The Inmost Light

By Arthur Machen

The Inmost Light, one of Arthur Machen's most disturbing stories, involves a doctor's scientific experiments into occultism, and the vampiric force instigated by his unrelenting curiosity regarding the unseen elements. A large and glorious gem-stone is the vampiric mediator; soaking up the soul of the doctor's wife; in the place of her spirit a demonic energy too-terrible-to-believe enters, transmuting her brain into that of something "not human'. Whilst the stone is the spirit appropriator, it is the process of scientific exploration into dark waters, perhaps those considered taboo, which brings about this horrific energy exchange. Dr. Black steals his wife's soul; his own energy is then gradually sucked by the stone too. In attempting to enter the forbidden and dark zone of the "other world-for never-before-glimpsed-knowledge, he sacrifices his most valuable attribute in this world. And the sacrifice persists...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elektron Ebooks
• Release date: Mar 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781908694065

Arthur Machen

Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was a Welsh mystic and author. Born Arthur Llewellyn Jones, he was raised in Monmouthshire in a prominent family of clergymen. He developed an early interest in alchemy and other occult matters, and obtained a classical education at Hereford Cathedral School. He moved to London, where he failed to gain admittance to medical school and soon focused on his literary interests. Working as a tutor, he wrote in the evening and published his first poem, “Eleusinia,” in 1881. A novel, The Anatomy of Tobacco (1884), soon followed, launching his career as a professional writer. Machen made a name for himself as a frequent contributor to London literary magazines and achieved his first major success with the 1894 novella The Great God Pan. Following his wife’s death from cancer in 1899, he briefly joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and began conducting research on Celtic Christianity, the legend of the Holy Grail, and the stories of King Arthur. In 1922, after a decade of working as a journalist for the Evening News, he published The Secret Glory—a story of the Grail—to popular and critical acclaim. This marked the highpoint of his career as a pioneering author of fantasy, horror, and supernatural fiction whose work has been admired and praised by William Butler Yeats, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Stephen King.