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Herbert West: Reanimator

H. P. Lovecraft

Part I

Of Herbert West, who was my friend in colle!e and in after life, I can s"ea# only with e$treme

terror. %his terror is not d&e alto!ether to the sinister manner of his recent disa""earance, b&t

was en!endered by the whole nat&re of his life'wor#, and first !ained its ac&te form more than

seventeen years a!o, when we were in the third year of o&r co&rse at the (is#atonic )niversity

(edical *chool in +r#ham. While he was with me, the wonder and diabolism of his e$"eriments

fascinated me &tterly, and I was his closest com"anion. ow that he is !one and the s"ell is

bro#en, the act&al fear is !reater. (emories and "ossibilities are ever more hideo&s than

realities.

%he first horrible incident of o&r ac/&aintance was the !reatest shoc# I ever e$"erienced,

and it is only with rel&ctance that I re"eat it. +s I have said, it ha""ened when we were in the

medical school where West had already made himself notorio&s thro&!h his wild theories on

the nat&re of death and the "ossibility of overcomin! it artificially. His views, which were widely

ridic&led by the fac&lty and by his fellow'st&dents, hin!ed on the essentially mechanistic nat&re

of life0 and concerned means for o"eratin! the or!anic machinery of man#ind by calc&lated

chemical action after the fail&re of nat&ral "rocesses. In his e$"eriments with vario&s animatin!

sol&tions, he had #illed and treated immense n&mbers of rabbits, !&inea'"i!s, cats, do!s, and

mon#eys, till he had become the "rime n&isance of the colle!e. *everal times he had act&ally

obtained si!ns of life in animals s&""osedly dead0 in many cases violent si!ns b&t he soon saw

that the "erfection of his "rocess, if indeed "ossible, wo&ld necessarily involve a lifetime of research. It li#ewise became clear that, since the same sol&tion never wor#ed ali#e on different

or!anic s"ecies, he wo&ld re/&ire h&man s&b1ects for f&rther and more s"ecialised "ro!ress. It

was here that he first came into conflict with the colle!e a&thorities, and was debarred from

f&t&re e$"eriments by no less a di!nitary than the dean of the medical school himself2the

learned and benevolent 3r. +llan Halsey, whose wor# in behalf of the stric#en is recalled by

every old resident of +r#ham.

I had always been e$ce"tionally tolerant of West4s "&rs&its, and we fre/&ently disc&ssed his

theories, whose ramifications and corollaries were almost infinite. Holdin! with Haec#el that all

life is a chemical and "hysical "rocess, and that the so'called 5so&l5 is a myth, my friendbelieved that artificial reanimation of the dead can de"end only on the condition of the tiss&es0

and that &nless act&al decom"osition has set in, a cor"se f&lly e/&i""ed with or!ans may with

s&itable meas&res be set !oin! a!ain in the "ec&liar fashion #nown as life. %hat the "sychic or

intellect&al life mi!ht be im"aired by the sli!ht deterioration of sensitive brain'cells which even

a short "eriod of death wo&ld be a"t to ca&se, West f&lly realised. It had at first been his ho"e

to find a rea!ent which wo&ld restore vitality before the act&al advent of death, and only

re"eated fail&res on animals had shewn him that the nat&ral and artificial life'motions were

incom"atible. He then so&!ht e$treme freshness in his s"ecimens, in1ectin! his sol&tions into

the blood immediately after the e$tinction of life. It was this circ&mstance which made the

"rofessors so carelessly sce"tical, for they felt that tr&e death had not occ&rred in any case.

%hey did not sto" to view the matter closely and reasonin!ly.

It was not lon! after the fac&lty had interdicted his wor# that West confided to me his



resol&tion to !et fresh h&man bodies in some manner, and contin&e in secret the e$"eriments

he co&ld no lon!er "erform o"enly. %o hear him disc&ssin! ways and means was rather !hastly,

for at the colle!e we had never "roc&red anatomical s"ecimens o&rselves. Whenever the

mor!&e "roved inade/&ate, two local ne!roes attended to this matter, and they were seldom

/&estioned. West was then a small, slender, s"ectacled yo&th with delicate feat&res, yellow

hair, "ale bl&e eyes, and a soft voice, and it was &ncanny to hear him dwellin! on the relative

merits of 7hristch&rch 7emetery and the "otter4s field. We finally decided on the "otter4s field,

beca&se "ractically every body in 7hristch&rch was embalmed0 a thin! of co&rse r&ino&s to

West4s researches.

I was by this time his active and enthralled assistant, and hel"ed him ma#e all his decisions,

not only concernin! the so&rce of bodies b&t concernin! a s&itable "lace for o&r loathsome

wor#. It was I who tho&!ht of the deserted 7ha"man farmho&se beyond (eadow Hill, where

we fitted &" on the !ro&nd floor an o"eratin! room and a laboratory, each with dar# c&rtains to

conceal o&r midni!ht doin!s. %he "lace was far from any road, and in si!ht of no other ho&se,

yet "reca&tions were none the less necessary0 since r&mo&rs of stran!e li!hts, started by

chance noct&rnal roamers, wo&ld soon brin! disaster on o&r enter"rise. It was a!reed to callthe whole thin! a chemical laboratory if discovery sho&ld occ&r. 8rad&ally we e/&i""ed o&r

sinister ha&nt of science with materials either "&rchased in 9oston or /&ietly borrowed from

the colle!e2materials caref&lly made &nreco!nisable save to e$"ert eyes2and "rovided

s"ades and "ic#s for the many b&rials we sho&ld have to ma#e in the cellar. +t the colle!e we

&sed an incinerator, b&t the a""arat&s was too costly for o&r &na&thorised laboratory. 9odies

were always a n&isance2even the small !&inea'"i! bodies from the sli!ht clandestine

e$"eriments in West4s room at the boardin!'ho&se.

We followed the local death'notices li#e !ho&ls, for o&r s"ecimens demanded "artic&lar

/&alities. What we wanted were cor"ses interred soon after death and witho&t artificial

"reservation0 "referably free from malformin! disease, and certainly with all or!ans "resent.

+ccident victims were o&r best ho"e. ot for many wee#s did we hear of anythin! s&itable0

tho&!h we tal#ed with mor!&e and hos"ital a&thorities, ostensibly in the colle!e4s interest, as

often as we co&ld witho&t e$citin! s&s"icion. We fo&nd that the colle!e had first choice in every

case, so that it mi!ht be necessary to remain in +r#ham d&rin! the s&mmer, when only the

limited s&mmer'school classes were held. In the end, tho&!h, l&c# favo&red &s0 for one day we

heard of an almost ideal case in the "otter4s field0 a brawny yo&n! wor#man drowned only the

mornin! before in *&mmer4s Pond, and b&ried at the town4s e$"ense witho&t delay or

embalmin!. %hat afternoon we fo&nd the new !rave, and determined to be!in wor# soon after

midni!ht.

It was a re"&lsive tas# that we &ndertoo# in the blac# small ho&rs, even tho&!h we lac#ed at

that time the s"ecial horror of !raveyards which later e$"eriences bro&!ht to &s. We carried

s"ades and oil dar# lanterns, for altho&!h electric torches were then man&fact&red, they were

not as satisfactory as the t&n!sten contrivances of today. %he "rocess of &nearthin! was slow

and sordid2it mi!ht have been !r&esomely "oetical if we had been artists instead of

scientists2and we were !lad when o&r s"ades str&c# wood. When the "ine bo$ was f&lly

&ncovered, West scrambled down and removed the lid, dra!!in! o&t and "ro""in! &" the

contents. I reached down and ha&led the contents o&t of the !rave, and then both toiled hard

to restore the s"ot to its former a""earance. %he affair made &s rather nervo&s, es"ecially the

stiff form and vacant face of o&r first tro"hy, b&t we mana!ed to remove all traces of o&r visit.When we had "atted down the last shovelf&l of earth, we "&t the s"ecimen in a canvas sac#

and set o&t for the old 7ha"man "lace beyond (eadow Hill.



On an im"rovised dissectin!'table in the old farmho&se, by the li!ht of a "owerf&l acetylene

lam", the s"ecimen was not very s"ectral loo#in!. It had been a st&rdy and a""arently

&nima!inative yo&th of wholesome "lebeian ty"e2lar!e'framed, !rey'eyed, and brown'

haired2a so&nd animal witho&t "sycholo!ical s&btleties, and "robably havin! vital "rocesses of

the sim"lest and healthiest sort. ow, with the eyes closed, it loo#ed more aslee" than dead0

tho&!h the e$"ert test of my friend soon left no do&bt on that score. We had at last what West

had always lon!ed for2a real dead man of the ideal #ind, ready for the sol&tion as "re"ared

accordin! to the most caref&l calc&lations and theories for h&man &se. %he tension on o&r "art

became very !reat. We #new that there was scarcely a chance for anythin! li#e com"lete

s&ccess, and co&ld not avoid hideo&s fears at "ossible !rotes/&e res&lts of "artial animation.

s"ecially were we a""rehensive concernin! the mind and im"&lses of the creat&re, since in

the s"ace followin! death some of the more delicate cerebral cells mi!ht well have s&ffered

deterioration. I, myself, still held some c&rio&s notions abo&t the traditional 5so&l5 of man, and

felt an awe at the secrets that mi!ht be told by one ret&rnin! from the dead. I wondered what

si!hts this "lacid yo&th mi!ht have seen in inaccessible s"heres, and what he co&ld relate if f&lly

restored to life. 9&t my wonder was not overwhelmin!, since for the most "art I shared the

materialism of my friend. He was calmer than I as he forced a lar!e /&antity of his fl&id into avein of the body4s arm, immediately bindin! the incision sec&rely.

