The House on the Borderland
Encyclopedia
The House on the Borderland is a supernatural
horror
novel by British fantasist William Hope Hodgson
.
to spend a week fishing in the village of Kraighten. Whilst there, they discover in the ruins of a very curious house a diary of the man who had once owned it. Its torn pages seem to hint at an evil beyond anything that existed on this side of the curtains of impossibility. This is a classic novel that worked to slowly bridge the gap between the British fantastic and supernatural authors of the later 19th century and modern horror fiction
. Noted American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft
lists this and other works by Hodgson among his greatest influences.
The Recluse begins his journal with descriptions of how he acquired the house, along with his daily life with his sister and his faithful dog, Pepper. He confides that he is starting the diary to record the strange experiences and horrors that were occurring in and around the house. The Recluse relates a vision in which he travels to a remote and vast arena, "the plain of silence," surrounded by mountains with representations of mythological beast-gods, demons, and other "bestial horrors" on their slopes. In the center of the plain stands a house almost identical to his own, save that the house in the arena is much larger and appears to be made of a green jade-like substance. Along the way, he sees a huge, menacing humanoid swine-thing.
After his vision of the "arena," he becomes fascinated with the pit adjacent to his house (Ireland), and begins to explore it. Shortly after this he is attacked by humanoid pig-like creatures that he names "the swine-things" which appear to have their origin from somewhere in the depths of a great chasm found under the house (accessed through a pit on the other side of the gardens) . The struggle with these creatures lasts for several nights of greater and greater ferocity, yet in the end, the man kills several of the swine things, and apparently drives them off. As he searches for the origin of the Swine-things, the man explores a pit in the gardens were the river ends and flows underground. There he finds a tunnel leading to a great chasm under the house. When rock slides dam the water in the pit, trapping the man, his dog Pepper rescues him. By the time that the two men find the journal, the obstructed water has overflowed the pit to create the lake.
The house transports him inter-dimensionally to an unknown place called 'the sea of sleep' where he briefly reunites with his lost love.
A short time later, the man notices that day and night have begun to speed up, eventually blurring into a never-ending dusk. As he watches, his surroundings decay and collapse to dust. The dead world slowly grinds to a halt as the sun goes out after several million millennia. Once the world ends, the man floats through space, seeing angelic, human, and demonic forms passing before his eyes. Later, he finds himself back in his own study on Earth, with everything apparently returned to normalcy—with the one exception of Pepper, who is dead.
To make matters worse, the malicious swine-beast from his earlier journeys to the 'arena' has managed to follow him back to his own dimension. The creature infects the man's new dog with a luminous fungal disease. Although the man shoots the suffering animal, he also contracts the disease. The manuscript ends with the man locked (from the outside only) in his study as the creature comes through a trap door in the basement, that opened directly over the chasm under the house.
Tonnison and Berreggnog search for information on the man and his circumstances. They find that the only knowledge of the house was that it was a place long of evil repute and had mysteriously fallen into the chasm. They leave Kraighten and never return.
of the middle of the 20th century, most notably Clark Ashton Smith
, and H. P. Lovecraft
.
, Ltd. London in 1908. Its most popular version was by Arkham House Press
, Sauk City, Wisconsin
, in 1946 as part of The House on the Borderland and Other Novels
, the same publishers that brought out many books by other authors of weird fiction
, such as H. P. Lovecraft.
’ mature reader imprint Vertigo published a 96-page color graphic-novel adaptation The House on the Borderland, with story by Simon Revelstroke and art by Richard Corben
. The book is available in soft and hardcover and contains an introduction by British comic writer Alan Moore
. Revelstroke updated Hodgson's initial "manuscript discovery" frame to 1952 Ireland, and while he made an effort to retain most of the original plot and dialogue, excepting the very last page the climax is purely Revelstroke's invention. In the credits, Revelstroke listed himself as a "Carnacki Fellow" currently "teaching at the Glen Carrig School of Nautical Horticulture", both direct (and fictional) references to Hodgson's other literary works. The adaptation was nominated for Best Graphic Novel of the Year by the International Horror Guild
.
The English Doom metal
band Electric Wizard
featured the song "The House on the Borderland" on their 2008 Electric Wizard/Reverend Bizarre
split EP. As part of their debut EP Los Wattsons : Toma 1, the Spanish pop band Los Wattsons offered "La casa más allá del confín de la tierra", the lyrics and music of which strive to recreate the spirit of the Hodgson tale.
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
novel by British fantasist William Hope Hodgson
William Hope Hodgson
William Hope Hodgson was an English author. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, and novels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fiction and science fiction. Early in his writing career he dedicated effort to poetry, although few of his...
.
Plot introduction
In 1877, two gentlemen, Messrs Tonnison and Berreggnog, head into IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to spend a week fishing in the village of Kraighten. Whilst there, they discover in the ruins of a very curious house a diary of the man who had once owned it. Its torn pages seem to hint at an evil beyond anything that existed on this side of the curtains of impossibility. This is a classic novel that worked to slowly bridge the gap between the British fantastic and supernatural authors of the later 19th century and modern horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
. Noted American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
lists this and other works by Hodgson among his greatest influences.
Plot summary
Two good friends, Tonnison and Berreggnog, travel to the remote village of Kraighten in rural Ireland. On the third day of their trip, they stumble upon the ruins of a strangely-shaped house bordering a large lake. They discover the mouldering journal of the Recluse, an unidentified man who recorded his last days in the house before its destruction.The Recluse begins his journal with descriptions of how he acquired the house, along with his daily life with his sister and his faithful dog, Pepper. He confides that he is starting the diary to record the strange experiences and horrors that were occurring in and around the house. The Recluse relates a vision in which he travels to a remote and vast arena, "the plain of silence," surrounded by mountains with representations of mythological beast-gods, demons, and other "bestial horrors" on their slopes. In the center of the plain stands a house almost identical to his own, save that the house in the arena is much larger and appears to be made of a green jade-like substance. Along the way, he sees a huge, menacing humanoid swine-thing.
After his vision of the "arena," he becomes fascinated with the pit adjacent to his house (Ireland), and begins to explore it. Shortly after this he is attacked by humanoid pig-like creatures that he names "the swine-things" which appear to have their origin from somewhere in the depths of a great chasm found under the house (accessed through a pit on the other side of the gardens) . The struggle with these creatures lasts for several nights of greater and greater ferocity, yet in the end, the man kills several of the swine things, and apparently drives them off. As he searches for the origin of the Swine-things, the man explores a pit in the gardens were the river ends and flows underground. There he finds a tunnel leading to a great chasm under the house. When rock slides dam the water in the pit, trapping the man, his dog Pepper rescues him. By the time that the two men find the journal, the obstructed water has overflowed the pit to create the lake.
The house transports him inter-dimensionally to an unknown place called 'the sea of sleep' where he briefly reunites with his lost love.
A short time later, the man notices that day and night have begun to speed up, eventually blurring into a never-ending dusk. As he watches, his surroundings decay and collapse to dust. The dead world slowly grinds to a halt as the sun goes out after several million millennia. Once the world ends, the man floats through space, seeing angelic, human, and demonic forms passing before his eyes. Later, he finds himself back in his own study on Earth, with everything apparently returned to normalcy—with the one exception of Pepper, who is dead.
To make matters worse, the malicious swine-beast from his earlier journeys to the 'arena' has managed to follow him back to his own dimension. The creature infects the man's new dog with a luminous fungal disease. Although the man shoots the suffering animal, he also contracts the disease. The manuscript ends with the man locked (from the outside only) in his study as the creature comes through a trap door in the basement, that opened directly over the chasm under the house.
Tonnison and Berreggnog search for information on the man and his circumstances. They find that the only knowledge of the house was that it was a place long of evil repute and had mysteriously fallen into the chasm. They leave Kraighten and never return.
Characters in The House on the Borderland
- Messrs Tonnison and Berreggnog: Two British gentleman who escape to Ireland for an enjoyable week of fishing.
- The Recluse: The author of the manuscript, an unknown man who owns the House on the Borderland, his narrative is the basis of the novel. He is a middle-aged, studious man who sought out the house as a place he could live out his days in quiet and solitude. He has an intellectual and rational view of the world that becomes shaken by his experiences. He is cared for by his elderly, spinster sister.
- Mary: The Recluse's old sister, she lives with him and acts as his housekeeper.
- Pepper: His dog, a large, sturdy, brave and loyal beast who does anything to help out his master, regardless of the danger.
- Unnamed woman/Lover: The former sweetheart of the Recluse, she had died years before he purchased the old house in Ireland (her exact marital status not given). The house's ability to transport him inter-dimensionally to her remote abode at 'the sea of sleep' is what holds him from leaving his house in Ireland. She warns him of the danger of remaining in his house and that it (and no doubt its counterpart "en-rapport" in the 'arena' many parsecs and dimensions removed) was 'long given over to evil and was founded on grim arcane laws'. Yet they both agree that were it not for the fantastic ability of his house to bring them together (in her dimension), they would never have been reunited.
- Large Swine-Thing: A humanoid bipedal creature with the repellent head and face of a huge swine; of malign appearance and intent, it glows with a shimmering phosphorescence. The creature briefly appears during the Recluse's first visit to the 'other' house in the remote arena of the 'plain of silence', and once more near the end of the narrative, having somehow crossed back to the dimension (Ireland) of the Recluse. It is also able to exert some telepathic or hypnotic influence over the Recluse.
- Swine-Things: Humanoid bipedal creatures with pallid-coloured pig-like heads and stature approximately the size of a grown man. They emerge from 'the pit' and make repeated stealthy attempts to break in to the house of the Recluse. They communicate with each other in a guttural and thick oleaginous speech which betokens a cunning sentience. Described by the Recluse as 'half-beast, half-something else, and entirely unholy' with eyes which betray a 'horribly human intelligence' ... 'superhumanly foul'.
