Ramsey Campbell - The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants

When I turned to the front page of the newspaper, I saw it was the Camside Observer . As I looked closer, I saw something which made me call the others. "Look at this — December 8, 1930! You're right about this man being peculiar — what sort of person keeps a newspaper for twenty-eight years?"

"I'm going to look in the bedroom," Frank declared. He knocked on the door off the living-room, and, when we came up beside him, opened it. The room was almost bare: a wardrobe, a hanging wall-mirror, and a bed, were the only furnishings. The bed, as we had expected, was empty; but the mark of a sleeping body was clearly defined, though filled with dust. We moved closer, noting the absence of footprints on the floor; and bending over the bed, I thought I saw something besides dust in the hollows left by the sleeper — something like ground glass, sparkling greenly.

"What's happened?" Tony asked in a rather frightened tone.

"Oh, probably nothing out of the ordinary," said Frank. "Maybe there's another entrance round the back — maybe he can't stand all the noise, whatever it is, and has a bedroom on the other side. Look, there's a door in that wall; that may be it."

I went across and opened it, but only a very primitive lavatory lay beyond.

"Wait a minute, I think there was a door next to the bookcase," recollected Tony. He returned to the living-room and opened the door he had noticed. As we followed him, he exclaimed: "My God— now what?"

The fourth room was longer than any of the others, but it was the contents that had drawn Tony's exclamation. Nearest us on the bare floor was something like a television screen, about two feet across, with a blue-glass light bulb behind it, strangely distorted and with thick wires attached. Next to it another pair of wires led from a megaphone-shaped receiver. In between the opposite wall and these instruments lay a strange arrangement of crystals, induction coils, and tubes, from which wires hung at each end for possible attachment to the other appliances. The far corner of the ceiling had recently collapsed, allowing rain to drip onto a sounding-board carrying a dozen strings, a large lever and a motor connected by cogs to a plectrum-covered cylinder. Out of curiosity I crossed and plucked a string; but such a discord trembled through the board that I quickly muffled it.

"Something very funny is going on here," Frank said. "There's no other room, so where can he sleep? And the dust, and the newspaper — and now these things — I've never seen anything like them?"

"Why don't we look at his diary?" suggested Tony. "It doesn't look like he'll be back, and I for one want to know what's happened here."

So we went back into the living-room and Tony took down the heavy volume. He opened it to its last entry: December 8,1930. "If we all try and read it, it'll take three times as long," he said. "You two sit down and I'll try and read you the relevant bits." He was silent for a few minutes, then:

"Professor Arnold Hird, ex-Brichester University: never heard of him — must've been before our time.

"Ah here we are—

" 'January 3, 1930: Today moved into new house (if it can be called a house!). Noises are queer — suppose it's only because there's so much superstition about them that nobody's investigated before. Intend to make full study — meteorological conditions, &c: feel that winds blowing over ridges may vibrate and cause sounds. Tomorrow to look round, take measurements, find out if anything will interrupt sounds. Peculiar that sound seems to be deafening in certain radius, relatively faint beyond — no gradual fading.'

" 'January 4: Sleep uneasy last night — unaccustomed dreams. City on great mountain — angled streets, spiraling pillars and cones. Strange inhabitants; taller than human, scaly skin, boneless fingers, yet somehow not repulsive. Were aware of me, in fact seemed to await my arrival, but each time one approached me I awoke. Repeated several times.

" 'Progress negative. Screens on top of ridges did not interrupt sound; undiminished though little wind. Measurements — northwest ridge 423 yards?' Well, there's a lot more like that."

"Make sure you don't miss anything important," Frank said as Tony turned pages.

" 'January 6: Dreams again. Same city, figures as though waiting. Leader approached. Seemed to be communicating with me telepathically: I caught the thought— Do not be afraid; we are the sounds . Whole scene faded.

" 'No progress whatever. Unable to concentrate on findings; dreams distracting.'

" 'January 7: Insane perhaps, but am off to British Museum tomorrow. In last night's dream was told: Check Necronomicon — formula for aiding us to reach you . Page reference given. Expect and hope this will be false alarm — dreams taking altogether too much out of me. But what if something on that page? Am not interested in that field — impossible to know in normal way?'

" 'January 9: Back from London. Mao rite — on page I looked up — exactly as described in dream! Don't know what it will do, but will perform it tonight to find out. Strange no dreams while away — some influence existing only here?'

" 'January 10: Didn't wake till late afternoon. Dreams began as soon as sleep after rite. Don't know what to think. Alternatives both disturbing: either brain receiving transmission, or subconsciously inventing everything — but wd. sane mind act thus?

" 'If true that transmission external, learned following:

" 'Sounds in this area are equivalents of matter in another dimension . Said dimension overlaps ours at this point and certain others. City and inhabitants in dream do not appear as in own sphere, but as wd. appear if consisting of matter. Different sounds here correspond to various objects in other dimension; whirring equals pillars & cones, bass throbbing is ground, other varying sounds are people of city & other moving objects. Matter on our side they sense as odors.

" 'The inhabitants can transmit whole concepts mentally. Leader asked me to try not to make sounds in radius of point of connection. Carried over to their dimension. My footsteps — huge crystals appeared on streets of city. My breathing — something living which they refused to show me. Had to be killed at once.

" 'Inhabitants interested in communication with our dimension. Not dream — transmission — frequent use of Mao rite dangerous. Translator to be built on this side — enables sound to be translated into visual terms on screen, as in dream, but little else. When they build counterpart link will be effected — complete passage between dimensions. Unfortunately, their translator completely different from ours and not yet successful. Leader told me: Look in The Revelations of Glaaki for the plans . Also gave me page reference & said where to get copy.

" 'Must get copy. If no plan, all coincidence & can return to normal research. If plan, can build machine, claim discovery of other dimension!' "

"I've been thinking," I interrupted. "Arnold Hird — there was something — wasn't he asked to leave the university because he attacked someone when they disagreed with him? Said he'd return and astonish everybody some day, but was never heard of again."

"I don't know," said Tony. "Anyway, he continues: " 'January 12: Got Revelations of Glaaki . Had to take drastic measures to obtain it, too. Plan here — book 9, pp. 2057-9. Will take some time to build, but worth it. To think that besides me, only superstitious know of this — but will soon be able to prove it!'

"Hmmm — well, there don't seem to be any very interesting entries after that, just 'not much progress today' or 'screen arrangement completed' or here 'down to Severnford today — had to order strings at music shop. Don't like idea of using it, but must keep it handy in case.'"