The Tomb (short story)
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"The Tomb" is a short story by H.P. Lovecraft written in June 1917 and first published in the March 1922 issue of The Vagrant. It is the first work of fiction that Lovecraft wrote as an adult.
[edit] Synopsis
"The Tomb" tells of Jervas Dudley, and how he was always a dreamer. In the woods one day, he finds the entrance to a cave of the Hyde family's tomb. On impulse, he tries to move the door but can't, so he goes home and finds a key in his attic. This he takes with him and opens the door to the crypt.
Inside he finds an empty coffin with his name on the plate, and he begins to sleep in it each night. One night as he creeps by the tomb's entrance, he comes upon the old Hydes' mansion, but it is hit by a stroke of lightning and burned.
Then Jervas finds himself in the tomb, with a police officer and his father. In the middle of the floor is a hole, as if made by lightning. The police extract a box from it, and in it is a sole figurine. It resembles Jervas exactly.
Jervas is taken to a mental home, but his loyal servant Hiram has promised him that he will be buried in that tomb of the Hydes.
[edit] References
- Lovecraft, Howard P. [1922] (1986). "The Tomb", in S. T. Joshi (ed.): Dagon and Other Macabre Tales, 9th corrected printing, Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-87054-039-4. Definitive version.
