The Witch House, also known as Lovecraft's Witch House or the Lovecraft House, is a fictional location in the works of American author H.P. Lovecraft. It is a recurring setting in Lovecraft's stories, particularly in those set in the fictional New England setting of Arkham, Massachusetts. The Witch House is described as an ancient and sinister dwelling located on the corner of French Hill and Saltonstall Streets in Arkham. It is an architecturally strange house, with its sharply angled walls, slightly askew windows, and overall geometric irregularity.
Keziah Mason was an old woman of Arkham who was arrested as part of the Salem witch trials of 1692 before disappearing from Salem Gaol. Her studies of the occult led her to sign the Book of Azathoth allowing her to move to a higher dimension to gain knowledge and serve Nyarlathotep.
Gilman also has nightly experiences involving Keziah Mason and her rat-bodied, human-faced familiar, Brown Jenkin, which he believes might not be dreams at all. Witch House might find some appreciative viewers who are intrigued by the strangeness of the dream sequences, but I found the film to be poorly crafted and a bit of an endurance challenge.
It is an architecturally strange house, with its sharply angled walls, slightly askew windows, and overall geometric irregularity. The house is rumored to have been built by an accused witch and is steeped in occult lore and supernatural legends. Lovecraft describes the atmosphere inside the Witch House as eerie and oppressive, with bizarre angles and geometries that defy conventional notions of space and reality.
H.P. Lovecraft’s Witch House Review
PLOT: A college student who believes geometry is the key to inter-dimensional travel starts having terrible nightmares in a house where a witch may have carried out human sacrifices.
REVIEW: First published in the pages of Weird Tales magazine in 1933, legendary horror author H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Dreams in the Witch House has been brought to the screen twice before. Once for the 1968 film The Crimson Cult, which had an impressive cast that included Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Barbara Steele, and Michael Gough. That was such a loose adaptation, Lovecraft wasn’t even given credit. Decades later, Stuart Gordon gave Lovecraft credit and kept the title intact for his 2005 contribution to the Masters of Horror series. Now the story has gotten the low budget indie treatment with director Bobby Easley’s new film H.P. Lovecraft’s Witch House (watch it HERE)… and this really goes to show how much of a tough act Stuart Gordon is to follow.
Easley’s Witch House was filmed at the historic Hannah House in Indianapolis, Indiana, a place that is said to be haunted – but for the purposes of this movie, the Hannah House (as it is still referred to by the characters) is in a town named after a Lovecraft location, Miskatonic. The character we follow into this place is college student Alice Gilman (an actress credited as Michelle Morris on the film itself, but as Portia Chellelynn in the marketing), who is working on the theory that sacred geometry is the key to inter-dimensional travel. It just so happens that a previous tenant at Hannah House did crack the secrets of inter-dimensional travel and you would think that stories of this might be what inspires Alice to rent a room in the place. After all, the Gilman character in Lovecraft’s story purposely moved into the Witch House because of its history. But that’s not the case here. Alice simply moves into the Hannah House / Witch House because there’s a vacancy and her violent ex, who once beat her so badly that she miscarried their child, is on the loose. She needs a place to hide out while working on her theory, so the Hannah House it is. As soon as she enters the house, she feels like she belongs there. And the “suggested geometric shapes” in her attic room are perfect for her studies!
Alice’s housemates in this place are her landlady Etta (Shonda Laverty), Etta’s deeply religious, alcoholic brother Joe (Joe Padgett), and Etta’s niece Tommi (Julie Anne Prescott), who is around the same age as Alice. Etta and Joe are only a presence for key moments, but Alice ends up spending a good amount of time with Tommi – who helps her look into the history of the Hannah House. Which is when she finally finds out she’s living in a “Witch House”, as it used to be home to Keziah Mason (Andrea Collins), a servant girl who was accused of carrying out human sacrifices – the sacrificed being children – and was burned at the stake. Tommi also manages to seduce Alice so easily, it’s like she’s James Bond levels of irresistible, leading to a gratuitous sex scene. Paving the way for more gratuitous moments of nudity and scenes of Alice in her underwear. But given that the best Lovecraft adaptation we’ve ever seen (Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator) features a gratuitous scene where a nude female is assaulted by a severed-but-living head, it’s tough to fault other Lovecraft-inspired filmmakers for trying to spice up their movies with bare flesh.
