| Title | : | The Thing From the Lake |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 315 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1921 |
Immediately however, an unseen mysterious woman begins giving him warnings during nocturnal visits to leave the house at once. Soon he begins hearing strange ominous sounds emanating from the tiny lake at the back of the house coupled with a permeation of sickly odors. An evil presence then begins to visit him during the witching hours of the late night, challenging him to a battle of wits from which there can be only one victor.
Is his mysterious female visitor there to help and encourage him to flee from the house, or is she working in tandem with The Thing From the Lake?
A gripping, occasionally frightening tale, Ms. Ingram wastes no time in grabbing the reader into the story and manages to weave a tale that will leave the reader guessing at every turn of events. (Summary by Roger Melin)(from Librivox)
The Thing From the Lake Reviews
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The title of this 1921 publication told me, “supernatural/horror”. The actual content is still atmospheric but it’s also “romance” + “East Coast gothic” + “science fiction”. But if I had to describe it quickly, I would say it’s about a haunted house with a wacked-out history. And atmosphere. This is a book with lots of atmosphere.
The lead character is a composer of popular music who doesn’t seem to have a specific goal in life. Relatively well-off, he has a good heart and tends to help others financially. His art requires time away from the city so he purchases a home in rural Connecticut. It’s a home that was probably built around the time of the first Puritan settlers in the area, so it no doubt has a history. Boy, does it have a history.
Let me at once set down that this is not the story of a haunted house. It is, or was, a beleaguered house; strangely besieged as was Prague in the old legend, when a midnight army of spectres unfurled pale banners and encamped around the city walls.
When he first espies the home, he states, The house cried out to me for help. For him, the house is almost romantic, for it wooed me like a determined woman. He learns there is a marsh and a small dam nearby, where he can hear water throughout the day; perfect for writing that next musical opus. But when he decides to spend a night there, unannounced, he discovers there is a presence. Actually there’s more than one presence and that extra “being” is not there to be his friend. This is where the cold chills start hitting the reader.
As the key slid in place, I heard the waterfall over the dam abruptly change the sound of its flow, swelling and accelerating as when a gust of wind hurries a greater volume of water over the brink. But there was no wind. Immediately followed that sound from the lake which I can liken to nothing better than the smack of huge lips unclosing, or the suck of a thick body drawing itself from a bed of mud.
There are also two other supporting characters, as his young cousin surprises the family by returning from school with a husband. Hoping to give them a step-up in their newlywed bliss, he offers the house to them for living quarters, unaware they will both have greater fortitude and resolve than even he himself. Events plow on and it quickly becomes clear that our heroes and heroines are going to be up against something far scarier than a typical ghost.
It was difficult to stop reading this book. Since I couldn’t find a print copy, I would read it at night (why I read scary books at night is beyond me) on
Project Gutenberg and it became an addiction. This is mostly due to Eleanor Ingram’s writing. She builds atmosphere without making it appear this is happening. It’s almost a languid pace until the momentum starts to gather. The house itself is not haunted, per se, but it seems to know it is being attacked, almost being held hostage. Also, the book was published more than 100 years ago, yet it feels relevant. There are cars and telephones and fast-paced city life, so that if I hadn’t known the date of publication, I would have assumed the storyline took place more recently. It’s also one of those lost and forgotten books that go out-of-print when their authors depart this world. Ingram died the same year the book was published, so any follow-up work or publicity was non-existent. Plus, I love stories about abandoned houses, always wondering who lived there, why they left, and what they left behind. Those Puritans.
