Two fictional characters that will send shivers down your spine
If you are a horror fiction fan, then you must have come across this line ‘The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown’. Not many people know, but this is a famous line by American author Howard Phillips Lovecraft, popularly regarded as the Father of Modern Horror Fiction. In fact, it was Lovecraft who took the Victorian Gothic fiction genre to another level by infusing his own idea of horrors into it. Today, as his stories continue to be reprinted and adapted to the screen, let us explore two of his all-time scariest characters and their stories.
The Haunting Tale of Charles le Sorcier
Book: The Alchemist
Year of Publication: 1916
Long before Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’ took the world of fantasy fiction by storm, H.P. Lovecraft had written a short story by the same name. In fact, ‘The Alchemist’ was Lovecraft’s first ever short story. Since its publication, the character of Charles le Sorcier has sent shivers down the spines of generations of readers. A wizard’s son by birth, Charles holds a family of royals responsible for his father, Michael Mauvais’ death. To avenge it, he cast a cursing spell on the royal family's descendants, leading to untimely deaths of all of them at the age of 32.
As it happens, before the 32nd birthday of Antoine, the last descendant of the royal family, Charles starts to haunt him all around the royal castle. In fact, Charles tries to frighten Antoine by killing his sole companion, Pierre. The way Charles manipulates Antoine and pushes him toward the edge is still regarded as one of the milestones in the horror genre. The turning point comes when Antoine overpowers Charles and manages to break the curse. However, even at the moment of death, Charles steals the limelight when he confesses that it was, he who fulfilled the curse generation after generation and fabricated the elixir of life.
The Scary Adventures of Wilbur Whateley
Book: The Dunwich Horror
Year of Publication: 1928
This horror novella by is part of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos collection, a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe. The Dunwich Horror was adapted into a film by the same name in 1970. The story is set in the fictional town of Dunwich, Massachusetts, USA. It revolves around the character of Wilbur Whateley, a not-so-normal son of a deformed and unstable mother and a mysterious father. The plot is uncanny as it reveals the strange side of Wilbur. He is a rapidly-growing man who is unaware of his monstrous presence that slowly comes to the surface. The scary part is that, even after trying to subdue his evil side, Wilbur cannot do so and ends up hurting a lot of people, including his own grandfather. Hell breaks loose when he uncovers his mysterious and unusual birth story and immerses himself in studying black magic and witchcraft. Soon, Wilbur realises that he is the son of a monster and is, therefore, semi-human. Even in his death scene, Wilbur doesn’t fail to scare us, as his corpse melts, leaving behind no remnants. Creepy, isn’t it?