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The Nameless Offspring
It is that spawn which the hidden dweller in the vaults has begotten upon mortality
12 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1932
1 person is currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Clark Ashton Smith
724 books1,013 followersClark Ashton Smith was a poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. It is for these stories, and his literary friendship with H. P. Lovecraft from 1922 until Lovecraft's death in 1937, that he is mainly remembered today. With Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, also a friend and correspondent, Smith remains one of the most famous contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales.
His writings are posted at his official website.
His writings are posted at his official website.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 9, 2020
"El quebrado reflejo de sus sobrenaturales horrores ha dispersado en perspectiva los sucesos de mi vida cotidiana, los ha hecho parecer no más que frágiles telarañas en los oscuros bordes de algún vasto abismo azotado por incesantes vientos, o de alguna cripta entreabierta en cuyo interior se ocultan, supurantes, las más negras corrupciones de la Tierra"
3.5*
lady Agatha, es dada por muerta y enterrada en la cripta familiar. Tras despertar en su ataúd y ser rescatada , narra una serie de acontecimientos inquietantes:
Según sus palabras cuando yacía en la tumba fue visitada por un ser semihumano, muy alto de un pálido y horrible rostro. El ser había desaparecido justo antes de la aproximación de sir John, cuando acudió tras oír los gritos, huyendo velozmente que había corrido en cuatro patas como un animal, aun cuando sus miembros parecían humanos.
Lady Agatha nunca se recupero de lo sucedido y Nueve meses después fallece tras dar a luz a una criatura monstruosa .
El ser es encerrado en una habitación de la mansión Tremoth, aislado,bajo el custodio del propio Sir john. Luego de 28 años, Sir John se encuentra muy enfermo y deteriorado, dando su últimos coletazos, mientras que el ser esta habido de saciar su hambre, su naturaleza necrófaga.
"No, no podía ser. Aquí, precisamente en Inglaterra, aquel demonio devorador de cadáveres de los relatos y leyendas orientales...
a pesar de permanecer con los ojos cerrados en la oscuridad, no conseguía alejar aquellas perversas sombras, aquellas negras y sepulcrales larvas que caían en enjambres sobre mí desde la vieja mansión. Prohibidos seres cuya existencia no puede ser consentida me asediaban con sus inmundas garras, me rozaban en su nauseabundo agitarse, mientras yo me retorcía durante horas eternas y yacía contemplando el gris rectángulo de la ventana oscurecida por la tormenta. El incesante gotear de la lluvia, el agudo lamentarse y gemir del viento, se transformaban en espantosos murmullos que conspiraban contra mi tranquilidad y susurraban innombrables secretos en un lenguaje demoníaco"
3.5*
lady Agatha, es dada por muerta y enterrada en la cripta familiar. Tras despertar en su ataúd y ser rescatada , narra una serie de acontecimientos inquietantes:
Según sus palabras cuando yacía en la tumba fue visitada por un ser semihumano, muy alto de un pálido y horrible rostro. El ser había desaparecido justo antes de la aproximación de sir John, cuando acudió tras oír los gritos, huyendo velozmente que había corrido en cuatro patas como un animal, aun cuando sus miembros parecían humanos.
Lady Agatha nunca se recupero de lo sucedido y Nueve meses después fallece tras dar a luz a una criatura monstruosa .
El ser es encerrado en una habitación de la mansión Tremoth, aislado,bajo el custodio del propio Sir john. Luego de 28 años, Sir John se encuentra muy enfermo y deteriorado, dando su últimos coletazos, mientras que el ser esta habido de saciar su hambre, su naturaleza necrófaga.
