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Two Black Bottles
Cuento "Dos botellas negras" (Two Black Bottles)
26 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1926
3 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,111 books19.3k followersHoward Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
— Wikipedia
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
— Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 24, 2017
3.5
Two Black Bottles is a collaboration between Lovecraft and Wilfred Branch Talman. The dialogue is mostly Lovecraft's. The story is pretty good.
The narrator arrives to a small, gloomy village of Daalbergen, 'that dismal little village in the Ramapo Mountains', where his uncle recently died. Right from the beginning you are told that some villagers believe he is still alive or 'suspended somewhere between heaven and hell because of the old sexton's curse'. It's quite possible that if sexton hadn't been there, Dominie Vanderhoff might still be preaching in the old church.
The younger man then tells his story of what happened to him. He was warned by the villagers not to go to see the sexton because he had dealings with the devil. They also tell him he is the one responsible for his uncle's demise. Naturally, he decides to confront the man and goes to an old belfry.
At first the narrator can't believe the story the sexton tells him about the previous pastor who was more than interested in the occult, how he watched him and learned. He thinks the man is drunk. However, things start happening around him and outside in the graveyard and he is forced to believe.
Necromancy is one of the most prominent themes in this story. You can find another one - souls trapped in bottles - in The Terrible Old Man.
Two Black Bottles is a collaboration between Lovecraft and Wilfred Branch Talman. The dialogue is mostly Lovecraft's. The story is pretty good.
The narrator arrives to a small, gloomy village of Daalbergen, 'that dismal little village in the Ramapo Mountains', where his uncle recently died. Right from the beginning you are told that some villagers believe he is still alive or 'suspended somewhere between heaven and hell because of the old sexton's curse'. It's quite possible that if sexton hadn't been there, Dominie Vanderhoff might still be preaching in the old church.
The younger man then tells his story of what happened to him. He was warned by the villagers not to go to see the sexton because he had dealings with the devil. They also tell him he is the one responsible for his uncle's demise. Naturally, he decides to confront the man and goes to an old belfry.
At first the narrator can't believe the story the sexton tells him about the previous pastor who was more than interested in the occult, how he watched him and learned. He thinks the man is drunk. However, things start happening around him and outside in the graveyard and he is forced to believe.
Necromancy is one of the most prominent themes in this story. You can find another one - souls trapped in bottles - in The Terrible Old Man.
January 19, 2022
3.5 Stars
rounded up to 4 Stars.
January 29, 2022
cheers i'll drink to that bro
November 20, 2019
Wordsworth Editions
2010.
This one is majestically haunting.
A proper horror story, actually a proper horror novella.
It rocks like The Smashing Pumpkins, it frightens you like delusional Berkeley leftist lunatics, it simmers like your granny s stew.
Wonderfully written, atmospherical, vivid and strong. Powerful and sharp. I could throw adjectives like there is no tomorrow but there is tomorrow so I will stop with it just about now.
Let me just prove it to you, my dear readers:
"Everything was quiet. There was not a breath of wind, nor were there even the usual noises made by animals in their nocturnal ramblings. All dread has been forgotten for a time, but in the presence of that sepulchral calm my apprehensions returned. I imagined the air peopled with ghostly spirits that pressed around me, making the air almost unbreathable. I wondered, for the hundredth time, where the old sexton might be.
As I stood there, half expecting some sinister demon to creep from the shadows, I noticed two lighted windows glaring from the belfry of the church. I then remembered what Haines had told me about Foster s living in the basement of the building. Advancing cautiously through the blackness, I found the side door of the church ajar.
The interior had a musty and mildewed odour. Everything I touched was covered with a cold, clammy moisture. I struck a match and began to explore, to discover, if I could, how to get into the belrfy. Suddenly I stopped in my tracks.
A snatch of song, loud and obscene, sung in a voice that was guttural and thick with drink, came from above me. The match burned my fingers, and I dropped it. Two pin-points of light pierced the darkness of the father wall of the church, and bellow them, to one side, I could see a door outlined where light filtered through its cracks. The song stopped abruptly as it had commenced, and there was absolute silence again. My heart was thumping and blood raced through my temples. Had I not been petrified with fear, I should have fled immediately."
Now that quotation my friends shows us what locus horridus is. It can be considered a paradigmatic example of a locus horridus.
The gothic ambient in this horror story is so superb that one can only stay silent after reading it.
And the content?
Well, it is quite funky.
A dead man rises, a dead priest who is controlled by evil spirits... The haunting ancestor, the past one can not run from.
A topos of the early modernistic antimodernist literature.
Modernistic in the sense of the form and language, antimodernist in the sense of the content and ideological subtext.
A beautiful dark story.