%he waitin! was !r&esome, b&t West never faltered. very now and then he a""lied his

stethosco"e to the s"ecimen, and bore the ne!ative res&lts "hiloso"hically. +fter abo&t three'

/&arters of an ho&r witho&t the least si!n of life he disa""ointedly "rono&nced the sol&tion

inade/&ate, b&t determined to ma#e the most of his o""ort&nity and try one chan!e in the

form&la before dis"osin! of his !hastly "ri;e. We had that afternoon d&! a !rave in the cellar,

and wo&ld have to fill it by dawn2for altho&!h we had fi$ed a loc# on the ho&se, we wished to

sh&n even the remotest ris# of a !ho&lish discovery. 9esides, the body wo&ld not be even

a""ro$imately fresh the ne$t ni!ht. *o ta#in! the solitary acetylene lam" into the ad1acentlaboratory, we left o&r silent !&est on the slab in the dar#, and bent every ener!y to the mi$in!

of a new sol&tion0 the wei!hin! and meas&rin! s&"ervised by West with an almost fanatical

care.

%he awf&l event was very s&dden, and wholly &ne$"ected. I was "o&rin! somethin! from

one test't&be to another, and West was b&sy over the alcohol blast'lam" which had to answer

for a 9&nsen b&rner in this !asless edifice, when from the "itch'blac# room we had left there

b&rst the most a""allin! and daemoniac s&ccession of cries that either of &s had ever heard.

ot more &n&tterable co&ld have been the chaos of hellish so&nd if the "it itself had o"ened to

release the a!ony of the damned, for in one inconceivable caco"hony was centered all the

s&"ernal terror and &nnat&ral des"air of animate nat&re. H&man it co&ld not have been2it isnot in man to ma#e s&ch so&nds2and witho&t a tho&!ht of o&r late em"loyment or its "ossible

discovery, both West and I lea"ed to the nearest window li#e stric#en animals0 overt&rnin!

t&bes, lam", and retorts, and va&ltin! madly into the starred abyss of the r&ral ni!ht. I thin# we

screamed o&rselves as we st&mbled frantically toward the town, tho&!h as we reached the

o&ts#irts we "&t on a semblance of restraint21&st eno&!h to seem li#e belated revellers

sta!!erin! home from a deba&ch.

We did not se"arate, b&t mana!ed to !et to West4s room, where we whis"ered with the !as

&" &ntil dawn. 9y then we had calmed o&rselves a little with rational theories and "lans for

investi!ation, so that we co&ld slee" thro&!h the day2classes bein! disre!arded. 9&t thatevenin! two items in the "a"er, wholly &nrelated, made it a!ain im"ossible for &s to slee". %he

old deserted 7ha"man ho&se had ine$"licably b&rned to an amor"ho&s hea" of ashes0 that we



co&ld &nderstand beca&se of the &"set lam". +lso, an attem"t had been made to dist&rb a new

!rave in the "otter4s field, as if by f&tile and s"adeless clawin! at the earth. %hat we co&ld not

&nderstand, for we had "atted down the mo&ld very caref&lly.

+nd for seventeen years after that West wo&ld loo# fre/&ently over his sho&lder, and

com"lain of fancied footste"s behind him. ow he has disa""eared.



Part II

I shall never for!et that hideo&s s&mmer si$teen years a!o, when li#e a no$io&s afrite from the

halls of blis ty"hoid stal#ed leerin!ly thro&!h +r#ham. It is by that satanic sco&r!e that most

recall the year, for tr&ly terror brooded with bat'win!s over the "iles of coffins in the tombs of

7hristch&rch 7emetery0 yet for me there is a !reater horror in that time2a horror #nown to me

alone now that Herbert West has disa""eared.

West and I were doin! "ost'!rad&ate wor# in s&mmer classes at the medical school of

(is#atonic )niversity, and my friend had attained a wide notoriety beca&se of his e$"eriments

leadin! toward the revivification of the dead. +fter the scientific sla&!hter of &nco&nted small

animals the frea#ish wor# had ostensibly sto""ed by order of o&r sce"tical dean, 3r. +llan

Halsey0 tho&!h West had contin&ed to "erform certain secret tests in his din!y boardin!'ho&se

room, and had on one terrible and &nfor!ettable occasion ta#en a h&man body from its !rave

in the "otter4s field to a deserted farmho&se beyond (eadow Hill.

I was with him on that odio&s occasion, and saw him in1ect into the still veins the eli$ir

which he tho&!ht wo&ld to some e$tent restore life4s chemical and "hysical "rocesses. It had

ended horribly2in a deliri&m of fear which we !rad&ally came to attrib&te to o&r own

overwro&!ht nerves2and West had never afterward been able to sha#e off a maddenin!

sensation of bein! ha&nted and h&nted. %he body had not been /&ite fresh eno&!h0 it is

obvio&s that to restore normal mental attrib&tes a body m&st be very fresh indeed0 and the

b&rnin! of the old ho&se had "revented &s from b&ryin! the thin!. It wo&ld have been better if

we co&ld have #nown it was &nder!ro&nd.

+fter that e$"erience West had dro""ed his researches for some time0 b&t as the ;eal of the

born scientist slowly ret&rned, he a!ain became im"ort&nate with the colle!e fac&lty, "leadin!

for the &se of the dissectin!'room and of fresh h&man s"ecimens for the wor# he re!arded as

so overwhelmin!ly im"ortant. His "leas, however, were wholly in vain0 for the decision of 3r.

Halsey was infle$ible, and the other "rofessors all endorsed the verdict of their leader. In the

radical theory of reanimation they saw nothin! b&t the immat&re va!aries of a yo&thf&l

enth&siast whose sli!ht form, yellow hair, s"ectacled bl&e eyes, and soft voice !ave no hint of

the s&"ernormal2almost diabolical2"ower of the cold brain within. I can see him now as he

was then2and I shiver. He !rew sterner of face, b&t never elderly. +nd now *efton +syl&m has

had the misha" and West has vanished.

West clashed disa!reeably with 3r. Halsey near the end of o&r last &nder!rad&ate term in awordy dis"&te that did less credit to him than to the #indly dean in "oint of co&rtesy. He felt

that he was needlessly and irrationally retarded in a s&"remely !reat wor#0 a wor# which he

co&ld of co&rse cond&ct to s&it himself in later years, b&t which he wished to be!in while still

"ossessed of the e$ce"tional facilities of the &niversity. %hat the tradition'bo&nd elders sho&ld

i!nore his sin!&lar res&lts on animals, and "ersist in their denial of the "ossibility of

reanimation, was ine$"ressibly dis!&stin! and almost incom"rehensible to a yo&th of West4s

lo!ical tem"erament. Only !reater mat&rity co&ld hel" him &nderstand the chronic mental

limitations of the 5"rofessor'doctor5 ty"e2the "rod&ct of !enerations of "athetic P&ritanism0

#indly, conscientio&s, and sometimes !entle and amiable, yet always narrow, intolerant,

c&stom'ridden, and lac#in! in "ers"ective. +!e has more charity for these incom"lete yet hi!h'so&led characters, whose worst real vice is timidity, and who are &ltimately "&nished by

!eneral ridic&le for their intellect&al sins2sins li#e Ptolemaism, 7alvinism, anti'3arwinism, anti'



iet;scheism, and every sort of *abbatarianism and s&m"t&ary le!islation. West, yo&n! des"ite

his marvello&s scientific ac/&irements, had scant "atience with !ood 3r. Halsey and his er&dite

collea!&es0 and n&rsed an increasin! resentment, co&"led with a desire to "rove his theories to

these obt&se worthies in some stri#in! and dramatic fashion. Li#e most yo&ths, he ind&l!ed in

elaborate daydreams of reven!e, tri&m"h, and final ma!nanimo&s for!iveness.

+nd then had come the sco&r!e, !rinnin! and lethal, from the ni!htmare caverns of %artar&s. West and I had !rad&ated abo&t the time of its be!innin!, b&t had remained for

additional wor# at the s&mmer school, so that we were in +r#ham when it bro#e with f&ll

daemoniac f&ry &"on the town. %ho&!h not as yet licenced "hysicians, we now had o&r

de!rees, and were "ressed frantically into "&blic service as the n&mbers of the stric#en !rew.

%he sit&ation was almost "ast mana!ement, and deaths ens&ed too fre/&ently for the local

&nderta#ers f&lly to handle. 9&rials witho&t embalmin! were made in ra"id s&ccession, and

even the 7hristch&rch 7emetery receivin! tomb was crammed with coffins of the &nembalmed

dead. %his circ&mstance was not witho&t effect on West, who tho&!ht often of the irony of the

sit&ation2so many fresh s"ecimens, yet none for his "ersec&ted researches< We were

fri!htf&lly overwor#ed, and the terrific mental and nervo&s strain made my friend broodmorbidly.

