The Shunned House

By H. P. Lovecraft

Why did the inhabitants of an old, abandoned house all suffer sickness and death? A doctor attempts to find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilder Publications, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781627559614

H. P. Lovecraft

Renowned as one of the great horror-writers of all time, H.P. Lovecraft was born in 1890 and lived most of his life in Providence, Rhode Island. Among his many classic horror stories, many of which were published in book form only after his death in 1937, are ‘At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels of Terror’ (1964), ‘Dagon and Other Macabre Tales’ (1965), and ‘The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions’ (1970).

Reviews for The Shunned House

[jadedog13 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What I heard in my youth about the shunned house was merely that people died there in alarmingly great numbers. That, I was told, was why the original owners had moved out some twenty years after building the place. It was plainly unhealthy, perhaps because of the dampness and fungous growth in the cellar, the general sickish smell, the draughts of the hallways, or the quality of the well and pump water. These things were bad enough, and these were all that gained belief among the persons whom I knew. Only the notebooks of my antiquarian uncle, Dr. Elihu Whipple, revealed to me at length the darker, vaguer surmises which formed an undercurrent of folklore among old-time servants and humble folk; surmises which never travelled far, and which were largely forgotten when Providence grew to be a metropolis with a shifting modern population.-from the story This is the first time I read a book by Lovecraft. I love horror stories, but I will admit my tastes run more along the lines of Stephen King and not the classic writers. But, once again the Serial Reader app encouraged me to read a new type of book. The story was good and mildly creepy. I think there was too much other information in there for it to be intensely scary. Maybe the line was different back in the day. It didn't take as much to scare people. The scene in the basement was creepy, I will admit, but it was such a small part of the story. It was a quick read, only 4 issues compared with 23 for War of the Worlds.

[ajbraithwaite_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Short and sinister.

[nancyno5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My first foray into H.P. Lovecraft. I can see how in 1937 this book would have scandalized the country with its' horrific plot. I found it to be quite tame compared to today's standards. If it was a novel instead of a short story, it would probably be more interesting. This being said, I will continue pursuing Lovecraft because of his early relationship with the sci-fi/horror genre.

[la2bkk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting short story detailing the misfortunes accruing to those unlucky enough to reside in an 18th century home with a dirty little secret. In some ways, the book almost reads like non-fiction as Lovecraft details the history of the property and various inhabitants covering the 17th through 19th centuries. But for the absurd ending, I would have rated this higher.

[aneris-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Shunned House is a story of centuries old curse hanging over the house at 135 Benefit Street, Providence. Something horrible happened in the late 1600s and since then no child has ever been born in the house.
The narrator tells a story of his childhood curiosity that later became almost an obsession. He researched the history of the house and even though he wasn't a superstitious man, he came to believe that there are certain things in this world that can't be easily explained.

[charrlygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic Lovecraft tale with a little paranormal investigation. Fun stuff.

[readingover50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In looking to break out of a reading slump, I decided to try reading something shorter. I found this story on Serial Reader and was able to read it in one evening. The first half was a little slow, but a common pace for the era this was written in. The second half, the creepiness was turned up and I really enjoyed the story. This is a haunted house story with a great ending.

[empressreece · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Shunned House by H.P. Lovecraft is a novella about an actual house in Providence, Rhode Island but Lovecraft's inspiration to write the story came from another house in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The story is about a doctor and his nephew. They've been fascinated with this house because so many strange things have occurred there over the years and so many people have died or became sick after staying there. In hopes of getting to the root of the evil, they both stay overnight in the house with dire consequences...

So this story was ok. It took me a little while to get into it and use to the old style of writing. I appreciated the scientific vibe of the haunting and story the most. It made me question for a second whether this strange house and all of its happenings really existed. The ending was also pretty good. It was a little faster paced and had the most action, so to speak. The story wasn't scary though but it did have a little creepiness to it. It was a quick read and good for getting in the Halloween spirit.

*I read this for my 2016 Halloween Bingo: ~Set in New England~ square

[justabookreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’ve never read Lovecraft; I always had good intentions though. Time got away from me and I kept saying I would get to it. I never did, until recently that is. I found a story, this one in fact, while browsing the Gutenberg Project website. It was the only Lovecraft story they had listed and I thought why not, I always meant to read one of his stories. An abandoned house sits on Benefit Street in the New England town of Providence, Rhode Island. The house, empty for years, is the source of many rumors, and many of these rumors have easily been explained away by most of the town’s people. Then one man and his uncle decide to finally put an end to the rumors. Both have a very strong interest in the house and have been actively researching it for years. They plan to spend the night in the basement of the house and discover the source of the supernatural rumors. For a short story, about 35 pages, The Shunned House packs in so much. I loved the rumors, all neatly explained away by stoic New Englanders, the research done on the house and all its inhabitants, and the guesses as to the source of the possible supernatural on-goings at the place. It had a great creepy feeling, yet, having read it at lunch, it didn’t scare me much but I’m not sure if I’d go in for reading this while cozy in bed. At least not without all the lights on...but that would be a great way to read Lovecraft, if you aren’t attached to sleeping at all.