- The Old House (on the inter-dimensional borderland): The old house is of such central importance to the story that it assumes something of a character's persona. The narrative of the Recluse informs us that the house has had a bad reputation for 200 years prior to his ownership (which is a few generations before the time of the book) and hence he acquired it for a ridiculously low price. Little else is revealed about its history, and the villagers of Kraighten (40 miles distant of Ardrahan, located somewhere in the west of Ireland) all shunned it and believed it to be haunted and that it 'was built by the Devil'. It is located a considerable distance downstream of the unnamed river near the village and is surrounded by a great garden. The stone house appears to have been built over a vast circular chasm (learned about half way through the journal), has a huge multiroom cellar embellished with weird fantastic sculptures, and is outwardly covered in 'little curved towers and pinnacles, with outlines suggestive of leaping flames .... while the body of the building is in the form of a circle'. As the title of the book hints, it is a "house on the borderland", a portal to other dimensions and serves as author Hodgson's means of transporting its owner the 'Recluse' (and readers of the story) over vast distances of space and time. The house is linked to a larger counterpart with which it is 'en-rapport'; located on a distant world (either in another dimension or at the other 'end' of this universe). When Tonnison and Berreggnog discover the house (in Ireland) it has fallen into 'the chasm'. All that is left is an overgrown wilderness of a once-great garden estate and a small fragment of what was (probably) the study, on a huge spur of rock which juts out over a vast circular chasm. The story then becomes a flashback or framed narrative via the journal of the Recluse discovered by them in the ruins.
Literary significance & criticism
The book is a milestone that signals a radical departure from the typical gothic supernatural fiction of the late 19th century. Hodgson creates a newer more realistic/scientific cosmic horror that left a marked impression on the people who would become the great writers of the weird talesWeird fiction
Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction written in the late 19th and early 20th century. It can be said to encompass the ghost story and other tales of the macabre. Weird fiction is distinguished from horror and fantasy in that it predates the niche marketing of genre fiction...
of the middle of the 20th century, most notably Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
, and H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
.
Release details
This novel was first released in Britain by Chapman and HallChapman and Hall
Chapman & Hall was a British publishing house in London, founded in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman and William Hall. Upon Hall's death in 1847, Chapman's cousin Frederic Chapman became partner in the company, of which he became sole manager upon the retirement of Edward...
, Ltd. London in 1908. Its most popular version was by Arkham House Press
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...
, Sauk City, Wisconsin
Sauk City, Wisconsin
Sauk City is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,109 at the 2000 census. The first incorporated village in the state, the community was founded by Agoston Haraszthy and his business partner, Robert Bryant...
, in 1946 as part of The House on the Borderland and Other Novels
The House on the Borderland and Other Novels
The House on the Borderland and Other Novels is a collection of short novels by author William Hope Hodgson. It was published by Arkham House in 1946 in an edition of 3,014 copies...
, the same publishers that brought out many books by other authors of weird fiction
Weird fiction
Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction written in the late 19th and early 20th century. It can be said to encompass the ghost story and other tales of the macabre. Weird fiction is distinguished from horror and fantasy in that it predates the niche marketing of genre fiction...
, such as H. P. Lovecraft.
Adaptations
In 2003 DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
’ mature reader imprint Vertigo published a 96-page color graphic-novel adaptation The House on the Borderland, with story by Simon Revelstroke and art by Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
. The book is available in soft and hardcover and contains an introduction by British comic writer Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
. Revelstroke updated Hodgson's initial "manuscript discovery" frame to 1952 Ireland, and while he made an effort to retain most of the original plot and dialogue, excepting the very last page the climax is purely Revelstroke's invention. In the credits, Revelstroke listed himself as a "Carnacki Fellow" currently "teaching at the Glen Carrig School of Nautical Horticulture", both direct (and fictional) references to Hodgson's other literary works. The adaptation was nominated for Best Graphic Novel of the Year by the International Horror Guild
International Horror Guild
The International Horror Guild was created in 1995 as a way to recognize the achievements of those who create in the field of Horror and Dark Fantasy. The IHG presented the International Horror Guild Award. Nancy A. Collins, the founder of the award, felt there was a need for an award granted by...
.
The English Doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
band Electric Wizard
Electric Wizard
Electric Wizard are a stoner metal band from Dorset, England that formed in 1993. The band have since recorded seven albums, at least three of which are now considered to be landmarks of their genre: their self-title debut, Electric Wizard, Come My Fanatics..., and Dopethrone...
featured the song "The House on the Borderland" on their 2008 Electric Wizard/Reverend Bizarre
Electric Wizard/Reverend Bizarre
Electric Wizard/Reverend Bizarre is a split EP released by the English doom metal band Electric Wizard and the Finnish doom band Reverend Bizarre. It was released in 2008 through Rise Above Records. The Reverend Bizarre song is a cover of Finnish black metal band Beherit...
split EP. As part of their debut EP Los Wattsons : Toma 1, the Spanish pop band Los Wattsons offered "La casa más allá del confín de la tierra", the lyrics and music of which strive to recreate the spirit of the Hodgson tale.