Psychopompos

"Psychopompos: A Tale in Rhyme" is a narrative poem by H. P. Lovecraft. Originally published in 1919, in The Vagrant, it appeared again in the September 1937 issue of Weird Tales and was reprinted in several collections of Lovecraft.
==Synopsis==
Set in medieval Auvergne (the same setting that inspired Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne), the poem tells of the reclusive Sieur De Blois, and his equally secretive wife, both of whom are feared by the villagers, who whisper about their evil deeds and the fact that they never attend church. At some points, the narrator seems to doubt the veracity of these rumours, reminding themself that people who tell them aren't particularly trustworthy.
On Candlemas Eve, the Dame De Blois stops by the bailiff's house and smiles in a sinister way when she sees the bailiff's young son, Jean. The next day, the healthy child inexplicably falls ill and dies. That night, a snowstorm rages, and the bailiff's wife sees a large reptilian beast crawling towards her son's coffin. She uses an axe to strike the monster's head and watches it escape into the night.
Over the next weeks, the villagers whisper about how agitated the Sieur De Blois seems to be. The misanthrope is uncharacteristically eager to hear about the incident in the bailiff's house, and disappears for days after learning of it. They also notice that the Dame De Blois hasn't been seen at all since the incident.
When the snows melt at spring, the body of the Dame De Blois is discovered, with her skull split open. When the body is brought to her husband, he reacts with anger and his servants with fear, but no one in the house shows surprise.
On the next Candlemas, another storm rages, and the village is invaded by a pack of wolves headed directly towards the bailiff's cottage. The wolf leader seizes the bailiff's wife, but the bailiff strikes the beast with an axe and rescues her. As the other wolves approach the couple menacingly, the house is destroyed by the storm, but the chimney and hearth remain intact, including the Lord's image and the cross. At the sight of this holy shrine, the supernatural wolves vanish and the storm dissipates.
The last two stanzas reveal that the story is being told by an old lady to her guest, who asks her what the Sieur De Blois had to do with the wolves. The old lady reveals that, from the track of blood left by the wounded wolf leader, the villagers concluded that it had perished in the quicksand swamp. The Sieur De Blois is never seen again, and his dog is seen howling in mourning on the same swamp.
Category:Lovecraft Circle Works
Category:H. P. Lovecraft works