The Beast in the Cave - HP Lovecraft

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Beast in the Cave by H. P. Lovecraft. The
horrible conclusion which had been gradually intruding itself upon my
confused and reluctant mind, was now an awful certainty. I
was lost, completely, hopelessly lost in the vast and lambyanthine
recess of the mammoth cave. Turn as I might in

(00:22):
no direction, could my straining vision seize on any object
capable of serving as a guidepost to set me on
the outward path. That never more should I behold the
blessed light of day, or scan the pleasant bills and
dales of the beautiful world outside. My reason could no
longer entertain the slightest unbelief hope had departed. Yet, indoctrinated

(00:43):
as I was by a life of philosophical study, I
derived no small measure of satisfaction from my unimpassioned demeanor.
For although I had frequently read of the wild frenzies
into which were thrown the victims of similar situations, I
experienced none of these, but stood quiet as soon as
I clearly realized the loss of my bearings. Nor did

(01:04):
the thought that I had probably wandered beyond the utmost
limits of an ordinary search caused me to abandon my
composure even for a moment. If I must die, I reflected, then,
was this terrible yet majestic cavern as welcome a sepulcher,
as that which any churchyard might afford, a conception which
carried with it more of tranquility than of despair? Starving

(01:28):
would prove my ultimate fate. Of this, I was certain
some I knew had gone mad under circumstances such as these,
But I felt that this end would not be mine.
My disaster was the result of no fault save my own. Since,
unknown to the guide, I had separated myself from the
regular party of sightseers, and, wandering for over an hour

(01:50):
and forbidden avenues of the cave, had found myself unable
to retrace the devious windings which I had pursued since
forsaking my companions. All Ready my torch had begun to expire.
Soon I would be enveloped by the total and almost
palpable blackness of the bowels of the earth. As I
stood in the waning, unsteady light, I idly wondered over

(02:12):
the exact circumstances of my coming end. I remembered the
accounts which I had heard of the colony of consumptives, who,
taking their residence in this gigantic grotto to find health
from the apparently salubrious air of the underground world, with
its steady, uniform temperature, pure air, and peaceful quiet, had
found instead death in strange and ghastly form. I had

(02:36):
seen the sad remains of their ill made cottages as
I passed them by with the party, and had wondered
what unnatural influence a long sojourn in this immense and
silent cavern would exert upon one as healthy and vigorous
as I now. I grimly told myself my opportunity for
settling this point had arrived, provided that want of food

(02:57):
should not bring me too speedy a departure from this life. Life.
As the last fitful rays of my torch faded into obscurity,
I resolved to leave no stone unturned, no possible means
of escape neglected. So, summoning all the powers possessed by
my lungs, I set up a series of loud shoutings
in the vain hope of attracting the attention of the

(03:18):
guide by my clamor Yet as I called, I believed
in my heart, that my cries were to no purpose,
and that my voice, magnified and reflected by the numberless
ramparts of the black maze about me, fell upon no
ear save my own. All at once, however, my attention
was fixed with a start, as I fancied that I
heard the sound of soft approaching steps on the rocky

(03:41):
floor of the cavern. Was my deliverance about to be
accomplished so soon? Had then all my horrible apprehensions been
for naught, And was the guide having marked my unwarranted
absence from the party following my course and seeking me
out in this limestone labyrinth. Whilst these joyful queries arose
in my bad I was on the point of renewing

(04:02):
my cries in order that my discovery might come the sooner,
when in an instant my delight was turned to horror
as I listened for my ever acute ear, now sharpened
an even greater degree by the complete silence of the
cave boor to my benumbed understanding the unexpected and dreadful
knowledge that these footfalls were not like those of any

(04:23):
mortal man. In the unearthly stillness of this subterranean region,
the tread of the Buddha guide would have sounded like
a series of sharp and incisive blows. These impacts were
soft and stealthy, as the pause of some feline. Besides,
when I listened carefully, I seemed to trace the falls
of four instead of two feet. I was now convinced

(04:46):
that I had, by my own cries, aroused and attracted
some wild beast, perhaps a mountain lion, which had accidentally
strayed within the cave. Perhaps, I considered the Almighty had
chosen for me a swifter and more mercy death than
that of hunger. Yet the instinct of self preservation, never
wholly dormant, was stirred in my breast, And though escape

