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Dream Cycle
The White Ship
A lighthouse keeper sets sail on the White Ship into the faraway islands of Dreamlands.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1919
15 people are currently reading
678 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 223 reviews
June 8, 2019
A lighthouse keeper dreams about sailing away with the White Ship to new shores. Fantastic islands, magnificent cities but he yearns to go to Cathuria, the Land of Hope. Will the first person narrator make it there? What is waiting at the end of his journey? Well written as usual you go on a magic voyage with Master Lovecraft. Very poetic and parable like. Recommended!
January 12, 2020
First published in The United Amateur (November 1919), “The White Ship” is the earliest example of Lovecraft’s Dunsanian dream fantasies, the most accomplished and developed of which is The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath.
In this story, lighthouse keeper Basil Elton dreams of a white ship that carries him to various marvelous cities, and the narrative ends with the lighthouse keeper’s rude awakening. The accounts of the cities he visits are interesting in themselves, but the structure of the tale seems to cry out for some progression of moods or symbols in these urban descriptions, and I—except for a few whispers of allegory—I have failed to detect any of that. Consequently, “The White Ship” is notable for what Lovecraft began here, not what he achieved. The story just doesn’t seem to go anywhere very important.
Here’s an excerpt, to give you a good example of Lovecraft’s early style (and the closest “The White Ship” gets to an interesting allegory):
Then came we to a pleasant coast gay with blossoms of every hue, where as far inland as we could see basked lovely groves and radiant arbours beneath a meridian sun. From bowers beyond our view came bursts of song and snatches of lyric harmony, interspersed with faint laughter so delicious that I urged the rowers onward in my eagerness to reach the scene. And the bearded man spoke no word, but watched me as we approached the lily-lined shore. Suddenly a wind blowing from over the flowery meadows and leafy woods brought a scent at which I trembled. The wind grew stronger, and the air was filled with the lethal, charnel odour of plague-stricken towns and uncovered cemeteries. And as we sailed madly away from that damnable coast the bearded man spoke at last, saying: “This is Xura, the Land of Pleasures Unattained.”
June 12, 2018
The White Ship is mostly just description of a mystical voyage on a strange ship with a strange old man, but it is interesting for the fact that it's actually a fantasy and not the typical Lovecraftian horror. A nice departure and an interesting visual trip, but not a terribly exciting story.
August 23, 2017
A man tells tale of his times in faraway dream lands and his many wondrous experiences.
This is more of a wistful fantasy tale than a horror one and influenced by Dunsany.
OVERALL GRADE: B minus.
This is more of a wistful fantasy tale than a horror one and influenced by Dunsany.
OVERALL GRADE: B minus.
August 14, 2015
A dream cycle story featuring a curious lighthouse keeper Basil Elton who boards the white ship with an unnamed bearded man. It takes him far away to the Dreamlands where nobody ages. His curiosity makes him restless and he starts another journey against the bearded man's warnings. The ship takes him back to where he boarded moments earlier only to find that his lighthouse beacon failed the first time in history.
January 4, 2019
I am a sucker for tales of the Sea. And this tale is one long, hauntingly beautiful description of a mystical voyage on a dreamlike sea. I absolutely adored it. ❤️
October 26, 2023
El relato corto de un sueño largo. Nuestro protagonista se embarca en un viaje onírico rumbo a tierras fantásticas. Las descripciones de esos lugares son voluptuosas y llenas de detalles.
Me gusta más Lovecraft en sus cuentos de terror, pero disfrute mucho de la nave blanca y de su imaginación privilegiada.
Me gusta más Lovecraft en sus cuentos de terror, pero disfrute mucho de la nave blanca y de su imaginación privilegiada.
August 12, 2023
Upon this reread I find myself amazed. I have to admit to really being a fan of earlier Lovecraft and wondering what happened to that Lovecraft? Why didn't he maintain? And why don't others appreciate early Lovecraft the way I do? It's not so much the story he's telling. It's more the way he tells it. The word choices themselves convey his power, especially his first paragraph where Lovecraft sets the table and lets his readers know they're in the capable hands of a master storyteller by the images he invokes and how he calls them into being.
I still wonder if this story is really part of his Dream Cycle. The protagonist never dreams in it. But he comes close. Take this portion from the third paragraph for instance: "Sometimes at twilight the grey vapours of the horizon have parted to grant me glimpses of the ways beyond." It's like the start of a daydream. The paragraph concludes, "for ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time." This is not the protagonist's dream, but Ocean's, personified.
Then Lovecraft tells us about the protagonist's vision of the lands the White Ship hails from.
Such a sense of loss at the conclusion, mirroring the start where fewer ships come to call at the lighthouse. Awesome stuff!
I still wonder if this story is really part of his Dream Cycle. The protagonist never dreams in it. But he comes close. Take this portion from the third paragraph for instance: "Sometimes at twilight the grey vapours of the horizon have parted to grant me glimpses of the ways beyond." It's like the start of a daydream. The paragraph concludes, "for ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time." This is not the protagonist's dream, but Ocean's, personified.
Then Lovecraft tells us about the protagonist's vision of the lands the White Ship hails from.
Such a sense of loss at the conclusion, mirroring the start where fewer ships come to call at the lighthouse. Awesome stuff!
February 26, 2012
It's odd that The White Ship, currently one of my favorite pieces from Lovecraft, does not fully adopt the Lovecraftian style of writing. Nonetheless the level of atmospheric mastery, beauty, and (for lack of better description) humanity in this story is undeniable.
August 20, 2022
Dreaming of a Voyage
13 Aug 2022 – English Channel
Okay, I’ve just come out of the Chunnel (I was going to say ‘pulled out’ but I could just imaging Beavis and Butthead snickering at that, not that I’ve ever actually watched any of their shows). It is annoying that the wifi is so patchy on this train, and honestly I have no idea if it is because of the operating system that I’m running, or if it is the train’s wifi. Anyway, the guy sitting next to me seems to be able to live stream on his phone.
This short story was sort of similar to the previous one, namely because it involved exploring an unknown world. Actually, it is about this chap named Basil Elton. that sees a white ship piloted by a man with a white beard. Also, he happens to be a lighthouse keeper, and one day he sees a beam on light going over to this ship so he decides to cross over to the ship and have an explore, which he does. It turns out that he visits these magnificent islands, of which are greater than anything to be found on Earth. However, it is one of those stories that have an interesting twist at the end.
Basically it is about how Elton gets the opportunity to go exploring, though the suggestion at the beginning is that it is something that comes out of his imagination. Mind you, this is one of those stories that questions what the difference between the imagination and reality. None of the places that Elton visits is on Earth, and there is a suggestion that he spends quite a lot of time away. However, the story ends asking the question whether this experience was all in his imagination or not.
It does raise the question about the nature of fantasy, not so much fantasy worlds, but rather the worlds or our imagination. The one of the previous stories explored the nature of dreams, but Lovecraft seems to go further with this one and starts to explore the nature of imagination, and how the worlds of our imagination could quite possibly have the same reality and that of our dreams.
13 Aug 2022 – English Channel
Okay, I’ve just come out of the Chunnel (I was going to say ‘pulled out’ but I could just imaging Beavis and Butthead snickering at that, not that I’ve ever actually watched any of their shows). It is annoying that the wifi is so patchy on this train, and honestly I have no idea if it is because of the operating system that I’m running, or if it is the train’s wifi. Anyway, the guy sitting next to me seems to be able to live stream on his phone.
This short story was sort of similar to the previous one, namely because it involved exploring an unknown world. Actually, it is about this chap named Basil Elton. that sees a white ship piloted by a man with a white beard. Also, he happens to be a lighthouse keeper, and one day he sees a beam on light going over to this ship so he decides to cross over to the ship and have an explore, which he does. It turns out that he visits these magnificent islands, of which are greater than anything to be found on Earth. However, it is one of those stories that have an interesting twist at the end.
Basically it is about how Elton gets the opportunity to go exploring, though the suggestion at the beginning is that it is something that comes out of his imagination. Mind you, this is one of those stories that questions what the difference between the imagination and reality. None of the places that Elton visits is on Earth, and there is a suggestion that he spends quite a lot of time away. However, the story ends asking the question whether this experience was all in his imagination or not.
It does raise the question about the nature of fantasy, not so much fantasy worlds, but rather the worlds or our imagination. The one of the previous stories explored the nature of dreams, but Lovecraft seems to go further with this one and starts to explore the nature of imagination, and how the worlds of our imagination could quite possibly have the same reality and that of our dreams.
May 22, 2020
Waa, me encantó, como me gustaría embarcarme en algo semejante, y también, como me gustaría haber leído este relato en la noche, para haber soñado con Sona-nyl y todas las urbes de fantasía, ilusión, y esperanza.
El avanzar por las ciudades progresivamente se me antoja similar al andar de Dante por los infiernos, y en una parte, a la odisea de Homero.
Me gustó muchísimo el final. Y sentí mucho pena por el anciano barbudo.
El avanzar por las ciudades progresivamente se me antoja similar al andar de Dante por los infiernos, y en una parte, a la odisea de Homero.
Me gustó muchísimo el final. Y sentí mucho pena por el anciano barbudo.
September 21, 2014
You'd think that this would be a horror story, given that it's by Lovecraft, but surprisingly, it's not. Apparently he wrote a series of related "Dream Sequence" stories that are related mainly because the main plot point involves dreams. This is one of these, and I really liked it. It had touches of Dunsany and (of course) Poe and really succeeded in blending those together.
October 20, 2019
Beautiful alegory.
Man decides to follow his dreams and goes on a journey. Passing through many exotical lands,he discovers Sona-Nyl, a perfect society. Utopia.
Failing to appreciate it('cause grass is always greener on the other side),and aiming for more, his ego leads him to his final doom.
Than he wakes up and realizes, it was all just a dream. Or was it?
Man decides to follow his dreams and goes on a journey. Passing through many exotical lands,he discovers Sona-Nyl, a perfect society. Utopia.
Failing to appreciate it('cause grass is always greener on the other side),and aiming for more, his ego leads him to his final doom.
