"The Colour Out of Space" is a short story by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in March 1927 and initially published in Amazing Stories in September 1927, it became one of his most anthologized works. This article is in need of attention. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle or horrify the reader. ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ... See also: 1926 in literature, other events of 1927, 1928 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Amazing Stories magazine, sometimes retitled Amazing Science Fiction, began in April 1926, becoming the first science fiction magazine and one of the pioneers of science fiction in the United States. ...

Synopsis

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The Colour Out of Space

"The Colour Out of Space" is a first-person narrative written from the perspective of an unnamed surveyor from Boston. In order to prepare for the construction of a new reservoir in Massachusetts, he surveys a rural area that is to be flooded near Lovecraft's fictional town of Arkham. He comes across a mysterious patch of land, an abandoned five-acre farmstead, which is completely devoid of all life. At the centre of the farmstead is an old well. The site fills him with an unnatural sense of dread, and he hurries past it. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... Wikisource – The Free Library – is a Wikimedia project to build a free, wiki library of source texts, along with translations into any language and other supporting materials. ... First-person narrative is a literary technique in which the story is narrated by one or more of the characters, who explicitly refers to him or herself in the first person, that is, I. The narrator is thus directly or indirectly involved in the story being told. ... Surveying is concerned with the application of mathematics and physics in obtaining accurate measurements for the determination of the position of points on the Earths surface. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... Arkham is a fictional city in Massachusetts. ...

When he returns to Arkham, the surveyor asks around for information regarding the waste. He learns of an elderly hermit, Ammi Pierce, and asks him about the "blasted heath". The hermit tells him a horrific tale. Onuphrius lived as a hermit in the desert of Upper Egypt in the late 4th century A hermit (from the Greek erēmos, signifying desert, uninhabited, hence desert-dweller) is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion and/or isolation from society. ...

In the early 1880s, the farm had been productive, run by a Nahum Gardner and his family. Then, one afternoon in June 1882, a large meteorite crashed into the farm, beside the well. It was metallic and contained a substance of an indescribable colour, that proved toxic. While scientists were never able to tell what (or who) the meteor contained, its effects were undeniable--the entire Gardner family was struck by insanity, illness, and worse as the land around them was slowly drained of life. // Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... A meteorite is an extraterrestrial body that survives its impact with the Earths surface without being destroyed. ...

Characters

Nahum Gardner

Nahum is one of the minor prophets in the Old Testament; S. T. Joshi suggests Lovecraft chose the name to evoke "backwoods rusticity". There a town named Gardner in north-central Massachusetts near Athol, one of the models for Lovecraft's Dunwich.^[1] // Overview Nahum was a minor prophet whose prophecy is recorded in the Jewish scriptures and in the Christian Old Testament. ... A minor prophet is a book in Minor Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible also known to Christians as the Old Testament. ... NOTE: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh, but not Old Testament, because it does not recognize the New Testament as a continuation or completion of the Jewish bible. ... Dunwich (IPA: ) is a town in the county of Suffolk in England, the remnant of what was once a prosperous seaport and centre of the wool trade during the early middle ages, with a natural harbour formed by the mouths of the River Blyth and the River Dunwich. ...

Ammi Pierce

A close friend and neighbor of the Gardners, he is the narrator's main informant on what happened to the family. In his 80s as the story begins, he is described by the narrator as "not so feeble as I had expected, but his eyes drooped in a curious way, and his unkempt clothing and white beard made him seem very worn and dismal.... He was far brighter and better educated than I had been led to think."^[2]

The narrator later notes:

It was really lucky for Ammi that he was not more imaginative. Even as things were, his mind was bent ever so slightly, but had he been able to connect and reflect upon all the portents around him he must inevitably have turned a total maniac.^[3]

This recalls the famous beginning of Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu": "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." ^[4] Cover for a reprint of The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories. ...

In the Bible, Ben-Ammi is one of the offspring of Lot's incestuous pairings with his daughters. Robert M. Price points out parallels between the story of Lot and "The Colour Out of Space", including the fact that Pierce "has never been quite right since" he looked back while fleeing from the Gardner farmstead.^[5] For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... Ammon or Ammonites (עַמּוֹן People, Standard Hebrew ʻAmmon, Tiberian Hebrew ʻAmmôn), also referred to in the Bible as the children of Ammon, were a people living east of the Jordan river, who along with the Moabites traced their origin to Lot, the nephew of the patriarch Abraham, and who were... Lot and his Daughters, Hendrik Goltzius, 1616. ...

