragedy, and witness the protagonists making substantial progress towards uncovering the mystery of Zeituni Wanjiku's missing team of investigators.
[GARBLED WHISPERING]
PATRICK: Yes. I have been reminded to share with you the fact that small portions of this and the previous chapters have not been deciphered to the Society's satisfaction. Specifically, brief passages are written in a symbolic language, using rough pictographs, and this has led to a variety of conflicting interpretations by our researchers. All seem to agree that the passages concerns dreams or nightmares suffered by the protagonists, and that those who are Harbingers have very different visions than those who are not, but beyond that the Society remains divided and expresses no opinion at the present. With that caveat expressed, let's please move forward.
KING: I'd like to start with a topic we've discussed before: Lovecraft's interesting willingness to introduce and discard characters. In this chapter, Father Murphy and Jacob Blackstone are "off-screen"--the former having travelled to Boston to explain his absence to his superiors in the church hierarchy (apparently, the charges against him have been temporarily stayed due to the intervention of a friendly judge on an appellate court) and the latter still recuperating in the hospital. Hoyt Symmes is present in present in theory but barely so in reality, with very little dialogue--having apparently obsessively immersed himself in an occult tome titled Damonomagie. Methinks this will not bode well for our poor encyclopaedia salesman!
[LAUGHTER]
KING: And then we have the introduction of a brand new character, an older Eastern European with ties to the Gilchrist Trust, a giant of a man named Dr. Otto Volker Konig. Konig arrives at the Gilchrist Trust with a letter in hand (sent by Wanjiku months previously) offering the man a position as a research assistant. The timing is perfect, as Wanjiku's "expedition" to Dunwich is about to be launched, but he's facing a major obstacle: Scarlett Warren feels it's too dangerous to proceed without Father Murphy and Jacob Blackstone, especially given Symmes distracted mental state. The arrival of Konig persuades her, however, and the group sets off for Dunwich in taxis driven by Joe Bicks and his wife, Bethesda. From there--
PATRICK: Joshi, are you okay?
[UNATTRIBUTED]: Here we go again . . .
JOSHI: Most certainly not! Have we learned nothing? Have my memos gone unread? We mustn't conduct our discussions in such a haphazard, unfocussed manner! Why, already we've skipped over the minor tremors that almost led to a chandelier falling on Wanjiku and the arrival (and subsequent departure) of Dr. Littlestreet, the alienist associated with Miskatonic University. We must have order, gentlemen, order!
BLOCH: Joshi, relax. We'll get to everything.
CANNON: Sorry old friend, but this is really for your own good. MOTION to conduct discussion in a "haphazard, unfocussed manner."
[SECONDED]
[MOTION CARRIES]
JOSHI: But Robert's Rules of Order does not cover . . .. Fine!
PATRICK: Where were we? Oh yes, on the outskirts of Aylesbury, the two-vehicle caravan comes across a scene of the type that would often be associated with the Great Depression: a trio of "local boys" (mill workers, actually) with leashed dogs are trying to scare off a poor family hoping to enter Aylesbury and find work. Dr. Konig insists that the caravan stop so he can intervene. Upon questioning, one of the surlier mill workers claims that what they're doing is "policy". The family, for their part, identifies themselves as the Joneses and state they've been travelling from town to town for weeks--the state of their clothing, wan faces, and meager possessions testify to the truth of their statement. Although Wanjiku and the Bicks are careful not to intervene, Konig, Warren, and Barnabus Gallowsong take pity on the Jones family and, after giving them a lift to the nearest bus stop, provide them with funds sufficient to take them to Boston or even New York.
CANNON: I think the scene demonstrates several key facts: the tender consciences of the protagonists; Wanjiku's unwillingness to provoke the wrath of the locals; and a small part of the puzzle as to why Aylesbury appears to be thriving when so many communities across the country are in the midst of economic collapse.
KING: I still think there's more to it than that . . .
BLOCH: What happens next reminds us we're reading Lovecraft and not a piece of social realism. Joe Bick's truck gets a flat on the poorly-maintained road to Dunwich. A light rain has started up, and as he works to change the tire, the sun begins to disappear behind the horizon. Suddenly, Wanjiku seems to realize a fact right in front of his face, and begins shouting "The Sign! We must make the Sign so they know we're protected!" He pulls a tube of yellow paint from his jacket pocket, but fumbles it in his hands and then steps on it, squeezing paint all over the floorboard of Mrs. Bicks' car. The others, for their part, remain calm and spring into action--Gallowsong begins etching the sign on the windows with a knife, Warren uses her lipstick, and Joe Bicks is persuaded to get back into his truck under the dubious pretense of there being "wolves about." Everyone is silent for a moment, and even Wanjiku breathes a sigh of relief, but then the roof of the car bulges inward as if a giant weight is resting on top of it! Small holes appear in the roof as if from claws, but the sign on the roof seems to work! The weight disappears, and Warren and Konig fancy they see a giant black winged creature flying away.
