The Horror at Martin's Beach
Created: February 2017 | Updated:

This article uses material from the The Horror at Martin's Beach article on the Lovecraft wiki at Fandom and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

Overview

"The Horror at Martin's Beach" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft and Sonia H. Greene (1883-1972). It was written in June 1922 and first published (as "The Invisible Monster") in November 1923 in Weird Tales (Vol. 2, No. 4, 75–76, 83).

Synopsis

Sailors kill a 50 foot creature at sea after a lengthy battle. The creature bears strange anatomical irregularities such as a single large eye and rudimentary forelegs and six-toed feet in place of pectoral fins. After inspection by marine biologists, it is revealed to be just a juvenile. The captain who captured the creature tours the coast and profits from the corpse of the deceased creature. As the captain attempts to finish his business at Martin's Beach, a group of swimmers are attacked. The captain and others attempt to rescue the victims but it is too late. The good samaritans and the captain are hypnotized and pulled into the water by the creature's apparently vengeful mother, to the horror of an onlooking crowd.