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The Alchemist
Lovecraft's first published short, written in 1908 when Lovecraft for 17 or 18 and published in the November 1916 issue of United Amateur
The story is recounted by the protagonist, Count Antoine de C, in the first person. Hundreds of years ago, Antoine's noble ancestor was responsible for the death of a dark wizard, Michel Mauvais. The wizard's son, Charles le Sorcier, swore revenge on not only him but all his descendants, cursing them to die on reaching the age of 32.
The protagonist recounts how his ancestors all died in some mysterious way around the age of 32. The line has dwindled and the castle has been left to fall into disrepair, tower by tower. Finally, Antoine is the only one left, with one poor servant, Pierre, who raised him, and a tiny section of the castle with a single tower is still usable. Antoine has reached adulthood, and his 32nd year is approaching.
The story is recounted by the protagonist, Count Antoine de C, in the first person. Hundreds of years ago, Antoine's noble ancestor was responsible for the death of a dark wizard, Michel Mauvais. The wizard's son, Charles le Sorcier, swore revenge on not only him but all his descendants, cursing them to die on reaching the age of 32.
The protagonist recounts how his ancestors all died in some mysterious way around the age of 32. The line has dwindled and the castle has been left to fall into disrepair, tower by tower. Finally, Antoine is the only one left, with one poor servant, Pierre, who raised him, and a tiny section of the castle with a single tower is still usable. Antoine has reached adulthood, and his 32nd year is approaching.
16 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1916
35 people are currently reading
1274 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,108 books19.2k followersHoward Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
— Wikipedia
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
— Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 403 reviews
October 28, 2021
A derelict creepy castle, is the perfect setting for this H.P.Lovecraft horror story. A centuries old curse placed on our narrator’s family, where the males of the family die at the age of 32, is the focus of this short story. The last male in the line, has spent many years studying Black Magic in order to find a way of ending this curse!
Very atmospheric and creepy, but I’ve read much scarier.
Very atmospheric and creepy, but I’ve read much scarier.
August 7, 2021
Wow, what a creepy story. Great setting in an old gloomy and derelict castle the main character tries to find out about an old family curse. Why did his ancestors all die at the age of 32? What will he find in the hidden chamber? What about the skeleton? A gothic masterpiece I absolutely enjoyed. Highly recommended!
August 17, 2017
Updated review, five stars, 8/2017:
The story brought feelings of King Arthur. HP gives vivid descriptions for setting, creating a medieval presence complete with Merlinian Magik and ancient warriors. An Alchemist who has worked to find the Elixer of Life becomes victim when his father dies at the hands of the narrators ancestors (or a couple hundred years worth). The supposed Alchemist puts a curse on the family, that every male heir will die at 32. It unfolds true, and now our narrator seeks knowledge in Black Magic books and the vaults of an ancient castle for answers and a cure. He finds an answer with a highly dramatic climax!
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Original review, 4/2015, four stars:
I appreciate the medieval background and legendary quality of the story. The setting was well constructed, dark, dank, creepy castles. The mystery of it compelled me.
The story brought feelings of King Arthur. HP gives vivid descriptions for setting, creating a medieval presence complete with Merlinian Magik and ancient warriors. An Alchemist who has worked to find the Elixer of Life becomes victim when his father dies at the hands of the narrators ancestors (or a couple hundred years worth). The supposed Alchemist puts a curse on the family, that every male heir will die at 32. It unfolds true, and now our narrator seeks knowledge in Black Magic books and the vaults of an ancient castle for answers and a cure. He finds an answer with a highly dramatic climax!
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Original review, 4/2015, four stars:
I appreciate the medieval background and legendary quality of the story. The setting was well constructed, dark, dank, creepy castles. The mystery of it compelled me.
June 29, 2021
Pues... relato muy breve, pero tan bien escrito y con una ambientación tan conseguida, que me ha sabido a poco.
Es predecible? Sí, pero y qué... este señor me tiene loca jajajaja
En fin 4 estrellas sobre 5, porque necesitaba de esta chispa tenebrosa en pequeña dosis.
**Popsugar 2021 categoría 42. El libro más corto (por páginas) en tu lista TBR.
Es predecible? Sí, pero y qué... este señor me tiene loca jajajaja
En fin 4 estrellas sobre 5, porque necesitaba de esta chispa tenebrosa en pequeña dosis.
**Popsugar 2021 categoría 42. El libro más corto (por páginas) en tu lista TBR.
December 8, 2018
My second read for H.P Lovecraft.
I can't really tell if that's Poe or Lovecraft. So similar
I can't really tell if that's Poe or Lovecraft. So similar
July 2, 2019
The opening is nice but the ending is just weak.
October 18, 2021
Great atmospheric story set in a derelict castle with an MC who is the last of his line. His male ancestors all died before they reached their 32nd birthday from a centuries-old curse. He has spent his life researching the curse and approaches his destiny with trepidation. As he rambles about the long abandoned areas of the castle will he meet the same fate?
Written in 1916, many similar type stories have been written since then and it wasn't too hard to figure out how the curse lived on, but the gloomy, foreboding tone of the story was spot on! It would be a perfect short story to read out loud to listeners in the right setting.
Written in 1916, many similar type stories have been written since then and it wasn't too hard to figure out how the curse lived on, but the gloomy, foreboding tone of the story was spot on! It would be a perfect short story to read out loud to listeners in the right setting.
September 6, 2015
3.5
A classic horror story with a centuries old curse at its centre. In the course of the story, which is told by a cursed nobleman, we find out how the curse started. The atmosphere of the castle where the narrator lives is perfectly creepy, the walls and furniture are dumb, there are whole levels of the castle that haven't been used in ages.
The only thing that ruins the story are the last words (capital letters and exclamations were not necessary because the story itself carries enough dread to be great).
A classic horror story with a centuries old curse at its centre. In the course of the story, which is told by a cursed nobleman, we find out how the curse started. The atmosphere of the castle where the narrator lives is perfectly creepy, the walls and furniture are dumb, there are whole levels of the castle that haven't been used in ages.
The only thing that ruins the story are the last words (capital letters and exclamations were not necessary because the story itself carries enough dread to be great).
October 30, 2025
‘The Alchemist’ by H. P. Lovecraft is an atmospheric short story about undying revenge!
Poor Antoine, the lonely narrator! He is the last of his line. His father died at age 32, his mother dying when he was born. An old servant, Pierre, raises him, keeping him home in an ancient rotting pile of a castle, educating him. He also prevents him from having friends for some reason. Finally, when Antoine turns twenty-one, the old servant reveals he did not want Antoine to hear from the villagers about the curse on his family. Alone after the servant dies, Antoine plans to never marry because of the 600-year-old curse placed on all of the men of his line. They all died at age 32 from a variety of mysterious ailments and strange accidents.
The curse was placed on the family after an ancestor strangled an alchemist in the belief the man had killed his son. However, the boy is found later in a distant room of the castle, playing, unharmed. The son of the alchemist, Charles Le Sorcier, proclaims the curse and disappears into the surrounding forest.
Antoine wanders the castle knowing he is to die soon. He finds a strange corridor where he has never been. Curious he goes exploring, not realizing until too late, he is about to discover the secret behind all of the deaths!
Frankly, while well written, the story is kinda disappointing. It is reminiscent of an Edgar Allen Poe story in its style. But perhaps, having been published in 1916, the plot has become one which today’s readers will think commonplace. Still, it definitely would be horrific if the story had been based on real life!
Poor Antoine, the lonely narrator! He is the last of his line. His father died at age 32, his mother dying when he was born. An old servant, Pierre, raises him, keeping him home in an ancient rotting pile of a castle, educating him. He also prevents him from having friends for some reason. Finally, when Antoine turns twenty-one, the old servant reveals he did not want Antoine to hear from the villagers about the curse on his family. Alone after the servant dies, Antoine plans to never marry because of the 600-year-old curse placed on all of the men of his line. They all died at age 32 from a variety of mysterious ailments and strange accidents.
The curse was placed on the family after an ancestor strangled an alchemist in the belief the man had killed his son. However, the boy is found later in a distant room of the castle, playing, unharmed. The son of the alchemist, Charles Le Sorcier, proclaims the curse and disappears into the surrounding forest.
