THE DEEP ONES: "The Graveyard Rats" by Henry Kuttner
TalkThe Weird Tradition
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1semdetenebre
"The Graveyard Rats" by Henry Kuttner.
Discussion begins May 1, 2024.
First published the March 1936 issue of Weird Tales.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?68321
SELECTED PRINT VERSIONS
Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!
Henry Kuttner Masters of the Weird Tale
Devils & Demons: A Treasury of Fiendish Tales Old & New
The Graveyard Reader
ONLINE VERSIONS
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Graveyard_Rats
https://www.fadedpage.com/books/20201240/html.php
ONLINE AUDIO VERSIONS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpgqcmuigU8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7RNBpwH9jc
MISCELLANY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kuttner
https://www.centipedepress.com/authors/kuttner.html
https://www.flapperpress.com/post/weird-tales-wedding-bells-the-story-of-henry-k...
https://darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas.org/henry-kuttner-part-1-1936-1939/
https://tinyurl.com/jum27fcv
Discussion begins May 1, 2024.
First published the March 1936 issue of Weird Tales.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?68321
SELECTED PRINT VERSIONS
Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!
Henry Kuttner Masters of the Weird Tale
Devils & Demons: A Treasury of Fiendish Tales Old & New
The Graveyard Reader
ONLINE VERSIONS
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Graveyard_Rats
https://www.fadedpage.com/books/20201240/html.php
ONLINE AUDIO VERSIONS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpgqcmuigU8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7RNBpwH9jc
MISCELLANY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kuttner
https://www.centipedepress.com/authors/kuttner.html
https://www.flapperpress.com/post/weird-tales-wedding-bells-the-story-of-henry-k...
https://darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas.org/henry-kuttner-part-1-1936-1939/
https://tinyurl.com/jum27fcv
2housefulofpaper
I've got this in Weird Tales: Seven Decades of Terror.
3AndreasJ
Time and energy for the Deep Ones has been scarce lately, but I did get around to reading this y’dy.
4semdetenebre
That is one nasty piece of work! Utterly claustrophobic and gruesome. What's not to love? It's like a blueprint for any number of the 1950's horror comics that caused so much upheaval. I have it in the three non-zombie volumes listed above.
5AndreasJ
Speaking of zombies, the ambulatory corpse was about the only element of the tale that actually surprised me, but I'm not sure it added very much to the story.
The claustrophobic underworld was very well evoked, though. This was Kuttner's first commercial sale, so he started out strong.
The claustrophobic underworld was very well evoked, though. This was Kuttner's first commercial sale, so he started out strong.
6housefulofpaper
Did Cotton Mather really hunt down the evil cults that worshipped Hecate and the dark Magna Mater? It sounds as if Kuttner (for the purposes of this story at least) had bought into the theories of Margaret Murray (The Witch-cult in Western Europe, etc.). It does do the job of setting up the supernatural elements of the story and gives a Lovecraftian atmosphere to what's in essence an EC Comics tale of poetic or perhaps cosmic justice.
On that last point, the story does indeed strike me as a blueprint for the 1950s horror comics but I assume it also looks backwards to earlier stories in the pulps. I don't know the broad field well enough to even hazard a guess, although I of course know Lovecraft's early lurid stories ("Herbert West", "The Lurking Fear", and "The Loved Dead".
Edited for typos
On that last point, the story does indeed strike me as a blueprint for the 1950s horror comics but I assume it also looks backwards to earlier stories in the pulps. I don't know the broad field well enough to even hazard a guess, although I of course know Lovecraft's early lurid stories ("Herbert West", "The Lurking Fear", and "The Loved Dead".
Edited for typos
7RandyStafford
Definitely craftsman-like work for a first sales, but, for me, it had a lesser effect than I expected, a bit dry. For my tastes, it could have used a few more sensory details and more on Masson's state of mind.
This gets reprinted in Mythos anthologies, but I don't see much connection apart from the Salem setting. Perhaps it was inspired by "Pickman's Model" since I got the suggestion of ghouls in the tunnels.
>5 AndreasJ: Yes, the zombie/ambulator corpse was a surprise.
This gets reprinted in Mythos anthologies, but I don't see much connection apart from the Salem setting. Perhaps it was inspired by "Pickman's Model" since I got the suggestion of ghouls in the tunnels.
>5 AndreasJ: Yes, the zombie/ambulator corpse was a surprise.
8AndreasJ
>6 housefulofpaper:
Lovecraft also references Murray's ideas at various points. Pseudohistorical as they be, their utility for the weird fictioneer is fairly obvious, so I'm sure the there are further examples.
Lovecraft also references Murray's ideas at various points. Pseudohistorical as they be, their utility for the weird fictioneer is fairly obvious, so I'm sure the there are further examples.
9semdetenebre
It was adapted in 2022 for Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. Anyone happen to see it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQQxwgbUSqg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQQxwgbUSqg
10WeeTurtle
>9 semdetenebre: I did. A few times, actually. It adds a little more to the mummy that makes it fit better with the eldritch end of things. I thought it was delightful in an old school creature-feature kind of way, and the practical effects of the rats are good. The bit with the disappearing shoes is a nice detail from the story.
It's a good series overall. :)
It's a good series overall. :)