The Dunwich Horror

Haggard · Post by **Haggard** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 4:40 pm

Something that was never clarified about Wilbur Whateley's brother, but which I think sounds most likely. When he finally becomes visible, we learn that there is a huge "Whateley face" on his body. But is this a face that has any purpose? Wilbur Whateley had (probably non-functional) eyes on his hips, as well as tentacles and other stuff that he didn't have any use for, but which he had inherited from his father. He was too much of a human. His brother on the other hand, reminded much more about their father. On him, all the tentacles and other non-human anatomical details really had a purpose. So one would assume it would have been the other way around; those human traits that were present in him, didn't have any purpse or function, no more than male nipples. I'm imagining the face was just such a "male nipple", present somewhere on his body, but it was all the numerous eyes and tentacles and so on that was his real "face" or whatever one would call it, and whoch contained all the sense organs. The human face would just have been an annoying and useless body part, with blind eyes and a moth that didn't lead anywhere. But for all I know, it could have shown some reflections of the creature's state of mind, if he was mad or angry and such, just as body language in humans can say much about how we feel. I just wonder; what part of him was it that was shouting at the end?

Eternities End · Post by **Eternities End** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 5:20 pm

I think it said somewhere that he had a bunch of mouths all over its body, so in the end it was probably screaming through all of them at once...

E.A. Lovecraft · Post by **E.A. Lovecraft** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 7:19 pm

Only HPL knows if it was supposed to serve any actual purpose. I think the face serves nicely as a feature to make the brother that much more hideous and disturbing, a reminder of degenerate humanity gone tragically awry through contact with the Great Old Ones. Without it, Wilbur's sibling would be relegated to the hordes of uninspired tentacled and multi-mouthed beasties that abound in Mythos tales.

Haggard · Post by **Haggard** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 5:11 am

Yeah, he was probably screaming through more than one mouth.

And yes, the brother wouldn't be the same without some human traits, and neither would we be able to know it was Wilbur's brother if he was 100% non-human.

The reason I like the story is because of the atmospere and the description of the surroundings and nature. A small New England town early in the last century, with an unkown gigantic invisble creature destrying houses and killing people, and able to climb almost vertical up moutains, the only thing giving it away is the trees who is forced to the sides with mucle power alone. When visualising it, it really has a feel of old forces and entities visiting earth.

Eternities End · Post by **Eternities End** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 2:21 pm

Yah I think H.P was trying out a new style when he wrote that one...seems to stand out from the rest by a bit...

E.A. Lovecraft · Post by **E.A. Lovecraft** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 7:26 pm

There are shades of Harper Williams' (The Thing in the Woods) style in TDH, which Lovecraft seems to have run with. But I agree that his development of atmosphere in that tale is a key feature of its effectiveness. He doesn't just tell you something is awry. He makes you feel it.

Haggard · Post by **Haggard** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 5:54 pm

Hopefully it will get a correct movie adaptation some day.

I have heard that most of Lovecraft's most known stories were inspired by other's work. It would have been really interesting if some talented horror writers decided to release a collection of their own versions of a handful stories by Lovecraft. Like Stephen King did with Dracula when he wrote Salem's Lot, which is not actually a rewrite, but more a new story with the same basic elements. Just like Lovecraft saw a potential in other's work where they missed seeing it theirself, I'm sure there is a lot of potential in his own work which could be taken further by others.
This is what is done all the time when a books turned into a movie (the more identical to the book the moviemakers are trying to be, the generel rule is that there is a little chance of success). At least as long as there is not left any dount where the original story comes from. A new Dunwich Horror or Shadow Over Innsmouth could be fascinating.

E.A. Lovecraft · Post by **E.A. Lovecraft** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 6:53 pm

Quite a few try their hands at Lovecraftian tales. Few succeed, but you'll find a few gems at this site and elsewhere. King has done a nice job with the Mythos as well.

Eternities End · Post by **Eternities End** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 7:27 pm

Haggard wrote:Hopefully it will get a correct movie adaptation some day.

With all hope, there will never be an adaptation...the last one they made had nothing what so ever to do with Lovecraft, and with the way they made the Tomb...It will be nothing but an abomination

Jesus Prime · Post by **Jesus Prime** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:26 pm

Originally, my hopes were that Marlon Brando would play Wilbuer Whately. I don't think there's anyone left to fill his shoes.

Haggard · Post by **Haggard** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:23 pm

I am aware that some authers have wrote stuff which takes place in Lovecraft's universe, but are there some stories that are actually new versions or the original ones (like the already mentioned Salems' Lot and Dracula)?

And I think it could be possible to do a movie adaptation of The Dunwich Horror (or other of his tales for that matter), as long as it is done right. One just has to remember that a written short story and a movie are two different mediums, so they would have to make a movie based on or even just inspired by the short story rather than trying to transfer it directly.
If I was a director who was gonna make this movie, I think I would have left the soul eating birds out.

Wilbuer Whately would either require a lot of make-up or performance capture. If the performance technology which will be used in Avatar and Tintin really is a photorealistic as they say it will be, it would be possible to make such a character realistic.

E.A. Lovecraft · Post by **E.A. Lovecraft** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 10:47 am

I don't know that I'd necessarily call Salem's Lot a new version of Dracula, even though it has the same creature elements. The heart of the horror in Salem's Lot lies more along the lines of something like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or The Thing, where you never really know who has been turned into something unpleasant.

I think it could be possible to do a movie adaptation of The Dunwich Horror . . . as long as it is done right.

Therein lies the real trick. I think the main hurdle to adapting any Lovecraft tale to film is capturing his characters' ingrained and deeply personal disgust with even the mundane features they encounter, let alone the Mythos. The reading process gives authors opportunities to make connections with readers that filmmakers do not have (even with the latest CGI technology).

odin2 · Post by **odin2** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:46 pm

Nope, never work.

Somethings just don't/can't translate to visuals.
The first thing that comes to mind is "Dune" amazing book, then the movie just loses to much of the depth of thought. Same thing with Lovecraft horror..The thoughts and ideas of the characters just have to be read to be understood.

Eternities End · Post by **Eternities End** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 7:55 pm

idk the Dune mini-series was pretty good...its hard to capture the Dune feel...but its easy to do the story...and give it a new feel.

Haggard · Post by **Haggard** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:34 am

Those who are expecting movies to be 100% identical to the books in every little detail will in most cases be disappointed. As I have already mentioned a couple of times, there is a huge difference between attempts to transfer a written story (or a comic like Sin City) directly to moving pictures and stay as true to the original source as possible, and making a movie which is BASED or INSPIRED by a book or short story.

I am convinced that most serious horror plots are possible to work as a fundament for a great movie. It all depends on the scriptwriters, directors, actors and in some degree on the budget and visual effects. And most of Lovecraft's stories have a relative simpe plot. His ideas about "impossible architecture" or "outer worldly geometry" wouldn't fit in for obvious reasons, but the main plot shouldn't be impossible to turn into a movie if you have some talent, connections and ressources.