Antoine wanders the castle knowing he is to die soon. He finds a strange corridor where he has never been. Curious he goes exploring, not realizing until too late, he is about to discover the secret behind all of the deaths!
Frankly, while well written, the story is kinda disappointing. It is reminiscent of an Edgar Allen Poe story in its style. But perhaps, having been published in 1916, the plot has become one which today’s readers will think commonplace. Still, it definitely would be horrific if the story had been based on real life!
January 26, 2016
Then, slowly advancing to meet the Comte, he pronounced in dull yet terrible accents the curse that ever afterward haunted the house of C——.
“May ne’er a noble of thy murd’rous line
Survive to reach a greater age than thine!”
spake he, when, suddenly leaping backwards into the black wood, he drew from his tunic a phial of colourless liquid which he threw into the face of his father’s slayer as he disappeared behind the inky curtain of the night.
Classic Charles Le Sorcier.
My youngest brother is finally starting to read Lovecraft this year, so I've decided to go along with him - not necessarily reading the same thing at the same time, but working my way back through Lovecraft's catalog, one story at a time. In alphabetical order. Because my brain likes it when I set arbitrary limitations on myself like that.
Anyway, The Alchemist is one of Lovecraft's earlier stories, and it shows. There's not much to the story, outside of the immediate plot. The prose is so purple that it makes Grimace appear dull in comparison, and the story itself is just cheesily overdramatic.
I love it.
I've got to admit, the man could craft a fine sentence, though.
High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mound whose sides are wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, stands the old chateau of my ancestors. For centuries its lofty battlements have frowned down upon the wild and rugged countryside about, serving as a home and stronghold for the proud house whose honoured line is older even than the moss-grown castle walls.
April 18, 2021
Short story written by H.P. Lovecraft at a young age (17 or 18). It is a story that contains all the classic elements of horror: the last member of a fallen family, a mysterious and crumbling castle, a curse that comes from the past and leaves no way out.
It’s a different style from Lovecraft's classic "cosmic horror", more like a story by Edgar Allan Poe, an anguished and tense atmosphere, the fear that takes the main character as he learns the truth and the fear of the unknown and of the inevitable end, caused precisely by the curse.
I listened an audiobook and even if the style is very far from the classic Lovecraft stories, the narrative voice combined with the tried and tested plot, made it an interesting story. Not to be taken as an example of Lovecraft's works, which are definitely another thing.
It’s a different style from Lovecraft's classic "cosmic horror", more like a story by Edgar Allan Poe, an anguished and tense atmosphere, the fear that takes the main character as he learns the truth and the fear of the unknown and of the inevitable end, caused precisely by the curse.
I listened an audiobook and even if the style is very far from the classic Lovecraft stories, the narrative voice combined with the tried and tested plot, made it an interesting story. Not to be taken as an example of Lovecraft's works, which are definitely another thing.
April 11, 2020
Un cuento gótico muy cortito, me ha gustado, se nota la influencia sobre todo de Poe aquí, tiene todo el estilo e incluso me ha costado ver a Lovecraft, este es de los primeros escritos de Lovecraft y ya se puede ver la calidad y la imaginación.
Es una manera muy retorcida de decirnos “no busques porque encontrarás y no siempre vas a querer saber” me gusta mucho el final del cuento, pero es que además la voz del narrador, sus inquietudes, para terminar con un final muy dramático y una frase muy de esas que se quedan en el lector. ¡Muy bueno!
Es una manera muy retorcida de decirnos “no busques porque encontrarás y no siempre vas a querer saber” me gusta mucho el final del cuento, pero es que además la voz del narrador, sus inquietudes, para terminar con un final muy dramático y una frase muy de esas que se quedan en el lector. ¡Muy bueno!
April 26, 2023
This story is just as funny as the Tumblr post led me to believe.
May 7, 2022
The curse of Charles Le Sorcier, beloved son of Michel Mauvais, put upon Henri Comte de C---- and his descendants.
In this rather short story we have the number 32 and of course the last of his family's line, Antoine Comte de C----. an aristocrat who tells us about his lonely upbringing and an odious encounter.
A very² nice 3.9 Stars read, genereously rounded up!
I loved it… written in typical Lovecraftian manner this was a quick read with many staircases for our dear Monsieur le Comte before he reaches his fate, or not..
