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Read The call of Cthulhu in English, with German beside it
by H. P. (Howard Phillips) Lovecraft · 1890â1937
"The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft is a cosmic horror short story written in 1926 and published in 1928. After inheriting his grand-uncle's mysterious notes, Francis Wayland Thurston pieces together a terrifying puzzle involving disturbing dreams, ancient cults, and a monstrous entity called Cthulhu. His investigation leads him across continents, from New Orleans rituals to a nightmare city on an uncharted island, where something immense and ancient awaits. As Thurston uncovers the truth, he realizes he may become the next target.
Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.
- Read time
- 54 min
- Words
- 11,968
- Chapters
- 1
- Paragraphs
- 125
- Price
- Free
- Cthulhu (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
- Horror tales
Here the first part of the manuscript ended, but references to certain of the scattered notes gave me much material for thought--so much, in fact,
Hier endete der erste Teil der Handschrift, aber die Verweise auf einige der zerstreuten Notizen gaben mir viel Stoff zum Nachdenken â so viel,
that only the ingrained skepticism then forming my philosophy can account for my continued distrust of the artist.
dass nur der eingewurzelte Skeptizismus, der damals meine Philosophie bildete, mein anhaltendes Misstrauen gegenĂŒber dem KĂŒnstler erklĂ€ren kann.
The notes in question were those descriptive of the dreams of various persons covering the same period as that in which young Wilcox had had his strange visitations.
Die fraglichen Notizen waren die, welche die TrÀume verschiedener Personen beschreiben, die denselben Zeitraum abdeckten, in dem der junge Wilcox seine seltsamen Heimsuchungen gehabt hatte.
My uncle, it seems, had quickly instituted a prodigiously far-flung body of inquiries amongst nearly all the friends whom he could question without impertinence, asking for nightly reports of their dreams,
Mein Onkel, so scheint es, hatte schnell eine prodigiös weitreichende Reihe von Nachforschungen unter fast allen Freunden angestellt, die er ohne Unhöflichkeit befragen konnte, und bat um nĂ€chtliche Berichte ĂŒber ihre TrĂ€ume sowie
and the dates of any notable visions for some time past.
um die Daten aller bemerkenswerten Visionen aus der vergangenen Zeit.
The reception of his request seems to have been varied; but he must, at the very least, have received more responses than any ordinary man could have handled without a secretary.
Die Aufnahme seiner Anfrage scheint unterschiedlich gewesen zu sein; aber er muss mindestens mehr Antworten erhalten haben, als ein gewöhnlicher Mensch ohne einen SekretÀr hÀtte bearbeiten können.
This original correspondence was not preserved, but his notes formed a thorough and really significant digest.
Diese ursprĂŒngliche Korrespondenz wurde nicht aufbewahrt, aber seine Notizen bildeten einen grĂŒndlichen und wirklich bedeutsamen Auszug.
Average people in society and business--New England's traditional "salt of the earth"--gave an almost completely negative result, though scattered cases of uneasy but formless nocturnal impressions appear here and there,
Durchschnittliche Menschen in Gesellschaft und GeschĂ€ft â New Englands traditionelles âSalz der Erdeâ â lieferten ein fast vollstĂ€ndig negatives Ergebnis, obwohl zerstreute FĂ€lle unruhiger, aber formloser nĂ€chtlicher EindrĂŒcke hier und da erscheinen,
always between March 23rd and April 2nd--the period of young Wilcox's delirium.
immer zwischen dem 23. MĂ€rz und dem 2.
Scientific men were little more affected, though four cases of vague description suggest fugitive glimpses of strange landscapes, and in one case there is mentioned a dread of something abnormal.
April â dem Zeitraum des Delirs des jungen Wilcox. Wissenschaftler waren wenig mehr betroffen, obwohl vier FĂ€lle vager Beschreibung flĂŒchtige Blicke auf seltsame Landschaften andeuten, und in einem Fall wird eine Furcht vor etwas Abnormalem erwĂ€hnt.
