From the Manuscript discovered in 1877 by Messrs. Tonnison and Berreggnog in the Ruins that lie to the south of the Village of Kraighten, in the west of Ireland. Set out here, with Notes....

Open the door, And listen! Only the wind’s muffled roar, And the glisten Of tears ’round the moon. And, in fancy, the tread Of vanishing shoon⁠— Out in the night with the Dead. “Hush! And hark To the ...

Many are the hours in which I have pondered upon the story that is set forth in the following pages. I trust that my instincts are not awry when they prompt me to leave the account, in simplicity, as ...

Right away in the west of Ireland lies a tiny hamlet called Kraighten. It is situated, alone, at the base of a low hill. Far around there spreads a waste of bleak and totally inhospitable country; whe...

I am an old man. I live here in this ancient house, surrounded by huge, unkempt gardens. The peasantry, who inhabit the wilderness beyond, say that I am mad. That is because I will have nothing to do ...

And so, after a time, I came to the mountains. Then, the course of my journey was altered, and I began to move along their bases, until, all at once, I saw that I had come opposite to a vast rift, ope...

Thus I was, and only the memory that I had lived through the dark, once before, served to sustain my thoughts. A great time passed⁠—ages. And then a single star broke its way through the darkness. It ...

This house is, as I have said before, surrounded by a huge estate, and wild and uncultivated gardens. Away at the back, distant some three hundred yards, is a dark, deep ravine⁠—spoken of as the “Pit”...

It was evening, a week later. My sister sat in the garden, knitting. I was walking up and down, reading. My gun leant up against the wall of the house; for, since the advent of that strange thing in t...

I spent some time, puzzling how to strengthen the study door. Finally, I went down to the kitchen, and with some trouble, brought up several heavy pieces of timber. These, I wedged up, slantwise, agai...

It was now about three a.m., and, presently, the eastern sky began to pale with the coming of dawn. Gradually, the day came, and, by its light, I scanned the gardens, earnestly; but nowhere could I se...

At last, what with being tired and cold, and the uneasiness that possessed me, I resolved to take a walk through the house; first calling in at the study, for a glass of brandy to warm me. This, I did...

The sun was now warm, and shining brightly, forming a wondrous contrast to the dark and dismal cellars; and it was with comparatively light feelings, that I made my way up to the tower, to survey the ...

How slowly the time went; and never a thing to indicate that any of the brutes still infested the gardens. It was on the ninth day that, finally, I decided to run the risk, if any there were, and sall...

Another week came and went, during which I spent a great deal of my time about the Pit mouth. I had come to the conclusion a few days earlier, that the arched hole, in the angle of the great rift, was...

I suppose I must have swooned; for, the next thing I remember, I opened my eyes, and all was dusk. I was lying on my back, with one leg doubled under the other, and Pepper was licking my ears. I felt ...

For a considerable period after the last incident which I have narrated in my diary, I had serious thoughts of leaving this house, and might have done so; but for the great and wonderful thing of whic...

… through tears⁠ ⁠… noise of eternity in my ears, we parted⁠ ⁠… She whom I love. O, my God⁠ ⁠… ! I was a great time dazed, and then I was alone in the blackness of the night. I knew that I journeyed b...

And now, I come to the strangest of all the strange happenings that have befallen me in this house of mysteries. It occurred quite lately⁠—within the month; and I have little doubt but that what I saw...

I awoke, with a start. For a moment, I wondered where I was. Then memory came to me.⁠ ⁠… The room was still lit with that strange light⁠—half-sun, half-moon, light. I felt refreshed, and the tired, we...

It might have been a million years later that I perceived, beyond possibility of doubt, that the fiery sheet that lit the world, was indeed darkening. Another vast space went by, and the whole enormou...

The world was held in a savage gloom⁠—cold and intolerable. Outside, all was quiet⁠—quiet! From the dark room behind me, came the occasional, soft thud10 of falling matter⁠—fragments of rotting stone....

From the abutment, where once had been the windows, through which I had watched that first, fatal dawn, I could see that the sun was hugely greater than it had been, when first the Star lit the world....

For a while, many thoughts crowded my mind, so that I was unable to do aught, save stare, blindly, before me. I seemed whelmed in a sea of doubt and wonder and sorrowful remembrance. It was later, tha...

How long our souls lay in the arms of joy, I cannot say; but, all at once, I was waked from my happiness by a diminution of the pale and gentle light that lit the Sea of Sleep. I turned toward the hug...

Years melted into the past, centuries, aeons. The light of the incandescent star sank to a furious red. It was later that I saw the dark nebula⁠—at first an impalpable cloud, away to my right. It grew...

I was seated in my chair, back again in this old study. My glance wandered ’round the room. For a minute, it had a strange, quivery appearance⁠—unreal and unsubstantial. This disappeared, and I saw th...

Pepper is dead! Even now, at times, I seem scarcely able to realize that this is so. It is many weeks, since I came back from that strange and terrible journey through space and time. Sometimes, in my...

This morning, early, I went through the gardens; but found everything as usual. Near the door, I examined the path, for footprints; yet, here again, there was nothing to tell me whether, or not, I dre...

I awake suddenly. It is still dark. I turn over, once or twice, in my endeavors to sleep again; but I cannot sleep. My head is aching, slightly; and, by turns I am hot and cold. In a little, I give up...

I put down the Manuscript, and glanced across at Tonnison: he was sitting, staring out into the dark. I waited a minute; then I spoke. “Well?” I said. He turned, slowly, and looked at me. His thoughts...

Fierce hunger reigns within my breast, I had not dreamt that this whole world, Crushed in the hand of God, could yield Such bitter essence of unrest, Such pain as Sorrow now hath hurled Out of its dre...

An apparently unmeaning interpolation. I can find no previous reference in the MS. to this matter. It becomes clearer, however, in the light of succeeding incidents. —⁠Ed. ↩ Here, the writing becomes ...