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The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

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The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1971)
by H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft8393The Case of Charles Dexter Ward1971Front Cover of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.png

Book cover with a picture of a pile of skulls. "H. P. LOVECRAFT. THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD. A bone-chilling tale of horror and the macabre. Ballantine/Horror/35490/$2.95. DEL REY."

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Tombs of Madness

As he walked slowly about the hideous subterranean cavern, it occurred to Willett that both the noise and the odor seemed strongest directly above the oddly pierced slabs, as if they might be crude trapdoors leading down still deeper to some region of horror.

At his touch, the moaning beneath ascended to a louder key, and only with vast trepidation did he lift the heavy stone. A stench unnameable now rose up from below, and the doctor's head reeled dizzily as he laid back the slab and turned his torch upon the exposed square yard of gaping blackness.

For a second he could distinguish nothing but the slimy, moss-green brick walls, then he saw that something dark was leaping clumsily and frantically up and down at the bottom of the shaft. A few seconds later he was as stark mad as any inmate at the hospital—and screaming!

By H. P. Lovecraft

Published by Ballantine Books:


AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS AND OTHER TALES OF TERROR


THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD


THE DOOM THAT CAME TO SARNATH


THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH


THE LURKING FEAR AND OTHER STORIES


THE TOMB AND OTHER TALES

THE CASE OF
CHARLES DEXTER WARD


H. P. Lovecraft



DEL REY


A Del Rey Book


BALLANTINE BOOKS • NEW YORK

A Del Rey Book

Published by Ballantine Books


1941 by Weird Tales

1943 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei



ISBN 0-345-35490-7


This edition published by arrangement with Arkham House


Printed in Canada


First Ballantine Books Edition: August 1971

Seventh Printing: October 1987


Cover art by Michael Whelan

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Bone chilling tales of horror and the macabre…
for shock and suspense,
there's no other writer like him…

H. P. LOVECRAFT

lives in

DEL REY BOOKS


Available at your bookstore or use this coupon.


At the Mountains of Madness 32945 2.50
The Tomb 33661 2.50
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 33286 2.50
The Lurking Fear 32604 2.95
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath 33799 2.95
The Doom that Came to Sarnath 33105 2.95


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[Back Cover]


Illustration of eye with red iris.

A young man cursed by the ultimate invocation of evil

Incantations of black magic unearthed unspeakable horrors in a quiet town near Providence, Rhode Island. Evil spirits—whose memory lived on in half-understood legends and vile superstitions—lurked in underground caverns…waiting to be unleashed.

Driven by the spirit of his dead ancestor, a master of the black arts, Ward delved into his forbidden past and resurrected the darkest evil from beyond the grave…a supernatural force so gruesomely relentless that it twists genius to madness and kills without offering the mercy of death!


Lovecraft Lives in Del Rey Books

At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror

The Tomb and Other Tales

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

The Lurking Fear and Other Stories

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

The Doom that Came to Sarnath


Cover printed in USA


One or more copyright licenses apply to this work.


The text of the original was published in abridged form in 1941 in Weird Tales and was not renewed.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) before 1964, and copyright was not renewed.

Works published in 1941 would have had to renew their copyright in either 1968 or 1969, i.e. at least 27 years after they were first published/registered but not later than 31 December in the 28th year. As this work's copyright was not renewed, it entered the public domain on 1 January 1970.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1937, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 86 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

It is imperative that contributors search the renewal databases and ascertain that there is no evidence of a copyright renewal before using this license. Failure to do so will result in the deletion of the work as a copyright violation.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

The work was republished in 1943 in Beyond the Wall of Sleep. Beyond the Wall of Sleep was renewed, but this only applied to the arrangement of the stories (compilation rights) and not the text content (Renewal: R504228).

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) before 1964, and copyright was not renewed.

Works published in 1943 would have had to renew their copyright in either 1970 or 1971, i.e. at least 27 years after they were first published/registered but not later than 31 December in the 28th year. As this work's copyright was not renewed, it entered the public domain on 1 January 1972.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1937, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 86 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

It is imperative that contributors search the renewal databases and ascertain that there is no evidence of a copyright renewal before using this license. Failure to do so will result in the deletion of the work as a copyright violation.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

There is no copyright notice or delayed registration for any new matter in this edition.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) between 1929 and 1977 (inclusive) without a copyright notice.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1937, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 86 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

The cover art of this 1987 reprint does not have a valid copyright notice: it is missing the words "Copyright/Copr./©" and the date (see also Jaws Illustration (USCO Review Board, 2014)). There is no apparent subsequent registration.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) between 1978 and March 1, 1989 (inclusive) without a copyright notice, and without subsequent copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office within 5 years.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1937, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 86 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse