The Ghost-Eater

by C.M. Eddy Jr.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Lovecraftian, Fiction

12 pages, Unknown Binding

First published April 1, 1924

About the author

Clifford Martin Eddy Jr. was an American author known for his horror, mystery and supernatural short stories. He is best remembered for his work in Weird Tales magazine and his friendship with H.P. Lovecraft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._M._E....

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This C.M. Eddy Jr. story is one of several Eddy wrote that appeared in Weird Tales. Eddy was known to have bounced some ideas off his friend, Lovecraft, who would in turn read the story, offer comments, and maybe re-write a paragraph for Eddy. I can't be sure, of course, but the first paragraph (only) looks to me to have a touch of Lovecraft's style. Having a narrator reflecting upon a horrific experience is very much the way Lovecraft liked to start a story.

I found the story itself entertaining, the exposition crystal clear, and well, if somewhat slow, paced for our time. It was an unexceptional read, but no waste of half an hour. I enjoyed the backwoods Maine setting and the protagonist's character, though I don't quite get why he was so tight-lipped at the end.

[Forked Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

It delivers what it promises.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

1923: The Ghost-Eater (with C. M. Eddy, Jr.)

“Dazed and dream-drowsed, I crept once more behind the protecting opened door, shaken to the marrow, but now resigned to any fate known or nameless. Then into that shaft of eerie moonlight stepped the gaunt form of a great gray wolf.”



“The Ghost Eater” is arguably the 49th oldest surviving story worked on by American weird fiction author H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). It is one of his revisions and in this case the bulk of the story was written by Lovecraft’s friend C.M. Eddy. Joshi & Schultz (2001) argue that the evidence suggests that “Eddy wrote the initial draft, HPL exhaustively revised it, and then slightly revised this draft” (p. 100).

“The Ghost Eater” is an uninteresting, by-the-numbers ghost story with at least one glaring plot hole. There are no stakes as our clueless narrator is never in any real danger. The use of a werewolf, one of my favorite monsters, is wasted. I imagine Eddy saying to himself: “Oh! What’s better than a werewolf? I know! A GHOST werewolf!” How lame. I do have to admit that I didn’t hate this story. There is some pulpy fund to be had and the prose is better than Eddy’s earlier collaboration with HPL, “Ashes” (1923). I wonder if Lovecraft had more input on the writing style in this one, since he clearly had nothing to do with the plot. It’s a shame that “The Ghost-Eater” is not better, since the dark woods of Maine is a wonderful setting for a weird tale.

As a side note, “The Ghost-Eater” is one of only two stories that Lovecraft worked on that is set in Maine. The other is The Thing On the Doorstep (1933). I find this surprising; as someone born and raised in Vacationland, I can say that the dark woods and backwoods culture of Maine makes it a perfect place for horror stories. Author Stephen King has made great use of his home state in dozens of books. Lovecraft set many of his stories in other parts of New England, so why not Maine?




I spoke about the Maine question with the person who is about as close to being the expert on HPL’s travels there is, Donovan K. Loucks (personal communication, August, 2013). Lovecraft may just not have been very familiar with Maine. Loucks stated that as far as records indicate, the only place in Maine that HPL visited was the town of Kittery, despite the HPL’s love for traveling. Lovecraft was not a recluse. According to the H.P. Lovecraft Archive (2022), monitored by Loucks, we know from letters, essays and photographs that the author visited many part of New England, and “his travels took him as far south as De Land, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana; as far west as Cleveland, Ohio; as far north as Quebec, Canada; and out to the island of Nantucket for a week.” One reason that HPL may not have spent much time in Maine was lack of transportation options. Lovecraft spent most of his adult life in dire poverty and this was long before the interstate highway system was developed. Traveling around the wilds of Maine may have been too difficult and expensive for him. Additionally, HPL was mostly interested in cities and towns, and Maine has always been the most rural of New England states.

Lovecraft revised two other stories for Eddy: “The Loved Dead” and “Deaf, Dumb, and Blind.”

Title: “The Ghost-Eater”
Author: H.P. Lovecraft
Dates: October 1923 (written), April 1924 (first published)
Genre: Fiction - Short story, horror
Word count: 3,874 words
Date(s) read: 3/9/22-3/10/22
Reading journal entry #89 in 2022

Sources:
Link to the story: https://hplovecraft.com/writings/fict...

First publication citation: Weird Tales vol. 3, no. 4 (April 1924): 72–75.

Joshi, S. T., & Schultz, D. E. (2001). An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press.
https://www.hplovecraft.com/life/myth...

First image is Pack (2020) by Aimee Cozza. See her remarkable artwork here: https://www.aimeecozza.com/

Second image is of Wood Island Lighthouse | Saco Bay, Maine: https://greyhavens.com/blog/haunted-p...

[Oleksandr Fediienko · Rating 3 out of 5]

В оповідача призначена зустріч у Ґлендейлі наступного дня по обіді. Встигнути він може, тільки скориставшись малоходженою дорогою через ліс. Дорогою він потрапляє під зливу і змушений шукати притулку в доречно розташованому будинку. Господар з дивним відблиском в очах дозволяє йому переночувати, але подорожній вирішує не ризикувати і не лягає спати. Вночі в його кімнату входить привид, лягає в ліжко, а потім вбігає вовк і починає жерти привида. Подорожній тікає з будинку і, діставшись в Ґлендейл, наче нічого не трапилось, розпитує у місцевого чоловіка, чому всі так бояться лісової дороги.

[Per · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/...

Another story by C. M. Eddy, Jr. edited by Lovecraft, slightly better than Ashes but not by much.

[Tristan Bates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely demonstrates other elements of Weird Tales Authors’, such as Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock. This makes it worth it to read, but I didn’t enjoy this story nearly as much as I was hoping for due to narrative influences.

[Maria's Rinconcito Oscuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

😃😃😃 3 🌟
Cuento corto del maestro HP Lovecraft. Como siempre exelentes descripciones del bosque la noche la tormenta y la muerte. Un joven q se interna en un bosque y presencia una tragedia paranormal del pasado.🐺🐺🐺

[♱ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was... alright. Protagonist is kind of infuriating. Asking villagers to be his guide in a forest and wondering why no one is accepting. Acting nonchalant after being told the story of the schizo vision he just had the night prior. You're not tough

[Lukas · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I thought of semblance to other work of Lovecraft “The Picture on the Wall”, however, this took a different turn altogether. Very interesting and quite satisfying mysterious werewolf story. Was it shards of distant past or merely apparitions of a weak mind?

[Станислав · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. Оборотень
2. Призрак.
3. Нигилист.
Это страшно по отдельности, так ещё и всё вместе.
А ещё
4. Эмигрант.

[Joe Styles · Rating 4 out of 5]

spoooooky

[André Sousa · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10 - Short Story.

[laurel · Rating 2 out of 5]

edited by his friend lovecraft. ghost story meets dracula lore

[William Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The atmosphere and ending of this one. Delectable

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[Dimitra P · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short and sweet ghost story.

(Audiobook)