9&t West4s !entle enemies were no less harassed with "rostratin! d&ties. 7olle!e had all b&t

closed, and every doctor of the medical fac&lty was hel"in! to fi!ht the ty"hoid "la!&e. 3r.

Halsey in "artic&lar had distin!&ished himself in sacrificin! service, a""lyin! his e$treme s#ill

with whole'hearted ener!y to cases which many others sh&nned beca&se of dan!er or

a""arent ho"elessness. 9efore a month was over the fearless dean had become a "o"&lar hero,

tho&!h he seemed &nconscio&s of his fame as he str&!!led to #ee" from colla"sin! with

"hysical fati!&e and nervo&s e$ha&stion. West co&ld not withhold admiration for the fortit&de

of his foe, b&t beca&se of this was even more determined to "rove to him the tr&th of his

ama;in! doctrines. %a#in! advanta!e of the disor!anisation of both colle!e wor# and m&nici"al

health re!&lations, he mana!ed to !et a recently deceased body sm&!!led into the &niversity

dissectin!'room one ni!ht, and in my "resence in1ected a new modification of his sol&tion. %he

thin! act&ally o"ened its eyes, b&t only stared at the ceilin! with a loo# of so&l'"etrifyin! horror

before colla"sin! into an inertness from which nothin! co&ld ro&se it. West said it was not fresh

eno&!h2the hot s&mmer air does not favo&r cor"ses. %hat time we were almost ca&!ht before

we incinerated the thin!, and West do&bted the advisability of re"eatin! his darin! mis&se of

the colle!e laboratory.

%he "ea# of the e"idemic was reached in +&!&st. West and I were almost dead, and 3r.

Halsey did die on the =>th. %he st&dents all attended the hasty f&neral on the =?th, and bo&!htan im"ressive wreath, tho&!h the latter was /&ite overshadowed by the trib&tes sent by

wealthy +r#ham citi;ens and by the m&nici"ality itself. It was almost a "&blic affair, for the

dean had s&rely been a "&blic benefactor. +fter the entombment we were all somewhat

de"ressed, and s"ent the afternoon at the bar of the 7ommercial Ho&se0 where West, tho&!h

sha#en by the death of his chief o""onent, chilled the rest of &s with references to his

notorio&s theories. (ost of the st&dents went home, or to vario&s d&ties, as the evenin!

advanced0 b&t West "ers&aded me to aid him in 5ma#in! a ni!ht of it.5 West4s landlady saw &s

arrive at his room abo&t two in the mornin!, with a third man between &s0 and told her

h&sband that we had all evidently dined and wined rather well.

+""arently this acid&lo&s matron was ri!ht0 for abo&t @ a.m. the whole ho&se was aro&sed

by cries comin! from West4s room, where when they bro#e down the door, they fo&nd the two

of &s &nconscio&s on the blood'stained car"et, beaten, scratched, and ma&led, and with the



bro#en remnants of West4s bottles and instr&ments aro&nd &s. Only an o"en window told what

had become of o&r assailant, and many wondered how he himself had fared after the terrific

lea" from the second story to the lawn which he m&st have made. %here were some stran!e

!arments in the room, b&t West &"on re!ainin! conscio&sness said they did not belon! to the

stran!er, b&t were s"ecimens collected for bacteriolo!ical analysis in the co&rse of

investi!ations on the transmission of !erm diseases. He ordered them b&rnt as soon as "ossible

in the ca"acio&s fire"lace. %o the "olice we both declared i!norance of o&r late com"anion4s

identity. He was, West nervo&sly said, a con!enial stran!er whom we had met at some

downtown bar of &ncertain location. We had all been rather 1ovial, and West and I did not wish

to have o&r "&!nacio&s com"anion h&nted down.

%hat same ni!ht saw the be!innin! of the second +r#ham horror2the horror that to me

ecli"sed the "la!&e itself. 7hristch&rch 7emetery was the scene of a terrible #illin!0 a watchman

havin! been clawed to death in a manner not only too hideo&s for descri"tion, b&t raisin! a

do&bt as to the h&man a!ency of the deed. %he victim had been seen alive considerably after

midni!ht2the dawn revealed the &n&tterable thin!. %he mana!er of a circ&s at the

nei!hbo&rin! town of 9olton was /&estioned, b&t he swore that no beast had at any timeesca"ed from its ca!e. %hose who fo&nd the body noted a trail of blood leadin! to the receivin!

tomb, where a small "ool of red lay on the concrete 1&st o&tside the !ate. + fainter trail led

away toward the woods, b&t it soon !ave o&t.

%he ne$t ni!ht devils danced on the roofs of +r#ham, and &nnat&ral madness howled in the

wind. %hro&!h the fevered town had cre"t a c&rse which some said was !reater than the

"la!&e, and which some whis"ered was the embodied daemon'so&l of the "la!&e itself. i!ht

ho&ses were entered by a nameless thin! which strewed red death in its wa#e2in all,

seventeen maimed and sha"eless remnants of bodies were left behind by the voiceless, sadistic

monster that cre"t abroad. + few "ersons had half seen it in the dar#, and said it was white and

li#e a malformed a"e or anthro"omor"hic fiend. It had not left behind /&ite all that it had

attac#ed, for sometimes it had been h&n!ry. %he n&mber it had #illed was fo&rteen0 three of

the bodies had been in stric#en homes and had not been alive.

On the third ni!ht frantic bands of searchers, led by the "olice, ca"t&red it in a ho&se on

7rane *treet near the (is#atonic cam"&s. %hey had or!anised the /&est with care, #ee"in! in

to&ch by means of vol&nteer tele"hone stations, and when someone in the colle!e district had

re"orted hearin! a scratchin! at a sh&ttered window, the net was /&ic#ly s"read. On acco&nt of

the !eneral alarm and "reca&tions, there were only two more victims, and the ca"t&re was

effected witho&t ma1or cas&alties. %he thin! was finally sto""ed by a b&llet, tho&!h not a fatal

one, and was r&shed to the local hos"ital amidst &niversal e$citement and loathin!.

Aor it had been a man. %his m&ch was clear des"ite the na&seo&s eyes, the voiceless

simianism, and the daemoniac sava!ery. %hey dressed its wo&nd and carted it to the asyl&m at

*efton, where it beat its head a!ainst the walls of a "added cell for si$teen years2&ntil the

recent misha", when it esca"ed &nder circ&mstances that few li#e to mention. What had most

dis!&sted the searchers of +r#ham was the thin! they noticed when the monster4s face was

cleaned2the moc#in!, &nbelievable resemblance to a learned and self'sacrificin! martyr who

had been entombed b&t three days before2the late 3r. +llan Halsey, "&blic benefactor and

dean of the medical school of (is#atonic )niversity.

%o the vanished Herbert West and to me the dis!&st and horror were s&"reme. I sh&ddertoni!ht as I thin# of it0 sh&dder even more than I did that mornin! when West m&ttered

thro&!h his banda!es, 53amn it, it wasn4t /&ite fresh eno&!h<5



Part III

It is &ncommon to fire all si$ shots of a revolver with !reat s&ddenness when one wo&ld

"robably be s&fficient, b&t many thin!s in the life of Herbert West were &ncommon. It is, for

instance, not often that a yo&n! "hysician leavin! colle!e is obli!ed to conceal the "rinci"les

which !&ide his selection of a home and office, yet that was the case with Herbert West. When

he and I obtained o&r de!rees at the medical school of (is#atonic )niversity, and so&!ht to

relieve o&r "overty by settin! &" as !eneral "ractitioners, we too# !reat care not to say that we

chose o&r ho&se beca&se it was fairly well isolated, and as near as "ossible to the "otter4s field.

Reticence s&ch as this is seldom witho&t a ca&se, nor indeed was o&rs0 for o&r re/&irements

were those res&ltin! from a life'wor# distinctly &n"o"&lar. O&twardly we were doctors only,

b&t beneath the s&rface were aims of far !reater and more terrible moment2for the essence

of Herbert West4s e$istence was a /&est amid blac# and forbidden realms of the &n#nown, in

which he ho"ed to &ncover the secret of life and restore to "er"et&al animation the

!raveyard4s cold clay. *&ch a /&est demands stran!e materials, amon! them fresh h&manbodies0 and in order to #ee" s&""lied with these indis"ensable thin!s one m&st live /&ietly and

not far from a "lace of informal interment.

West and I had met in colle!e, and I had been the only one to sym"athise with his hideo&s

e$"eriments. 8rad&ally I had come to be his inse"arable assistant, and now that we were o&t of

colle!e we had to #ee" to!ether. It was not easy to find a !ood o"enin! for two doctors in

com"any, b&t finally the infl&ence of the &niversity sec&red &s a "ractice in 9olton2a factory

town near +r#ham, the seat of the colle!e. %he 9olton Worsted (ills are the lar!est in the

(is#atonic Balley, and their "oly!lot em"loyees are never "o"&lar as "atients with the local

"hysicians. We chose o&r ho&se with the !reatest care, sei;in! at last on a rather r&n'downcotta!e near the end of Pond *treet0 five n&mbers from the closest nei!hbo&r, and se"arated

from the local "otter4s field by only a stretch of meadow land, bisected by a narrow nec# of the

rather dense forest which lies to the north. %he distance was !reater than we wished, b&t we

co&ld !et no nearer ho&se witho&t !oin! on the other side of the field, wholly o&t of the factory

district. We were not m&ch dis"leased, however, since there were no "eo"le between &s and

o&r sinister so&rce of s&""lies. %he wal# was a trifle lon!, b&t we co&ld ha&l o&r silent

s"ecimens &ndist&rbed.