Beware of the night; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO9dt...
¡Hasta luego!
2010.
This one is majestically haunting.
A proper horror story, actually a proper horror novella.
It rocks like The Smashing Pumpkins, it frightens you like delusional Berkeley leftist lunatics, it simmers like your granny s stew.
Wonderfully written, atmospherical, vivid and strong. Powerful and sharp. I could throw adjectives like there is no tomorrow but there is tomorrow so I will stop with it just about now.
Let me just prove it to you, my dear readers:
"Everything was quiet. There was not a breath of wind, nor were there even the usual noises made by animals in their nocturnal ramblings. All dread has been forgotten for a time, but in the presence of that sepulchral calm my apprehensions returned. I imagined the air peopled with ghostly spirits that pressed around me, making the air almost unbreathable. I wondered, for the hundredth time, where the old sexton might be.
As I stood there, half expecting some sinister demon to creep from the shadows, I noticed two lighted windows glaring from the belfry of the church. I then remembered what Haines had told me about Foster s living in the basement of the building. Advancing cautiously through the blackness, I found the side door of the church ajar.
The interior had a musty and mildewed odour. Everything I touched was covered with a cold, clammy moisture. I struck a match and began to explore, to discover, if I could, how to get into the belrfy. Suddenly I stopped in my tracks.
A snatch of song, loud and obscene, sung in a voice that was guttural and thick with drink, came from above me. The match burned my fingers, and I dropped it. Two pin-points of light pierced the darkness of the father wall of the church, and bellow them, to one side, I could see a door outlined where light filtered through its cracks. The song stopped abruptly as it had commenced, and there was absolute silence again. My heart was thumping and blood raced through my temples. Had I not been petrified with fear, I should have fled immediately."
Now that quotation my friends shows us what locus horridus is. It can be considered a paradigmatic example of a locus horridus.
The gothic ambient in this horror story is so superb that one can only stay silent after reading it.
And the content?
Well, it is quite funky.
A dead man rises, a dead priest who is controlled by evil spirits... The haunting ancestor, the past one can not run from.
A topos of the early modernistic antimodernist literature.
Modernistic in the sense of the form and language, antimodernist in the sense of the content and ideological subtext.
A beautiful dark story.
Beware of the night; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO9dt...
¡Hasta luego!
December 11, 2020
Decent, but not the best Lovecraft.
July 18, 2021
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Two_Bl...
Short story by Wilfred Blanch Talman with some light editing by Lovecraft.
https://www.tor.com/2019/04/17/the-no...
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Two_Bl...
Short story by Wilfred Blanch Talman with some light editing by Lovecraft.
https://www.tor.com/2019/04/17/the-no...
September 19, 2020
Years ago I decided to read the complete work of this author, a choice that I came to regret: while Lovecraft's contribution to the field is indisputable, and while a small number of his stories are good, the vast majority of his work is mediocre at best, and often marred by horrifying xenophobia. I thought I was done reading his work, but I keep I coming across short stories that I had previously missed. This one is a collaboration, it was written by Wilfred Blanch Talman, but H. P. Lovecraft added some small touches (in particular the use of the dialect of one of the characters), so this is probably why I had missed it so far.
In an isolated town a priest starts giving very unusual sermons scaring all his parishioners away, then he dies. His nephew visit the town and the church and he discover that something very sinister is happening, including devil worshipping and witchcraft.
As a story goes, it's ok. There is nothing remarkable or outstanding, but it is enjoyable enough. I would not recommend it, but to the Lovecraft's completists.
In an isolated town a priest starts giving very unusual sermons scaring all his parishioners away, then he dies. His nephew visit the town and the church and he discover that something very sinister is happening, including devil worshipping and witchcraft.
As a story goes, it's ok. There is nothing remarkable or outstanding, but it is enjoyable enough. I would not recommend it, but to the Lovecraft's completists.
November 10, 2016
This is an interesting short story about necromancers and their influence on a village church. Its opening and various scenes reminded me of modern horror movies, which shows exactly how influential Lovecraft was.
June 4, 2015
Nigromancia y terror que se aproxima más a mi querido Poe. <3
March 25, 2022
1926: Two Black Bottles (with Wilfred Blanch Talman)
“Everything was quiet. There was not a breath of wind, nor were there even the usual noises made by animals in their nocturnal ramblings. All dread had been forgotten for a time, but in the presence of that sepulchral calm my apprehensions returned. I imagined the air peopled with ghastly spirits that pressed around me, making the air almost unbreathable.”
[Lovecraft statue in Providence, RI sculpted by artist Gage Prentiss.]
