8) “The Gateway of the Monster” by William Hope Hodgson
Plot:
Upon his return, Carnacki, the occult detective, invites Dodgson (the narrator, whose name curiously resembles the author’s), along with their friends Arkright, Jessop, and Taylor, to dinner. They expect him to regale them with another tale of his strange adventures.
Once they’ve finished dinner, Carnacki launches into his tale, with no interruption from the small audience:
A man he’ll call Anderson asked him to investigate a haunting at his home. When Carnacki arrives, he finds that Anderson can’t come (what?) but that Peter, the butler, will answer his questions. Peter’s worked there for twenty years.
According to the story, one of Mr. Anderson’s ancestors was found strangled in the Grey Room with his wife and child at some indeterminate time in the past. Now, the door to the Grey Room slams loudly all night long, even though the butler knows he’s locked it. In the morning, the bedclothes are on the floor.
Carnacki wasn’t born yesterday. He asks Peter to unlock the room. The butler stands on the threshold, trembling in fear and begging Carnacki to conclude his business with all dispatch. Real danger lurks in this room after dark. Carnacki pooh-poohs the terrified man’s concerns and runs “baby ribbons” over doors, windows, mirrors, the fireplace, and the floor, “sealing” the ends. This will tell him if any material being enters the room and how it got in.
As they’re leaving, Carnacki places his card over the keyhole. No one gets in the easy way. Carnacki also seals the doors on the five rooms between his and the Grey Room.
It’s late now, and the two men turn in.
Before long, the slamming begins. Carnacki gets up to investigate, but finds he can’t get beyond his room, as if some force is holding him back.
In the morning, Peter arrives with coffee, surprised to see Carnacki among the living. The two examine the Grey Room. The seal on the door is broken, but Carnacki’s card over the keyhole remains in place. The bedclothes lie scattered on the floor. None of the baby ribbons has been disturbed.
Carnacki has everything removed from the room except the bed, then examines the room but finds nothing suspicious.
Hmmm… It’s time to get serious.
He goes into town for supplies.
Thoughts:
This was initially published, along with four other Carnacki stories, in The Idler in 1910, introducing the character of Carnacki the Ghost Finder. There is humor alongside horror and dabbling in the occult. Carnacki is adept at setting up protective pentagrams inside circles. The pentagrams and circles are not without their fumblings, however.
In this particular instance, he uses a cat as a canary in a coal mine. A dirty trick. May its ghost haunt him.
The storytelling lends an air of a guy talking to a bunch of guys after dinner, with a bit of alcohol involved. Carnacki entertains his buddies (and the reader) with tales of his adventures, but he is not above poking a little fun at himself. After all, this is supposed to be a good yarn. If Carnacki looks silly for a moment or two, that’s okay. He’ll emerge triumphant.
I enjoyed going along for this ride, though there are a couple of weak spots with respect to credibility. Why would Mr. Anderson ask for Carnacki’s help and then not be available? How could Peter stand twenty years of nightly door-slamming and little sleep without losing his marbles? The first sight of the monster is more strange than scary, and its explanation is a bit of a stretch.
All that aside, I liked this tale. It’s chilling, but doesn’t take itself too seriously.
This story can be read here:
This story can be read and listened to here: (55:30)
Bio: William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) ran away to sea at a young age and spent nine years as a merchant marine. His experiences at sea affected his writing and poetry. His occult detective, Carnacki, through the force of science, often found rational explanations for odd phenomena—but not always. The short story “Voices in the Night” is regarded as one of his strongest. H. P. Lovecraft praised his novel The Borderlands—conditionally. Hodgson was killed in battle at Ypres in 1918.
Title: ”The Gateway of the Monster”
Author: William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918)
First published: The Idler, January 1910
Length: novelette
Series: Carnacki