"No, no podía ser. Aquí, precisamente en Inglaterra, aquel demonio devorador de cadáveres de los relatos y leyendas orientales...
a pesar de permanecer con los ojos cerrados en la oscuridad, no conseguía alejar aquellas perversas sombras, aquellas negras y sepulcrales larvas que caían en enjambres sobre mí desde la vieja mansión. Prohibidos seres cuya existencia no puede ser consentida me asediaban con sus inmundas garras, me rozaban en su nauseabundo agitarse, mientras yo me retorcía durante horas eternas y yacía contemplando el gris rectángulo de la ventana oscurecida por la tormenta. El incesante gotear de la lluvia, el agudo lamentarse y gemir del viento, se transformaban en espantosos murmullos que conspiraban contra mi tranquilidad y susurraban innombrables secretos en un lenguaje demoníaco"
February 9, 2024
Nearly thirty years ago, the lady of the manor was prematurely interred in the Family vaults excavated in the hill behind their english estate. Before she came to, a corpse-eating ghoul dwelling inside found her and raped her. Nine months later, she perished birthing a ghoul-human hybrid. Agatha's husband, John Tremoth, locked the child away in the room next to his own and fired all but one servant, Harper, choosing the life as a recluse.
Our main protagonist, Henry is the sone of a close family friend and is visiting John (now an old man), finding shelter for the night (John has angina-pectoris and could die any moment), also there's a loud beastial scratching and howling from a MYSTERIOUS SEALED ROOM.
Next day Arthur died in his sleep. Also, the only butler says theres a "hybrid" and it is trying claw through the walls of its containment to get at the fresh corpse flesh. And they only have two rusted old revolvers that -might- work.
(Not revealing the ending.
Here's a hint: ghoul breaks through the wall.
The wall it has been scratching at for the entire story.)
Ultimately, like the author, it owes a lot to Poe and early Lovecraft and is not badly written but cannot be said to be unique. In a 1931 letter to H. P. Lovecraft, Smith credits "The Great God Pan" for the inspiration behind his story about a monster-human hybrid. The parallels between the two are obvious. "
For ratings, as a rule I don't give five stars to any horror protagonist if they're an idiot. (For clarify: some horror movies I end up rooting for the monster because the protagonists are, well, too dumb to live. I like being on the winning side.) It’s a Cthulhu Mythos tale only by virtue of an opening epigraph from the Necronomicon. Also, why give the entire backstory of what happened in the beginning? Any suspense you're trying to build is gone.
Still, it'd make a fun premise and the setup is well enough done for horror video-game, or an escape room.
Our main protagonist, Henry is the sone of a close family friend and is visiting John (now an old man), finding shelter for the night (John has angina-pectoris and could die any moment), also there's a loud beastial scratching and howling from a MYSTERIOUS SEALED ROOM.
Next day Arthur died in his sleep. Also, the only butler says theres a "hybrid" and it is trying claw through the walls of its containment to get at the fresh corpse flesh. And they only have two rusted old revolvers that -might- work.
(Not revealing the ending.
Here's a hint: ghoul breaks through the wall.
The wall it has been scratching at for the entire story.)
Ultimately, like the author, it owes a lot to Poe and early Lovecraft and is not badly written but cannot be said to be unique. In a 1931 letter to H. P. Lovecraft, Smith credits "The Great God Pan" for the inspiration behind his story about a monster-human hybrid. The parallels between the two are obvious. "
For ratings, as a rule I don't give five stars to any horror protagonist if they're an idiot. (For clarify: some horror movies I end up rooting for the monster because the protagonists are, well, too dumb to live. I like being on the winning side.) It’s a Cthulhu Mythos tale only by virtue of an opening epigraph from the Necronomicon. Also, why give the entire backstory of what happened in the beginning? Any suspense you're trying to build is gone.
Still, it'd make a fun premise and the setup is well enough done for horror video-game, or an escape room.
March 16, 2018
A fairly run-of-the-mill pulp story of ghouls and an English country house on a damp isolated moorland with a rather grim back story of necrophilia and catalepsy. It owes a lot to Poe and early Lovecraft and is mostly not badly written but cannot be said to be inspiring.
June 21, 2021
Clarke Ashton Smith is of course Mythos and weird tale royalty, and although not one of his best, this little chicken still delivers.
We have some lovely Poe-esque premature burial, some Lovecraftian Ghouls who are quite frankly FAR to fond of the dead and the beautiful BEAUTIFUL writing style that is the hallmark of the weird tales from the 20-30’s.
Is there anything more aesthetically pleasing to my soul than the melodramatic purple prose in this story?? No no I think not.
Evilly spawned locked up children fun!!!
We have some lovely Poe-esque premature burial, some Lovecraftian Ghouls who are quite frankly FAR to fond of the dead and the beautiful BEAUTIFUL writing style that is the hallmark of the weird tales from the 20-30’s.
Is there anything more aesthetically pleasing to my soul than the melodramatic purple prose in this story?? No no I think not.
Evilly spawned locked up children fun!!!
December 30, 2015
This, by now, is a familiar old tale of the hideous relative locked away in the house. The more familiar image is of the nutter in the attic. I'm not sure where the first example of this type comes from - it would be interesting to know. Regardless Smith's tale is a fine example, not overly long, but very satisfying in its gruesome and moody prose. It's a very fine read completed in less than a couple of hours.
February 28, 2026
Clark Ashton Smith has become my new go-to for old, weird, pulpy stories that seem to scratch my itch for this sort of thing. An associate of H.P.L, Smith was frequently published in Weird Tales and now his works can be found freely reprinted across the Internet. This easy access of the written word is one of the wonders of modern life, alongside central heat and air and the washing machine.
In this 1932 story, a young woman is accidentally entombed while still living, and she awakens to find that she's been "discovered" by some ghoulish pale humanoid that apparently lives in the tunnels beneath the family vault. (My use of "discovered" is, of course, euphemistic. What else would an underground ghoul want to do with an accidentally entombed woman but have his way with her?)
Nine months later (or ten, if women were keeping count), a baby is born, the wife dies (probably from the combined trauma of it all), and the child is locked away for life, presumably because no one could stand to look at it.
"The exact nature of its abnormality was not known, though frightful and divergent rumors had purported to emanate from the doctor, nurses and servants who had seen it. Some of the latter had left Tremoth Hall and had refused to reture, after a single glimpse of the monstrosity."
Poor thing. It didn't even get a name.
Fast forward about three decades, and a family friend is stranded in the countryside and decides to pay a visit. The aged stepdad and an old servant are all that remain, as well as the offspring, locked up in a bedroom for all its life. The stepdad confesses bad health, and states that he doesn't think he'll live out the night. He asks his old friend to promise to burn his body, rather than bury it.
"Maybe you'll think me queer, but I have a fixed prejudice against burial or vault interment. I want my remains to be thoroughly cremated, and have left careful directions to that end…"
Ya think?
Anyhow, events pass as predicted, the stepdad croaks, the offspring busts out, and . . . it all seems to resolve into a happy ending for the kid.
Read for free here:
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...
In this 1932 story, a young woman is accidentally entombed while still living, and she awakens to find that she's been "discovered" by some ghoulish pale humanoid that apparently lives in the tunnels beneath the family vault. (My use of "discovered" is, of course, euphemistic. What else would an underground ghoul want to do with an accidentally entombed woman but have his way with her?)
Nine months later (or ten, if women were keeping count), a baby is born, the wife dies (probably from the combined trauma of it all), and the child is locked away for life, presumably because no one could stand to look at it.
"The exact nature of its abnormality was not known, though frightful and divergent rumors had purported to emanate from the doctor, nurses and servants who had seen it. Some of the latter had left Tremoth Hall and had refused to reture, after a single glimpse of the monstrosity."
Poor thing. It didn't even get a name.
Fast forward about three decades, and a family friend is stranded in the countryside and decides to pay a visit. The aged stepdad and an old servant are all that remain, as well as the offspring, locked up in a bedroom for all its life. The stepdad confesses bad health, and states that he doesn't think he'll live out the night. He asks his old friend to promise to burn his body, rather than bury it.
