"The Bells of Horror" is a short Cthulhu Mythos story by American author Henry Kuttner under the pen name of Keith Hammond.
Synopsis[]
An expedition from the California Historical Society working near the town of San Xavier, California, unearths a trio of bells said to summon a dread entity when rung. Despite the horrific incidents which occur during their removal - including one of the local attendants gouging out his own eyes - the group brings the bells back to San Xavier and has them hung in the local Mission. There, an earthquake causes the bells to begin ringing, and a darkness descends over the eyes of all who hear it. Only the members of the Historical Society, with their knowledge of the occult grimoire The Book of Iod, are able to stop the bells and restore sight and sanity to the town.
However, a solar eclipse two months later appears to precipitate a gruesome suicide, and brings the suggestion that the summoning of the bells was not as unsuccessful as the party had previously thought . . .
Characters[]
- Ross, secretary of the California Historical Society.
- Arthur Todd, president of the society.
- Denton, Todd's assistant.
- Zushakon, a demonic entity.
Publication History[]
"The Bells of Horror" was first published in pulp magazine Strange Stories in April 1939. It was included in the Kuttner-focussed anthology The Book of Iod: Ten Tales of the Mythos by Chaosium in 1995.