Opening Statement:
High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mount whose sides are wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, stands the old chateau of my ancestors.What in Brown Jenkin's Name..?
In the last 600 years, Count Antoine's ancestors have all died at the age of 32. The Count works to defeat the mysterious curse as his 32nd birthday approaches.Synopsis:
The narrator, Count Antoine, describes his isolated childhood in a now-fallen castle. He learns that all of the previous Counts in his ancestral line had died at the premature age of 32. On Antoine’s 21st birthday, he learns that, 600 years prior, an ancestor of his had mistakenly killed a somewhat infamous wizard. The murdered wizard’s son, Charles Le Sorcier, immediately uttered a curse, damning all of the Count’s descendants to die at age 32 (then the age of the offending Count). This curse had then mysteriously been fulfilled through various accidents and unseen attacks over the centuries.
As Antoine’s "expiration date" approaches, he explores the more abandoned areas of his ancestral chateau, and discovers a hidden underground chamber. The ancient door opens and a medievally-dressed stranger appears, who proceeds to describe the secret history of Charles Le Sorcier and his curse on Antoine’s line. When the stranger tries to murder Antoine, Antoine sets him on fire. Later, the burnt, dying stranger proclaims himself to be Charles Le Sorcier himself, his life extended over 600 years through alchemical means.
From Dr. Armitage's Notes:
The Horrible Conclusion:
Written a few years after The Beast In The Cave, this fable-like short story shifts towards Gothic historical fiction, incorporating a royal curse, a lonely castle, and nefarious black-bearded wizards. Lovecraft also begins to display his interest in architectural structures here, especially decrepit, haunted or abandoned ones. In an interesting parallel, the "beast" in the previous story had long white hair, whereas the ancient wizard in this tale has long black hair (probably to signal the effectiveness of the magic serum).
- First sorcerer/wizard.
- First ruined house.
The Horrible Conclusion:
"I tell you, it is I! I! I! that have lived for six hundred years to maintain my revenge, FOR I AM CHARLES LE SORCIER!"Read it here.
Follow'd by "The Tomb".