Book Season = Autumn (venom of malevolence) -
I have to admit to a frugality when it comes to most books. Don't get me wrong, just as any / every bibliophile has a number of first edition, leatherbound, signed books, I have my share. However, I have an admitted addiction to read as much as I can before I leave this good, God's green Earth. So consequently, I buy most of my books on the cheap and there's nothing cheaper than free. Sometimes things come into my possession by mere circumstance, or kismet. The Thing from the Lake was sent to me as a suggested read from one of the many online apps that beg me to buy more books. I mean, what's a man to do? I had never heard of Eleanor Ingram. (She died in 1921, in relative obscurity at 35, the year that this novel was published.) There's not a lot I could find out about her, although she did have other published books and stories. One of the fun things about this book is that it is really big on setting, mood, and tone. Clearly, Ingram had a way of telling a creepy story. The main character buys a house in Connecticut and has his newly married cousin move into the house to take care of it for him with her spouse with the condition that he will have a guest room in the home so that he can occasionally leave the city behind to compose new music in a rustic milieu. The thing is that there appears to be a malevolent spirit that wants to haunt the house and our main character is falling in love with another mysterious presence that visits at night. This is a wonderfully, horrific tale with some fascinating themes. I loved the Lovecraftian way the story is told, and clearly is reminiscent of Poe, Blackwood, Machen, and Hodgson. The book is out of print so a hard copy will cost over 25 bucks, but is available for free over various platforms including Gutenberg. I am pleasantly surprised and I will classify this novel as a classic, because it satisfies my three criteria of paradigm creating, exceptionalism, and longevity. This book is more than 100 years old and it reads like a modern "haunted house that doesn't know it's haunted," narrative.
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lost gem, enjoyed this story very much, the only supernatural story by the author, back to the 20s...
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Recensione originale:
https://sonnenbarke.wordpress.com/201...
«La casa gridava affinché la aiutassi.» Con queste parole inizia il romanzo misconosciuto dell'altrettanto misconosciuta
Eleanor M. Ingram.
Non sono riuscita a trovare informazioni sull'autrice, se non la nazionalità (americana) e le date di nascita e di morte (1886-1921). A quanto pare ha scritto
degli altri libri, di cui però non so niente. Non ricordo nemmeno come sono venuta a conoscenza di questo libro, che giaceva nel mio Kindle da diversi anni. Molto probabilmente per puro caso.
È un grosso peccato che questo libro sia sconosciuto (ovviamente mai tradotto in italiano, dato che è sconosciuto anche in patria). A me è piaciuto moltissimo, e proverò a parlarvene brevemente, avvisandovi però che trovo difficile parlarne senza svelare parti importanti della trama.
Un musicista newyorkese di discreta fama decide di comprare una casa nella campagna del Connecticut. La casa è abbandonata da molto tempo e non in buono stato, ma a Roger Locke piace e non ci pensa troppo. Come dicevo, il musicista-narratore inizia subito il suo racconto dicendoci che la casa lo chiamava, gridando, per chiedere il suo aiuto. Già nella seconda frase ci dice che non si tratta però di una casa infestata, quanto piuttosto di una casa "assediata". Ciò che la minaccia infatti non vive all'interno della casa stessa ma, come dice il titolo, nel lago che si trova proprio nei pressi, sul terreno della fattoria.
Già dalla prima notte che Roger dorme nella casa si trova di fronte a una misteriosa presenza femminile che non riesce a vedere, ma di cui riesce solo a toccare una sontuosa treccia di capelli.
Poi c'è uno stacco, e seguiamo Roger a New York, dove deve andare a prendere sua cugina Phillida alla stazione. Phillida, o Phil come la chiama lui, è una ragazza diciannovenne che studia all'università per seguire il volere dei genitori, entrambi accademici di fama, ma che odia studiare. Si scoprirà prestissimo che la ragazza si è sposata in segreto, alcuni mesi addietro, con un pattinatore/ballerino che lavora in un cabaret di New York. Sdegno da parte dei genitori, ovviamente, e perfino da parte di Roger, che pure è un artista, ma si ritiene di un livello superiore rispetto a un ballerino di cabaret. Tuttavia, Roger offre ai due di prendersi cura della sua casa nel Connecticut appena acquistata, dove in seguito andrà a trovarli e si ritroverà al cospetto di due misteriose presenze avvertite soltanto da lui.
Il romanzo intreccia dunque una vicenda mondana con una storia di fantasmi e stregoneria, e dal mio punto di vista amalgama molto bene le due storie facendole intrecciare in maniera estremamente interessante. È forte il contrasto fra l'esperienza orrorifica di Roger nella casa che Ethan Vere e Phillida hanno reso così accogliente e gradevole. E proprio questo contrasto così palese rende tanto più intriganti gli incontri "soprannaturali" di Roger.