Than he wakes up and realizes, it was all just a dream. Or was it?
May 3, 2020
I'd love to read this to someone as a bedtime story one day.
September 14, 2025
Such a dreamy narrative! It's about a white ship and how it sails to lands no man could imagine. From dreams and thoughts of beauty to cities of thousand wonders and mysteries. There is so much to explore and the descriptions of them are full of wishes and longing.
Since I love Peter Pan for its dreamland I also love The White Ship for including multiple different ones. The atmosphere was so sweet and I longed to venture there too one day.
Since I love Peter Pan for its dreamland I also love The White Ship for including multiple different ones. The atmosphere was so sweet and I longed to venture there too one day.
There too were forms and fantasies more splendid than any I had ever known; the visions of young poets who died in want before the world could learn of what they had seen and dreamed.
April 20, 2021
Es un cuento parecido Al: "Ex Oblivione". Cuando vi el titulo imagine que seria algo de terror, me imagine muchas cosas, pero resulto en solo un viaje por un mágico sueño. Hermosa narración, como el cuento que mencione antes.
Un hombre llamado Basil que trabaja en un faro, aborda un nave blanca comandado por un hombre barbudo; estos son guiados por un pájaro azul, que los lleva a ciudades mágicas. Descriptas con una prosa magnifica.
Un hombre llamado Basil que trabaja en un faro, aborda un nave blanca comandado por un hombre barbudo; estos son guiados por un pájaro azul, que los lleva a ciudades mágicas. Descriptas con una prosa magnifica.
March 26, 2021
Intrigante e drammatico, breve ma molto intenso e per molti versi inquietante.
October 22, 2023
Not as big a fan of this one. Granted I was listening to this while doing some work, but it didn’t have the same suspense that some of his other stories have.
June 8, 2023
Strange Lovecraft shortstory of a lightkeeper who is vistied on moonlit nights by a mysterious White Ship which has a captain beckoning to come aboard. The lightkeeper's adventures on the white ship were disappointing.
June 24, 2013
I've been into Lovecraft for a while but just recently got into the work of Lord Dunsany. This reads more like a Dunsany tale than a Lovecraft tale but that doesn't hinder me from loving this story. If Dunsany had written this it would also be my favorite of his work, but it just so happens Lovecraft wrote it. Surely out of pure admiration and inspiration for Dunsany and theres nothing wrong with that.
August 23, 2018
I listened to this story and am currently going through the other six stories on an audiobook on youtube. I like this story because it's lucid and dreamlike and unexpected. I only wish the story could've gone on longer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZSho...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZSho...
October 30, 2018
If you like The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, then you'll probably dig this story. If you didn't like Kadath, then you probably won't get into this one either. More fantasy than horror, more dream than terror. If that's your bag then give it a read.
January 10, 2018
My first Lovecraft story, and I loved it! I definitely see some similarities in the writing of contemporary authors Stephen King, Clive Barker, and even C.S. Lewis. I'm excited to dig into more of his writing!
June 5, 2019
It is a pretty poignant story about the consequences of never being content with what you have, but done in a way which can only be achieved by H.P. Lovecraft.
June 20, 2021
Para mí, Lovecraft es siempre una apuesta segura cuando busco viajar con la mente a sitios a los que es imposible viajar con el cuerpo.
October 11, 2019
H.P. Lovecraft writes a short story from the perspective of lighthouse keeper Basil Elton who joins an unnamed bearded man aboard a ship, at moonlight, to follow an azure bird to explore a mystical world of islands, with the final destination to The Land of Hope. A surprise cliffhanger ending complicates the plot's conclusion, and its usage invites multiple readings to understand the story. While some readers might be overwhelmed by the story's century-old vocabulary, other readers seeking a slowly unfolding horror story about the mysteries of dreams and the danger of aspirations should be entertained.
May 9, 2021
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Wh...
This is the second Dream Cycle story; second in Weird Tales after The Cats of Ulthar and second chronologically after Polaris.
The narrator of the story, Basil Elton, gets a mention by Randolph Carter in the later Dreamlands story The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, as a fellow-dreamer of earth—a lighthouse keeper in ancient Kingsport. We're not told his lighthouse is in Kingsport in this story, so you could say that his location is later retrofitted to the growing Cthulhu Mythos world.
https://www.tor.com/2015/07/14/the-dr...
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Wh...
This is the second Dream Cycle story; second in Weird Tales after The Cats of Ulthar and second chronologically after Polaris.
The narrator of the story, Basil Elton, gets a mention by Randolph Carter in the later Dreamlands story The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, as a fellow-dreamer of earth—a lighthouse keeper in ancient Kingsport. We're not told his lighthouse is in Kingsport in this story, so you could say that his location is later retrofitted to the growing Cthulhu Mythos world.
https://www.tor.com/2015/07/14/the-dr...
January 4, 2025
Following on from Polaris, The White Ship both serves as world building to the Dream Cycle series whilst also being a fairly deep, thought-provoking standalone tale, especially for the low world count.
August 16, 2021
Very poetic.
October 3, 2021
3.5 Stars
rounded up to 4 Stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews