Minutes of the Lovecraft Studies Institute # 7 (Part 1) [Call of Cthulhu]

LOVECRAFT STUDIES INSTITUTE

xxx WELLESLEY STREET EAST, # xxx (BUZZ xxx)

TORONTO, ON M4Y 1H5

MINUTES OF MARCH 5, 2011 MEETING

ATTENDANCE: Patrick, Bloch, King, Joshi, Cannon (Members). Three Guests.

2:37 P.M. Meeting Convened.

2:39 Approval of Minutes for Meeting of February 19, 2011

2:40 P.M. Chair proposes reading of "Harbingers" manuscript Chapter 7 ("Descent Into Darkness"). UNANIMOUS

6:30 P.M. Reading concludes.

6:30 P.M. Chair proposes open discussion. UNANIMOUS

[FULL TRANSCRIPT FROM AUDIO]

BLOCH: Well, before we begin I have something to confess. I managed to decode pieces of the next couple of chapters, and without spoiling anything . . . there's a lot of death and destruction ahead for our protagonists! In fact--

PATRICK: Stop right there, Robert. It'll be more satisfying to have everything placed in context. And we still have all of Chapter 7, "Descent Into Darkness", to talk about.

JOSHI: Quite right.

PATRICK: So this chapter begins right where the last one ended, with the protagonists assembling before Osborn's General Store to plan their search for Sister Francesca Olivetti in the caves under Dunwich. While Dr. Konig, Barnabus Gallowsong, and Zeituni Wanjiku are pouring over maps trying to decide the best route to take to the Prescott farm, Scarlet Warren complains about the heat and excuses herself to return to the boarding house to check on Hoyt Symmes. Neither she nor Symmes will be seen again for the rest of the chapter.

CANNON: Do you think she's a stereotypical weak woman suffering from "the vapors", or is she cowardly?

BLOCH: Perhaps enlightened self-interest? While it's true she agreed to help Wanjiku in exchange for money and a flight to New Orleans, spelunking through mysterious caverns might be considered outside the call of duty for a woman of her social class.

PATRICK: In any event, the three men leave without her. We're told they head north on Mill Road, leading a horse which pulls a cart full of gear. After barely a mile along the rugged road, they discover that the bridge over Wilson Creek has been washed out by Spring flooding. Fording the creek downstream seems like a possibility, but neither Konig, Gallowsong, or Wanjiku feel confident they know how to lead a horse through such an operation. Instead, the three men decide to head due west following a trail which they hope will connect to a major road further on.

KING: I think what happens next sets up something big, though exactly what I'm not sure. The three outsiders soon get lost, a fact they don't realize until they're well into a swamp that doesn't appear on their maps. The trail has turned into a narrow berm of earth, and, afraid to try to turn the horse around, the men continue on hoping to quickly pass through to the other side. Soon they see smoke rising into the distance, and then come upon three young, disreputable-looking locals burning a large pile of garbage. Why are they doing this out in the middle of a swamp? Anyway, Dr. Konig asks for directions, which leads the local boys to laugh and smile amiably, and say they have "maps" in their cart. Turns out, they're going for rifles! Fortunately, a quick-thinking Dr. Konig gets the drop on them with his own hunting rifle, and he and his companions are able to escape. But not before the oldest local says "Mister, you just made the biggest mistake of your life."

PATRICK: So you think we're going to see some sort of revenge?

KING: I think these three may have been the Potter boys that the protagonists were warned about last chapter--and if that's true, this is foreshadowing that something bad is on its way.

PATRICK: Interesting. In any event, they make it through the swamp alive and emerge near a large farm. The owner, Zeke Wilson, sets them straight on how to get to the Prescott farm. Several more hard miles later, they pass by a small revival meeting and are then at Jonah Prescott's front door.

CANNON: I liked Lovecraft's depiction of Prescott--a man willing to exploit something he has that others don't (easy access to the caverns below Dunwich) in order to make a fast buck. He charges Konig and Gallowsong $ 25 each to enter the caves, and makes them sign a hand-written contract that they'll share with him any of the "lost Whateley gold" they find. Helpfully, he does confirm that Sister Olivetti and Knight used his entrance weeks ago.

BLOCH: As you say Peter, he is a canny fellow--he's contrived a way to ensure that only people he wants have the ability to enter the caves, as he uses a tractor to haul a large slab of rock away from the entrance. He promises to leave the entrance open for a week, though he doesn't seem confident that it'll matter, as no one who goes very far in ever comes out.

PATRICK: When they arrive at the cave, they notice that the recent heavy Spring rains have washed away a portion of the hillside--enough for someone to slip in or out, even with the slab of rock covering the entrance as it's currently positioned. Closer inspection shows that someone or something has done so recently. I think this scene also shows us a little bit more about Wanjiku's personality--he's not planning on going in the caves himself, but will establish a "base camp" on the surface.

JOSHI: I believe this fits with everything we know about him. Although a "coloured person" in the parlance of the time (hailing from Kenya), Wanjiku in dress and manner is very much a gentleman--and gentlemen don't go crawling through damp caves.

PATRICK: Speaking of crawling, that's exactly what Konig and Gallowsong have to do in order to penetrate very far into the caverns. After the slab of rock is pulled away, there's a low cavern and then a tunnel barely high enough for the two to make it through on their hands and knees. The process is easy for Gallowsong given his diminutive size; but for the giant Dr. Konig, it results in the back of his suit coat and shirt being ripped to shreds (along with a fair bit of skin!).

KING: The danger these caverns present begins almost from the very start. The tunnel leads to a fissure almost twenty feet wide, spanned only by a rickety-looking wooden bridge. Konig & Gallowsong are cautious and cross one at a time, with a rope tied to one another--a life-saving precaution, as the rotten planks of the bridge can't even support the weight of one, much less two pedestrians. Fortunately, Konig is strong enough to pull Gallowsong up when he falls, and (more surprising!), vice versa.

JOSHI: I think what happens next is another nod to placing this story squarely during the Great Depression. Konig & Gallowsong survive the treacherous bridge and see flickering light up ahead. They come upon, of all things, a veritable "hobo" cooking a can of beans over an open flame! This explains the tracks they found outside the cave entrance earlier. The drifter introduces himself as "Pete" and explains that he was passing by Dunwich and also heard the story of gold in the caverns under the Prescott Farm. For an equal share of anything found, he's willing to accompany Konig & Gallowsong as they proceed further.

BLOCH: I liked how Lovecraft set the next scene. The explorers emerge from a tunnel onto a narrow ledge, overlooking an abyss so wide they can't see the far side and so deep they can't discern bottom. A set of stairs are carved into the side of the cliff face they're on, descending into the darkness. And nearby, a few discarded pieces of equipment and a letter tied to a rock. The letter is from duh duh duh Sister Olivetti!

CANNON: That was very dramatic, Robert.

BLOCH: Thank you. I'm hoping they ask me to do the audio book.

PATRICK: The letter, written to Wanjiku and signed "Frannie", explains Olivetti's fears that her previous letters never made it further than the Dunwich post office--a fact which seems to be true from what we know. Further, she relates her suspicions that the locals only seem friendly and hospitable at first, while in fact they deeply resent and despise outsiders. In her view, the locals are quick to relate all sorts of rumors--lost gold, ancient civilizations, occult artifacts--attributed to these caverns, in the hopes that the strangers will quickly remove themselves from concern. She even claims that the slab of rock over the entrance was closed on her and Knight.

KING: A fact which naturally alarms our current trio of spelunkers. Gallowsong rushes to the entrance, only to discover exactly what he feared: they've been sealed inside, and their only hope of salvation lays in finding another way out.