The Dunwich Horror

Henry Armitage is a librarian at Miskatonic University, which houses a complete copy of The Necronomicon. When Wilbur seeks out a copy of the text to research a magic ritual, Armitage becomes suspicious of him. When Wilbur asks to borrow the book, Armitage says no. This moment is an important point in the plot—the first time that anyone has acknowledged the uncanniness of the Whateley family to the point of asserting their agency against the Whateleys’ plans. In Dunwich, everyone is deliberately ignorant of what the Whateley family does, tolerating their strangeness with tragic results. Through his small act, Armitage changes the course of human history. Wilbur dies breaking into the library to steal The Necronomicon, and from this moment on, Armitage and his battle to stop Wilbur’s twin brother become the narrative focus.

Armitage’s agency is based on his role as an outsider. He is the first character in the story who is not from Dunwich; he is not beholden to the behaviors and the beliefs of a community that prides itself on isolationism. Armitage’s small action and its important consequences highlight the many failings of the people of Dunwich by contrast, showing that action is necessary.

Armitage burdens himself with responsibility. After Wilbur’s death, Armitage is aware that he has become embroiled in something much worse than he could ever have expected. Most people who become aware of the Old Ones or the Cosmic Horror that exists in the universe lose their minds. They are reduced to shells of themselves, unable to act because they realize how little power they have compared to magical forces from other dimensions. Armitage does not lose faith. He does not abandon hope and consign himself to inaction. Even when everyone else gives up on translating Wilbur’s complicated diary, Armitage is willing to expose himself to the horrific nature of reality for the sake of other people. He cares about others, shielding his wife from his work and only sharing the truth with Rice and Morgan, two principled men who have already seen Wilbur’s monstrous physical form. Armitage then risks his own life for the people of Dunwich, defeating the entity with his academic skills and his understanding of the true nature of the world.

Armitage triumphs but returns to Arkham as a different man. His victory is bittersweet, as the burden of his knowledge has changed him forever. He now knows that entities such as Yog-Sothoth are constantly prying and probing at humanity, searching for weaknesses that will allow them to cross over into the human dimension. This knowledge is terrifying, as it reveals to Armitage the brittle, fleeting nature of his existence. He may have won a small skirmish against Yog-Sothoth’s son, but he cannot hope to win every time. While the rest of humanity can continue to enjoy their lives, comfortable in their ignorance of the true cosmic horror of the universe, Armitage must suffer the burden of seeing reality. He has glimpsed beyond the veil, and what he has seen is enough to turn his greatest triumph into evidence of his inevitable defeat.

Old Whateley is responsible for nearly destroying the world. Through his magical experiments, he seeks to open a portal to another dimension and welcome through the cosmic entity known as Yog-Sothoth. He uses his own daughter Lavinia as part of his ritual, allowing Yog-Sothoth to impregnate her with twins. Like so much that takes place in H. P. Lovecraft’s universe, Whateley’s intentions exist beyond the scope of comprehension. His magical experiments have the air of a self-interested man who does not understand the true nature of what he is doing. He is arrogant enough to perform these rituals yet naïve enough that he cannot understand what he is sacrificing, including his relationship with his daughter and his family home. Old Whateley is willing to lose everything in an intellectual pursuit that he cannot quite comprehend. This hubristic human weakness is exploited by more powerful beings like Yog-Sothoth. While Whateley wants to prove his power by summoning Yog-Sothoth, he actually reveals his comparative feebleness.

Old Whateley’s character also reveals the Willful Ignorance of the people of Dunwich. The village of Dunwich is isolated and remote. The people resent outsiders’ attention and do not like people prying into their business. The Whateley family is a smaller-scale version of the village itself. They live on the periphery and do not involve themselves in the community. The response of the village to the Whateleys is likewise telling. The people of Dunwich are so invested in their self-imposed isolation that they do not bother themselves with the family’s questionable behavior. Old Whateley is the latest in a long line of Whateleys who have meddled in the dark arts, and no one from Dunwich dares to intervene to stop them. When cattle are mutilated and Lavinia goes missing, the Dunwich people deliberately turn their attention away. Even when Old Whateley openly discusses his plans to summon Yog-Sothoth on his deathbed, the doctor dismisses his ramblings as a sign of mental illness. However, Whateley is clearer-eyed than the people of Dunwich. He is at least honest with himself about his intentions and about the true nature of the world. His open, wild behavior contrasts with the reservation and purposeful ignorance of the people of Dunwich. Old Whateley functions as an appropriate vehicle for the community’s punishment; had they dealt with him and his family in the past, the entity might not have been summoned and the town might not have been destroyed.