The Case of Charles Dexter Ward · Chapter
II: An Antecedent and a Horror explained
This chapter delves into the aftermath of Joseph Curwen's mysterious death, the deliberate erasure of his memory from Providence records, and the lingering horror surrounding his occult practices.
What happens
This chapter delves into the aftermath of Joseph Curwen's mysterious death, the deliberate erasure of his memory from Providence records, and the lingering horror surrounding his occult practices. It recounts the raiders' efforts to suppress all traces of Curwen, the strange events at his farm, and the disturbing accounts from witnesses like Luke Fenner. Charles Ward uncovers fragments of this dark history through letters and diaries, piecing together the terrifying legacy of his ancestor.
Themes in this chapter
Necromancy and Resurrection
Curwen's library contains works on raising the dead, and the passage from Borellus describes preserving essential salts to call up shapes of the dead.
Forbidden Knowledge
Curwen's collection includes the Necronomicon and other banned texts, and his experiments involve dangerous occult practices.
Heredity and Ancestral Guilt
Charles Ward is haunted by his ancestor Curwen's crimes, and the chapter explores the legacy of horror passed down through generations.
Isolation and Secrecy
The Curwen farm is shunned, and the raiders deliberately erase all memory of Curwen, creating a conspiracy of silence.
Characters to notice
- Joseph Curwen
The deceased sorcerer whose memory is systematically obliterated; his death and occult practices are central to the chapter's horror.
- Charles Dexter Ward
The descendant who researches Curwen's history, uncovering letters and diaries that reveal the dark events.
- Captain Abraham Whipple
Led the mob that burned the Gaspee and was involved in the raid on Curwen; later mutters cryptic remarks about Curwen's death.
- Ezra Weeden
Copied parts of Jedediah Orne's letter to Curwen, providing a clue to the abnormality of Curwen's end.
- Eleazar Smith
His diary is the only written record surviving from the expedition against Curwen.
- Luke Fenner
Correspondent who described the terrifying events at the Curwen farm, including strange lights, screams, and a red fog.
- John Merritt
Visited Curwen's library and was horrified by the forbidden books, including the Necronomicon, and the passage from Borellus.
- Captain Dutie Tillinghast
Demanded that his daughter and granddaughter change their name and destroy Curwen's papers and grave inscription.
Key passages
“I say to you againe, doe not call up Any that you cannot put downe; by the which I meane, Any that can in turn calle up somewhat against you, whereby your powerfullest Devices may not be of use.”
Do not summon any entity you cannot control, especially one that could summon something against you and render your strongest defenses useless.
This underlined passage from Jedediah Orne's letter hints at the danger Curwen faced and the possibility that he summoned something he could not control.
“The essential Saltes of Animals may be so prepared and preserved, that an ingenious Man may have the whole Ark of Noah in his owne Studie, and raise the fine Shape of an Animal out of its Ashes at his Pleasure; and by the lyke Method from the essential Saltes of humane Dust, a Philosopher may, without any criminal Necromancy, call up the Shape of any dead Ancestour from the Dust whereinto his Bodie has been incinerated.”
By preserving the essential salts of animals, a clever person could recreate any creature from its ashes, and similarly, using human dust, could summon the shape of any ancestor without committing necromancy.
This passage from Borellus, heavily annotated by Curwen, reveals the theoretical basis for his necromantic experiments.
“Waaaahrrrrr—R'waaahrrr.”
A horrible, inhuman roaring cry heard during the attack on Curwen's farm, which caused Luke Fenner's mother to faint.
This cry, described in Fenner's correspondence, suggests the presence of something unnatural during the raid.
