The House on the Borderland - William Hope Hodgson

Synopsis:

Two friends on a fishing trip discover the ruin of an old house. The ruins sit at the end of a jutting promontory above a large pit, ringed by waterfalls. The men find an old book amongst the house's remains and experience feelings of terror as they examine the area. They make a frightened retreat back to their camp and begin reading the partly destroyed book. The book is a diary of the accounts of the last residents of the house; an elderly man and his sister. The elderly man records a series of terrifying events as the house comes under attack from dangerous, inhuman creatures. Believing he has driven the creatures back, the diary's author examines a cave-like entrance in a nearby ravine, the place he believes the creatures came from.



Characteristics of Horror:

Erratic Pacing

"The house was perfectly silent. Slowly, I stood up, and yawned. I felt desperately tired, still, and sat down again; wondering what it was that had waked me... It was the sound of a step, as of a person moving cautiously down the corridor, towards my study. In an instant I was on my feet, and grasping my rifle."

Setting

"For a couple of centuries, this house has had a reputation, a bad one, and, until I bought it, for more than eighty years no one had lived here; consequently, I got the old place at a ridiculously low price."

Story Line

"The minute-hand was moving round the dial, faster than an ordinary second-hand. The hour-hand moved quickly from space to space. I had a numb sense of astonishment. A moment later, so it seemed, the two candles went out, almost together."

Style/Language

"What a long, weary day it was. If only I could have gone out into the gardens, as is my wont, I should have been content enough; but to be cooped in this silent house, with no companion, save a mad woman and a sick dog, was enough to prey upon the nerves of the hardiest."

Characterization

"I am an old man. I live here in this ancient house, surrounded by huge, unkempt gardens. The peasantry, who inhabit the wilderness beyond, say that I am mad. That is because I will have nothing to do with them. I live here alone with my old sister, who is also my housekeeper. We keep no servants - I hate them. I have one friend; a dog."


Read-A-Likes:



Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

A terrifying carnival arrives in Green Town, Illinois, bringing Halloween a week early.

At the Mountains of Madness - H. P. Lovecraft

An Antarctica expedition encounters eldritch horror and a lost, alien civilization. Part of the Cthulhu Mythos.

The Talisman - Stephen King and Peter Straub

In an attempt to save his mother's life, young Jack Sawyer travels across a landscape both real and unreal.

The King in Yellow and Other Tales - Robert W. Chambers

A collection of stories including the four influential "King in Yellow" tales about a book that brings madness and despair to those who read it. 

The Imago Sequence and Other Tales - Laird Barron

A collection of stories of the fantastic and grotesque. The Imago Sequence was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, and Proboscis was nominated for an International Horror Guild Award.

Integrated Advisory:

The House on the Borderland

Graphic Novel

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Motion Picture (1983)

At the Mountains of Madness

Video Game

The Talisman

Graphic Novel

The King in Yellow

Board Game Expansion