“Two Black Bottles” is arguably the 61st oldest extant story by American weird fiction author Howard Philips Lovecraft (1890-1937). I am reading all of his fictional works in chronological order. This story was written after “The Call of Cthulhu” and probably before “Pickman’s Model,” first being published in the August 1927 volume of Weird Tales. Lovecraft revised “Two Black Bottles” for his friend and correspondent Wilfred Blanch Talman (1904-1986). According to Joshi & Schultz (2001), records indicate that HPL mostly edited the Dutch dialect dialogue. He also suggested the use of first person narration as a means to clarify the storytelling. I find this story to be fairly mediocre, but entertaining. It has Christian themes, something rare for HPL.
Talman and Lovecraft were friends from 1925 to HPL’s death in 1937. “Two Black Bottles”is the only story they collaborated on.
Title: “Two Black Bottles”
Authors: Wilfred Blanch Talman & H.P. Lovecraft
Dates: June-October 1926 (written), August 1927 (first published)
Genre: Fiction - Short story, horror
Word count: 4,870 words
Date(s) read: 3/24/22
Reading journal entry #104 in 2022
Sources:
Link to the story: https://hplovecraft.com/writings/fict...
First publication citation: Weird Tales vol. 10, no. 2 (August 1927): 251–258.
Joshi, S. T., & Schultz, D. E. (2001). An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press.
Link to the image: Lovecraft statue in Providence, RI sculpted by artist Gage Prentiss. Photo by David Lepage. (2018): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
https://www.reddit.com/r/Lovecraft/co...
“Everything was quiet. There was not a breath of wind, nor were there even the usual noises made by animals in their nocturnal ramblings. All dread had been forgotten for a time, but in the presence of that sepulchral calm my apprehensions returned. I imagined the air peopled with ghastly spirits that pressed around me, making the air almost unbreathable.”
[Lovecraft statue in Providence, RI sculpted by artist Gage Prentiss.]
“Two Black Bottles” is arguably the 61st oldest extant story by American weird fiction author Howard Philips Lovecraft (1890-1937). I am reading all of his fictional works in chronological order. This story was written after “The Call of Cthulhu” and probably before “Pickman’s Model,” first being published in the August 1927 volume of Weird Tales. Lovecraft revised “Two Black Bottles” for his friend and correspondent Wilfred Blanch Talman (1904-1986). According to Joshi & Schultz (2001), records indicate that HPL mostly edited the Dutch dialect dialogue. He also suggested the use of first person narration as a means to clarify the storytelling. I find this story to be fairly mediocre, but entertaining. It has Christian themes, something rare for HPL.
Talman and Lovecraft were friends from 1925 to HPL’s death in 1937. “Two Black Bottles”is the only story they collaborated on.
Title: “Two Black Bottles”
Authors: Wilfred Blanch Talman & H.P. Lovecraft
Dates: June-October 1926 (written), August 1927 (first published)
Genre: Fiction - Short story, horror
Word count: 4,870 words
Date(s) read: 3/24/22
Reading journal entry #104 in 2022
Sources:
Link to the story: https://hplovecraft.com/writings/fict...
First publication citation: Weird Tales vol. 10, no. 2 (August 1927): 251–258.
Joshi, S. T., & Schultz, D. E. (2001). An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press.
Link to the image: Lovecraft statue in Providence, RI sculpted by artist Gage Prentiss. Photo by David Lepage. (2018): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
https://www.reddit.com/r/Lovecraft/co...
May 27, 2019
Гоффман дізнається про смерть свого дядька Йоганнеса Вандергоофа, який був пастором у гірському селі. Коли він туди приїха, щоб перевірити свій спадок, його одразу ж попередили остерігатися гробаря Абеля Фостера, про якого ходило багато чуток, і не навідуватися в церкву проти ніч. Але Гофман все одно йде туди.
На цвинтарі він бачить ледь похилений новий хрест - мабуть, там похований його дядько. У церкві він знаходить п'яного, але переляканого, гробаря, який чомусь сплутує його з померлим священиком, гадаючи, що той прийшов за його душею.
Фостер розповідає, що він і Вандергооф читали книги чорною магією, які дві століття тому залишив у церкві пастор Слотт. Фостер зміг викрасти душу Вандергоофа, а зрештою вбив і поховав його. Але мерцю не спиться в могилі, він намагається вирватися і повернути душу. У гніві Гоффман випадково розбиває одну з двох пляшечок, в якій, як виявляється, була душа самого Фостера, викрадена колись Слоттом. Почувши, що мрець Вандергооф виліз з могили, Гоффман тікає в село.
Всі книги і повалений хрест врешті спалюють, але подейкують, що вночі по цвинтарю досі тиняється пастор з пляшечкою в руці.