O&r "ractice was s&r"risin!ly lar!e from the very first2lar!e eno&!h to "lease most yo&n!

doctors, and lar!e eno&!h to "rove a bore and a b&rden to st&dents whose real interest lay

elsewhere. %he mill'hands were of somewhat t&rb&lent inclinations0 and besides their manynat&ral needs, their fre/&ent clashes and stabbin! affrays !ave &s "lenty to do. 9&t what

act&ally absorbed o&r minds was the secret laboratory we had fitted &" in the cellar2the

laboratory with the lon! table &nder the electric li!hts, where in the small ho&rs of the mornin!

we often in1ected West4s vario&s sol&tions into the veins of the thin!s we dra!!ed from the

"otter4s field. West was e$"erimentin! madly to find somethin! which wo&ld start man4s vital

motions anew after they had been sto""ed by the thin! we call death, b&t had enco&ntered the

most !hastly obstacles. %he sol&tion had to be differently com"o&nded for different

ty"es2what wo&ld serve for !&inea'"i!s wo&ld not serve for h&man bein!s, and different

h&man s"ecimens re/&ired lar!e modifications.

%he bodies had to be e$ceedin!ly fresh, or the sli!ht decom"osition of brain tiss&e wo&ld

render "erfect reanimation im"ossible. Indeed, the !reatest "roblem was to !et them fresh



eno&!h2West had had horrible e$"eriences d&rin! his secret colle!e researches with cor"ses

of do&btf&l vinta!e. %he res&lts of "artial or im"erfect animation were m&ch more hideo&s

than were the total fail&res, and we both held fearsome recollections of s&ch thin!s. ver since

o&r first daemoniac session in the deserted farmho&se on (eadow Hill in +r#ham, we had felt a

broodin! menace0 and West, tho&!h a calm, blond, bl&e'eyed scientific a&tomaton in most

res"ects, often confessed to a sh&dderin! sensation of stealthy "&rs&it. He half felt that he was

followed2a "sycholo!ical del&sion of sha#en nerves, enhanced by the &ndeniably dist&rbin!

fact that at least one of o&r reanimated s"ecimens was still alive2a fri!htf&l carnivoro&s thin!

in a "added cell at *efton. %hen there was another2o&r first2whose e$act fate we had never

learned.

We had fair l&c# with s"ecimens in 9olton2m&ch better than in +r#ham. We had not been

settled a wee# before we !ot an accident victim on the very ni!ht of b&rial, and made it o"en

its eyes with an ama;in!ly rational e$"ression before the sol&tion failed. It had lost an arm2if it

had been a "erfect body we mi!ht have s&cceeded better. 9etween then and the ne$t Can&ary

we sec&red three more0 one total fail&re, one case of mar#ed m&sc&lar motion, and one rather

shivery thin!2it rose of itself and &ttered a so&nd. %hen came a "eriod when l&c# was "oor0interments fell off, and those that did occ&r were of s"ecimens either too diseased or too

maimed for &se. We #e"t trac# of all the deaths and their circ&mstances with systematic care.

One (arch ni!ht, however, we &ne$"ectedly obtained a s"ecimen which did not come from

the "otter4s field. In 9olton the "revailin! s"irit of P&ritanism had o&tlawed the s"ort of

bo$in!2with the &s&al res&lt. *&rre"titio&s and ill'cond&cted bo&ts amon! the mill'wor#ers

were common, and occasionally "rofessional talent of low !rade was im"orted. %his late winter

ni!ht there had been s&ch a match0 evidently with disastro&s res&lts, since two timoro&s Poles

had come to &s with incoherently whis"ered entreaties to attend to a very secret and

des"erate case. We followed them to an abandoned barn, where the remnants of a crowd of

fri!htened forei!ners were watchin! a silent blac# form on the floor.

%he match had been between Did O49rien2a l&bberly and now /&a#in! yo&th with a most

&n'Hibernian hoo#ed nose2and 9&c# Robinson, 5%he Harlem *mo#e.5 %he ne!ro had been

#noc#ed o&t, and a moment4s e$amination shewed &s that he wo&ld "ermanently remain so.

He was a loathsome, !orilla'li#e thin!, with abnormally lon! arms which I co&ld not hel" callin!

fore le!s, and a face that con1&red &" tho&!hts of &ns"ea#able 7on!o secrets and tom'tom

"o&ndin!s &nder an eerie moon. %he body m&st have loo#ed even worse in life2b&t the world

holds many &!ly thin!s. Aear was &"on the whole "itif&l crowd, for they did not #now what the

law wo&ld e$act of them if the affair were not h&shed &"0 and they were !ratef&l when West, in

s"ite of my invol&ntary sh&dders, offered to !et rid of the thin! /&ietly2for a "&r"ose I #newtoo well.

%here was bri!ht moonli!ht over the snowless landsca"e, b&t we dressed the thin! and

carried it home between &s thro&!h the deserted streets and meadows, as we had carried a

similar thin! one horrible ni!ht in +r#ham. We a""roached the ho&se from the field in the rear,

too# the s"ecimen in the bac# door and down the cellar stairs, and "re"ared it for the &s&al

e$"eriment. O&r fear of the "olice was abs&rdly !reat, tho&!h we had timed o&r tri" to avoid

the solitary "atrolman of that section.

%he res&lt was wearily anticlimactic. 8hastly as o&r "ri;e a""eared, it was wholly

&nres"onsive to every sol&tion we in1ected in its blac# arm0 sol&tions "re"ared from e$"eriencewith white s"ecimens only. *o as the ho&r !rew dan!ero&sly near to dawn, we did as we had

done with the others2dra!!ed the thin! across the meadows to the nec# of the woods near



the "otter4s field, and b&ried it there in the best sort of !rave the fro;en !ro&nd wo&ld f&rnish.

%he !rave was not very dee", b&t f&lly as !ood as that of the "revio&s s"ecimen2the thin!

which had risen of itself and &ttered a so&nd. In the li!ht of o&r dar# lanterns we caref&lly

covered it with leaves and dead vines, fairly certain that the "olice wo&ld never find it in a

forest so dim and dense.

%he ne$t day I was increasin!ly a""rehensive abo&t the "olice, for a "atient bro&!htr&mo&rs of a s&s"ected fi!ht and death. West had still another so&rce of worry, for he had

been called in the afternoon to a case which ended very threatenin!ly. +n Italian woman had

become hysterical over her missin! child2a lad of five who had strayed off early in the mornin!

and failed to a""ear for dinner2and had develo"ed sym"toms hi!hly alarmin! in view of an

always wea# heart. It was a very foolish hysteria, for the boy had often r&n away before0 b&t

Italian "easants are e$ceedin!ly s&"erstitio&s, and this woman seemed as m&ch harassed by

omens as by facts. +bo&t seven o4cloc# in the evenin! she had died, and her frantic h&sband

had made a fri!htf&l scene in his efforts to #ill West, whom he wildly blamed for not savin! her

life. Ariends had held him when he drew a stiletto, b&t West de"arted amidst his inh&man

shrie#s, c&rses and oaths of ven!eance. In his latest affliction the fellow seemed to havefor!otten his child, who was still missin! as the ni!ht advanced. %here was some tal# of

searchin! the woods, b&t most of the family4s friends were b&sy with the dead woman and the

screamin! man. +lto!ether, the nervo&s strain &"on West m&st have been tremendo&s.

%ho&!hts of the "olice and of the mad Italian both wei!hed heavily.

We retired abo&t eleven, b&t I did not slee" well. 9olton had a s&r"risin!ly !ood "olice force

for so small a town, and I co&ld not hel" fearin! the mess which wo&ld ens&e if the affair of the

ni!ht before were ever trac#ed down. It mi!ht mean the end of all o&r local wor#2and "erha"s

"rison for both West and me. I did not li#e those r&mo&rs of a fi!ht which were floatin! abo&t.

+fter the cloc# had str&c# three the moon shone in my eyes, b&t I t&rned over witho&t risin! to

"&ll down the shade. %hen came the steady rattlin! at the bac# door.

I lay still and somewhat da;ed, b&t before lon! heard West4s ra" on my door. He was clad in

dressin!'!own and sli""ers, and had in his hands a revolver and an electric flashli!ht. Arom the

revolver I #new that he was thin#in! more of the cra;ed Italian than of the "olice.

5We4d better both !o,5 he whis"ered. 5It wo&ldn4t do not to answer it anyway, and it may

be a "atient2it wo&ld be li#e one of those fools to try the bac# door.5

*o we both went down the stairs on ti"toe, with a fear "artly 1&stified and "artly that which

comes only from the so&l of the weird small ho&rs. %he rattlin! contin&ed, !rowin! somewhat

lo&der. When we reached the door I ca&tio&sly &nbolted it and threw it o"en, and as the moon

streamed revealin!ly down on the form silho&etted there, West did a "ec&liar thin!. 3es"ite

the obvio&s dan!er of attractin! notice and brin!in! down on o&r heads the dreaded "olice

investi!ation2a thin! which after all was mercif&lly averted by the relative isolation of o&r

cotta!e2my friend s&ddenly, e$citedly, and &nnecessarily em"tied all si$ chambers of his

revolver into the noct&rnal visitor.

