Nahum Gardner (1831 - 1883) is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft for his short story "The Colour Out of Space", first published in Weird Tales, March 1937.
Overview[]
Gardner was a farmer in the farming land west of Arkham that would come to be known as "The Blasted Heath". He was married to a woman named Nabby who bore him three children, Zenas (? - 1883), Thaddeus (1868 - 1883) and Merwin (? - 1883). He is described as "a lean, genial person of about fifty, living with his wife and three sons on the pleasant farmstead in the valley." The entire family, including Nahum himself, was killed after exposure to the alien Colour Out of Space.
Gardner's best friend was a neighbouring farmer named Ammi Pierce; Pierce bore witness to much of the tragedy which befell the Gardner family. Telling Nahum's story 45 years later, "Ammi had nothing but praise for him after all these years."
History[]
In June 1882, a meteorite made planetfall on Gardner's land. Over the following months, whatever alien organism had been aboard proceeded to infect and mutate the surrounding plant and animal life, including the Gardners themselves. Succumbing to the toxic and madness-inducing effects of the Colour, Nabby and Thaddeus lost their minds before their deaths, while Zenas and Mervin disappeared: their remains were later found at the bottom of the well, with the suggested that they fell victim to whatever presence the Colour exerted down there. Nahum himself was the last to die, falling to insanity before passing.