The People of the Pit

by A. Merritt

Excerpt
NORTH of us a shaft of light shot half way to the zenith. It came from behind the five peaks. The beam drove up through a column of blue haze whose edges were marked as sharply as the rain that streams from the edges of a thunder cloud. It was like the flash of a searchlight through an azure mist. It cast no shadows.
As it struck upward the summits were outlined hard and black and I saw that the whole mountain was shaped like a hand. As the light silhouetted it, the gigantic fingers stretched, the hand seemed to thrust itself forward. It was exactly as though it moved to push something back. The shining beam held steady for a moment; then broke into myriads of little luminous globes that swung to and fro and dropped gently. They seemed to be searching.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Weird Fiction, Science Fiction, Classics

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1918

About the author

Abraham Grace Merritt, wrote under the name of A. Merritt, born in New Jersey moved as a child to Philadelphia, Pa. in 1894, began studying law and than switched to journalism. Later a very popular writer starting in 1919 of the teens, twenties and thirties, horror and fantasy genres. King of the purple prose, most famous The Moon Pool, a south seas lost island civilization, hidden underground and The Ship of Ishtar, an Arabian Nights type fable, and six other novels and short stories collections (he had written at first, just for fun). Nobody could do that variety better, sold millions of books in his career. The bright man, became editor of the most successful magazine during the Depression, The American Weekly , with a fabulous $100,000 in salary. A great traveler, in search of unusual items he collected. His private library of 5,000 volumes had many of the occult macabre kind. Yet this talented author is now largely been forgotten.

Reviews

[Eloy Cryptkeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Mientras subía recortaba con aristas duras las cinco cimas, y vimos que la montaña, en su conjunto, estaba modelada en forma de mano. Y, mientras la luz los silueteaba, los gigantescos picos que eran los dedos parecían extenderse, y la tremenda masa que formaba la palma, empujar. Era como si se moviese para rechazar algo. El haz brillante permaneció durante unos momentos, luego se dispersó en una multitud de pequeños globos luminosos. Parecían estar buscando algo.
El bosque estaba silencioso. Cada uno de los ruidos que antes lo llenaban contenía la respiración. Noté como los perros se apretaban contra mis piernas. También ellos callaban, pero cada uno de los músculos de sus cuerpos temblaba"

Un grupo de exploradores se encuentra en Alaska tras la búsqueda de oro. Siguiendo las pistas otorgadas por los nativos de la zona los lleva a una montana con 5 picos, la cual parece tener una forma de mano. Los mismos nativos no quisieron ofrecerse de guiás, aduciendo que la misma estaba maldita.
Al adentrarse mas en los bosques inexplorados se encuentran con otro explorador que huía aterrando y ante la pregunta de ¿que lo perseguía? , Susurro"los habitantes del pozo"...

Un muy buen relato que transita entre las fronteras del misterio, el horror y la ciencia ficción. Evocando "lo extraño" en todo momento.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man and his friend investigate a strange light that seems to shoot from a mountain in a forest in Alaska. They come across a rambling madman who’s seemingly been held captive for a long time. The madman then tells them the tale of what happened to him.


A very atmospheric and short lost world story. It’s bizarre and strange in all the right ways, reminiscent of Lovecraft.

[Skylar Phelps · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

It has a ‘journey to the center of the earth’ vibe but was far less boring and was more strange, in a good way.

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two explorers discover another who was previously on a similar mission.
He tells his slightly disturbing story...

[Amadak Ubeng · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally think it is a great book. I enjoyed reading and the vivid description of things captured my attention. I enjoyed it. Creating a world in your mind and putting it on paper for people to read isn't easy.

