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College Hill, Providence, Rhode Island
Beth and I took a trip out east, and this was the
first time either of us had been to Rhode Island. (A new state for me. Whoo hoo!)
Those who are familiar with my reading habits may understand why going to Providence, Rhode Island,
had such a fascination to me. So instead of trying to get us out to the local carnivorous plant bog,
I set a course for houses near Brown University.
I will leave it to the insightful reader to figure out why we were visiting these homes...homes
which may look normal to the prosaic soul, but to the sensitive reveal a brooding, squat dark
atmosphere of unsettling weirdness. Ia! Ia!
140 Prospect Street
Built in 1801, this house has long said to be haunted.
What is most interesting to us, though, was that this was the home of Charles Dexter Ward...
10 Barnes Street
HPL's home during 1926-1933. You'll notice a strangely unpleasant
person, strangely decayed in manner, curled up in a twisted shape near the entry (just above the
"sarracenia.com" text). I bet his skin has a strange,
coarsely-knit quality, and hangs a little loosely on his frame. Is his face real, or is is just a painted
waxen mask?
65 Prospect Street
HPL's final home (it was moved to this location). It was also from
these windows that the terror-ridden eyes of Robert Blake stared out upon the dark steeple, as the beast reached
out across space to destroy him! Wait, we are being peered at by a hideous skulking figure behind the tree! Being watched
is never a good sign when visiting a strange village by yourself, especially one with brooding
horrors such as this!
135 Benefit Street
Built in 1764, this is of course the "Shunned House."
We know all too well the fate of those who stayed there. We know all too well what was discovered underground,
below the cellar floor. Did the carbolic acid complete its task? Look at the strangely drained, wizened fellow on
the steps, clearly lacking vitality. We wonder, and fear the worst.
Being the fools we are, Beth and I took a soil sample from the base of the house, near the cellar. I have it in a
jar at home, a prized possession for further study. Does it seem to faintly glow green at night, or is that my imagination?
598 Angell Street
HPL's home from 1904 to 1924. His home while he wrote such horrors as
Herbert West--Reanimator, The Lurking Fear, The Rats in the Walls, and one of my personal favorites---The Statement
of Randolph Carter. Just before we began our Providence excursion, our dear friend Peter D'Amato---high priest of all that is
weird---sent to me a Cthuloid wall ornament. This, of course, journeyed with us to all our Lovecraftian sites. Here you can
see us, possessed with....I don't know what....in front of 598 Angell Street.
Do not doubt me when I tell you that Beth dug up a little soil from in front of the house, and sprinkled it on the plaque, while I intoned
suitable incantations.
Ia! Ia! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
And if you really don't know why we visited these houses...
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