This time of year is especially fun for fans of Edgar Allan Poe. I love his long poem, "The Raven," and his short story "The Cask of Amontillado." But did you know he also wrote about a lighthouse?
"The Lighthouse" is believed to be his last work of fiction. No one is sure if it was to be a short story, a novella, or a full work of fiction, for Poe died before it was finished. His death, in late 1849, prevented us from knowing.
His biographer, Kenneth Silverman, thinks this is the last piece of fiction Poe attempted, that he began the story in late spring of 1849 and only wrote a short part before dying. It was done as a series of diary entries made by a lighthouse keeper beginning on New Year's Day in 1796 on a lighthouse off the coast of Norway. Not much else is known.
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| A Wikimedia Commons image of Poe taken in 1849 not long before his death and possibly during the time he was writing "The Lighthouse." |
Excerpts from Wikipedia give some insight--
On January 1, the narrator records that it is his first day in the lighthouse, and records his annoyance at the fact that he had a difficult time getting the appointment to man it, even though he is of noble birth. He records that a storm is in progress, and that the ship that brought him "had a narrow pass". He also dwells on the concept of being alone, and how much he looks forward to spending time alone, just him and his dog Neptune, so he can write his book. He briefly comments that he hears some echo in the walls, thinking they may not be sturdy, but catches himself and claims that his worries are "all nonsense", alluding to a prophecy made by his friend DeGrat, who got him the appointment to the lighthouse.
On January 2 he describes the sea as being calm and uneventful, the wind having "lulled about day-break", and expounds on his passion for being alone.
On January 3 he describes the day as being calm and placid, and resolves to explore the lighthouse. He again begins to worry about the safety of the structure, but tries to reassure himself. The last line reads, "The basis on which the structure rests seems to me to be chalk..."
A heading for January 4 follows, but there is no text.
In Poe's own words--
Jan 1 — 1796. This day — my first on the light-house — I make this entry in my Diary, as agreed on with De Grät. As regularly as I can keep the journal, I will — but there is no telling what may happen to a man all alone as I am — I may get sick, or worse ..... So far well! The cutter had a narrow escape — but why dwell on that, since I am here, all safe? My spirits are beginning to revive already, at the mere thought of being — for once in my life at least — thoroughly alone; for, of course, Neptune, large as he is, is not to be taken into consideration as “society”. Would to Heaven I had ever found in “society” one half as much faith as in this poor dog: — in such case I and “society” might never have parted — even for the year ... What most surprises me, is the difficulty De Grät had in getting me the appointment — and I a noble of the realm! It could not be that the Consistory had any doubt of my ability to manage the light. One man had attended it before now — and got on quite as well as [page 2:] the three that are usually put in. The duty is a mere nothing; and the printed instructions are as plain as possible. It never would have done to let Orndoff accompany me. I never should have made any way with my book as long as he was within reach of me, with his intolerable gossip — not to mention that everlasting mëerschaum. Besides, I wish to be alone ...... It is strange that I never observed, until this moment, how dreary a sound that word has — “alone”! I could half fancy there was some peculiarity in the echo of these cylindrical walls — but oh, no! — this is all nonsense. I do believe I am going to get nervous about my insulation. That will never do. I have not forgotten De Grät’s prophecy. Now for a scramble to the lantern and a good look around to “see what I can see” ................ To see what I can see indeed! — not very much. The swell is subsiding a little, I think — but the cutter will have a rough passage home, nevertheless. She will hardly get within sight of the Norland before noon to-morrow — and yet it can hardly be more than 190 or 200 miles.
Jan.2. I have passed this day in a species of ecstasy that I find impossible [page 3:] to describe. My passion for solitude could scarcely have been more thoroughly gratified. I do not say satisfied; for I believe I should never be satiated with such delight as I have experienced to-day ......... The wind lulled about day-break, and by the afternoon the sea had gone down materially ..... Nothing to be seen, with the telescope even, but ocean and sky, with an occasional gull.
Jan. 3. A dead calm all day. Towards evening, the sea looked very much like glass. A few sea-weeds came in sight; but besides them absolutely nothing all day — not even the slightest speck of cloud. ....... Occupied myself in exploring the light-house .... It is a very lofty one — as I find to my cost when I have to ascend its interminable stairs — not quite 160 feet, I should say, from the low-water mark to the top of the lantern. From the bottom inside the shaft, however, the distance to the summit is 180 feet at least: — thus the floor is 20 feet below the surface of the sea, even at low-tide ...... It seems to me that the hollow interior at the bottom should have been filled in with solid masonry. Undoubtedly the whole would have been thus rendered more safe: — but what am I thinking about? A structure such as this is safe enough under any circumstances. I should feel myself secure [page 4:] in it during the fiercest hurricane that ever raged — and yet I have heard seamen say occasionally, with a wind at South-West, the sea has been known to run higher here than any where with the single exception of the Western opening of the Straits of Magellan. No mere sea, though, could accomplish anything with this solid iron-riveted wall — which, at 50 feet from high-water mark, is four feet thick, if one inch ........ The basis on which the structure rests seems to me to be chalk ......
