The Swine-Creatures' Attacks and the Narrator's Defense

The first direct encounter with a Swine-creature occurred in a deep ravine behind the house, known as the 'Pit' ^[1]. After rocks fell into the Pit, Pepper, the narrator's dog, began barking savagely ^[1]. The narrator, armed with a stick, descended into the Pit with Pepper ^[1]. A

second later, a loud, half-human, half-piglike squeal

sounded from the cliff, answered from the bottom of the Pit ^[1]. Pepper attacked, but returned with a severe claw wound ^[1]. The narrator pursued the creature, glimpsing a

livid white in color

thing that was

much too big

to be a wildcat, with

skin like a hog's

and moving

upright, or nearly so

on its hind feet ^{[1] [1]}. Later that day, a similar creature, resembling the

hideous Thing that had haunted the great arena

in his earlier vision, peered into his window ^[1]. It had a

grotesquely human mouth and jaw

, a snout,

little eyes and queer ears

, and

clawlike hands

with webbed fingers and talons ^[1]. The narrator shot at a noise in the bushes, hearing something scuttle away ^[1]. That night, he heard

something rubbing and fumbling against the back door

, followed by a

hideous chorus of bestial shrieks

from beneath the house ^{[1] [1]}. He also saw eyes,

revolving slowly, and throwing out alternate scintillations of green and red

, at a buttery window, prompting him to hurl a lamp at them, causing cries of pain ^{[1] [1]}.

A week later, a major assault began with a

tremendous column of dust

and rumbling from the Pit, indicating a landslip ^[1]. The narrator saw three shapes climbing from the Pit, and a

hideous, white swineface

emerged near him ^{[1] [1]}. He shot it, and it disappeared ^[1]. Immediately, a troop of creatures ran towards him, prompting him and his sister Mary to flee to the house ^[1]. One creature nearly caught him, but he struck it with his gun ^[1]. They managed to bolt the back door just as the creatures reached it ^[1]. The creatures then attempted to find entry points, whispering and slithering at the study door ^[1]. The narrator reinforced the study door with timber, which withstood multiple attempts by the creatures to burst it inward ^{[1] [1]}. From the roof, he shot at creatures near the door, and a coping stone fell, crushing some ^[1]. He then shot another creature attempting to move the stone ^[1]. The creatures also attempted to climb to a broken window using a gutter pipe, but the narrator tore it down, sending a clinging creature to the ground ^[1]. He then further reinforced the study door ^[1].

The morning after the major attack, the bodies of the creatures he had killed were gone ^[1]. His sister, Mary, attempted to unbar the back door, possibly under a strange influence, leading him to confine her to her room for safety ^{[1] [1]}. He maintained a strict vigil from the tower, but the creatures remained silent for several days ^[1]. Upon searching the gardens, he found scratches and gnawed marks on the door and doorposts ^[1]. He discovered the Pit had transformed into a lake with a large, arched hole, which he later found connected to his cellar via a trapdoor ^{[1] [1] [1]}. He believed the creatures had retreated into the Pit ^[1]. During an exploration of the subterranean passage, a sudden flood of water nearly drowned him, but Pepper saved him ^[1]. The rising water eventually sealed the Pit entrance, leading him to believe the threat was contained ^[1].

In the manuscript's final entries, the narrator describes a period of vastly accelerated time, during which his dog Pepper crumbled to dust ^[1]. He realized he too had aged centuries and become a bodiless entity ^{[1] [1]}. He witnessed the house decaying over millions of years, the sun dying, and a green star appearing ^{[1] [1] [1]}. He then saw the house again, ruined and covered with a

legion of unholy things

, the Swine-creatures ^[1]. The house erupted in blood-red flame, intermingled with the green light of the sun, and then the ground caved in, swallowing the house and its foul inhabitants ^{[1] [1]}. Finally, the earth itself was swallowed by the sun ^[1]. After the manuscript's reading, the narrator (the one who found the manuscript) experienced a new attack. He heard a

soft noise on the path

, a

pad, pad, pad

, outside in the garden ^[1]. His new dog howled, and his cat, Tip, reacted with extreme terror, seeing something

luminous and ghostly

that resolved into a

glowing hand

with a

greenish flame flickering over it

^[1]. The cat then smoked and blazed ^[1]. The dog was later found with a

greenish patch

and a

horrid wound

on its flank that had a

whitish, fungoid appearance

and glowed at night ^{[1] [1] [1]}. The narrator himself developed a similar glowing scratch on his wrist ^[1]. He shot the dog to end its suffering ^[1]. The growth on his wrist enlarged, covering his right arm and side, and began creeping up his neck ^[1]. In his study, he saw the

Thing from the arena

with a

vast, misty swineface

and

flamboyant flame, of a greenish hue

outside his window ^[1]. He felt an

immutable power

compelling him to the door, against his will ^[1]. The manuscript ends abruptly as he is forced to unbolt the door, fighting against the influence ^{[1] [1]}. He later recovered, re-secured the bolts, and found his brain clear of the unholy influence ^[1].

