Locations from The Haunter of the Dark
(written in 1935)
66 College Street - Blake's Home
The building that once stood at 66 College Street was moved to 65 Prospect Street to make room for the List Art Building in 1959. Not only is it clearly meant to be Robert Blake's home in The Haunter of the Dark, but it was the house that HPL himself lived in from 1933 until his death in 1937.
"Young Blake returned to Providence in the winter of 1934-5, taking the upper floor of a venerable dwelling in a grassy court off College Street - on the crest of the great eastward hill near the Brown University campus and behind the marble John Hay Library. It was a cosy and fascinating place, in a little garden oasis of village-like antiquity where huge, friendly cats sunned themselves atop a convenient shed. The square Georgian house had a monitor roof, classic doorway with fan carving, small-paned windows, and all the other earmarks of early nineteenth century workmanship." from The Haunter of the Dark.
Federal Hill and St. John's Church
A while back, the S.O. and I made a similar pilgrimage to Providence, but, sadly, without a camera. I very much wished to drive up Federal Hill in search of the St. John's Catholic Church, the basis for the Starry Wisdom Church in The Haunter of the Dark. Although we found the streets mentioned in our guidebook, there was no obvious sign of a church in the vicinity. The onset of night and a street festival convinced us to give up the search last time, but, this time, I was determined to find the truth, no matter where it might lead us!
"...and that shimmering, spire-crowned mound in the distance whose unknown streets and labyrinthine gables so potently provoked his fancy. From his few local aquaintances he learned that the far-off slope was a vast Italian quarter, though most of the houses were remnant of older Yankee and Irish days. Now and then he would train his field-glasses on that spectral, unreachable world beyond the curling smoke; picking out individual roofs and chimneys and steeples, and speculating upon the bizarre and curious mysteries they might house. Even with optical aid Federal Hill seemed somehow alien, half fabulous, and linked to the unreal, intangible marvels of Blake's own tales and pictures." from The Haunter of the Dark
Having located the intersection of Sutton Street and Atwells Avenue, we parked and noted a large open park. "Maybe they tore it down and this is where it
was?" theorized my ever-brilliant S.O., Stevie. Looking around, I suddenly noticed that a wall in the park bore the phrase "St. John's Park". A promising lead!
We realized there was a large circular plaque set into the ground that we almost missed due to it being covered in snow and sand. Scraping away the detritus, we read that the park had replaced the church in 1994 (though further research has shown me that the church was torn down in 1991.) The wall and iron fence, however, were part of the original churchyard. Though we were sad not to have seen the church itself (I've seen pictures...it was creepy!), we felt that we had done our duty and investigated the truth.
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This website was developed and is maintained by Andrew "Aethan" French. Further development was aided and abetted by Mike "Bazil" Nichols of Biovore.com, but the site is still maintained by Andy. Any complaints, compliments, or comments should be sent to him.
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