Ho trovato la storia ben costruita, interessante, appassionante. Il climax finale : forse è la parte meno riuscita del romanzo, ma è comunque abbastanza adeguata alla storia, anche se non del tutto. Il finale vero e proprio, quello della soluzione del mistero, è invece interessante.
A mio parere un romanzo molto interessante e molto piacevole da leggere, che sarebbe opportuno riscoprire. -
The Thing From The Lake, by Eleanor Marie Ingram, Read by Roger Melin.
This will necessarily include the Amazon free ebook edition of The Thing From The Lake, by Eleanor Marie Ingram, but also the free Librovox recording brilliantly read by Roger Melin. I enjoy walking, reading, and listening simultaneously. Multitasking, right?
Straight away lets say 5 stars. I'm so inconsistent about handing out 5 stars… this one however, I loved and recommend. Not only is it a wonderful book by Ms. Ingram, the reading by Roger Melin is quite poetic. I mean that literally. Listening to him read the story it feels like a wonderful story told in the form of a poem. That is not actually the case, and maybe “just reading it" a person wouldn't get that impression. I did, listening and reading along. I loved Roger, the character, and the reader of the book.
You can gain more than I might tell by reading the blurb on Goodreads. I don't think the blurb by the amazing reader, Roger Melin, is entirely accurate. Roger Locke, our primary protagonist doesn't actually do any 'fixing up' of his newly acquired country home. The fixing up gets done, but you read about it. Or listen… or both.
Most of the story I felt I knew just slightly more than Roger Locke knows as the protagonist and primary point of view character. I knew enough to want him to leave when the mysterious woman in the dark warns him to leave. And there is your 5 stars. I was wanting the characters to do things the way I wanted them to do things. So Eleanor had me totally involved in HER story.
Generally, Roger Locke, from the early 1900s, is a composer of popular music, which had the “grown up” respect of rock and roll of the 50s. It makes him good money. He buys a house on a 'swamp-lake' “in the country”. It is broken down and unkept for more than a decade. On the night of his purchase he decides to stay in the broken down place, planning to have contractors come and make all the improvements he will want in the immediate future.
Something happens that night. A ghost like encounter with 'the girl' in the complete darkness. And later, as foretold by the pleasant 'girl' in the dark something evil comes to visit. There begins the adventure of Roger Locke. Never in any of the visits by the pleasant girl or the evil thing, is there any light. The girl even extracts a promise he will never try to turn on the light when she visits.
I read some reviews that say it is comparable to a Stephen King story. First, the author finishes the story, so it isn't like King in that respect, but remember I listened as well as read and the reader was downright poetic and that doesn't promote a great sense of dread one might get engrossed in in a Stephen King story.
The climax and conclusion were unexpected, or a surprising twist that I may or may not have expected but was pleased with how the story turned in any case. Like books of the age, like Sherlock Holmes stories, there is a visit from Phillida's father, a scientific type who hearing all of what has gone on trys to put a nice scientific coat around it. That's fun too. -
I tried liking this book for some time, and it never gelled. In fact, after the plot stops being about "The thing from the lake" (5 pages in) and is more about how this one lonely dude has a really big hard on for this long haired woman that visits him in the night...and how awesome that is...and how...you know...like, don't sacrifice yourself for me because I love you...and might be allegory about nocturnal emissions as much as anything and the euphoria versus guilt of having them...for the majority of the book: I started going off. There are about three scenes that are worth reading, but the conclusion really is par for the course. Seeing as this is one of those books out in the public domain which doesn't seem to have a real in-print edition, it might be neat to see what kind of books didn't become popular. Outside of that, the biggest thing going for the book is that it's a very early example of the dark romance genre, technically.
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This one was very interesting, but it did not live up to my expectations. The mystery itself was intriguing, but some parts were confusing.
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Roger Locke is a successful New York composer of stage musicals and popular sings who decides to buy himself a farm as an investment. The house is decrepit and stands beside a stagnant lake. He decides to spend the night in his new home but awakens to find a woman in his bed beside him who holds a knife to him in the darkness while he in turn grips a braid of her hair. She warns him to leave the house and he realises that she has used the knife to cut off the braid of hair he was holding, and has disappeared.
