The Lonesome Place
Encyclopedia
The Lonesome Place is a short story
written by famed Science Fiction
writer August Derleth
. The story is part of a compilation of short stories in the book Lonesome Places
. Published in 1962, by Arkham House Publishing
, "The Lonesome Place" tells the story of two young boys terrorized by a mysterious creature who they believe lives in an abandoned grain elevator in their small town.
, and his best friend, Johnny Newell. The two boys are very scared of the dark and they believe that there is something living in the lonesome place. The lonesome place is an old grain elevator
surrounded by tall trees and many piles of wood from the lumber yard
that surrounds it. The story begins with the narrator's Mother asking her son to run errands for her before dinner at twilight. In order for the boy to get to the local grocery shop he needs to cross through the old lumber yard and past the lonesome place. At first sight, the lumber yard seems harmless enough, but after the sun goes down and the stars peep out into the sky the lumber yard becomes a place where shadows lurk and screams are drowned in darkness and never heard again. In the book it says Johnny and the narrator tend to run by the lonesome place when unable to avoid it because of the scary creature that they believe lives there. Both have their own hair-raising stories of going past the lumber yard and grain elevator at night. Johnny tells the narrator how the creature almost got him the night before, showing his ripped shirt as evidence of his close escape; the narrator returns with a tale of how he heard it knock over some lumber during his own trip through. The narrator has never seen the creature, but can feel its presence.
When the boys run past the dark place their hearts race and their imagination
runs wild. As they compare their experiences they conjure up a monster with big clawed feet, scales, a long tail and yet has no face. This creature waits for fearful children on which to prey. The creature is also able to climb the tree and lie in the trees. The creature also is known to lay by the lumber but the children can’t see the creature because it’s so dark in The Lonesome place.
When the grain elevator is torn down and the boys are all grown up and become less fearful of the Lonesome Place, the monster waits for other fearful boys and girls in the dark. Many of the boys take their dates here because the lumber yard is so creepy for the girls. When Bobby Jeffers is killed by being mauled by some type of animal, the narrator and Johnny believe they are responsible for the boy's death
, since they had left that conjured monster free to feed on another child's fear
. They felt that they should have done something about it when they were younger. Now that Bobby is dead the boys feel guilt for creating the monster out of their own fears.
Uncannily, the story starts off with the unidentified narrator confessing to a murder
, one that he committed. By the end of the story, the reader realizes that the crime really wasn't an act of murder, rather it was the act of apathy
by keeping silent about a long-time secret lurking in the shadows of the community. Set in a small town, the story is grounded in real life with science-fiction like events. The boys felt they killed Bobb, but they didn't. They just felt because they created this creature with their imagination that they should have done something about it before they grew up and forgot about the creature. Derleth, a well-acclaimed Science Fiction
writer, brings these themes and ideas into his Gothic writing. The monster
is part of Gothic Fiction
and is also part Science Fiction. In his book, "Writing Fiction" Derleth describes writing for the masses by keeping the story "true to life". Derleth was one of the editors for HP Lovecraft, a well-known author who wrote, " we must give (a fictional novel) the most elaborate possible approach."
Derleth does just that in "The Lonesome Place". Not only is the story centered in the reality of a suburban community but is also uses two young seven year old boys (the hero
es) who have one fear and it's the dark. Who couldn't relate to that? which makes this story so real to all of us because everyone was or is afraid of the dark at one time or another.
In the beginning of the story the narrator confesses to being guilty of murder an uncanny opening because the reader isn't expecting it. This beginning leaves the reader feeling anxious and nervous. Is he unstable? Is his fear so paralyzing that he is unable to function in the real life? An unreliable narrator
is another theme
throughout American Gothic Fiction
.