На цвинтарі він бачить ледь похилений новий хрест - мабуть, там похований його дядько. У церкві він знаходить п'яного, але переляканого, гробаря, який чомусь сплутує його з померлим священиком, гадаючи, що той прийшов за його душею.
Фостер розповідає, що він і Вандергооф читали книги чорною магією, які дві століття тому залишив у церкві пастор Слотт. Фостер зміг викрасти душу Вандергоофа, а зрештою вбив і поховав його. Але мерцю не спиться в могилі, він намагається вирватися і повернути душу. У гніві Гоффман випадково розбиває одну з двох пляшечок, в якій, як виявляється, була душа самого Фостера, викрадена колись Слоттом. Почувши, що мрець Вандергооф виліз з могили, Гоффман тікає в село.
Всі книги і повалений хрест врешті спалюють, але подейкують, що вночі по цвинтарю досі тиняється пастор з пляшечкою в руці.
January 12, 2024
I really liked this story, which was mostly written by Talman other than that accursed "country dialect" that Lovecraft uses (akin to in "The Dunwich Horror" and "The Shadow over Innsmouth"). And in point of fact, that dialect is the worst thing about "Two Black Bottles".
It's a Gothic story, not cosmic horror, sort of "Sleepy Hollow" meets "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". There are a few really fun passages, like in the second paragraph:
The rest of the story gives the background to explain that curious conclusion, and it's a fun ride on the way.
It's a Gothic story, not cosmic horror, sort of "Sleepy Hollow" meets "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". There are a few really fun passages, like in the second paragraph:
I am not sure that my uncle is dead, but I am very sure that he is not alive upon this earth. There is no doubt that the old sexton buried him once, but he is not in that grave now.
The rest of the story gives the background to explain that curious conclusion, and it's a fun ride on the way.
April 21, 2019
Oddly boring. Partly it's the writing (Lovecraft clearly didn't do much for Talman's adjectives, though apparently he was responsible for the attempted patois of the local folk). Partly it's just ... so ... mundane, for a Lovecraft story. Nephew comes seeking inheritance, finds uncle's grave unquiet, finds guy responsible for the unquietude, accidentally avenges his uncle, and leaves. No lingering doubts. No tainted bloodline. No elder gods following him. Nothing. So, er, yeah.
September 12, 2021
Historien er for overfladisk og meningsløs. De "onde" har intet rigtigt formål med deres handlinger andet end at være onde, det er som om skelettet af historien aldrig har fået kød på. Og den store "overraskelse" er bare meningsløs og på inden måde bygget op til. Den kommer bare pludseligt og man er ret ligeglad.
December 7, 2020
En mi caso me gusta mucho como escribe el autor, de un cuento corto y sencillo tiene la capacidad de meter al lector en el suspenso, me parece muy talentoso y es la base para muchas novelas actuales de suspenso y terror
December 9, 2020
One of the best Lovecraft's stories. The atmosphere is just so creepy and effectively written... From start to finish it's a great horror story. There is only one problem with the decision of an antagonist. I won't you spoil you it, but THAT moment felt a little rushed and forced.
September 24, 2025
Kind of mundane. Didn't dislike it but I didn't particularly enjoy it either. Book equivalent of a horror movie's protagonist for investigating the sound in the basement instead of minding their own business. Frustrates you but you know the movie wouldn't exist without their idocy.
July 2, 2017
Not as good as his usual, but still better than half the stuff I've read in my life.
A 15 page story on a little messed up story of weak minded people and devils preachers
A 15 page story on a little messed up story of weak minded people and devils preachers
October 28, 2019
La excelencia del terror dentro de la increíble sencillez con la que relata el autor.
December 23, 2019
This one is exceptionally creepy and I really enjoyed it.
November 2, 2020
Dead guy wakes up to look for a bottle. Another dead guy gets deader.
November 15, 2020
Sometimes churchmen are on the dark side of life.
January 27, 2021
A star for each bottle.
June 3, 2021
One of my favorites by lovecraft
May 9, 2022
Esta historia me atrapó, que gran relato.
Sentí terror y ansiedad, además que es la primera historia de H.P. Que leo que no termina en una tragedia inmensa.
Sentí terror y ansiedad, además que es la primera historia de H.P. Que leo que no termina en una tragedia inmensa.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2022
Старомодно, готично, но эффект есть.
June 30, 2023
You can tell Lovecraft only edited BC it's implied that God exists within the world of this story lol
It's a fine little spooky tale, certainly nothing groundbreaking but it has its moments.
It's a fine little spooky tale, certainly nothing groundbreaking but it has its moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2023
Decently good.
June 17, 2024
𝟯.𝟱⭐ 𝗱𝗲 𝟱⭐*
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