Significance

Lovecraft considered this to be the best of all his stories.^[6] One possible explanation is that some personal viewpoints are summed up in it. As detailed by biographer L. Sprague de Camp, Lovecraft was disgusted by the popular portrayal of aliens by science fiction writers of his time, primarily because they seemed so human. L. Sprague de Camp from the cover of Time and Chance: an Autobiography, Donald M. Grant, 1996 Lyon Sprague de Camp, (November 27, 1907, New York City – November 6, 2000, Plano, Texas) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... This is a list of aliens that have appeared in various works of fiction featuring aliens. ...

In "Colour", the alien presence is unknowable, not just to the characters, but to the reader as well. If this lifeform has any motives, goals, background, etc., they are never revealed. In fact, it is never definitively established that the alien lifeform even possesses intelligence.

Connection to other Lovecraft stories

• The story is set near the town of Arkham, whose water needs the planned reservoir is intended to meet. The scientists who investigate the meteorite come from Miskatonic University.

• The phosphoresence of the Gardner farm's vegetation is first noticed by "a timid woodmill salesman from Bolton"--the place where Herbert West did some of his earliest experiments, and the hometown of the narrator of "The Rats in the Walls".

Arkham is a fictional city in Massachusetts. ... Gelmersee is a reservoir in Switzerland. ... Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in the equally fictitious Arkham, Massachusetts. ... Herbert West is a fictional character created by H.P. Lovecraft for his short story Herbert West—Reanimator, first published in 1922. ... This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ...

Inspiration

While the reservoir in the story is presumed to be based on the Quabbin Reservoir, Will Murray says that Lovecraft was actually inspired by the Scituate Reservoir in western Rhode Island. Murray cites an unpublished letter in which Lovecraft mentions a trip he took "through the doomed Swift River Valley" shortly before the Quabbin Reservoir was built. The journey reminded Lovecraft of the sadness he felt over the Scituate Reservoir project, "where a vast amount of territory was flooded in 1926 [and] which caused me to use the reservoir element in 'The Colour Out of Space'."^[7] The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest body of water in the state of Massachusetts, created between 1930 and 1940. ... For the radio personality, see Will Murray. ... Location of Scituate, Rhode Island. ... Official language(s) None Capital Providence Largest city Providence Area  Ranked 50th  - Total 1,214* sq mi (3,144* km²)  - Width 37 miles (60 km)  - Length 48 miles (77 km)  - % water 32. ... The Quabbin Valley is a region of Massachusetts. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Murray also cites paranormal investigator Charles Fort, and the "thunderstones" he describes in The Book of the Damned--lightning-drawing rocks that may have fallen from the sky--as possible inspirations for the behaviour of the meteorite.^[8] Charles Fort, 1920 Charles Hoy Fort (6 August 1874 - 3 May 1932) was an American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena. ... The Book of the Damned - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

The idea of a colour from outside the normal spectrum has been traced to various sources. S. T. Joshi notes that Lovecraft read Hugh Elliott's Modern Science and Materialism (1919), a nonfiction book that talks of our "extremely limited" senses, such that of the many "aethereal waves" striking our eyes, "the majority cannot be perceived by the retina at all.... If they are more rapid than the higher limit (as in the case of ultra-violet rays) they are not discernible by any sense at all."^[9] Sunanda Tryambak Joshi (b. ...

Joshi also points to a passage from Ambrose Bierce's short story "The Damned Thing" (1893): Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842–1914?) was an American satirist, critic, poet, short story (horror) writer, editor, and journalist. ...

At each end of the solar spectrum the chemist can detect the presence of what are known as "actinic" rays. They represent colors--integral colors in the composition of light--which we are unable to discern. The human eye is an imperfect instrument; its range is but a few octaves of the real "chromatic scale." I am not mad; there are colors that we cannot see.

And, God help me! the Damned Thing is of such a color!^[10]

Robert M. Price has pointed to a passage in Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Gods of Mars describing the gems of Barsoom: "[W]here are the words to describe the glorious colours that are unknown to earthly eyes? where the mind or imagination that can grasp the gorgeous scintillations of unheard-of rays as they emanate from the thousand nameless jewels of Barsoom?"^[11] Robert McNair Price was born July 7, 1954 in Mississippi and is a Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies. ... Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan, although he also produced works in many genres. ... The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, McClurg, 1918 The Gods of Mars is a 1918 Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the second of his famous Barsoom series. ... In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs, now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan, began his writing career with A Princess of Mars, a rousing tale of pulp adventure on the planet Barsoom or Mars. ...

Wherever Lovecraft came up with the idea, he had used it before in his fiction, notably in "From Beyond" (1920), where the narrator mentions a "pale, outre colour or blend of colours which I could neither place nor describe"--which turns out to be ultraviolet. From Beyond was an album of Push under the label of Lightning Records launched in 2002. ...