Another theme that is so prevalent in Gothic literature is the theme of using domesticity as a way to create horror and terror. This theme is most prevalent in Charlotte Perkins Gilman
's "The Yellow Wallpaper
". Charlotte Perkins tells a story where, by yellow wallpaper, draws a woman to suicide
. In "The Lonesome Place", Derleth uses a domestic, small town as a backdrop which has a grain elevator and an abandoned lumber yard. This presents a similar backdrop of many suburban lives. This setting is one distinction that separates American and English Gothic literature. English Gothic uses Gothic Architecture
in its castles, churches and mansions for the dark settings for monsters and ghosts to prey, whereas American Gothic, devoid of castles and mansions, relies on more colonial settings. Drawing from the child's imagination, Derleth creates fantastic shadows and depths to every dark corner to create the creature's features. The reader never actually sees the creature but are forced to use their imagination, much like the two main characters.
Using a Gothic-like atmosphere, the unstable narrator, and a monster that thrives in our nightmares, Derleth plays on one of the most natural and ordinary fear that almost everyone understands, the fear of loneliness and what lurks in the dark.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
written by famed Science Fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer August Derleth
August Derleth
August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
. The story is part of a compilation of short stories in the book Lonesome Places
Lonesome Places
Lonesome Places is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by American author August Derleth. It was released in 1962 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,201 copies and was Derleth's fifth collection of weird tales...
. Published in 1962, by Arkham House Publishing
Arkham House
Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in weird fiction founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to preserve in hardcover the best fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. The company's name is derived from Lovecraft's fictional New England city, Arkham. Arkham House...
, "The Lonesome Place" tells the story of two young boys terrorized by a mysterious creature who they believe lives in an abandoned grain elevator in their small town.
Plot
Taking place in an unnamed community, The Lonesome Place is told through the eyes of Steve, the narratorNarrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
, and his best friend, Johnny Newell. The two boys are very scared of the dark and they believe that there is something living in the lonesome place. The lonesome place is an old grain elevator
Grain elevator
A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...
surrounded by tall trees and many piles of wood from the lumber yard
Lumber yard
A lumber yard is a retail location for lumber and wood related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects. Lumber yards can also provide services such as the use of a planer and other large machines....
that surrounds it. The story begins with the narrator's Mother asking her son to run errands for her before dinner at twilight. In order for the boy to get to the local grocery shop he needs to cross through the old lumber yard and past the lonesome place. At first sight, the lumber yard seems harmless enough, but after the sun goes down and the stars peep out into the sky the lumber yard becomes a place where shadows lurk and screams are drowned in darkness and never heard again. In the book it says Johnny and the narrator tend to run by the lonesome place when unable to avoid it because of the scary creature that they believe lives there. Both have their own hair-raising stories of going past the lumber yard and grain elevator at night. Johnny tells the narrator how the creature almost got him the night before, showing his ripped shirt as evidence of his close escape; the narrator returns with a tale of how he heard it knock over some lumber during his own trip through. The narrator has never seen the creature, but can feel its presence.
When the boys run past the dark place their hearts race and their imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
runs wild. As they compare their experiences they conjure up a monster with big clawed feet, scales, a long tail and yet has no face. This creature waits for fearful children on which to prey. The creature is also able to climb the tree and lie in the trees. The creature also is known to lay by the lumber but the children can’t see the creature because it’s so dark in The Lonesome place.
When the grain elevator is torn down and the boys are all grown up and become less fearful of the Lonesome Place, the monster waits for other fearful boys and girls in the dark. Many of the boys take their dates here because the lumber yard is so creepy for the girls. When Bobby Jeffers is killed by being mauled by some type of animal, the narrator and Johnny believe they are responsible for the boy's death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, since they had left that conjured monster free to feed on another child's fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
. They felt that they should have done something about it when they were younger. Now that Bobby is dead the boys feel guilt for creating the monster out of their own fears.
Gothic themes
- The Uncanny The story opens with the confession of a murder by the narrator and ends in a questionable death.
- Unreliable narratorUnreliable narratorAn unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
The writer uses an unstable narrator to peruse their mysterious psychePsyche (psychology)The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older...
to make the story unreliable and bothersome. - Domestic abjection Derleth uses the safety of a small town as a way to create the strange within the familiar.
