The Dunwich Horror

In what ways does The Dunwich Horror build connections with other books by H. P. Lovecraft? How does The Dunwich Horror fit in with the larger arc of Lovecraft’s work?

Dunwich is an insular community. How does their reverence for isolation become a tragic problem? What does The Dunwich Horror communicate about the dangers of isolation?

Describe the ways in which The Dunwich Horror explores the similarities and differences between psychological and physical horror.

The written word plays a pivotal in The Dunwich Horror, and The Necronomicon is a frequent feature in Lovecraft’s stories. What impact does text have on the story?

Which characters in the story can be said to be guilty of willful ignorance? In what ways is this punished?

How does Lovecraft create and then upend and complicate assumptions about Wilbur? Why and how is Wilbur’s true nature revealed to the world?

Compare and contrast the treatment of Wilbur by the townspeople versus his treatment by Armitage. To what extent is the translation of Wilbur’s diary an act of radical empathy?

The entity functions in various ways in the narrative and could be considered a character, a symbol, or a combination of both. How does the entity function, and what is the most useful way to describe the narrative purpose of the entity?