In case you want to have a go at this short story. Here are the Links.
For your ears -> "The Alchemist @ Youtube
For your eyes -> The Alchemist @ repositorio
In this rather short story we have the number 32 and of course the last of his family's line, Antoine Comte de C----. an aristocrat who tells us about his lonely upbringing and an odious encounter.
A very² nice 3.9 Stars read, genereously rounded up!
I loved it… written in typical Lovecraftian manner this was a quick read with many staircases for our dear Monsieur le Comte before he reaches his fate, or not..
In case you want to have a go at this short story. Here are the Links.
For your ears -> "The Alchemist @ Youtube
For your eyes -> The Alchemist @ repositorio
October 31, 2020
*3.5
Mis Lecturas de Lovecraft siempre vienen con auspicio del club Clásico es Leerte. Creo que el 90% de lo que he leído de este autor se lo debo a ellos :D
Este cuento nos habla de la maldición que pesa sobre una familia noble, la cual ve morir a sus descendientes a la edad de 32 años. Antoine buscará la forma de librarse de la maldición y en el trayecto descubrirá la maldad que lo acecha…
Lovecraft es un maestro de la ambientación, si él decide que su historia tomará lugar en un castillo, el lector logrará visualizarlo y caminar entre sus salones, sintiéndose oprimidos por los sonidos repentinos.
Tal vez este no sea el mejor relato del autor, pero me mantuvo todo el tiempo en suspenso.
Mis Lecturas de Lovecraft siempre vienen con auspicio del club Clásico es Leerte. Creo que el 90% de lo que he leído de este autor se lo debo a ellos :D
Este cuento nos habla de la maldición que pesa sobre una familia noble, la cual ve morir a sus descendientes a la edad de 32 años. Antoine buscará la forma de librarse de la maldición y en el trayecto descubrirá la maldad que lo acecha…
Lovecraft es un maestro de la ambientación, si él decide que su historia tomará lugar en un castillo, el lector logrará visualizarlo y caminar entre sus salones, sintiéndose oprimidos por los sonidos repentinos.
Tal vez este no sea el mejor relato del autor, pero me mantuvo todo el tiempo en suspenso.
February 12, 2023
Nice and spooky story, but the fact that H. P. Lovecraft wrote this as a teenager is quite understandable.
March 22, 2017
3.5 stars
The story itself was nothing special, but the way it was told was quite intriguing and concise. I haven't read anything of this writing style lately, so I suppose I liked it because it was a nice change. The imagery was the main focus of the writing, and the language communicated a clear mood. I did end up predicting the end, but that didn't detract much from the overall story. It was more of an I called it! ending than an Oh, I saw that coming. ending.
The story itself was nothing special, but the way it was told was quite intriguing and concise. I haven't read anything of this writing style lately, so I suppose I liked it because it was a nice change. The imagery was the main focus of the writing, and the language communicated a clear mood. I did end up predicting the end, but that didn't detract much from the overall story. It was more of an I called it! ending than an Oh, I saw that coming. ending.
July 11, 2016
To be honest, I was a tad disappointed by the absence of Elder ones. And the most exciting part for me in the story was that strange figure and gothic door.
Still its a really good classic horror short, though least lovecraftian of all, in my experience with Providence.
Still its a really good classic horror short, though least lovecraftian of all, in my experience with Providence.
January 20, 2021
Non è il racconto di Lovecraft più bello che io abbia letto, ma ne ho amato tantissimo l' atmosfera e il personaggio dell'Alchimista.
May 19, 2020
Mucho mejor que los anteriores.
Hay quienes dicen por ahí que el personaje de Pierre es, por parte de Lovecraft, una representación, (a propósito o inconsciente), de su abuelo. Presentadose ciertas semejanzas tanto con este como con la vida del protagonista;
Lovecraft fue muy solitario en su juventud, al igual que el personaje principal, así mismo como sus intereses radicaban en el ocultismo.