The narrator of the manuscript's story, having returned to his study, found Pepper had literally crumbled into a mouldering heap of bones and dust, a grim testament to the vast, accelerated passage of time he had experienced ^[1]. He himself discovered he had aged a century and was now a bodiless entity ^{[1] [1]}. He witnessed the house decaying over millions of years, the sun dying, and the appearance of a vivid green star ^{[1] [1] [1]}. In a final, terrifying vision, he saw the house again, now a ruined structure, covered with a

legion of unholy things

—the Swine-creatures—crawling over its walls ^[1]. The house then erupted in a vast column of blood-red flame, intermingled with the green light of the star, appearing as a

blazing furnace of red and green fire

^[1]. The ground beneath the house suddenly caved in, and the house, along with its load of creatures, disappeared into the depths of the earth, sending a

strange, blood colored cloud

into the heights ^[1]. Ultimately, the earth itself was swallowed by the sun, which gushed forth a

tongue of dazzling flame

, marking the

grave of the earth

^[1].

After reading the manuscript, the narrator (the one who found the manuscript) experienced a new, terrifying encounter. He heard a

soft noise on the path

, a

pad, pad, pad

, outside in the garden ^[1]. His new dog howled, and his cat, Tip, reacted with extreme terror, seeing something

luminous and ghostly

that resolved into a

glowing hand

with a

greenish flame flickering over it

^[1]. The cat then smoked and blazed ^[1]. The dog was later found with a

greenish patch

and a

horrid wound

on its flank that had a

whitish, fungoid appearance

and glowed at night ^{[1] [1] [1]}. The narrator himself developed a similar glowing scratch on his wrist ^[1]. He shot the dog to end its suffering ^[1]. The growth on his wrist enlarged, covering his right arm and side, and began creeping up his neck ^[1]. In his study, he saw the

Thing from the arena

with a

vast, misty swineface

and

flamboyant flame, of a greenish hue

outside his window ^[1]. He felt an

immutable power

compelling him to the door, against his will ^[1]. The manuscript ends abruptly as he is forced to unbolt the door, fighting against the influence ^{[1] [1]}. He later recovered, re-secured the bolts, and found his brain clear of the unholy influence ^[1].

The manuscript concludes with the narrator's final moments, as he is compelled to open the door to the garden, despite his terror ^[1]. He describes his hands moving without his volition, unbolting the door, and a

sickly whiff of mouldy air

driving through the doorway ^[1]. The last words of the manuscript describe him screaming in terror as he is forced to draw the final bolt, before a

great blackness

falls upon him and he collapses ^[1]. He later regains consciousness, cold and cramped, but the unholy influence has lifted, allowing him to re-secure the door ^[1]. The fate of the narrator and his sister beyond this point is left to the reader's imagination, as the manuscript ends here ^[1].

The manuscript concludes with the narrator's final moments, as he is compelled to open the door to the garden, despite his terror ^[1]. He describes his hands moving without his volition, unbolting the door, and a

sickly whiff of mouldy air

driving through the doorway ^[1]. The last words of the manuscript describe him screaming in terror as he is forced to draw the final bolt, before a

great blackness

falls upon him and he collapses ^[1]. He later regains consciousness, cold and cramped, but the unholy influence has lifted, allowing him to re-secure the door ^[1]. The fate of the narrator and his sister beyond this point is left to the reader's imagination, as the manuscript ends here ^[1].

The manuscript concludes with the narrator's final moments, as he is compelled to open the door to the garden, despite his terror ^[1]. He describes his hands moving without his volition, unbolting the door, and a

sickly whiff of mouldy air

driving through the doorway ^[1]. The last words of the manuscript describe him screaming in terror as he is forced to draw the final bolt, before a

great blackness

falls upon him and he collapses ^[1]. He later regains consciousness, cold and cramped, but the unholy influence has lifted, allowing him to re-secure the door ^[1]. The fate of the narrator and his sister beyond this point is left to the reader's imagination, as the manuscript ends here ^[1].