(05:09):
from the oncoming peril might but spare me for a
sterner and more lingering end, I determined nevertheless to part
with my life at as high ec price as I
could command. Strange as it may seem, my mind conceived
of no intent on the part of the visitor, save
that of hostility. Accordingly, I became very quiet in the

(05:31):
hope that the unknown beast would, in the absence of
a guiding sound, lose its direction as had I, and
thus passed me by. But this hope was not destined
for realization, for the strange footfall steadily advanced the animal, evidently,
having obtained my scent, which, in an atmosphere so absolutely

(05:51):
free from all distracting influences as is that of the cave,
could doubtless be followed at great distance. Seeing therefore that
I must be armed for defense against an uncanny and
unseen attack in the dark, I groped about me the
largest of the fragments of rock, which were strewn upon
all parts of the floor of the cavern in the vicinity,

(06:12):
and grasping one in each hand for immediate use, awaited
with resignation the inevitable result. Meanwhile, the hideous pattering of
the pause, drew near Certainly, the conduct of the creature
was exceedingly strange. Most of the time the tread seemed
to be that of a quadruped walking with a singular
lack of unison betwixt hind and fore feet. Yet at

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brief and infrequent intervals I fancied that but two feet
were engaged in the process of locomotion. I wondered what
species of animal was to confront me. It must, I thought,
be some unfortunate beast who had paid for its curiosity
to investigate one of the entrances of the fearful grotto
with a lifelong confinement. In its interminable recesses. It doubtless

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obtained as food the eyeless fish, bats, and rats to
the cave, as well as some of the ordinary fish
that are wafted in at every freshet of green River,
which communicates in some occult manner with the waters of
the cave. I occupied my terrible vigil with grotesque conjectures
of what alteration cave life might have brought in the

(07:17):
physical structure of the beast, remembering the awful appearances ascribed
by local tradition to the consumptives who had died after
long residence in the cave. Then I remembered with a
start that even should I succeed in felling my antagonist,
I should never behold its form, as my torch had
long since been extinct and I was entirely unprovided with matches.

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The tension on my brain now became frightful. My disordered
fancy conjured up hideous and fearsome shapes from the sinister
darkness that surrounded me, and that actually seemed to press
upon my body. Nearer nearer the dreadful footfalls approached, it
seemed that I must give vent to a piercing, soar scream.
Yet I had been sufficiently irresolute to attempt such a thing,

(08:04):
my voice could scarce have responded. I was petrified. Rooted
to the spot, I doubted if my right arm would
allow me to hurl its missile at the oncoming thing
when the crucial moment should arrive. Now, the steady pat
pat of the steps was close at hand, Now very close,
I could hear the labored breathing of the animal, and

(08:26):
terror struck as I was, I realized that it must
have come from a considerable distance, and was correspondingly fatigued.
Suddenly the spell broke. My right hand, guided by my
ever trustworthy sense of hearing, threw with full force the
sharp angled bit of limestone which it contained, toward that
point in the darkness, from which emanated the breathing and pattering,

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and wonderful to relate. It nearly reached its goal, for
I heard the thing jump, landing at a distance away
where it seemed to pause. Having readjusted my aim, I
discharged my second missile, this time most effectively, for with
a flood of joy. I listened as the creature fell
in what sounded like a complete collapse, and evidently remained

(09:11):
prone and unmoving. Almost overpowered by the great relief which
rushed over me, I reeled back against the wall. The
breathing continued in heavy gasping inhalation and expirations. Whence I
realized that I had no more than wounded the creature. Now,
all desire to examine the thing ceased, alas something allied

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to groundless superstitious fear had entered my brain, and I
did not approach the body, nor did I continue to
cast stones at it in order to complete the extinction
of its life. Instead, I ran at full speed in
what was as nearly as I could estimate in my
frenzied condition, the direction from which I had come. Suddenly

(09:55):
I heard a sound, or rather a regular succession of sounds.
In another instant, they had resolved themselves into a series
of sharp, metallic clicks. This time there was no doubt
it was the Guide. And then I shouted, yelled, screamed,
even shrieked with joy as I beheld in the vaulted

(10:15):
arches above the faint and glimmering effulgence which I knew
to be the reflected light of an approaching torch. I
ran to meet the flare, and before I could completely
understand what had occurred, I was lying on the ground
at the feet of the guide, embracing his boots and
gibbering despite my boasted reserve, in a most meaningless and
idiotic manner, pouring out my terrible story, and at the

(10:39):
same time overwhelming my auditor with protestations of gratitude. At length,
I awoke to something like my normal consciousness. The guide
had noted my absence upon the arrival of the party
at the entrance of the cave, and had, from his
own intuitive sense of direction, proceeded to make a thorough
canvas of bypassing just ahead of where he had last

(11:02):
spoken to me, locating my whereabouts after a quest of
about four hours. By the time he had related this
to me, I, emboldened by his torch and his company,
began to reflect upon the strange beast which I had wounded,
but a short distance back in the darkness, and suggested
that we ascertain, by the flashlight's aid what manner of

(11:24):
creature was my victim. Accordingly, I retraced my steps this
time with a courage born of companionship to the scene
of my terrible experience. Soon we descried a white object
upon the floor, an object wider even than the gleaming
limestone itself. Cautiously advancing, we gave vent to a simultaneous

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ejaculation of wonderment, for of all the unnatural monsters the
the Rovess have had in our lifetimes beheld, this was,
in surpassing degree the strangest. It appeared to be an
anthropoid ape of large proportions, escape perhaps from some itinerant menagerie.
Its hair was snow white, a thing due no doubt

(12:06):
to the bleaching action of a long existence within the
ekey confines of the cave. But it was also surprisingly thin,
being indeed largely absent save on the head, where it
was of such length and abundance that it fell over
the shoulders in considerable profusion. The face was turned away
from us, as a creature lay almost directly upon it.

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The inclination of the limbs was very singular, explaining, however,
the alternation in their use which I had before noted,
whereby the beasts used sometimes all four and on other
occasions but two for its progress from the tips of
the fingers or toes long rat like claws extended. The
hands or feet were not prehensile, a fact which I

(12:50):
ascribed to that long residence in the cave, which, as
I before mentioned, seemed evident from the all pervading and
almost unearthly whiteness so characteristic of the whole anatomy. No
tale seemed to be present. The respiration had now grown
very feeble, and the guide had drawn his pistol with
the evident intent of despatching the creature, when a sudden

(13:12):
sound emitted by the latter caused the weapon to fall unused.
The sound was of a nature difficult to describe. It
was not like the normal note of any known species
of simeon. I wonder if this unnatural quality were not
the result of a long, continued and complete silence broken
by the sensations produced by the advent of the light,

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a thing which the beast could not have seen since
its first entrance into the cave. The sound, which I
might feebly attempt to classify as a kind of deep
toned chattering, was faintly continued all at once. A fleeting
spasm of energy seemed to pass through the frame of
the beast. The pause went through a convulsive motion, and
the limbs contracted with a jerk. The white body rolled

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over so that his face was turned in our direction.
For a moment, I was so struck with horror at
the eyes thus revealed that I noted nothing else. They
were black, those eyes, deep jetty black, in hideous contrast
to the snow white hair and flesh. Like those of
other cave denizens. They were deeply sunken in their orbits,

(14:17):
and were entirely destitute of virus. As I looked more closely,
I saw that they were said in a face less
prognathous than that of the average ape, and infinitely less hairy.
The nose was quite distinct. As we gazed upon the
uncanny sight presented to our vision, the thick lips opened
and several sounds issued from them, after which the thing

(14:39):
relaxed in death. The guide clutched my coat sleeve and
trembled so violently that the light shook fitfully, casting weird
moving shadows on the walls. I made no motion, but
stood rigidly still, my horrified eyes fixed upon the floor ahead.
The fear left and wonder awe compassion and reverence succeeded

(14:59):
in in its place, for the sounds uttered by the
stricken figure that lay stretched out on the limestone had
told us the awesome truth. The creature I had killed,
the strange beast of the unfathomed cave, was, or had
at one time been, a man end of the beast
in the cave. By H. P. Lovecraft