It was from the artists and poets that the pertinent answers came, and I know that panic would have broken loose had they been able to compare notes.
Von den KĂŒnstlern und Dichtern kamen die relevanten Antworten, und ich weiĂ, dass Panik ausgebrochen wĂ€re, hĂ€tten sie ihre Notizen vergleichen können.
As it was, lacking their original letters, I half suspected the compiler of having asked leading questions, or of having edited the correspondence in corroboration of what he had latently resolved to see.
Da mir ihre ursprĂŒnglichen Briefe fehlten, verdĂ€chtigte ich den Zusammensteller halb, leitende Fragen gestellt oder die Korrespondenz zur BestĂ€tigung dessen bearbeitet zu haben, was er latent zu sehen beschlossen hatte.
That is why I continued to feel that Wilcox, somehow cognizant of the old data which my uncle had possessed, had been imposing on the veteran scientist.
Deshalb fĂŒhlte ich weiterhin, dass Wilcox, auf irgendeine Weise mit den alten Daten vertraut, die mein Onkel besessen hatte, den Veteranen der Wissenschaft hereinzulegen versuchte.
These responses from esthetes told a disturbing tale.
Diese Antworten von Ăstheten erzĂ€hlten eine beunruhigende Geschichte. Vom 28.
From February 28th to April 2nd a large proportion of them had dreamed very bizarre things, the intensity of the dreams being immeasurably the stronger during the period of the sculptor's delirium.
Februar bis zum 2. April hatten ein groĂer Teil von ihnen sehr bizarre Dinge getrĂ€umt, wobei die IntensitĂ€t der TrĂ€ume wĂ€hrend des Zeitraums des Delirs des Bildhauers unermesslich stĂ€rker war.
Over a fourth of those who reported anything, reported scenes and half-sounds not unlike those which Wilcox had described; and some of the dreamers confessed acute fear of the gigantic nameless thing visible toward the last.
Ăber ein Viertel derjenigen, die etwas berichteten, beschrieb Szenen und Halbtöne, die denen, die Wilcox beschrieben hatte, nicht unĂ€hnlich waren; und einige der TrĂ€umenden gestanden eine akute Furcht vor dem riesigen namenlosen Ding, das gegen Ende sichtbar wurde.
One case, which the note describes with emphasis, was very sad.
Ein Fall, den die Notiz mit Nachdruck beschreibt, war sehr traurig.
The subject, a widely known architect with leanings toward theosophy and occultism, went violently insane on the date of young Wilcox's seizure, and expired several months later after incessant screamings to be saved from some escaped denizen of hell.
Der Betreffende, ein weithin bekannter Architekt mit Neigungen zur Theosophie und zum Okkultismus, wurde am Datum des Anfalls des jungen Wilcox gewaltsam wahnsinnig und starb einige Monate spÀter nach ununterbrochenem Geschrei, vor einem entflohenen Bewohner der Hölle gerettet zu werden.
Had my uncle referred to these cases by name instead of merely by number, I should have attempted some corroboration and personal investigation; but as it was, I succeeded in tracing down only a few.
Wenn mein Onkel diese FĂ€lle bei Namen statt nur bei Nummer erwĂ€hnt hĂ€tte, hĂ€tte ich versucht, einige BestĂ€tigungen und persönliche Untersuchungen anzustellen; aber so gelang es mir nur, einige aufzuspĂŒren.
All of these, however, bore out the notes in full.
Alle diese jedoch bestÀtigten die Notizen vollstÀndig.
I have often wondered if all the objects of the professor's questioning felt as puzzled as did this fraction.
Ich habe mich oft gefragt, ob alle Objekte der Fragen des Professors so verwirrt waren wie dieser Bruchteil.
It is well that no explanation shall ever reach them.
Es ist gut, dass keine ErklÀrung jemals zu ihnen vordringen soll.
About the author
H. P. (Howard Phillips) Lovecraft1890â1937
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Book details
- Original language
- English
- Translation
- German, machine translation
- Source text
- Project Gutenberg #68283
- Licence
- Public domain worldwide
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