[Suki St Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird Fiction Book Club 13-Story Challenge
#7: A. Merritt

The People of the Pit by A. Merritt

4.7⭐

From The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer

[Love of Hopeless Causes · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Weird Fiction tales, truly horrifying. When this was written, human collective consciousness allowed unknown and unexplored parts of our world. Generating Lost World credibility is harder today, and authors tend to rely on science, like in Jurassic Park. The main character is unusual, but comes across as credible. I found his mutilation highly disturbing, and his recovery and retirement effective. I wrote a better review when I read this the first time, but it must not have successfully posted. Highly recommended, public domain. Audio recordings not recommended, they do this tale a disservice.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is for fans of a time when there were still mysterious and unexplored regions on Earth before we had to move out into the stars to explore the undiscovered. In this case two gold prospectors are in Alaska and are ready to check out a mountain range known as The Hand when an injured man crawls into their camp with a fantastical tale of his experience and escape from the people of the pit who dwell right where the prospectors were headed. This tale demonstrates how Merritt influenced Lovecraft with its' forgotten city and terrifying creatures. This can be found in 'HorrorBabble's Ultimate Weird Tales Collection, Volume 2'. The Audible version is narrated by Ian Gordon, who does a very good job. It was originally published in the All-Story Weekly Magazine, January 1918.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent to a scene from Bloodborne, worth checking out for any fan of cosmic or Lovecraftian horror.

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep finding more and more Lovecraftian amazing short stories in the HorrorBabble weird tales collections

[Al Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1917, the story is set in northern Alaska, where two gold seekers witness strange lights and sounds high up in the mountains during one night. Soon a man with strangely bent and badly injured limbs (moving rhythmically to the weird noises) steps into the light of their fire. The story is in effect his tale, recounted in the first person. He describes to the two his supernatural experiences in a gargantuan pit behind the tall peaks.

The narrative touches on the horror genre without really managing to instill fear in the reader, perhaps because of the author's decision to use the first person point of view, which reassures us that, no matter what terrible things the man went through in his adventure, he's clearly lived through it in order to tell his tale.

While I was hoping for some sort of twist in the end, which would make the danger seem tangible again, unfortunately that's not what the author had in mind.

This is the kind of story that could look well if it were made into a film, because the images are vivid and out of the ordinary. The author is careful to amply describe the place visited by his character, which makes it easy for the reader to 'see' what he's being shown.

Though not much in the way of horror (which I was hoping for), the story is a quick read and I say give it a try if you've got nothing better in mind for a quiet evening...

(I was hovering between 3 and 4 stars, but I decided on the latter because the story is short enough for you not to feel you've wasted time on it, even if it ends up being underwhelming.)

[Lynsey Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

More sitting through sub-par weird tales as a means of relieving the lockdown boredom.

Far to much description about not a lot in this one, where were the monsters? Where was the unnameable horror? Alas sorely lacking.

However the very upsetting description one the mans broken feet and legs and odd climbing motion was truly disturbing and was a shining light in all the dullness.

[Zan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The People of the Pit is a cosmic horror that relies on atmosphere rather than overt terror. It slowly builds unease through an eerie underground setting and the suggestion of an ancient, inhuman presence lurking beneath the modern world. The story’s strength lies in its mood, claustrophobic, mysterious, and unsettling, and in its sense of discovery as curiosity turns to dread.

[Esther · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish The People of the Pit by Abraham Meritt. Audio book recorded for LibriVox by Mark Nelson.

[Risteárd Caomhánach · Rating 3 out of 5]

He sure likes describing things as mottled.

[Stijn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I really love this one. Visually striking descriptions of horrific events, full of fear of the unknown. Really love this weird fiction tale.

[Blaise Carland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the cosmic horror. Read after reading an entry from the OSR blog Grognardia. Gygax apparently thought highly of the dude. It was a solid quick read.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great old weird horror

[Abe · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Lovecraftian stories I've ever read. I couldn't remember the name of it for years.

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unos exploradores en busca de oro en Alaska encuentran a un hombre destrozado que ha logrado escapar de los Habitantes del Pozo. Un cuento de horror fantástico en el clásico estilo de Abraham Merritt.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK story from this pulp era writer. Recommended

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic sci-fi/horror story. Merritt is hardly remembered today, it seems, but he should be!

[Gerardo Lozano · Rating 4 out of 5]

exelente