Me parece interesante como, de todos los relatos que he leído, casi siempre el punto de vista se expresaba a través de un narrador culto y que domina áreas de estudio sumamente útiles en función de profundizar el contenido y la visión del mundo. Como por ejemplo en las montañas de la locura, el prota y los secundarios manejaban la geología, arquologia, zoologia y cosas así, y de este modo podían hacer observaciones más complejas de las edificaciones, de los seres, y de las propiedades de los diferentes materiales. Así también como en El Horror De Dunwich, cuyo narrador, que era en su mayoría el profesor y bibliotecario de la Universidad, conocía los volúmenes de saber arcaicos, y demases pormenores, otra vez, muy convenientes. Y como estos, más; El templo, El Caso De Charles Dexter Ward, El que susurra en la oscuridad, El ceremonial, La Ciudad Sin nombre, etc.
Este relato es muy corto, pero no por eso transmitió menos que ninguno de los de mayor envergadura. Muy bien, así da gusto.
Hay quienes dicen por ahí que el personaje de Pierre es, por parte de Lovecraft, una representación, (a propósito o inconsciente), de su abuelo. Presentadose ciertas semejanzas tanto con este como con la vida del protagonista;
Lovecraft fue muy solitario en su juventud, al igual que el personaje principal, así mismo como sus intereses radicaban en el ocultismo.
Me parece interesante como, de todos los relatos que he leído, casi siempre el punto de vista se expresaba a través de un narrador culto y que domina áreas de estudio sumamente útiles en función de profundizar el contenido y la visión del mundo. Como por ejemplo en las montañas de la locura, el prota y los secundarios manejaban la geología, arquologia, zoologia y cosas así, y de este modo podían hacer observaciones más complejas de las edificaciones, de los seres, y de las propiedades de los diferentes materiales. Así también como en El Horror De Dunwich, cuyo narrador, que era en su mayoría el profesor y bibliotecario de la Universidad, conocía los volúmenes de saber arcaicos, y demases pormenores, otra vez, muy convenientes. Y como estos, más; El templo, El Caso De Charles Dexter Ward, El que susurra en la oscuridad, El ceremonial, La Ciudad Sin nombre, etc.
Este relato es muy corto, pero no por eso transmitió menos que ninguno de los de mayor envergadura. Muy bien, así da gusto.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2020
So I read this and ... hmm.. yeah, I feel nothing.
It was not good but it was not bad either. And it has the added advantage of being beautifully written and short.. so 3 stars I guess
It was not good but it was not bad either. And it has the added advantage of being beautifully written and short.. so 3 stars I guess
March 7, 2014
Lovecraft's first published story is pretty derivative, reading more like an attempt to tell a story in the style of Poe or Hawthorne rather than spin a new yarn. It doesn't transcend its forebears by any means, but knowing that Lovecraft wrote it in his teens, it does display promise of nascent storytelling skills, if not a penchant for weirdness. Pretty garden-variety supernatural fiction.
December 27, 2021
Lovely prose and scene setting, but the conclusion was quite obvious and a bit tame. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable and quite extraordinary that it was written by a teenager, though the ending might just betray that fact.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
February 5, 2018
Lovecraft- always heard of him, before. Close to Poe.
March 28, 2022
Me re gusto, es el 2do relato que leo del autor, ya antes habia leido La llamada de Cthulu, el cual me dejo con unas re ganas de seguir leyendo mas relatos de él, y aca estoy cumpliendo mi meta. Me encanto el tema del relato, todo lo que tiene que ver con alquimia, magia negra, maldiciones y grimorios me vuelve loca. El final es super obvio y capas por eso no me termino de gustar, pero esta bien como primera experiencia
September 14, 2025
If one already read a couple of other books by H.P. Lovecraft one will notice how much apart this story is from the rest (based on vocabulary and writing style).
I really enjoyed the royalty aspect as well as the central theme of mortal vs immortal life and how much one can control their own life(span).
I really enjoyed the royalty aspect as well as the central theme of mortal vs immortal life and how much one can control their own life(span).
October 5, 2020
The ending was incredibly predictable
January 30, 2024
I've always loved just how much tension Lovecraft manages to squeeze into every crevice of his wonderfully crafted horrors. Subjectively, this one misses the mark for me. Nice build-up, though.
April 2, 2025
A perfect short story. I felt like I was reading a Poe meets Horace Walpole story.
Creepy, atmospheric and well done.
Creepy, atmospheric and well done.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 403 reviews