- MonsterMonsterA monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
Analysis
In the chilling tale of "The Lonesome Place", two young boys compare terrifying stories of some unidentified creature that lives in an abandoned grain elevator. Although neither of the boys ever have a believable close encounter their imagination drives them and the story to unthinkable places.Uncannily, the story starts off with the unidentified narrator confessing to a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, one that he committed. By the end of the story, the reader realizes that the crime really wasn't an act of murder, rather it was the act of apathy
Apathy
Apathy is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical or physical life.They may lack a sense of purpose or meaning in...
by keeping silent about a long-time secret lurking in the shadows of the community. Set in a small town, the story is grounded in real life with science-fiction like events. The boys felt they killed Bobb, but they didn't. They just felt because they created this creature with their imagination that they should have done something about it before they grew up and forgot about the creature. Derleth, a well-acclaimed Science Fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer, brings these themes and ideas into his Gothic writing. The monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
is part of Gothic Fiction
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
and is also part Science Fiction. In his book, "Writing Fiction" Derleth describes writing for the masses by keeping the story "true to life". Derleth was one of the editors for HP Lovecraft, a well-known author who wrote, " we must give (a fictional novel) the most elaborate possible approach."
Derleth does just that in "The Lonesome Place". Not only is the story centered in the reality of a suburban community but is also uses two young seven year old boys (the hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
es) who have one fear and it's the dark. Who couldn't relate to that? which makes this story so real to all of us because everyone was or is afraid of the dark at one time or another.
In the beginning of the story the narrator confesses to being guilty of murder an uncanny opening because the reader isn't expecting it. This beginning leaves the reader feeling anxious and nervous. Is he unstable? Is his fear so paralyzing that he is unable to function in the real life? An unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
is another theme
Theme (literature)
A theme is a broad, message, or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character,...
throughout American Gothic Fiction
American Gothic Fiction
American Gothic Fiction is a subgenre of Gothic Fiction. Elements specific to American Gothic include: rational vs irrational, puritanism, guilt, Das Unheimliche , abhumans, ghosts, monsters, and domestic abjection...
.
Another theme that is so prevalent in Gothic literature is the theme of using domesticity as a way to create horror and terror. This theme is most prevalent in Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform...
's "The Yellow Wallpaper
The Yellow Wallpaper
"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story by the American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine. It is regarded as an important early work of American feminist literature, illustrating attitudes in the nineteenth century toward women's physical...
". Charlotte Perkins tells a story where, by yellow wallpaper, draws a woman to suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. In "The Lonesome Place", Derleth uses a domestic, small town as a backdrop which has a grain elevator and an abandoned lumber yard. This presents a similar backdrop of many suburban lives. This setting is one distinction that separates American and English Gothic literature. English Gothic uses Gothic Architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
in its castles, churches and mansions for the dark settings for monsters and ghosts to prey, whereas American Gothic, devoid of castles and mansions, relies on more colonial settings. Drawing from the child's imagination, Derleth creates fantastic shadows and depths to every dark corner to create the creature's features. The reader never actually sees the creature but are forced to use their imagination, much like the two main characters.
Using a Gothic-like atmosphere, the unstable narrator, and a monster that thrives in our nightmares, Derleth plays on one of the most natural and ordinary fear that almost everyone understands, the fear of loneliness and what lurks in the dark.
Reviews
Author August Derleth is an acclaimed Science Fiction author that uses is vast background to create chilling tales in Gothic Literature. "The Lonesome Place" is no different. In the The Sidney Williams Journal "The Lonesome Place" is hailed as "one of the perfect chiller stories that focuses on the imagination."See also
- August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
- American Gothic TalesAmerican Gothic TalesAmerican Gothic Tales - is an anthology of "gothic" American short fiction. Edited and with an Introduction by Joyce Carol Oates, it was published by Plume in 1996...
edited by Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction... - Gothic FictionGothic fictionGothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
- Lonesome PlacesLonesome PlacesLonesome Places is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by American author August Derleth. It was released in 1962 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,201 copies and was Derleth's fifth collection of weird tales...
- Science FictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...