An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia

Massachusetts poet and critic. HPL states that he and his parents boarded with Guiney and her mother in Auburndale, Mass., in the winter of 1892–93 (see SL2.207), but independent confirmation of this stay has not been found. HPL, however, had clear recollections of the Guiney residence, including its numerous dogs. It was formerly thought that some unpublished Guiney letters (to F.H.Day) written in the summer of 1892 contain allusions to the Lovecrafts, but in fact they refer to some German houseguests. HPL claimed that his mother was acquainted with Guiney; the latter, a Catholic, had attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Providence (1872–79), but there is no record of Sarah Susan Phillips having gone there. HPL also stated that he was dandled on the knee of the aged Oliver Wendell Holmes at the Guiney residence; Holmes was indeed a friend of Guiney, so this memory is likely to be genuine. Guiney wrote many books of poetry ( Songs at the Start[1884]; verse collected in Happy Ending[1909; rev. 1927]) and criticism ( Goose-Quill Papers[1885]). HPL owned her cowritten book, Three Heroines of New England Romance(1895). Her selected letters (containing no mention of HPL’s family) were published in 1920 (2 vols.).

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H

Haines, Mark.

In “Two Black Bottles,” the proprietor of a grocery store in Daalbergen, N.J., who tells the narrator of the strange events surrounding the death of the narrator’s uncle, Johannes Vanderhoof. “Hallowe’en in a Suburb.”

Poem (35 lines in 7 stanzas); probably written in early 1926. First published in the National Amateur (March 1926) (as “In a Suburb”); rpt. Phantagraph(June 1937); rpt. WT(September 1952). An evocation of the wonders and terrors of Halloween.

Halsey, Allan.

In “Herbert West—Reanimator,” the dean of the medical school of Miskatonic University. He opposes Herbert West’s experiments in reanimation, but when he succumbs to typhoid, West resuscitates him with only partial success.

Hammett, [Samuel] Dashiell (1894–1961).

Pioneering American writer of “hard-boiled” detective fiction who compiled the horror anthology Creeps by Night(1931), containing HPL’s “The Music of Erich Zann.” HPL, August Derleth, and other colleagues made numerous suggestions to Hammett regarding stories for inclusion in the volume. The anthology was reprinted in the UK as Modern Tales of Horror(1932).

Hardman, ’Squire.

In “Sweet Ermengarde,” the owner of the mortgage on the home of Hiram Stubbs, whose daughter, Ermengarde, he hopes to marry. After a succession of adventures, he does so.

Harré, T[homas] Everett (1884–1948).

American journalist who assembled the horror anthology Beware After Dark!(1929), containing HPL’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” of which he stated in his introduction: “…in its cumulative awesomeness and building of effect to its appalling finale, [it] is reminiscent of

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Poe.” HPL met Harré when he visited New York in January 1934 (see SL4.341). Harré published several novels as well as two further anthologies, The Bedside Treasury of Love(1945) and Treasures of the Kingdom(1947).

Harris, Arthur (1895–1966).

Amateur journalist in Wales and correspondent of HPL (1915–37). Harris, living in Llandudno, published one of the longest-running amateur journals, Interesting Items,which ran from 1904 (as Llandudno’s Weekly) to 1956, each issue usually consisting only of four to eight small pages. Harris published HPL’s poems “1914” (March 1915), “The Crime of Crimes” (July 1915), and two sonnets of Fungi from Yuggoth.Harris published “The Crime of Crimes” as a pamphlet; it thereby became HPL’s first separate publication. Copies are exceptionally scarce: three are known to be in existence. HPL continued to correspond with Harris for the entirety of his life, although as early as 1918 his letters numbered no more than one or two a year.

Harris, William (d. 1764).