Meanwhile, his young cousin, (who has overbearing parents with impossibly high standards) has married Verne, a young cabaret entertainer. Roger is initially appalled but decides to reserve judgment. As Verne is originally from a farming family he offers the couple the chance to run his farm for him and supervise the renovation of the house while he is in New York.
When he returns to the farm a collapsed dam has been rebuilt and the lake has widened and deepened. However, from then on he is visited by both the mysterious woman and an evil presence who claims that the woman belongs to him and vows that Locke will be destroyed.
It’s a very readable book with some engaging and interesting characters. Ingram certainly manages to produce an atmosphere of dread and unearthly unease when the thing (from another dimension, it appears) manifests itself, while at the same time establishing a growing bond between Locke and his mysterious – possibly immaterial – female visitor, slotting this novel into the tradition of supernatural romances. Indeed, there is much in this that echoes with Anne Rice’s novels of Lasher and the Mayfair Witches.
It’s also an interesting window on the subject of class distinction in the US at the time. Locke’s family appear to be well-to-do, if not fabulously wealthy. Locke himself is described as being the wealthiest in his family, although his money is self made.
Locke’s reaction to his cousin marrying a vaudeville entertainer might seem a little puzzling today but it’s clear that entertainers, particularly those that perform in bars or clubs were thought to be disreputable folk. Maybe Ingram was making a conscious effort to disabuse her public of that notion.
Her unconscious may well have been doing other things, since at the denouement, the main characters aim to flee the house in a car and escape the malign creature’s reach. No provision appears to have been made for evacuation of the domestic staff who would presumably have been left to their fate. -
This little gem of a short novel combines weird fiction, radium age scifi, mystery, and romance into a very strange jambalaya that somehow works.
It is not very grand in scale. A pop music writer wants to help his young cousin, who just eloped with a man whom the family does not approve. He allows them to stay in his old farmhouse by a lake that he bought as a retreat to do his composing in exchange for the newlyweds helping with the upkeep of the property. But his generosity isn't completely selfless--you see, he could use the company, because he gets a few odd visitors in the middle of the night.
Most of the novel is just a very sweet and touching family drama that would play well as a BBC television period piece. The new husband of the cousin, for example, turns out to be a real noble and gentle soul, not the gold-digging heart-breaker he is assumed to be by the main protagonist. It is rewarding to read about the progression of the odd trio's relationship as they grow closer while living on the farmhouse.
In the meantime, sometimes the story dives into Lovecraft country. There is a scene which I won't spoil involving a ponytail that sent serious shivers up my spine as well as any creepy work by M.R. James. There's also witchcraft and an interdimensional being that is very reminiscent of, but long predates, Stephen King's "It." The author even seems to imply that the titular "Thing" occupies the same universe as William Hope Hodgson's "Borderland." Fun stuff for fans of weird fiction.
The end gets wrapped up a bit too nicely and is inconsistent with the tone of the rest of the novel, feeling more like the conclusion of a Scooby Doo episode. But despite the inconsistencies and weird mishmash of genres, this was an enjoyable read, and deserves 4 stars to hopefully encourage more readers to check out this quaint classic. -
This little gem of a short novel combines weird fiction, radium age scifi, mystery, and romance into a very strange jambalaya that somehow works.
It is not very grand in scale. A pop music writer wants to help his young cousin, who just eloped with a man whom the family does not approve. He allows them to stay in his old farmhouse by a lake that he bought as a retreat to do his composing in exchange for the newlyweds helping with the upkeep of the property. But his generosity isn't completely selfless--you see, he could use the company, because he gets a few odd visitors in the middle of the night.
Most of the novel is just a very sweet and touching family drama that would play well as a BBC television period piece. The new husband of the cousin, for example, turns out to be a real noble and gentle soul, not the gold-digging heart-breaker he is assumed to be by the main protagonist. It is rewarding to read about the progression of the odd trio's relationship as they grow closer while living on the farmhouse.
