The Dreams in the Witch House

Lore & Background

Walter Gilman, formerly of Haverhill, Massachusetts, came to Miskatonic to study "non-Euclidean calculus and quantum physics," which he linked to "fantastic legends of elder magic." The dimensions of his attic room are unusual, seeming to conform to unearthly geometry. Gilman theorizes the structure can enable travel from one plane or dimension to another. He begins experiencing dreams where he floats without physical form through otherworldly space, encountering a polyhedral being and being taken to a city of the "Elder Things" where he physically brings a statuette. He also has nightly experiences involving Keziah and her familiar, Brown Jenkin — "a small white-fanged furry thing" no larger than a rat, with a sharp-toothed, bearded face evilly human and paws like tiny human hands. Gilman eventually signs the "Book of Azathoth" under the commands of Keziah, Brown Jenkin, and Nyarlathotep. He is forced to be an accomplice in the kidnapping and sacrifice of an infant; he kills Keziah while Brown Jenkin kills the baby. Gilman ultimately dies when Brown Jenkin kills him later, erupting out of his chest.

In Their Own Story

Walter Gilman, troubled by deep mental tension from studying too hard, is forbidden by his professors to consult Miskatonic's rare books including the Necronomicon, the Book of Eibon, and Unaussprechlichen Kulten. In his dreams, Keziah Mason appears — described with a "bent back, long nose, and shrivelled chin," wearing "shapeless brown garments" and an expression "of hideous malevolence and exultation." She introduces Gilman to the Black Man — "a tall, lean man of dead black colouration but without the slightest sign of negroid features: wholly devoid of either hair or beard, and wearing as his only garment a shapeless robe of some heavy black fabric" — later identified as Nyarlathotep. Gilman is struck with panic at the sight of a crucifix, allowing him to strangle Keziah in self-defense. He confesses his full story to fellow student Frank Elwood, then is killed by Brown Jenkin erupting from his chest. The house is eventually torn down; Keziah and Brown Jenkin's skeletons are found along with her books on black magic, assorted relics, and the remains of children dating back to the Salem Witch Trials.

Reader's Guide

The story was likely inspired by Willem de Sitter's lecture The Size of the Universe, which Lovecraft attended three months prior to writing. De Sitter is mentioned by name in the story, described as a mathematical genius, listed with Albert Einstein. The idea of using higher dimensions of non-Euclidean space as shortcuts through normal space can be traced to A. S. Eddington's The Nature of the Physical World. An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia says the story was "heavily influenced by Nathaniel Hawthorne's unfinished novel Septimius Felton." The story has generally received negative criticism. August Derleth called it a poor story; Lovecraft responded that "my fictional days are probably over." Without Lovecraft's knowledge, Derleth later submitted it to Weird Tales, which accepted it. Editor Farnsworth Wright asked Lovecraft for permission to adapt it to radio; Lovecraft rejected it. Lin Carter called it "a minor effort" that "remains singularly one-dimensional, curiously unsatisfying." Steven J. Mariconda called it "Lovecraft's Magnificent Failure." More recently, Kenneth Hite calls the story "one of the purest and most important examples of sheer Lovecraftian cosmicism."

Did You Know?

• The story was written in January/February 1932 and first published in the July 1933 issue of Weird Tales.
• Lovecraft was so discouraged by August Derleth's negative reaction that he refused to submit the story for publication; Derleth later submitted it without Lovecraft's knowledge.
• Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright asked Lovecraft for permission to adapt the story to radio, but Lovecraft rejected the idea.
• The character Father Iwanicki appeared in an early draft of Lovecraft's The Shadow over Innsmouth (1931) but was excised from the final version.
• The story was likely inspired by Willem de Sitter's lecture The Size of the Universe, which Lovecraft attended three months prior to writing.