JOSHI: I will abide by the results of the earlier motion, but this is exactly why it's important to proceed in order. This particular event becomes sensible in light of Dr. Littlestreet's earlier visit to Gilchrist House. Remember, he shares with Wanjiku and the protagonists the fact that he has received several strange reports from the vicinity of Aylesbury in recent weeks and that he has, in fact, constructed a hypothesis: that a "miasma" of "bad air" has been causing hallucinations and correspondingly deranged conduct in those whose fragile mental states are susceptible to suggestion. Thus, although Littlestreet is not present for this so-called "attack", he would interpret it as another example to support his theory--Wanjiku believes that what he repeatedly refers to as simply a "good luck symbol" will somehow ward off danger, while Warren and Konig jointly construct a phantasmal monster. Others, like the sensible Bicks, notice nothing out of the ordinary altogether.
CANNON: But what about the holes--claw marks?--in the ceiling?
JOSHI: Perhaps they were portions of the roof that had simply rusted through and had not been noticed until it began to rain? In any event, what matters is not what we believe but whether the protagonists buy into Dr. Littlestreet's theory; and even more importantly, whether subsequent events bear it out. Thus, although this is mere speculation, Lovecraft could be telling a story of strange events that have a purely "natural" or, if you will, "secular" explanation--in other words, an anti-"Mythos" story.
KING: Interesting, but like you said, just speculation. I don't buy it. Too much strange stuff is going on for "bad air" or "sporocysts" to explain everything . . .
BLOCH: I think you're right, but this next event does seem to fit Dr. Littlestreet's theory. The group continues driving after sunset, and a cold, heavy rain begins to fall. Suddenly, Gallowsong notices a little girl standing right in the middle of the road! He calls out and tries to grab the wheel, and fortunately Bicks manages to stop the truck before it hits her. Mrs. Bicks, following behind in the car, is also able to stop in time. The protagonists get out of their vehicles, rush over to the drenched girl, and ask her what she's doing there. "Momma' and Poppa' won't get up" she wails.
KING: And I knew right then this wasn't going to end well . . .
BLOCH: They bring her back inside the relative warmth of the car and get her dried off. She seems terrified of Dr. Konig, and I can't say I blame her--a veritable giant speaking in a strange accent would probably unsettle some small children even in the best of circumstances. Warren decides to stay in the car and comfort the girl, while Dr. Konig and Gallowsong decide to check out the girl's home. It takes them some effort in the pitch blackness to even find the farmhouse, and at first it seems like they'll be left with more mysteries than answers: the place is deserted.
CANNON: Yes, but this is when the clever Barnabus Gallowsong decides to walk around to the rear of the farmhouse. He notes the storm doors of a cellar have been flung wide open, revealing the soft glow of light from inside. But just as importantly, he spots movement coming from a copse of trees in the distance. After summoning his ally, Barnabus cautiously moves towards the copse of trees and makes out the sound of sobbing coming from the other side. He pushes through, and realizes he's now standing among the tombstones of a family burial ground. And in the center, a teenaged boy is cradling the body of his sister, a shotgun laying at his feet. The body's advanced state of decay and the nearby unearthed coffin make clear this boy's madness: his sister has been dead for weeks! "She's still moving!" he says. Barnabus speaks compassionately to the boy, and is on the brink of convincing him to go with him and leave his sister's corpse, but then the lad realizes they plan on re-burying her and he dashes off into the night. Barnabus sets off after him, to no avail, while Konig takes upon himself the ominous task of searching the cellar.
KING: This is a well-written scene, but also a heart-wrenching one. As you might expect, a tragedy has taken place at this isolated farmhouse. The cellar contains a dying woman and two bodies, all suffering from shotgun wounds. Dr. Konig tries to save the woman, but she is beyond help. Under the still lingering smell of gunpowder, he detects a musty odor and is suddenly overcome by madness! The corpses begin to twitch and groan, then they slowly drag themselves towards him and try to grab hold of his arms. Dr. Konig tries to fight them off until he hears the comforting voice of Barnabus, returned from his fruitless search. "They're dead, Doctor, they're dead. Let them rest in peace now." Konig rubs his eyes and realizes he'd been grappling with an inert corpse! Barnabus pulls Konig out of the cellar and waits for the fresh air to clear the man's senses. Later, Barnabus drags the bodies out of the cellar and inters them in the family burial ground.
JOSHI: But most importantly, he notices a wide crack in the floor of the cellar, and later, he, Konig, and Wanjiku formulate an explanation for the tragedy: the recent tremors caused the crack in the dirt floor of the cellar, and Dr. Littlestreet's so-called "bad air" emanated from the crack and caused madness in the teenaged boy.
PATRICK: With the Bicks becoming more and more impatient to return to Aylesbury, the group continues the eventful drive to Dunwich. Finally, late that evening, they cross the Miskatonic River and find themselves among the so-called "Forgotten Village"--Dunwich.
[continued tomorrow]
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