In the meantime, sometimes the story dives into Lovecraft country. There is a scene which I won't spoil involving a ponytail that sent serious shivers up my spine as well as any creepy work by M.R. James. There's also witchcraft and an interdimensional being that is very reminiscent of, but long predates, Stephen King's "It." The author even seems to imply that the titular "Thing" occupies the same universe as William Hope Hodgson's "Borderland." Fun stuff for fans of weird fiction.
The end gets wrapped up a bit too nicely and is inconsistent with the tone of the rest of the novel, feeling more like the conclusion of a Scooby Doo episode. But despite the inconsistencies and weird mishmash of genres, this was an enjoyable read, and deserves 4 stars to hopefully encourage more readers to check out this quaint classic. -
Roger Melin's narration was excellent - clear and engaging with appropriate, understated character voices.
The story itself was fun. Creepy and strange, with well developed main characters that I got very attached to. It is slow to start but I was enjoying learning about the people so it kept my interest. I kept with it all the way to the end to find out what was going on and the reveal did not disappoint.
There are some old fashioned attitudes towards gender, disability and sex, but these were not pervasive enough to spoil the story for me, although I did find myself rolling my eyes at times. -
I loved the twist in this story! The book just drew me in. Here i thought the girl was a spirit trapped in the human realm and had fallen for a man whom she continue to visit at nights, just to find out she was an actual human who had been sneaking in and out of the man's house. It really proved how strong prayer is. It got rid of the that evil spirit who had latched himself unto that young girl and the main character. I like the fact that he held is ground and didn't allow it to drive him out. This is definitely one of my favorite books so far this year.
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Hmmm. Well, let's see. Ah - err. It was gooooooood? No wait, it was interesting... Yes, it was very interesting. It came across to me as if Emily Post's Etiquette was written as a ghost/water demon story. I think. Ah. I'm really not sure how to feel about this one. It was weird, but interesting (and dated).
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A strangely sweet little ghost story with likeable characters- I listened to this on audio, a chapter a night, and found myself always looking forward to the next installment which is always a good sign.
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When I first picked up this title, I did it only because the title sounded interesting and unusual for books from the 1920s. I have a personal like for the older literature as it gives you an interesting look into our past.
The Thing From the Lake was a book that caught me off guard. I found the story to be very intriguing once you have gotten to the 20s style of flowery words and digressions in thought that would typically be cut out of books today.
I found that this book read to me like one of the first types of supernatural/science fiction type stories where what you would expect doesn't turn out the way you thought. I was completely caught off by the (good) ending.
The book has some things that could be considered issues nowadays. As it was written in the 1920s, the opinion and way women are portrayed my strike a wrong chord with the modern reader. Though Ms. Ingram does well of giving her female leads personality, they do conform more of the cute, need-to-be-rescued type damsels though they do have action of their own and aren't "sexy lamps" that could be easily replaced.
I enjoyed this book and look forward to rereading it one day. -
I didn't realize this book was first published in 1921, but that is probably due to the translation. It seems modern at first but you quickly realize that's not the case. There are a lot of old fashioned views present in this short novel which are especially evident in the main character, Roger.
The premise is interesting, and at first the story is too but then it starts to steer from that to a more romantic storyline (if you can actually call it that. . .). The protagonist Roger becomes infatuated by a braid of hair (yeah, hair), and by the woman who it belongs to. Not only does he not know her, he doesn't know what she looks like or if she's even real and not some weird hallucination. That basically fuels the plot together with what seems to be an actual supernatural being and Roger's mission to discover what kind of being is threatening him and his mysterious lady.
The ending itself is so so underwhelming it's sad. Overall, the story was fine, a bit boring at parts, but it was ok. It is more of a romance with supernatural elements. -
Swamp Gas
Yes! Swamp gas my friend. NEVER MIND THE NOISES AND DISTURBANCES!
The cement damn and the loneliness overwhelming oppression were the reason for your unease.
I don't know? I did not hate the book. I did not love it. It was not over the top supernatural. I do wish there was a this from the lake. Not a culmination of the supernatural.
I read along with librivox Roger Melin. His reading was done well. I would have left out all of the special effects. -
Me when it turns out to be a demon: Maybe they should try praying.
Me 10 pages later when they're reading the diary and about to try magic: Maybe they should try praying.