"Maybe you'll think me queer, but I have a fixed prejudice against burial or vault interment. I want my remains to be thoroughly cremated, and have left careful directions to that end…"
Ya think?
Anyhow, events pass as predicted, the stepdad croaks, the offspring busts out, and . . . it all seems to resolve into a happy ending for the kid.
Read for free here:
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...
August 8, 2017
Reading a few pulpy weird fiction short stories to get back into the reading groove. This is the first of many I've been gathering up from here there and everywhere
April 24, 2016
One of Smith's Cthulhu-Mythos stories.
It starts with the rather overused trope of a man returning to his ancestral home. There he learns of a tragedy that happened years before. A friend of his father's had a wife who suffered from catalepsy. She was thought dead and placed in the family tomb but one night she was found sitting alive in her coffin with the lid open. It remains mysterious how she managed to open the lid and she was too shocked to able to shed light on it. Almost a year later she died after giving birth to a child who was apparently very deformed and has been kept hidden in a barred room ever since.
Its an interesting and horrifying mix of elements that on their own would be cliche. The gothic setting has been used in countless horror stories and even in dozens of mythos stories. "The Secret Of Kralitz" by Henry Kuttner, "The Secret in the Tomb" by Robert Bloch, "The Return of Hastur" by August Derleth just to name a few. Derleth and Bloch in particular wrote like a million stories with this same exact premise. Its not that unlike another Smith story "The Return of the Sorcerer".
That said there is an interesting and exceptionally ghastly twist on the 'mythos-old-dark-house' story mixing in elements from Lovecraft (the Necronomicon is there), from E. A. Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" and Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan". The result is a rather enjoyable mythos story and surprisingly mean spirited and horrible in it's implications of supernatural rape.
It starts with the rather overused trope of a man returning to his ancestral home. There he learns of a tragedy that happened years before. A friend of his father's had a wife who suffered from catalepsy. She was thought dead and placed in the family tomb but one night she was found sitting alive in her coffin with the lid open. It remains mysterious how she managed to open the lid and she was too shocked to able to shed light on it. Almost a year later she died after giving birth to a child who was apparently very deformed and has been kept hidden in a barred room ever since.
Its an interesting and horrifying mix of elements that on their own would be cliche. The gothic setting has been used in countless horror stories and even in dozens of mythos stories. "The Secret Of Kralitz" by Henry Kuttner, "The Secret in the Tomb" by Robert Bloch, "The Return of Hastur" by August Derleth just to name a few. Derleth and Bloch in particular wrote like a million stories with this same exact premise. Its not that unlike another Smith story "The Return of the Sorcerer".
That said there is an interesting and exceptionally ghastly twist on the 'mythos-old-dark-house' story mixing in elements from Lovecraft (the Necronomicon is there), from E. A. Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" and Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan". The result is a rather enjoyable mythos story and surprisingly mean spirited and horrible in it's implications of supernatural rape.
October 30, 2024
1930s pulp. Where the child locked in a room his whole life because of 'deformity' is the monster, and the parents are the victims. There's a real sinister tinge to this, but it's not the cthulu staple of 'unhumans' living below the earth. I think this is probably my last pulp for a while.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2018
This overly convenient tale feels incomplete. Smith shoehorns it all the way.
July 19, 2021
Perfect short read for a rainy afternoon
January 19, 2022
It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anything to write home about. It's a filler for a pulp magazine
[#12 in the Cthulhu Mythos Megapack]
[#12 in the Cthulhu Mythos Megapack]
July 17, 2023
Short, but very gripping story about a hellspawn.
As usual with these sort of stories I was left wanting more, but that’s the magic of horror: Not knowing everything ;)
As usual with these sort of stories I was left wanting more, but that’s the magic of horror: Not knowing everything ;)
February 16, 2025
I came back to the story again and again to figure out what is happening exactly… I suppose this was too creative for me to understand.
July 9, 2025
solid weird tale by a master
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews