Cult favorite Edward Lee’s “The Haunter of the Threshold” is a sequel to H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Haunter of the Dark,” set in the modern day backwoods of New Hampshire. Lee brings back Lovecraft’s Shining Trapezohedron and this novel’s Gray Cottage is a contemporary version of the mysterious church in the original. There are many other references to Lovecraft throughout, including names of characters and places.
However, while Lee clearly understands the source material this novel is not simply a Lovecraft knock-off. Lee attacks the subject matter with his unique lurid style of extreme horror. While there is plenty of gore and violence, the real shock value here comes from the pornographic sexual content throughout the book.
The main character Hazel is sexually insatiable and completely preoccupied by perverse rape fantasies. She is a college student whose two closest friends are teachers there—Sonia (who she is desperately in love with), and her fiancé Frank.
Frank is involved in some clandestine research with a colleague, Henry, who recently committed suicide and inexplicably willed his assets to Frank on the condition he destroy all their notes. Hazel and Sonia travel deep into the woods to a tiny town called Bosset’s Way to meet Frank at the very cabin where Henry died. Frank is absent when they arrive and they slowly realize he has no intention of abandoning the research.
While they try to solve the mystery of his involvement with Henry’s bizarre theories, the dark secrets of Bosset’s Way are exposed and some of the townsfolk that initially seemed harmless prove quite menacing. This sets the plot into high gear and it becomes more linked to the Lovecraft story.
I found the novel more interesting from that point forward. It takes a while to get going, spending many pages detailing Hazel’s disgusting fantasies and the multitude of perverts and freaks she encounters in the small town. The last fifty pages or so, however, are a thrilling payoff, providing a wild non-stop conclusion of graphic sex, violence and Lovecraftian weirdness.
So, a warning is appropriate here that this novel contains some of the most graphic sexual content you will read outside of pornographic magazines. If that offends you, stay away from this one.
Otherwise, fans of extreme horror and Lovecraft alike will enjoy this worthy sequel.
– George Wilhite
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
I beg to differ. In my opinion, this novel is one of Edward Lee’s weakest efforts. We learn very little about Hazel, other than the fact that she is a nymphomaniac who grew up in a sheltered environment. Crucially, she doesn’t actually suffer from her condition; she merely experiences fleeting moments of guilt because she is aware that her paraphilias are considered pathological. Her condition exists in a vacuum: we are given no backstory regarding its origin, nor does it serve any real purpose in uncovering the occult mysteries. Consequently, this work fails to satisfy both Lovecraftians and ‘Edwardians’ alike. While Lee’s signature style flashes briefly and leaves the reader in awe, these moments are far too rare—it’s as if he were recoiling in the face of the Cthulhu Mythos.