The story of Keziah Mason inspires Alice to work occult symbols into her studies and to look up the Necronomicon. She also starts having intense nightmares about occult practices, Keziah, and the witch’s buddy Brown Jenkin. If you’re familiar with the source material, you’ll know that Brown Jenkin was described as being a rat with a human face, something that Gordon was able to effectively bring to the screen for his adaptation. Of course, this one didn’t have the budget necessary to create Brown Jenkin, so the character is represented through shots of a regular rat and a scuzzy-looking human. While Alice is there dreaming, someone is stalking around the town of Miskatonic, abducting children. It looks like history is repeating itself. And somehow, even though Alice is an established Lovecraft fan – she’s reading Lovecraft the first time we see her – she never ponders how it could be that she’s living something similar to The Dreams in the Witch House. Maybe she’s too terrified. Maybe the adaptation is too loose. Or this oversight could be explained by the final moment of the film, which will have many viewers groaning and rolling their eyes.
Much of Witch House’s mercifully short running time is dedicated to the nightmares Alice has. Trippy sequences that are soaked in colorful lighting. Easley has said that he was drawing inspiration from Italian genre filmmakers while making Witch House, so the lighting must be his tribute to Mario Bava and Dario Argento. The nightmares are certainly the most visually interesting parts of the movie, as the low budget is very apparent in the overall look of the film. A cheap look is easily overcome when the story and/or characters are interesting enough… but the storytelling here is very messy and scattered, and the characters aren’t interesting. So Witch House very quickly becomes frustrating and difficult to sit through. My favorite thing about it was the fact that the end credits kicked in after just 75 minutes.
Witch House might find some appreciative viewers who are intrigued by the strangeness of the dream sequences, but I found the film to be poorly crafted and a bit of an endurance challenge. As far as adaptations of The Dreams in the Witch House go, I would not recommend this one… but if you do check it out, at least it won’t take up much of your time.
Witch House is now available on Digital, VOD, and DVD.
Walter Gilman, a student of mathematics and folklore at Miskatonic University, takes an attic room in "the Witch House", a house in Arkham thought to be cursed. The first part of the story is an account of the history of the house, which once harboured Keziah Mason, an accused witch who disappeared mysteriously from a Salem jail in 1692. Gilman discovers that for the better part of two centuries many of its occupants have died prematurely.
The house is said to have strange, non-Euclidean dimensions, with rooms that connect to each other in inexplicable ways. The very architecture of the house is believed to possess some malevolent influence, invoking feelings of terror and paranoia in those who enter. The Witch House is often associated with the practice of black magic and forbidden occult knowledge. It is believed to house an otherworldly evil force that attracts dark entities and entities from other dimensions. This connection to the occult and dark forces further adds to the mystique and sinister reputation of the house. The Witch House features prominently in Lovecraft's stories, including "The Dreams in the Witch House" and "The Thing on the Doorstep." In these tales, characters who venture into the house often find themselves ensnared in a web of supernatural horrors, struggling to comprehend the otherworldly mysteries that surround them. The Witch House serves as a physical manifestation of the cosmic horror and madness that pervades Lovecraft's fictional universe. Lovecraft's depictions of the Witch House have influenced other works of fiction and have become an integral part of his broader mythos, known as the Cthulhu Mythos. Today, the Witch House remains a beloved and iconic location in Lovecraftian lore, symbolizing the macabre and unfathomable aspects of the author's imaginative world..
Reviews for "The Psychological Impact of HP Lovecraft's Witch House on Readers"
1. Alex - 2 out of 5 stars - I was really excited to read "Hp Lovecraft Witch House" as I have heard so much about Lovecraft's work. However, I was thoroughly disappointed with this particular book. The story felt disjointed and lacked a clear plotline. The characters were underdeveloped, and I couldn't connect with any of them. The writing style was also confusing and often hard to follow. Overall, it was a letdown, and I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a good Lovecraftian horror experience.
2. Emily - 2.5 out of 5 stars - "Hp Lovecraft Witch House" didn't live up to my expectations of Lovecraft's unique and captivating storytelling. While the concept of a witch house and its dark mysteries sounded intriguing, the execution fell flat for me. The pacing was slow, and the horror elements felt forced and predictable. Additionally, the prose was overly verbose and excessively descriptive, hindering the flow of the narrative. I appreciate Lovecraft's influence in the horror genre, but this particular book didn't do justice to his legacy.
3. Michael - 3 out of 5 stars - As a fan of Lovecraft, I was quite disappointed with "Hp Lovecraft Witch House." The story felt repetitive, with similar themes and tropes as his other works. The writing, while atmospheric at times, was overly convoluted and lacked coherence. While there were some intriguing moments, the overall execution felt lacking and didn't leave a lasting impression. It may appeal to die-hard Lovecraft fans, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone new to his works.
4. Sarah - 2 out of 5 stars - "Hp Lovecraft Witch House" promised to be an eerie and chilling tale, but it failed to deliver on that front. The story lacked originality and relied heavily on tired horror clichés. The characters felt one-dimensional, and their actions often made little sense. Moreover, the pacing was inconsistent, jumping between slow and rushed moments without a clear rhythm. It's a forgettable work in Lovecraft's repertoire, and I would suggest exploring his other stories instead.