The Man of Stone" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald in October 1932. It is one of five stories Lovecraft revised for Heald. Heald had been introduced to Lovecraft by his Providence friend Muriell Eddy (see C. M. Eddy, Jr.).
Plot[]
The story describes the narrator, Jack, and his friend Ben Hayden as they search for the missing sculptor Arthur Wheeler, who disappeared in the Upper Adirondacks of New York State. Inspired by the discovery of lifelike statues of a dog and a man in Wheeler's style, Ben Hayden persuades the narrator to travel with him to the small, secretive village of Mountain Top. While there, they learn that Arthur fell foul of his landlord: the sinister "Mad Dan" Morris, who believed Wheeler was having an affair with his wife, Rose. None of the three had been seen in town since.
The pair go to search for the statues, find the cave, and instantly abandon their theory: the statues are so realistic that the pair instantly recognize them as living creatures that have somehow become instantly petrified. Wheeler's involvement is instantly discarded, not least when they discover the second statue, and Hayden recognizes it as the missing sculptor himself.
Hayden steers Jack towards Mad Dan's cabin, and they break in via a window and discover Wheelers things, still untouched despite months away. They then discover why, as they find both Mad Dan and his wife petrified inside, Dan tied to a chair with a leather whip, and Rose strangely smug in her final moments. The pair find Dan's diary on the table, which tells the story in great detail. Dan is the decedent of a certain Nicolas Van Kauran, a wizard once burned at the stake, though his copy of the Book of Eibon survived, and was passed down through the generations. Dan continues to perform ancient rites into the present, including sacrificing to Shubb-Niggurath, and complaining that the villagers "always prevent my doing the Great Rite that would open the gate." Rose also does not participate in his ceremonies, much to his complaints, and when Wheeler arrives and Dan notices their flirting, he contrives a horrible revenge.
After several months of study (during which he discards ideas like, "the emanation of Yoth," or "The Green Decay") Morris finds a weapon with a poetic flourish: a potion to induce petrification, once used for murder by another ancestor. Admitting it has more to do with science than magic, he constructs a secret laboratory in the cave, testing his formulas on passing animals. Finally, he succeeds and simply has to confirm that the formula will petrify a larger animal, starting with his wife's pet dog, Rex, purely for the sake of hurting her, though he pretends he was killed by a wolf. Soon, he is certain he has what he needs.
Morris lures Wheeler away to the cave, and kills him quite easily, praising Tsathoggua for the victory. Rose, however, would prove more difficult: Dan is only able to safely hide the formula in wine, but is stonewalled by the simple fact that Rose does not like wine. Finally, he loses his temper and locks her in an upper room, feeding her salty food and water drugged with the potion – the taste of the formula will give it away, but Mad Dan hopes that the salty food will convince Rose to drink it anyways. Rose proves surprisingly resilient, however, surviving through several days, though Mad Dan notes the sound of her developing a heavy limp, and then being reduced to crawling instead of walking.
One day, Morris describes an unusual sleepiness (which is never explained in the story), and his handwriting is replaced by that of Rose's. She explains that she noticed the taste of the poisoned water right away, but not before swallowing a sip, which has nevertheless caused her petrify from within across the next two weeks. She survived off of rainwater dripping through the leaking ceiling, and repeatedly tried to escape. At this point, she outlines years of Morris' abuse, and wonders if Morris somehow hypnotized or otherwise magically compelled her and her father into the marriage. She admits that she and Wheeler were planning on running away together, but they did not make their move in time.
Finally, Rose finds an opportunity. Noticing that her husband has been falling into deeper and deeper sleeps, she is able to force the lock and tie him up with the whip he frequently used to beat her. When he finally does wake, she is able to prevent him from chanting spells by gagging him, and then reads his diary, learning the truth. Disgusted with horror, she forces Mad Dan to drink some of the tainted water, completing her revenge. She then writes that she intends to drink the water herself in order to hasten her gradually approaching death. Her final words, and the final words of the story, are a request to be buried with Wheeler and Max, and that "I do not care what becomes of the stone devil tied in the chair...”
Characters[]
Jack[]
The narrator, who follows his friend Ben Hayden on his search for Arthur Wheeler.
Arthur Wheeler[]
A highly talented sculptor, described as a "solid photographer" as well, who settled in the Upper Adirondacks to blast and cut rock for his statues. He stayed with "Mad Dan" and his wife, whom he fell in love with before being murdered by Dan.
Ben Hayden[]
Described as the Pythias to Jack's Damon, he's incredibly stubborn and adventurous.
Henry Jackson[]
A friend of Jack and Ben who discovered the strange statues while under treatment beyond Lake Placid.
Sam[]
A cagey villager in Mountain Top who is coaxed into giving information on Wheeler's disappearance.
"Mad Dan" Morris[]
A disturbed occultist and source of fear in the area of Mountain Top. As well as forcing his wife to take part in Rites on Roodmas and Hallow Mass, he conducted sacrifices of black goats on Hallow Eve (only stopped by locals from doing the Great Rite to open "the Gate"), worshipping the Outer God Shub-Niggurath and the Great Old One Tsathoggua. As well as a possible murder on Thunder Hill, he killed Arthur Wheeler and attempted to kill his wife, before she eventually killed him.
Rose C. Morris[]
The wife of "Mad Dan" and eldest daughter of Osborne Chandler. After years of abuse and being forced to participate in occult rituals, she found comfort in a relationship with Arthur Wheeler. When Dan tried to kill her for it, she turns his own poison against him and commits suicide.
Osborne E. Chandler[]
Rose's father, who may have been tricked into allowing Dan to make her his wife.
The Van Kauran Family[]
The ancestors of "Mad Dan" on his mother's side.
Nicholas Van Kauran[]
A wizard who made a deal with the "Black Man" before being hanged in Wijtgaart in Holland in 1587. The original owner of "Mad Dan's" Book of Eibon, which escaped the notice of the soldiers that captured him.
William Van Kauran[]
The grandson of Nicholas Van Kauran, who carried the Book of Eibon to Rensselaerwyck and later Esopus in New York. He and his family gained a reputation in Kingston and Hurley as people not to cross.
Bareut Picterse Van Kauran[]
The great-grandfather of "Mad Dan" and attendee of the Great Sabbat on Sugar-Loaf in the Catskills. At one point the keeper of the family's Book of Eibon, who added the insert at page 679 about the potion that turns living things to stone ,which he used on a man called Squire Hasbruck in New Paltz, 1834. He disappeared from the same city five years later in 1839.
Uncle Hendrik[]
Driven up river to the cabin near Mountain Top by the people of Esopus.