Lovecaft's Evidence Disappearing Act

One of the pillars of horror is actually mystery. Who's going to believe that a vampire is real or that a ghost is haunting the mansion? It's all malarky. Made up stuff in the your head or the delusions of a mad man. Or better still, the concoction of a drunkard or addict because no sane person would conjure up such insanities. It's one of the great mysterys in horror when you come down to it, why didn't the victims call the police? A notable cliche in the horror movies that there's no cellphone signal or the cops just don't believe you. There is no help coming, you're on your own. Lovecraft does something similar in his own stories to add to the confusion and disbelief of the populace. In The Whisperer in Darkness, a literature teacher named Albert Wilmarth discusses the strange alien sightings seen during a local flood with collegue Henry Akeley. To shrink a long story, Albert is convinced to bring all of his findings to Henry who is a puppet under the control of the aliens. For what purpose these beings are visiting earth is never explained beyond their need for a special metal in the earth. The aliens, called Mi-go, can't be photographed by our current technology and their bodies disolve when they die. A convenient excuse to hide away proof. Something similar happens in The Dunwich Horror. Antagonist Wilbur Whateley dissolves into a pool after being killed destorying any evidence of his true form. There's this connecting theme of "no one will believe you" in Lovecraft's work where evidence disappears or is destroyed. In the same likeness, no evidence remain in The Call of Cthulhu and our protagonist, Francis Thurston, is lucky to escape with his life only to note that he will likely die due to the growing power of the cult. Another voice silenced. I've become facinated by how horror tends to reflect responsibility onto the protagonists when in reality it should be some kind of authority's job to handle the danger. But that wouldn't give the protagonist growth if they hand over the reigns to a deus ex character. Instead, it falls to them to see the horror to its end and either grow from it or die from the consequences.

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