The description of the crumbling fate of the Gardner family may owe a debt to Arthur Machen's "The Novel of the White Powder" (1895), which depicts the victim of a strange drug: Arthur Machen (March 3, 1863 – December 15th, 1947) was a leading Welsh-born author of the 1890s. ... The Three Impostors is a episodic novel by British horror fiction writer Arthur Machen, first published in 1895. ...

There upon the floor was a dark and putrid mass, seething with corruption and hideous rottenness, neither liquid nor solid, but melting and changing before our eyes, and bubbling with unctuous bubbles like boiling pitch. And out of the midst of it shone two burning points like eyes, and I saw a writhing and stirring as of limbs, and something moved and lifted up what might have been an arm.^[12]

An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia suggests a possible inspiration closer to home for Lovecraft: His mother, in her mental illness, reportedly claimed to see "weird and fantastic creatures that rushed out from behind buildings and from corners at dark."^[13] Mental illness (or emotional disability, cognitive dysfunction) is a broad generic label for a category of illnesses that may include affective or emotional instability, behavioral dysregulation, and/or cognitive dysfunction or impairment. ...

Adaptations

• The 1965 film Die, Monster, Die!, with Boris Karloff, was based on the story.

• Another film adaptation--The Curse, starring Wil Wheaton--was made in 1987.

• The Doctor Who serial Planet of Evil has strong resemblances to this story.

• The movie The Blob has resemblances to this story.

// Events Top grossing films North America Mary Poppins The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews Goldfinger My Fair Lady Whats New Pussycat? Shenandoah The Sandpiper Father Goose Academy Awards Best Picture: The Sound of Music - Argyle, Twentieth Century-Fox Best Actor: Lee Marvin - Cat Ballou Best Actress: Julie Christie... Boris Karloff. ... Wil Wheaton (2001) Richard William Wil Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972 in Burbank, California) is a writer, actor, and geek icon. ... See also: 1986 in film, other events of 1987, 1988 in film, list of years in film. // Events May 9 - Actor Tom Cruise marries actress Mimi Rogers. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ... Planet of Evil is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 27 to October 18, 1975. ...

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Colour Out of Space

• Lovecraft, Howard P. [1927] (1984). “The Colour Out of Space”, S. T. Joshi (ed.) The Dunwich Horror and Others, 9th corrected printing, Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-870-54037-8. Definitive version.

• Lovecraft, Howard P. [1927] (1997). “The Colour Out of Space”, S. T. Joshi (ed.) The Annotated Lovecraft. New York: Dell. ISBN 0-440-50660-3. Annotated edition.

• Murray, Will [1986] (1999). “In Search of Arkham Country I”, James Van Hise (ed.) The Fantastic Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft, 1st ed., Yucca Valley, CA: James Van Hise.

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... Wikisource – The Free Library – is a Wikimedia project to build a free, wiki library of source texts, along with translations into any language and other supporting materials. ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ...

Notes

1. ^ S. T. Joshi, The Annotated Lovecraft, p. 65.
2. ^ H. P. Lovecraft, "The Colour Out of Space", The Dunwich Horror and Others, p. 56.
3. ^ Lovecraft, "The Colour Out of Space", pp. 67-68.
4. ^ H. P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu", The Dunwich Horror and Others, p. 125.
5. ^ Robert M. Price, "A Biblical Antecedent for 'The Colour Out of Space'", Lovecraft Studies No. 25 (Fall 1991), pp. 23-25, cited in Joshi, pp. 59, 96-97.
6. ^ S. T. Joshi, The Annotated Lovecraft, p. 57.
7. ^ H. P. Lovecraft, letter to Richard Ely Morse, October 13, 1935; cited in Will Murray, "In Search of Arkham Country I", The Fantastic Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft, p. 100.
8. ^ Will Murray, "Sources for 'The Colour Out of Space'", Crypt of Cthulhu No. 28 (Yuletide 1984), pp. 3-5; cited in S. T. Joshi, Annotated Lovecraft, p. 70.
9. ^ S. T. Joshi, "The Sources for 'From Beyond'", Black Forbidden Things, p. 20.
10. ^ Joshi, Annotated Lovecraft, p. 69.
11. ^ Robert M. Price, "Randolph Carter, Warlord of Mars", Black Forbidden Things, p. 68.
12. ^ Cited in Joshi, Annotated Lovecraft, pp. 83-84.
13. ^ S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, "Colour out of Space, The", An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia, p. 42.