Aor that visitor was neither Italian nor "oliceman. Loomin! hideo&sly a!ainst the s"ectral

moon was a !i!antic missha"en thin! not to be ima!ined save in ni!htmares2a !lassy'eyed,

in#'blac# a""arition nearly on all fo&rs, covered with bits of mo&ld, leaves, and vines, fo&l with

ca#ed blood, and havin! between its !listenin! teeth a snow'white, terrible, cylindrical ob1ectterminatin! in a tiny hand.



Part IB

%he scream of a dead man !ave to me that ac&te and added horror of 3r. Herbert West which

harassed the latter years of o&r com"anionshi". It is nat&ral that s&ch a thin! as a dead man4s

scream sho&ld !ive horror, for it is obvio&sly, not a "leasin! or ordinary occ&rrence0 b&t I was

&sed to similar e$"eriences, hence s&ffered on this occasion only beca&se of a "artic&lar

circ&mstance. +nd, as I have im"lied, it was not of the dead man himself that I became afraid.

Herbert West, whose associate and assistant I was, "ossessed scientific interests far beyond

the &s&al ro&tine of a villa!e "hysician. %hat was why, when establishin! his "ractice in 9olton,

he had chosen an isolated ho&se near the "otter4s field. 9riefly and br&tally stated, West4s sole

absorbin! interest was a secret st&dy of the "henomena of life and its cessation, leadin! toward

the reanimation of the dead thro&!h in1ections of an e$citant sol&tion. Aor this !hastly

e$"erimentin! it was necessary to have a constant s&""ly of very fresh h&man bodies0 very

fresh beca&se even the least decay ho"elessly dama!ed the brain str&ct&re, and h&man

beca&se we fo&nd that the sol&tion had to be com"o&nded differently for different ty"es of or!anisms. *cores of rabbits and !&inea'"i!s had been #illed and treated, b&t their trail was a

blind one. West had never f&lly s&cceeded beca&se he had never been able to sec&re a cor"se

s&fficiently fresh. What he wanted were bodies from which vitality had only 1&st de"arted0

bodies with every cell intact and ca"able of receivin! a!ain the im"&lse toward that mode of

motion called life. %here was ho"e that this second and artificial life mi!ht be made "er"et&al

by re"etitions of the in1ection, b&t we had learned that an ordinary nat&ral life wo&ld not

res"ond to the action. %o establish the artificial motion, nat&ral life m&st be e$tinct2the

s"ecimens m&st be very fresh, b&t !en&inely dead.

%he awesome /&est had be!&n when West and I were st&dents at the (is#atonic )niversity(edical *chool in +r#ham, vividly conscio&s for the first time of the thoro&!hly mechanical

nat&re of life. %hat was seven years before, b&t West loo#ed scarcely a day older now2he was

small, blond, clean'shaven, soft'voiced, and s"ectacled, with only an occasional flash of a cold

bl&e eye to tell of the hardenin! and !rowin! fanaticism of his character &nder the "ress&re of

his terrible investi!ations. O&r e$"eriences had often been hideo&s in the e$treme0 the res&lts

of defective reanimation, when l&m"s of !raveyard clay had been !alvanised into morbid,

&nnat&ral, and brainless motion by vario&s modifications of the vital sol&tion.

One thin! had &ttered a nerve'shatterin! scream0 another had risen violently, beaten &s

both to &nconscio&sness, and r&n am&c# in a shoc#in! way before it co&ld be "laced behind

asyl&m bars0 still another, a loathsome +frican monstrosity, had clawed o&t of its shallow !raveand done a deed2West had had to shoot that ob1ect. We co&ld not !et bodies fresh eno&!h to

shew any trace of reason when reanimated, so had "erforce created nameless horrors. It was

dist&rbin! to thin# that one, "erha"s two, of o&r monsters still lived2that tho&!ht ha&nted &s

shadowin!ly, till finally West disa""eared &nder fri!htf&l circ&mstances. 9&t at the time of the

scream in the cellar laboratory of the isolated 9olton cotta!e, o&r fears were s&bordinate to o&r

an$iety for e$tremely fresh s"ecimens. West was more avid than I, so that it almost seemed to

me that he loo#ed half'coveto&sly at any very healthy livin! "hysi/&e.

It was in C&ly, =E=F, that the bad l&c# re!ardin! s"ecimens be!an to t&rn. I had been on a

lon! visit to my "arents in Illinois, and &"on my ret&rn fo&nd West in a state of sin!&lar elation.He had, he told me e$citedly, in all li#elihood solved the "roblem of freshness thro&!h an

a""roach from an entirely new an!le2that of artificial "reservation. I had #nown that he was



wor#in! on a new and hi!hly &n&s&al embalmin! com"o&nd, and was not s&r"rised that it had

t&rned o&t well0 b&t &ntil he e$"lained the details I was rather "&;;led as to how s&ch a

com"o&nd co&ld hel" in o&r wor#, since the ob1ectionable staleness of the s"ecimens was

lar!ely d&e to delay occ&rrin! before we sec&red them. %his, I now saw, West had clearly

reco!nised0 creatin! his embalmin! com"o&nd for f&t&re rather than immediate &se, and

tr&stin! to fate to s&""ly a!ain some very recent and &nb&ried cor"se, as it had years before

when we obtained the ne!ro #illed in the 9olton "ri;e'fi!ht. +t last fate had been #ind, so that

on this occasion there lay in the secret cellar laboratory a cor"se whose decay co&ld not by any

"ossibility have be!&n. What wo&ld ha""en on reanimation, and whether we co&ld ho"e for a

revival of mind and reason, West did not vent&re to "redict. %he e$"eriment wo&ld be a

landmar# in o&r st&dies, and he had saved the new body for my ret&rn, so that both mi!ht

share the s"ectacle in acc&stomed fashion.

West told me how he had obtained the s"ecimen. It had been a vi!oro&s man0 a well'

dressed stran!er 1&st off the train on his way to transact some b&siness with the 9olton

Worsted (ills. %he wal# thro&!h the town had been lon!, and by the time the traveller "a&sed

at o&r cotta!e to as# the way to the factories, his heart had become !reatly overta$ed. He hadref&sed a stim&lant, and had s&ddenly dro""ed dead only a moment later. %he body, as mi!ht

be e$"ected, seemed to West a heaven'sent !ift. In his brief conversation the stran!er had

made it clear that he was &n#nown in 9olton, and a search of his "oc#ets s&bse/&ently

revealed him to be one Robert Leavitt of *t. Lo&is, a""arently witho&t a family to ma#e instant

in/&iries abo&t his disa""earance. If this man co&ld not be restored to life, no one wo&ld #now

of o&r e$"eriment. We b&ried o&r materials in a dense stri" of woods between the ho&se and

the "otter4s field. If, on the other hand, he co&ld be restored, o&r fame wo&ld be brilliantly and

"er"et&ally established. *o witho&t delay West had in1ected into the body4s wrist the

com"o&nd which wo&ld hold it fresh for &se after my arrival. %he matter of the "res&mably

wea# heart, which to my mind im"erilled the s&ccess of o&r e$"eriment, did not a""ear totro&ble West e$tensively. He ho"ed at last to obtain what he had never obtained before2a

re#indled s"ar# of reason and "erha"s a normal, livin! creat&re.

*o on the ni!ht of C&ly =G, =E=F, Herbert West and I stood in the cellar laboratory and !a;ed

at a white, silent fi!&re beneath the da;;lin! arc'li!ht. %he embalmin! com"o&nd had wor#ed

&ncannily well, for as I stared fascinatedly at the st&rdy frame which had lain two wee#s

witho&t stiffenin!, I was moved to see# West4s ass&rance that the thin! was really dead. %his

ass&rance he !ave readily eno&!h0 remindin! me that the reanimatin! sol&tion was never &sed

witho&t caref&l tests as to life, since it co&ld have no effect if any of the ori!inal vitality were

"resent. +s West "roceeded to ta#e "reliminary ste"s, I was im"ressed by the vast intricacy of

the new e$"eriment0 an intricacy so vast that he co&ld tr&st no hand less delicate than his own.Aorbiddin! me to to&ch the body, he first in1ected a dr&! in the wrist 1&st beside the "lace his

needle had "&nct&red when in1ectin! the embalmin! com"o&nd. %his, he said, was to

ne&tralise the com"o&nd and release the system to a normal rela$ation so that the reanimatin!

sol&tion mi!ht freely wor# when in1ected. *li!htly later, when a chan!e and a !entle tremor

seemed to affect the dead limbs0 West st&ffed a "illow'li#e ob1ect violently over the twitchin!

face, not withdrawin! it &ntil the cor"se a""eared /&iet and ready for o&r attem"t at

reanimation. %he "ale enth&siast now a""lied some last "erf&nctory tests for absol&te

lifelessness, withdrew satisfied, and finally in1ected into the left arm an acc&rately meas&red

amo&nt of the vital eli$ir, "re"ared d&rin! the afternoon with a !reater care than we had &sed

since colle!e days, when o&r feats were new and !ro"in!. I cannot e$"ress the wild, breathlesss&s"ense with which we waited for res&lts on this first really fresh s"ecimen2the first we co&ld

reasonably e$"ect to o"en its li"s in rational s"eech, "erha"s to tell of what it had seen beyond



the &nfathomable abyss.

West was a materialist, believin! in no so&l and attrib&tin! all the wor#in! of conscio&sness

to bodily "henomena0 conse/&ently he loo#ed for no revelation of hideo&s secrets from !&lfs

and caverns beyond death4s barrier. I did not wholly disa!ree with him theoretically, yet held

va!&e instinctive remnants of the "rimitive faith of my forefathers0 so that I co&ld not hel"

eyein! the cor"se with a certain amo&nt of awe and terrible e$"ectation. 9esides2I co&ld note$tract from my memory that hideo&s, inh&man shrie# we heard on the ni!ht we tried o&r first

e$"eriment in the deserted farmho&se at +r#ham.

Bery little time had ela"sed before I saw the attem"t was not to be a total fail&re. + to&ch of

colo&r came to chee#s hitherto chal#'white, and s"read o&t &nder the c&rio&sly am"le st&bble

of sandy beard. West, who had his hand on the "&lse of the left wrist, s&ddenly nodded

si!nificantly0 and almost sim&ltaneo&sly a mist a""eared on the mirror inclined above the

body4s mo&th. %here followed a few s"asmodic m&sc&lar motions, and then an a&dible

breathin! and visible motion of the chest. I loo#ed at the closed eyelids, and tho&!ht I detected

a /&iverin!. %hen the lids o"ened, shewin! eyes which were !rey, calm, and alive, b&t still

&nintelli!ent and not even c&rio&s.

In a moment of fantastic whim I whis"ered /&estions to the reddenin! ears0 /&estions of

other worlds of which the memory mi!ht still be "resent. *&bse/&ent terror drove them from

my mind, b&t I thin# the last one, which I re"eated, was: 5Where have yo& been5 I do not yet

#now whether I was answered or not, for no so&nd came from the well'sha"ed mo&th0 b&t I do

#now that at that moment I firmly tho&!ht the thin li"s moved silently, formin! syllables which I

wo&ld have vocalised as 5only now5 if that "hrase had "ossessed any sense or relevancy. +t

that moment, as I say, I was elated with the conviction that the one !reat !oal had been

attained0 and that for the first time a reanimated cor"se had &ttered distinct words im"elled by

act&al reason. In the ne$t moment there was no do&bt abo&t the tri&m"h0 no do&bt that thesol&tion had tr&ly accom"lished, at least tem"orarily, its f&ll mission of restorin! rational and

artic&late life to the dead. 9&t in that tri&m"h there came to me the !reatest of all horrors2not

horror of the thin! that s"o#e, b&t of the deed that I had witnessed and of the man with whom

my "rofessional fort&nes were 1oined.

Aor that very fresh body, at last writhin! into f&ll and terrifyin! conscio&sness with eyes

dilated at the memory of its last scene on earth, threw o&t its frantic hands in a life and death

str&!!le with the air, and s&ddenly colla"sin! into a second and final dissol&tion from which

there co&ld be no ret&rn, screamed o&t the cry that will rin! eternally in my achin! brain:

5Hel"< Dee" off, yo& c&rsed little tow'head fiend2#ee" that damned needle away from

me<5



Part B

(any men have related hideo&s thin!s, not mentioned in "rint, which ha""ened on the

battlefields of the 8reat War. *ome of these thin!s have made me faint, others have conv&lsed

me with devastatin! na&sea, while still others have made me tremble and loo# behind me in

the dar#0 yet des"ite the worst of them I believe I can myself relate the most hideo&s thin! of

all2the shoc#in!, the &nnat&ral, the &nbelievable horror from the shadows.

In =E=? I was a "hysician with the ran# of Airst Lie&tenant in a 7anadian re!iment in

Alanders, one of many +mericans to "recede the !overnment itself into the !i!antic str&!!le. I

had not entered the army on my own initiative, b&t rather as a nat&ral res&lt of the enlistment

of the man whose indis"ensable assistant I was2the celebrated 9oston s&r!ical s"ecialist, 3r.

Herbert West. 3r. West had been avid for a chance to serve as s&r!eon in a !reat war, and

when the chance had come, he carried me with him almost a!ainst my will. %here were reasons

why I co&ld have been !lad to let the war se"arate &s0 reasons why I fo&nd the "ractice of

medicine and the com"anionshi" of West more and more irritatin!0 b&t when he had !one toOttawa and thro&!h a collea!&e4s infl&ence sec&red a medical commission as (a1or, I co&ld not

resist the im"erio&s "ers&asion of one determined that I sho&ld accom"any him in my &s&al

ca"acity.

When I say that 3r. West was avid to serve in battle, I do not mean to im"ly that he was

either nat&rally warli#e or an$io&s for the safety of civilisation. +lways an ice'cold intellect&al

machine0 sli!ht, blond, bl&e'eyed, and s"ectacled0 I thin# he secretly sneered at my occasional

martial enth&siasms and cens&res of s&"ine ne&trality. %here was, however, somethin! he

wanted in embattled Alanders0 and in order to sec&re it had had to ass&me a military e$terior.

What he wanted was not a thin! which many "ersons want, b&t somethin! connected with the"ec&liar branch of medical science which he had chosen /&ite clandestinely to follow, and in

which he had achieved ama;in! and occasionally hideo&s res&lts. It was, in fact, nothin! more

or less than an ab&ndant s&""ly of freshly #illed men in every sta!e of dismemberment.

Herbert West needed fresh bodies beca&se his life'wor# was the reanimation of the dead.

%his wor# was not #nown to the fashionable clientele who had so swiftly b&ilt &" his fame after

his arrival in 9oston0 b&t was only too well #nown to me, who had been his closest friend and

sole assistant since the old days in (is#atonic )niversity (edical *chool at +r#ham. It was in

those colle!e days that he had be!&n his terrible e$"eriments, first on small animals and then

on h&man bodies shoc#in!ly obtained. %here was a sol&tion which he in1ected into the veins of

dead thin!s, and if they were fresh eno&!h they res"onded in stran!e ways. He had had m&chtro&ble in discoverin! the "ro"er form&la, for each ty"e of or!anism was fo&nd to need a

stim&l&s es"ecially ada"ted to it. %error stal#ed him when he reflected on his "artial fail&res0

nameless thin!s res&ltin! from im"erfect sol&tions or from bodies ins&fficiently fresh. + certain

n&mber of these fail&res had remained alive2one was in an asyl&m while others had

vanished2and as he tho&!ht of conceivable yet virt&ally im"ossible event&alities he often

shivered beneath his &s&al stolidity.

West had soon learned that absol&te freshness was the "rime re/&isite for &sef&l

s"ecimens, and had accordin!ly resorted to fri!htf&l and &nnat&ral e$"edients in body'

snatchin!. In colle!e, and d&rin! o&r early "ractice to!ether in the factory town of 9olton, myattit&de toward him had been lar!ely one of fascinated admiration0 b&t as his boldness in

methods !rew, I be!an to develo" a !nawin! fear. I did not li#e the way he loo#ed at healthy



livin! bodies0 and then there came a ni!htmarish session in the cellar laboratory when I learned

that a certain s"ecimen had been a livin! body when he sec&red it. %hat was the first time he

had ever been able to revive the /&ality of rational tho&!ht in a cor"se0 and his s&ccess,

obtained at s&ch a loathsome cost, had com"letely hardened him.

Of his methods in the intervenin! five years I dare not s"ea#. I was held to him by sheer

force of fear, and witnessed si!hts that no h&man ton!&e co&ld re"eat. 8rad&ally I came to findHerbert West himself more horrible than anythin! he did2that was when it dawned on me

that his once normal scientific ;eal for "rolon!in! life had s&btly de!enerated into a mere

morbid and !ho&lish c&riosity and secret sense of charnel "ict&res/&eness. His interest became

a hellish and "erverse addiction to the re"ellently and fiendishly abnormal0 he !loated calmly

over artificial monstrosities which wo&ld ma#e most healthy men dro" dead from fri!ht and

dis!&st0 he became, behind his "allid intellect&ality, a fastidio&s 9a&delaire of "hysical

e$"eriment2a lan!&id la!abal&s of the tombs.

3an!ers he met &nflinchin!ly0 crimes he committed &nmoved. I thin# the clima$ came when

he had "roved his "oint that rational life can be restored, and had so&!ht new worlds to

con/&er by e$"erimentin! on the reanimation of detached "arts of bodies. He had wild and

ori!inal ideas on the inde"endent vital "ro"erties of or!anic cells and nerve'tiss&e se"arated

from nat&ral "hysiolo!ical systems0 and achieved some hideo&s "reliminary res&lts in the form

of never'dyin!, artificially no&rished tiss&e obtained from the nearly hatched e!!s of an

indescribable tro"ical re"tile. %wo biolo!ical "oints he was e$ceedin!ly an$io&s to settle2first,

whether any amo&nt of conscio&sness and rational action be "ossible witho&t the brain,

"roceedin! from the s"inal cord and vario&s nerve'centres0 and second, whether any #ind of

ethereal, intan!ible relation distinct from the material cells may e$ist to lin# the s&r!ically

se"arated "arts of what has "revio&sly been a sin!le livin! or!anism. +ll this research wor#

re/&ired a "rodi!io&s s&""ly of freshly sla&!htered h&man flesh2and that was why Herbert

West had entered the 8reat War.

%he "hantasmal, &nmentionable thin! occ&rred one midni!ht late in (arch, =E=?, in a field

hos"ital behind the lines of *t. loi. I wonder even now if it co&ld have been other than a

daemoniac dream of deliri&m. West had a "rivate laboratory in an east room of the barn'li#e

tem"orary edifice, assi!ned him on his "lea that he was devisin! new and radical methods for

the treatment of hitherto ho"eless cases of maimin!. %here he wor#ed li#e a b&tcher in the

midst of his !ory wares2I co&ld never !et &sed to the levity with which he handled and

classified certain thin!s. +t times he act&ally did "erform marvels of s&r!ery for the soldiers0

b&t his chief deli!hts were of a less "&blic and "hilanthro"ic #ind, re/&irin! many e$"lanations

of so&nds which seemed "ec&liar even amidst that babel of the damned. +mon! these so&ndswere fre/&ent revolver'shots2s&rely not &ncommon on a battlefield, b&t distinctly &ncommon

in an hos"ital. 3r. West4s reanimated s"ecimens were not meant for lon! e$istence or a lar!e

a&dience. 9esides h&man tiss&e, West em"loyed m&ch of the re"tile embryo tiss&e which he

had c&ltivated with s&ch sin!&lar res&lts. It was better than h&man material for maintainin! life

in or!anless fra!ments, and that was now my friend4s chief activity. In a dar# corner of the

laboratory, over a /&eer inc&batin! b&rner, he #e"t a lar!e covered vat f&ll of this re"tilian cell'

matter0 which m&lti"lied and !rew "&ffily and hideo&sly.

On the ni!ht of which I s"ea# we had a s"lendid new s"ecimen2a man at once "hysically

"owerf&l and of s&ch hi!h mentality that a sensitive nervo&s system was ass&red. It was rather

ironic, for he was the officer who had hel"ed West to his commission, and who was now to

have been o&r associate. (oreover, he had in the "ast secretly st&died the theory of

reanimation to some e$tent &nder West. (a1or *ir ric (oreland 7la"ham'Lee, 3.*.O., was the



!reatest s&r!eon in o&r division, and had been hastily assi!ned to the *t. loi sector when news

of the heavy fi!htin! reached head/&arters. He had come in an aero"lane "iloted by the

intre"id Lie&t. Ronald Hill, only to be shot down when directly over his destination. %he fall had

been s"ectac&lar and awf&l0 Hill was &nreco!nisable afterward, b&t the wrec# yielded &" the

!reat s&r!eon in a nearly deca"itated b&t otherwise intact condition. West had !reedily sei;ed

the lifeless thin! which had once been his friend and fellow'scholar0 and I sh&ddered when he

finished severin! the head, "laced it in his hellish vat of "&l"y re"tile'tiss&e to "reserve it for

f&t&re e$"eriments, and "roceeded to treat the deca"itated body on the o"eratin! table. He

in1ected new blood, 1oined certain veins, arteries, and nerves at the headless nec#, and closed

the !hastly a"ert&re with en!rafted s#in from an &nidentified s"ecimen which had borne an

officer4s &niform. I #new what he wanted2to see if this hi!hly or!anised body co&ld e$hibit,

witho&t its head, any of the si!ns of mental life which had distin!&ished *ir ric (oreland

7la"ham'Lee. Once a st&dent of reanimation, this silent tr&n# was now !r&esomely called &"on

to e$em"lify it.

I can still see Herbert West &nder the sinister electric li!ht as he in1ected his reanimatin!

sol&tion into the arm of the headless body. %he scene I cannot describe2I sho&ld faint if I triedit, for there is madness in a room f&ll of classified charnel thin!s, with blood and lesser h&man

debris almost an#le'dee" on the slimy floor, and with hideo&s re"tilian abnormalities s"ro&tin!,

b&bblin!, and ba#in! over a win#in! bl&ish'!reen s"ectre of dim flame in a far corner of blac#

shadows.

%he s"ecimen, as West re"eatedly observed, had a s"lendid nervo&s system. (&ch was

e$"ected of it0 and as a few twitchin! motions be!an to a""ear, I co&ld see the feverish interest

on West4s face. He was ready, I thin#, to see "roof of his increasin!ly stron! o"inion that

conscio&sness, reason, and "ersonality can e$ist inde"endently of the brain2that man has no

central connective s"irit, b&t is merely a machine of nervo&s matter, each section more or less

com"lete in itself. In one tri&m"hant demonstration West was abo&t to rele!ate the mystery of

life to the cate!ory of myth. %he body now twitched more vi!oro&sly, and beneath o&r avid

eyes commenced to heave in a fri!htf&l way. %he arms stirred dis/&ietin!ly, the le!s drew &",

and vario&s m&scles contracted in a re"&lsive #ind of writhin!. %hen the headless thin! threw

o&t its arms in a !est&re which was &nmista#ably one of des"eration2an intelli!ent

des"eration a""arently s&fficient to "rove every theory of Herbert West. 7ertainly, the nerves

were recallin! the man4s last act in life0 the str&!!le to !et free of the fallin! aero"lane.

What followed, I shall never "ositively #now. It may have been wholly an hall&cination from

the shoc# ca&sed at that instant by the s&dden and com"lete destr&ction of the b&ildin! in a

cataclysm of 8erman shell'fire2who can !ainsay it, since West and I were the only "roveds&rvivors West li#ed to thin# that before his recent disa""earance, b&t there were times when

he co&ld not0 for it was /&eer that we both had the same hall&cination. %he hideo&s occ&rrence

itself was very sim"le, notable only for what it im"lied.

%he body on the table had risen with a blind and terrible !ro"in!, and we had heard a

so&nd. I sho&ld not call that so&nd a voice, for it was too awf&l. +nd yet its timbre was not the

most awf&l thin! abo&t it. either was its messa!e2it had merely screamed, 5C&m", Ronald,

for 8od4s sa#e, 1&m"<5 %he awf&l thin! was its so&rce.

Aor it had come from the lar!e covered vat in that !ho&lish corner of crawlin! blac#

shadows.



Part BI

When 3r. Herbert West disa""eared a year a!o, the 9oston "olice /&estioned me closely. %hey

s&s"ected that I was holdin! somethin! bac#, and "erha"s s&s"ected !raver thin!s0 b&t I co&ld

not tell them the tr&th beca&se they wo&ld not have believed it. %hey #new, indeed, that West

had been connected with activities beyond the credence of ordinary men0 for his hideo&s

e$"eriments in the reanimation of dead bodies had lon! been too e$tensive to admit of "erfect

secrecy0 b&t the final so&l'shatterin! catastro"he held elements of daemoniac "hantasy which

ma#e even me do&bt the reality of what I saw.

I was West4s closest friend and only confidential assistant. We had met years before, in

medical school, and from the first I had shared his terrible researches. He had slowly tried to

"erfect a sol&tion which, in1ected into the veins of the newly deceased, wo&ld restore life0 a

labo&r demandin! an ab&ndance of fresh cor"ses and therefore involvin! the most &nnat&ral

actions. *till more shoc#in! were the "rod&cts of some of the e$"eriments2!risly masses of

flesh that had been dead, b&t that West wa#ed to a blind, brainless, na&seo&s animation. %hesewere the &s&al res&lts, for in order to reawa#en the mind it was necessary to have s"ecimens

so absol&tely fresh that no decay co&ld "ossibly affect the delicate brain'cells.

%his need for very fresh cor"ses had been West4s moral &ndoin!. %hey were hard to !et, and

one awf&l day he had sec&red his s"ecimen while it was still alive and vi!oro&s. + str&!!le, a

needle, and a "owerf&l al#aloid had transformed it to a very fresh cor"se, and the e$"eriment

had s&cceeded for a brief and memorable moment0 b&t West had emer!ed with a so&l

callo&sed and seared, and a hardened eye which sometimes !lanced with a #ind of hideo&s and

calc&latin! a""raisal at men of es"ecially sensitive brain and es"ecially vi!oro&s "hysi/&e.

%oward the last I became ac&tely afraid of West, for he be!an to loo# at me that way. Peo"ledid not seem to notice his !lances, b&t they noticed my fear0 and after his disa""earance &sed

that as a basis for some abs&rd s&s"icions.

West, in reality, was more afraid than I0 for his abominable "&rs&its entailed a life of

f&rtiveness and dread of every shadow. Partly it was the "olice he feared0 b&t sometimes his

nervo&sness was dee"er and more neb&lo&s, to&chin! on certain indescribable thin!s into

which he had in1ected a morbid life, and from which he had not seen that life de"art. He &s&ally

finished his e$"eriments with a revolver, b&t a few times he had not been /&ic# eno&!h. %here

was that first s"ecimen on whose rifled !rave mar#s of clawin! were later seen. %here was also

that +r#ham "rofessor4s body which had done cannibal thin!s before it had been ca"t&red and

thr&st &nidentified into a madho&se cell at *efton, where it beat the walls for si$teen years.(ost of the other "ossibly s&rvivin! res&lts were thin!s less easy to s"ea# of2for in later years

West4s scientific ;eal had de!enerated to an &nhealthy and fantastic mania, and he had s"ent

his chief s#ill in vitalisin! not entire h&man bodies b&t isolated "arts of bodies, or "arts 1oined

to or!anic matter other than h&man. It had become fiendishly dis!&stin! by the time he

disa""eared0 many of the e$"eriments co&ld not even be hinted at in "rint. %he 8reat War,

thro&!h which both of &s served as s&r!eons, had intensified this side of West.

In sayin! that West4s fear of his s"ecimens was neb&lo&s, I have in mind "artic&larly its

com"le$ nat&re. Part of it came merely from #nowin! of the e$istence of s&ch nameless

monsters, while another "art arose from a""rehension of the bodily harm they mi!ht &ndercertain circ&mstances do him. %heir disa""earance added horror to the sit&ation2of them all,

West #new the whereabo&ts of only one, the "itif&l asyl&m thin!. %hen there was a more s&btle



fear2a very fantastic sensation res&ltin! from a c&rio&s e$"eriment in the 7anadian army in

=E=?. West, in the midst of a severe battle, had reanimated (a1or *ir ric (oreland 7la"ham'

Lee, 3.*.O., a fellow'"hysician who #new abo&t his e$"eriments and co&ld have d&"licated

them. %he head had been removed, so that the "ossibilities of /&asi'intelli!ent life in the tr&n#

mi!ht be investi!ated. C&st as the b&ildin! was wi"ed o&t by a 8erman shell, there had been a

s&ccess. %he tr&n# had moved intelli!ently0 and, &nbelievable to relate, we were both

sic#enin!ly s&re that artic&late so&nds had come from the detached head as it lay in a shadowy

corner of the laboratory. %he shell had been mercif&l, in a way2b&t West co&ld never feel as

certain as he wished, that we two were the only s&rvivors. He &sed to ma#e sh&dderin!

con1ect&res abo&t the "ossible actions of a headless "hysician with the "ower of reanimatin!

the dead.

West4s last /&arters were in a venerable ho&se of m&ch ele!ance, overloo#in! one of the

oldest b&ryin!'!ro&nds in 9oston. He had chosen the "lace for "&rely symbolic and fantastically

aesthetic reasons, since most of the interments were of the colonial "eriod and therefore of

little &se to a scientist see#in! very fresh bodies. %he laboratory was in a s&b'cellar secretly

constr&cted by im"orted wor#men, and contained a h&!e incinerator for the /&iet andcom"lete dis"osal of s&ch bodies, or fra!ments and synthetic moc#eries of bodies, as mi!ht

remain from the morbid e$"eriments and &nhallowed am&sements of the owner. 3&rin! the

e$cavation of this cellar the wor#men had str&c# some e$ceedin!ly ancient masonry0

&ndo&btedly connected with the old b&ryin!'!ro&nd, yet far too dee" to corres"ond with any

#nown se"&lchre therein. +fter a n&mber of calc&lations West decided that it re"resented

some secret chamber beneath the tomb of the +verills, where the last interment had been

made in =JG. I was with him when he st&died the nitro&s, dri""in! walls laid bare by the

s"ades and mattoc#s of the men, and was "re"ared for the !r&esome thrill which wo&ld attend

the &ncoverin! of cent&ried !rave'secrets0 b&t for the first time West4s new timidity con/&ered

his nat&ral c&riosity, and he betrayed his de!eneratin! fibre by orderin! the masonry left intactand "lastered over. %h&s it remained till that final hellish ni!ht0 "art of the walls of the secret

laboratory. I s"ea# of West4s decadence, b&t m&st add that it was a "&rely mental and

intan!ible thin!. O&twardly he was the same to the last2calm, cold, sli!ht, and yellow'haired,

with s"ectacled bl&e eyes and a !eneral as"ect of yo&th which years and fears seemed never to

chan!e. He seemed calm even when he tho&!ht of that clawed !rave and loo#ed over his

sho&lder0 even when he tho&!ht of the carnivoro&s thin! that !nawed and "awed at *efton

bars.

%he end of Herbert West be!an one evenin! in o&r 1oint st&dy when he was dividin! his

c&rio&s !lance between the news"a"er and me. + stran!e headline item had str&c# at him from

the cr&m"led "a!es, and a nameless titan claw had seemed to reach down thro&!h si$teenyears. *omethin! fearsome and incredible had ha""ened at *efton +syl&m fifty miles away,

st&nnin! the nei!hbo&rhood and bafflin! the "olice. In the small ho&rs of the mornin! a body of

silent men had entered the !ro&nds, and their leader had aro&sed the attendants. He was a

menacin! military fi!&re who tal#ed witho&t movin! his li"s and whose voice seemed almost

ventrilo/&ially connected with an immense blac# case he carried. His e$"ressionless face was

handsome to the "oint of radiant bea&ty, b&t had shoc#ed the s&"erintendent when the hall

li!ht fell on it2for it was a wa$ face with eyes of "ainted !lass. *ome nameless accident had

befallen this man. + lar!er man !&ided his ste"s0 a re"ellent h&l# whose bl&ish face seemed half

eaten away by some &n#nown malady. %he s"ea#er had as#ed for the c&stody of the cannibal

monster committed from +r#ham si$teen years before0 and &"on bein! ref&sed, !ave a si!nalwhich "reci"itated a shoc#in! riot. %he fiends had beaten, tram"led, and bitten every attendant

who did not flee0 #illin! fo&r and finally s&cceedin! in the liberation of the monster. %hose



victims who co&ld recall the event witho&t hysteria swore that the creat&res had acted less li#e

men than li#e &nthin#able a&tomata !&ided by the wa$'faced leader. 9y the time hel" co&ld be

s&mmoned, every trace of the men and of their mad char!e had vanished.

Arom the ho&r of readin! this item &ntil midni!ht, West sat almost "aralysed. +t midni!ht

the doorbell ran!, startlin! him fearf&lly. +ll the servants were aslee" in the attic, so I answered

the bell. +s I have told the "olice, there was no wa!on in the street, b&t only a !ro&" of stran!e'loo#in! fi!&res bearin! a lar!e s/&are bo$ which they de"osited in the hallway after one of

them had !r&nted in a hi!hly &nnat&ral voice, 5$"ress2"re"aid.5 %hey filed o&t of the ho&se

with a 1er#y tread, and as I watched them !o I had an odd idea that they were t&rnin! toward

the ancient cemetery on which the bac# of the ho&se ab&tted. When I slammed the door after

them West came downstairs and loo#ed at the bo$. It was abo&t two feet s/&are, and bore

West4s correct name and "resent address. It also bore the inscri"tion, 5Arom ric (oreland

7la"ham'Lee, *t. loi, Alanders.5 *i$ years before, in Alanders, a shelled hos"ital had fallen &"on

the headless reanimated tr&n# of 3r. 7la"ham'Lee, and &"on the detached head

which2"erha"s2had &ttered artic&late so&nds.

West was not even e$cited now. His condition was more !hastly. K&ic#ly he said, 5It4s the

finish2b&t let4s incinerate2this.5 We carried the thin! down to the laboratory2listenin!. I do

not remember many "artic&lars2yo& can ima!ine my state of mind2b&t it is a vicio&s lie to

say it was Herbert West4s body which I "&t into the incinerator. We both inserted the whole

&no"ened wooden bo$, closed the door, and started the electricity. or did any so&nd come

from the bo$, after all.

It was West who first noticed the fallin! "laster on that "art of the wall where the ancient

tomb masonry had been covered &". I was !oin! to r&n, b&t he sto""ed me. %hen I saw a small

blac# a"ert&re, felt a !ho&lish wind of ice, and smelled the charnel bowels of a "&trescent

earth. %here was no so&nd, b&t 1&st then the electric li!hts went o&t and I saw o&tlined a!ainstsome "hos"horescence of the nether world a horde of silent toilin! thin!s which only

insanity2or worse2co&ld create. %heir o&tlines were h&man, semi'h&man, fractionally h&man,

and not h&man at all2the horde was !rotes/&ely hetero!eneo&s. %hey were removin! the

stones /&ietly, one by one, from the cent&ried wall. +nd then, as the breach became lar!e

eno&!h, they came o&t into the laboratory in sin!le file0 led by a tal#in! thin! with a bea&tif&l

head made of wa$. + sort of mad'eyed monstrosity behind the leader sei;ed on Herbert West.

West did not resist or &tter a so&nd. %hen they all s"ran! at him and tore him to "ieces before

my eyes, bearin! the fra!ments away into that s&bterranean va&lt of fab&lo&s abominations.

West4s head was carried off by the wa$'headed leader, who wore a 7anadian officer4s &niform.

+s it disa""eared I saw that the bl&e eyes behind the s"ectacles were hideo&sly bla;in! withtheir first to&ch of frantic, visible emotion.

*ervants fo&nd me &nconscio&s in the mornin!. West was !one. %he incinerator contained

only &nidentifiable ashes. 3etectives have /&estioned me, b&t what can I say %he *efton

tra!edy they will not connect with West0 not that, nor the men with the bo$, whose e$istence

they deny. I told them of the va&lt, and they "ointed to the &nbro#en "laster wall and la&!hed.

*o I told them no more. %hey im"ly that I am either a madman or a m&rderer2"robably I am

mad. 9&t I mi!ht not be mad if those acc&rsed tomb'le!ions had not been so silent.

lovecraft - herbert west-reanimator

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