Me when the demon throws the book into the fire: TRY PRAYING.
Me when the demon is defeated by a prayer: Finally. (Also, they never would've tried praying in a book nowadays, and I would've hit my head against the wall in frustration.) -
A Classic that needs to be read by all. Scary and brilliant, ghosts, witches and demons perhaps on their way. I loved it
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Some of the writing was kinda pretty. Old English is nice.Not so scary tho
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The audiobook was perfectly narrated, it felt almost like a long poem at times.
3 star story, the plot is wonky at times, and a extra star for the audiobook versión because its just that good -
In the very first sentence the narrator, Roger Locke, is keen to explain that this is not a story about a haunted house so much as 'a beleaguered house.'
Nice differentiation that, albeit a meaningless one as it turned out. Sure, the Thing of the title mopes about outside the house, only entering in a psychological manor rather than a physical one, but all the tricks and tropes of this hoary old story are taken straight from the haunted house playbook.
A composer of popular tunes buys a holiday home and on his first night receives not one but two visitations. A witchy woman enters his bedroom and spouts some Wicca gibberish at him, and the Thing crawls up to his window from beyond the threshold of life and death.
So what does he do? Sell up immediately? Rent the place out to some unfortunate schmo? No, he gives the place to his beloved niece and her new husband. How commendably avuncular of him.
The more attractive of the two nighttime interlopers is called Desire Michell, and she clearly knows the mystery behind the dreaded Thingmy. For the most part her scattershot references to witchcraft, alchemy, and the automaton the philosopher Descartes reportedly made of his dead daughter Franchise don't amount to anything coherent.
What they do achieve, however, is to help the author pad out into longform the type of overripe yarn better served as a short story in Amazing Tales magazine. -
I listened to this while using my treadmill. Kind of curious to see if I could adapt to this type of "reading" as Stephen King suggests is the best way to read a book because as he says good books are those that can be read out loud and I am aiming to read more and decided this is the way I can "read" two books at once.
So, I'm going to give some audio books a shot to enjoy two books at the same time. One to actually read, and one to listen to. This was my first attempt at an audio version.
I enjoyed the atmosphere of the book and the story itself moved along nicely with well developed characters. The ending was a surprise and one that goes against the very nature of these types of books back when the author wrote it and I think would have been more appreciated fifty years out.
I'm giving it four stars though I need to base that on listening to the story rather than actually reading it which I think allows for more insight into the style and theme of a story which I think is weakened to really take in with an audio version. -
I never really understand those mysterious love stories--how does someone honestly fall in love with a ghost? What is your end game with that? how do you carrying on a prosaic life afterward but The Thing from the Lake is most lovely when the remarkable descends to the prosaic, especially in the case of Ethan, known as "Drawls" by his wife (a college dropout herself, happily descending from abstract erudition to housewifery), a ice-skating cabaret performer to turns out to be a steady, reliable husband and husbandman. Similarly, Desire, the ghostly woman who relates the dark tales of fate and doom of her family, is not all smoke and mirrors. The protagonist, Roger, is of strong will, naturally, but when he isn't battling unseen forces, he's a practical and kind writer of popular music--a fitting profession for someone with just one foot in the etheral world.
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A delightful tale that's difficult to classify. One part horror and one part New England time period piece, Ingram's tale artfully weaves the two together to tell the tale of Roger Locke, a composer who buys a farm by a lake in Connecticut to use as a country retreat. When he meets a mysterious woman at night, he starts getting visits from a dark force from the lake that claims to own her. In spite of a few cringe-worthy misogynistic moments true to the time period, it is a truly engaging and enjoyable read.
Check out my
full review. -
this book was ok. some notes on it-
cousin roger was pretty cool putting up his newly wed cousin & her unknown husband.
chapter 16 and now u tell me she isn't a ghost? how does that work exactly?
----oh I see.
right...swamp gas.... -
ghost story from 1921. Slow pacing, very dated ideas, yet prose is modern. Gives possible logical explanation rather than the supernatural.
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Early horror story set in New England. The question of what is real and what is imagined is brought into play with the bone-chilling arrival of the "thing" at a remote summer home.
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uhg.