Jan 4.
More analysis from Wikipedia--
Themes of foreboding, isolation and paranoia are apparent in "The Light-House".
Its style is very straightforward and plainspoken, in contrast to the more elaborate and decorated prose of Poe's earlier stories, implying a shift in Poe's writing style which the author did not live to realize.
Like many of Poe's works, "The Light-House" has been studied autobiographically. The lighthouse keeper, then, stands in for Poe himself, who is expressing his own feelings of being alone and isolated and questioning if he can survive.
It is very similar in theme to the later and also unfinished short story "The Burrow" by Franz Kafka. Both involve a reclusive narrator who obsesses over the safety of his enclosure, though Kafka's work was much closer to completion and, consequentially, much more elaborate. Given the obscurity of Poe's story, it is very unlikely that Kafka had read it.
There have been attempts to finish the tale or mimic it--
Author and surgeon Dr. Richard Selzer included his short story 'Poe's Light-house', inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Light-House', in 'The Doctor Stories', published by Picador. Joyce Carol Oates also used Poe's "The Light-House" as an inspiration for the story 'Poe Posthumous, or The Light-House' in her collection Wild Nights! (2008). Leigh M. Lane's Finding Poe (2012) speculates the role Poe's own works, including "The Lighthouse", may have played in his mysterious death.
Author Robert Bloch finished Poe's tale and published it in the February 1969 issue (#53) of Famous Monsters of Filmland as "Horror in the Lighthouse". An earlier version appeared in the January/February 1953 Ziff-Davis publication Fantastic entitled "The Lighthouse".
In addition to Bloch's adaption of "The Light-House", in the TV show The Following, fictional psychopath and serial killer Joe Carroll (played by James Purefoy) writes a novel inspired by Poe's tale, titling it The Gothic Sea.
In 1997 Ediciones Áltera commissioned a number of Spanish and Latin American writers to complete the story, each in their own manner. They included Cristina Fernández Cubas, whose version is included in her anthology “Todos los cuentos” (Tusquets editores, 2008).
A 2016 film, Edgar Allan Poe‘s Lighthouse Keeper, was loosely based on the story. While themes of isolation and unease in the building were preserved, the film took inspiration from Roger Corman's Poe adaptations from the 1960s.
According to Robert Eggers, although the final story bears little resemblance to the Poe fragment, the 2019 film The Lighthouse began as an attempt by his brother Max Eggers to do a contemporary take on the Poe story. When the project stalled, Robert offered to work with his brother and the project evolved into a period thriller with the Poe elements removed.
Author Christopher Conlon, an avid Poe devotee, has written spin-offs of many of the master's tales. It's no surprise he has been beguiled by "The Lighthouse."
About this title, he writes on www.christopherconlon.com --
“Found among Edgar Allan Poe's papers after he died (at 40, all too young) was an untitled story fragment with an intriguing preamble. Consisting of three short diary entries by a newly indentured lighthouse keeper, the fragment affords few clues about Poe's plot intentions. The assignment for the 23 contributors to this unique collection was to finish the tale by using Poe's language, themes, and predilection for curdling the blood. The results range from stylistically faithful narratives to improbable yarns that use Poe's introduction as a springboard for the author's own vision. In one entry, the diary pieces make up an ancient artifact viewed by an archivist in a future civilization. In another, the journal is inspected by detective Auguste Dupin, a figure familiar from such Poe classics as 'The Purloined Letter.' Perhaps the most outstanding entry is John Shirley's masterly continuation, in perfect faux-Poe fashion, of the diary to disclose the lighthouse keeper discovering a macabre use for his polished lantern. Must reading for Poe enthusiasts, in particular.”
Perhaps you'll want to write your own conclusion to the famous tale! If so, I would love to read it. lightkeeper0803@gmail.com
It's exciting to look back on Poe's tale and wonder, especially with the debut of "The Lighthouse" in theaters, a film by Robert Eggers starring Willem DaFoe and Robert Pattison. Was this the tale Poe had in mind?
