First-person narrator is revealed as a disgusting, horrible person pretty much right from the start.
Interesting from the beginning, reminiscent in some ways of ‘Herbert West-Reanimator’, which preceded its original publishing.
No “resurrection” here, though…strict grave-robbing, though the narrator may be offended by such a slight.
The original publishing contains the first mention of H.P. Lovecraft’s famous fictional novel, the ‘Necronomicon’.
Two men have a self-made “museum” of dug-up corpses, and are troubled by the recurring baying of a hound when they add an amulet discovered in one of their “adventures” to it.
Eventually, one is torn to pieces, apparently by some sort of flying dark thing only barely seen by his companion as he comes to the site of the killing.
The remaining man hears the faint baying of some unknown hound after burying his companion, terrifying him into leaving his home (with the amulet, destroying the rest of his treasures).
Despite this, he hears and “feels” what he believes is the Hound stalking him.
He attempts to return the amulet to the grave from whence he found it to avoid being killed next, but on his way there the amulet is stolen from him.
Travelling finally to the grave, he digs desperately at it in an attempt to somehow “placate” whatever force he had disturbed/violated in his grave robbing.
When he digs down to the old coffin, however, he finds that things are not quite as he had anticipated/hoped.
It’s not very Lovecraftian, unfortunately. I mean, it’s creepy and disgusting, sure, but it’s more a monster movie (story) than a slow descent into insanity. A bit too plain for me.
Inspirational Quote: “…leering sentiently at me with phosphorescent sockets and sharp and sanguine fangs yawning twistedly in mockery at my inevitable doom.”
Grade: C-