Can Such Things Be? · Chapter
The Spook House explained
Colonel J.
What happens
Colonel J. C. McArdle and Judge Myron Veigh seek shelter at a deserted Kentucky plantation known as the 'Spook House' during a storm. Upon entering, they discover a hidden room filled with decaying corpses. McArdle, horrified, tries to leave but finds himself trapped in a supernatural space. He later escapes, but Judge Veigh disappears without a trace. McArdle's story is disbelieved, and the mystery of the vanished family and the house's dark secrets remains unsolved.
Themes in this chapter
Death and the Supernatural
The hidden room filled with decaying corpses and the mysterious disappearance of the family and Judge Veigh evoke a supernatural horror centered on death.
Isolation and Terror
The abandoned house, the sudden silence and darkness, and McArdle's solitary horror upon discovering the corpses create a profound sense of isolation and terror.
The Uncanny and the Grotesque
The grotesque description of the corpses in various stages of decay and the uncanny transition from storm to silent darkness contribute to the story's unsettling atmosphere.
Characters to notice
- Col. J. C. McArdle
Narrator and protagonist; a lawyer from Frankfort who enters the Spook House with Judge Veigh and later recounts the horrifying discovery.
- Judge Veigh
Companion of McArdle; enters the hidden room and disappears after McArdle escapes, never to be found.
Key passages
“While I stood stupefied with horror by this ghastly spectacle and still holding open the door, by some unaccountable perversity my attention was diverted from the shocking scene and concerned itself with trifles and details.”
As I stood frozen in horror, my mind oddly focused on minor details like the door's bolts instead of the terrifying scene before me.
McArdle describes his mind's instinct to seek relief from the horror by fixating on trivial matters.
“He gave no heed to my entreaties, but (as fearless a gentleman as lived in all the South) walked quickly to the center of the room, knelt beside one of the bodies for a closer examination and tenderly raised its blackened and shriveled head in his hands.”
Ignoring my pleas, Judge Veigh bravely entered the room and gently lifted the decayed head of one of the corpses.
Judge Veigh's fearless and compassionate action contrasts with McArdle's terror.
“No one believed a word of my story, and who can wonder? And who can imagine my grief when, arriving at my home in Frankfort two months later, I learned that Judge Veigh had never been heard of since that night?”
My story was dismissed by everyone, and I was devastated to discover upon returning home that Judge Veigh had vanished without a trace.
McArdle reflects on the disbelief he faced and the tragic fate of his companion.