"From the Darkness and the Depths" by Morgan Robertson

Published 1913

Plot synopsis:

An aged former seaman recounts the harrowing details of his doomed last voyage near the eruption of Krakatoa, and of the unseen menace that terrorized his stricken ship and crew.

Review:

In popular memory, Morgan Robertson is best known for the 1898 publication of his novella Futility, or The Wreck of the Titan in which many details of its plot mirrored those of the Titanic disaster fourteen years later.  Such a spooky coincidence tidally locked his renown to that work forever, and Robertson died suddenly in 1915 before he could fully parlay his fame into a wider recognition of his other works.

“From the Darkness and the Depths” is one of his finer stories and is an absolute gem of an early 20^th century monster tale.   While technically Science Fiction (the monster’s invisibility is based on a combination of flawed turn of the century explanations about light refraction and the chemical composition of the creature’s tissues) one could easily view the story in a similar fashion to Ridley Scott’s film Alien in the sense that, while wearing the skin of SF, the blood and bone beneath is all Horror.   The notion of a multi-armed giant sea creature latching onto a ship to probe cracks and crevices for juicy person meat may seem cliché and a little pulpy.  What makes Robertson’s story unique and terrifying (especially for the era in which it appeared) is the idea that the monster is unseen.  The story is relentless in holding the reader's realization that death may come at the smallest misstep or misjudgment.

Added to this visceral fear of the unknown (and I do mean “visceral” in the literal sense as well, the creature has a predilection for sucking the guts from an individual and leaving an empty bag of skin), is the author’s deft imagery describing the events preceding the arrival of the monster, the environment of the flooded ship, the miserable conditions of the water soaked crew and the incredible dread of a lurking, invisible killer.   The horror of “From the Darkness and the Depths”  is the primal “please don’t let it get me” kind and it works wonderfully.   The story moves along at a brisk pace with a taut, dangerous ambience.  The reveals of the creature here and there throughout the story are handled indirectly through evidence of its movements and the damage it causes to wood and flesh.  As is the case with all the best monster tales, it is much scarier when imagination is required to give the big bad its form and shape.

The whole time reading it I couldn’t help but think that , with today’s CGI technology, the  story would make a great period short film or telemovie.   It is my personal belief that these older tales comprise a huge treasure trove of film material just waiting to be rediscovered.   At the time of their publication, stories like “From the Darkness and the Depths” had content and imagery decades ahead of the capabilities of what could be effectively portrayed on film, so not only did they slowly slide off the literary radar, as is wont to occur over time, they were also never given a second chance at mass rediscovery as cinema source material.   

“From the Darkness and the Depths” is public domain and can readily be found in online format after a little Googling.   It can also be found in M is for Monster, an excellent little anthology from Fall River Press.    Give it a read fellow worms, I promise you will find it well worth your time and a pure treat of the man vs. creature horror story!