# The Climax on Sentinel Hill explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by H. P. Lovecraft.

## What happens

The Arkham men ascend Sentinel Hill to confront the invisible entity summoned by the Whateleys. Using a special powder, they render the horror visible for a moment, revealing a monstrous, amorphous being with a half-formed face. Through a ritual incantation, they banish the creature back to its extra-dimensional origin, causing a cataclysmic thunderclap and leaving the landscape scarred. Curtis Whateley, who glimpsed the entity, is traumatized by the sight of its face resembling Wizard Whateley. Dr. Armitage explains that the thing was Wilbur Whateley's twin brother, a force from outside space, now destroyed.

## Themes in this chapter

### Forbidden Knowledge and Occultism

The Arkham men use arcane spells and a special powder to combat an entity summoned by forbidden rites, highlighting the dangers of occult knowledge.

### Hereditary Curse and Fate

The entity is revealed as Wilbur Whateley's twin brother, born from the same cursed lineage, and the Whateley family's doom culminates in this confrontation.

### Horror of the Unknown

The invisible, extra-dimensional entity defies natural laws, and its brief visibility reveals a form of indescribable horror that traumatizes witnesses.

## Character check-ins

### Dr. Armitage

Leads the Arkham party up Sentinel Hill, performs the banishing ritual, and explains the nature of the entity to the natives.

### Curtis Whateley

A member of the undecayed Whateley branch; he witnesses the visible horror and is traumatized, describing its face as resembling Wizard Whateley.

### Professor Warren Rice

Accompanies Armitage and Morgan; holds the sprayer used to make the entity visible.

### Dr. Francis Morgan

Part of the Arkham trio ascending the hill to confront the entity.

### Wilbur Whateley

Referenced as the twin brother of the entity, described as having a share of the outsideness and being a monster.

### Lavinia Whateley

Mentioned as the mother of the entity and Wilbur, referenced in old Zebulon Whateley's rambling.

## Key lines

> It was an impossibility in a normal world. Only the least fraction was really matter in any sense we know. It was like its father⁠—and most of it has gone back to him in some vague realm or dimension outside our material universe

The entity was not truly physical; only a tiny part was matter, and it has returned to its father in another dimension.

_Dr. Armitage explains the nature of the banished horror._

> He didn’t call it out. It was his twin brother, but it looked more like the father than he did.

Wilbur did not summon the entity; it was his twin, resembling their father more closely.

_Armitage reveals the entity's relationship to Wilbur Whateley._

> Bigger ’n a barn⁠ ⁠… all made o’ squirmin’ ropes⁠ ⁠… hull thing sort o’ shaped like a hen’s egg bigger’n anything, with dozens o’ legs like hogsheads that haff shut up when they step⁠ ⁠… nothin’ solid abaout it⁠—all like jelly, an’ made o’ sep’rit wrigglin’ ropes pushed clost together⁠ ⁠… great bulgin’ eyes all over it⁠ ⁠… ten or twenty maouths or trunks a-stickin’ aout all along the sides, big as stovepipes, an’ all a-tossin’ an’ openin’ an’ shuttin’⁠ ⁠… all gray, with kinder blue or purple rings⁠ ⁠… an’ Gawd in Heaven⁠—that haff face on top !

The creature was enormous, egg-shaped, made of writhing ropes, with many legs, bulging eyes, and trunks, all gray with blue-purple rings, topped with a half-formed face.

_Curtis Whateley's horrified description of the visible entity._

## Links

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