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The Tree on the Hill
The Tree on the Hill by Howard Phillips Lovecraft adn Duane W. Rimel is a story written in first person. It depicts the main character going outside Hampden and finding a special tree...
18 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1934
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,497 books19.7k followersHoward Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
— Wikipedia
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
— Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 23, 2017
3.5
by H. P. Lovecraft and D. W. Rimel
A man stumbles upon a sinister looking tree in a place where nothing else seems to grow. He falls asleep and dreams of another world. He wakes up miles away, bloody and with clothes torn. Since he took a couple of pictures of the place, he decides to show them to his friend.
Lovecraft had read Rimel's The Tree on the Hill and told him that it truly captures the essence of the weird, although a bit anticlimactic in the end. The title of the old tome and the extract from it is one of Lovecraft's contributions to the story.
by H. P. Lovecraft and D. W. Rimel
A man stumbles upon a sinister looking tree in a place where nothing else seems to grow. He falls asleep and dreams of another world. He wakes up miles away, bloody and with clothes torn. Since he took a couple of pictures of the place, he decides to show them to his friend.
Lovecraft had read Rimel's The Tree on the Hill and told him that it truly captures the essence of the weird, although a bit anticlimactic in the end. The title of the old tome and the extract from it is one of Lovecraft's contributions to the story.
October 5, 2021
The Tree on the Hill is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in collaboration with Duane W. Rimel, which first appeared in the magazine Polaris, in 1940. The tale tells of a tree with strange properties atop an unusual hill, in the presence of which a man finds himself experiencing powerful hallucinations.
July 23, 2020
Another otherworldly tale!
May 23, 2026
Na ten moment moje ulubione opowiadanie od Lovecrafta!!!
May 15, 2022
Lovecraft #94 of 104: The Tree on the Hill (1934, with Duane W. Rimel)
“There is something damnably out of place in this landscape; something I can’t understand. The tree seems to suggest a thought—beyond my grasp. . . . It is too misty; too uncertain; too unreal to be natural!”
[Evil Tree by Kirill Volkov]
“The Tree on the Hill,” arguably the 94th oldest extant story worked on by American weird fiction author Howard Philips Lovecraft (1890-1937), simply strikes me as forgettable. I read it on 5/13/22 and I find writing this review on 5/15/22 that it has left little to no impression on my memory. It isn’t a bad story per say, of course, just very mediocre. I would suggest reading it only if you are Lovecraft completist such as myself; I am reading all of his 104 surviving stories this year in the order that he wrote them.
HPL collaborated on “The Tree on the Hill” for his much younger friend and correspondent Duane W. Rimel (1916-1996), with the latter doing the majority of the work. According to Joshi & Schultz (2001), it is clear from evidence in letters that “HPL revised the tale from a draft by Rimel” (p. 278). While no manuscript survives, it appears that the final third section of the story is by Lovecraft, along with the quote from the fictional ancient tome Chronicle of Nath in the second section. Rimel probably invented the title Chronicle of Nath, as he refers to it in several of his other stories.
Joshi & Schultz (2001) write that Rimel and HPL corresponded for the last three years of Lovecraft’s life, with the older author “offering constant assistance in matters of literary technique” (p. 227). Lovecraft read many of Rimel’s stories and revised several of them, including “The Disinterment” (1935). “Rimel briefly spearheaded the HPL fan movement in the 1940s” (p. 227) and in later life went on to earn a living writing weird fiction, westerns, and erotica under a variety of names. He wrote a memoir called “H.P. Lovecraft as I Knew Him” that was first published in 1983.
Title: “The Tree on the Hill”
Authors: Duane W. Rimel & H.P. Lovecraft
Dates: May 1934 (written), September 1940 (first published)
Genre: Fiction - Short story, science fiction, horror
Word count: 4,280 words
Date(s) read: 5/12/22-5/13/22
Reading journal entry #154 in 2022
Sources:
Link to the story: https://hplovecraft.com/writings/fict...
First publication citation: Polaris vol. 1, no. 4 (September 1940): 4–11.
Joshi, S. T., & Schultz, D. E. (2001). An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press.
Link to the image:
https://images.fineartamerica.com/ima...
Written on 5/15/22
“There is something damnably out of place in this landscape; something I can’t understand. The tree seems to suggest a thought—beyond my grasp. . . . It is too misty; too uncertain; too unreal to be natural!”
[Evil Tree by Kirill Volkov]
“The Tree on the Hill,” arguably the 94th oldest extant story worked on by American weird fiction author Howard Philips Lovecraft (1890-1937), simply strikes me as forgettable. I read it on 5/13/22 and I find writing this review on 5/15/22 that it has left little to no impression on my memory. It isn’t a bad story per say, of course, just very mediocre. I would suggest reading it only if you are Lovecraft completist such as myself; I am reading all of his 104 surviving stories this year in the order that he wrote them.
HPL collaborated on “The Tree on the Hill” for his much younger friend and correspondent Duane W. Rimel (1916-1996), with the latter doing the majority of the work. According to Joshi & Schultz (2001), it is clear from evidence in letters that “HPL revised the tale from a draft by Rimel” (p. 278). While no manuscript survives, it appears that the final third section of the story is by Lovecraft, along with the quote from the fictional ancient tome Chronicle of Nath in the second section. Rimel probably invented the title Chronicle of Nath, as he refers to it in several of his other stories.
Joshi & Schultz (2001) write that Rimel and HPL corresponded for the last three years of Lovecraft’s life, with the older author “offering constant assistance in matters of literary technique” (p. 227). Lovecraft read many of Rimel’s stories and revised several of them, including “The Disinterment” (1935). “Rimel briefly spearheaded the HPL fan movement in the 1940s” (p. 227) and in later life went on to earn a living writing weird fiction, westerns, and erotica under a variety of names. He wrote a memoir called “H.P. Lovecraft as I Knew Him” that was first published in 1983.
Title: “The Tree on the Hill”
Authors: Duane W. Rimel & H.P. Lovecraft
Dates: May 1934 (written), September 1940 (first published)
Genre: Fiction - Short story, science fiction, horror
Word count: 4,280 words
Date(s) read: 5/12/22-5/13/22
Reading journal entry #154 in 2022
Sources:
Link to the story: https://hplovecraft.com/writings/fict...
First publication citation: Polaris vol. 1, no. 4 (September 1940): 4–11.
Joshi, S. T., & Schultz, D. E. (2001). An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press.
Link to the image:
https://images.fineartamerica.com/ima...
Written on 5/15/22
June 21, 2020
Es un relato clasico de Lovecraft, pero ya esta, no tiene nada mas qie sea destacable, es bueno, es rapido, tiene algun concepto interesante, pero nada del otro mundo, aun asi puede ser una buena inspiracion para una historia relacionada con el tiempo, bueno, pero para mada un indispensable.
June 7, 2019
Сінґл і Константін живуть у Гемпдені. За містом є така собі проклята місцина, якої остерігаються індіанці. Одного дня Сінґл блукає собі, аж незчувається, що потрапляє туди. На багато кілометрів тут немає ані тварин, ані рослин. Нарешті він потрапляє на одиноке дерево на схилі. Він вирішує зберегти цей краєвид для свого друга і робить багато фотографій. Щоб трохи відпочити, він лягає під деревом. В своїх снах він потрапляє в інший світ, який його лякає. Коли він розплющує очі, бачить, що знаходиться далеко від дерева, його одяг розірваний, а він весь подертий, ніби він біг уві сні і не раз падав.
Він повертається додому, розповідає Константіну про свою пригоду, і той проявляє знімки. Побачивши їх, Константін ледь не помирає. Він доручає Сінґлу їх знищити, що той і робить. Та потім Сінґл помічає замальовку, яку робив ого друг під час проявки. На ескізі на місці дерева знаходиться істота з іншого виміру, який снився Сінґлу.
Він повертається додому, розповідає Константіну про свою пригоду, і той проявляє знімки. Побачивши їх, Константін ледь не помирає. Він доручає Сінґлу їх знищити, що той і робить. Та потім Сінґл помічає замальовку, яку робив ого друг під час проявки. На ескізі на місці дерева знаходиться істота з іншого виміру, який снився Сінґлу.
July 17, 2024
This is yet another tale of an otherworldly tale crafted by Lovecraft.
The protagonist stumbles upon a tree , growing out of a place where nothing else grows .. only as expected it’s much more than a tree and has otherworldly ramifications with ancient Gods (who shan’t be named), associated
Nevertheless it ends up predictable although entertaining.
It seems if Lovecraft’s works could be viewed in totality from a Birds Eye view , we may finally be able to see a singular cyclopean cosmic horror image, that forms the bits and pieces of his notable works.
But as Lovecraft warns in this story……..destroy the picture…
The protagonist stumbles upon a tree , growing out of a place where nothing else grows .. only as expected it’s much more than a tree and has otherworldly ramifications with ancient Gods (who shan’t be named), associated
Nevertheless it ends up predictable although entertaining.
It seems if Lovecraft’s works could be viewed in totality from a Birds Eye view , we may finally be able to see a singular cyclopean cosmic horror image, that forms the bits and pieces of his notable works.
But as Lovecraft warns in this story……..destroy the picture…
September 12, 2021
Selvom historien har nogle interessante ideer, så ender det ud i noget ret latterligt hvor vi skal være bange for et træ og et billede af et træ, fordi det ser mærkeligt ud. Og det at se på et billede af et træ kan rede jorden... Det er for dumt og overfladisk og udtryk for Lovecrafts typiske idé om at mennesker ikke kan tåle at se, og finder skræmmende, fremmede og mærkelige ting, hvilket er absurd. Der findes gode gyser historier om fotografier, men de har mere fylde og langsom uhygge end den her historie.
November 4, 2024
Overview: Our unnamed protagonist is working with his old friend Theunis. Theunis is studying a special area near Hampden. But there is something fascinating about a tree near the Bitterroot Mountains. A fascinating and terrifying tree. What is going on with it?
Dislikes: We have a horrifying tree here. Who knows what it actually is.
Likes: Theunis was quite brave to take on that kind of evil. We all need more friends like him.
Conclusion: This was a creepy and fun short story. Enjoy it as part of your campfire repertoire, or for spooky season.
Dislikes: We have a horrifying tree here. Who knows what it actually is.
Likes: Theunis was quite brave to take on that kind of evil. We all need more friends like him.
Conclusion: This was a creepy and fun short story. Enjoy it as part of your campfire repertoire, or for spooky season.
November 13, 2018
I'd be a terrible Lovecraftian protagonist. My response to the supposedly horrific ending of this was to want to explore further, make first (or renewed?) contact, and so on. A gate to another world that opens at predictable intervals? Awesome! Let's go! Let's find more of these! So, yeah, I'd be the first eaten, or institutionalized, or whatever, in a Lovecraftian story.
The idea for this one is interesting, but I find the whole "things wot man was not meant to know" bit tiresome.
The idea for this one is interesting, but I find the whole "things wot man was not meant to know" bit tiresome.
June 2, 2025
30 minutos de sueño!? Que locura! Pues nada de otro mundo, aunque fascinante que haya sido capaz de tener un sueño tan lúcido como este en un lugar tan tranquilo como en el que se encontraba.
Describe un mundo tan oscuro y lleno de seres "innominables y sin forma", que realmente parece que habla de algo real (5/5).
Describe un mundo tan oscuro y lleno de seres "innominables y sin forma", que realmente parece que habla de algo real (5/5).
April 9, 2018
There is a invisible barrier between what we know and what we don't. Do we really want to know what we don't. A fear of knowing the unknown is depicted in this story. Let us keep some unknown, unknowable. It is better this way.
March 11, 2026
Actual rating: ★★½☆☆- 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Ehh.. it's alright, I guess. Too on the nose. Nothing remarkable. The Tree was better.
These remaining stories feel more like writing exercises than anything else, which is probably exactly what they are.
Ehh.. it's alright, I guess. Too on the nose. Nothing remarkable. The Tree was better.
These remaining stories feel more like writing exercises than anything else, which is probably exactly what they are.
June 9, 2017
It is the first short story I read from Lovecraft, even if it is interesting it is not remotely frightening or satisfying.
May 1, 2018
Narrated this as an audio book. Lovecraft's character stumbles into another world that haunts his dreams and waking hours. As always evil lurks in the world of H.P Lovecraft.
December 9, 2018
A really creepy story to give goosebumps... I was really thrilled and chilled while enjoying this story
December 9, 2018
A really creepy story to give goosebumps... I was really thrilled and chilled while enjoying this story
February 17, 2020
Pure derision, some pretty words
Read
February 19, 2020"Surely you dont think the world is a rule for measuring the universe?"
Why wouldn't it be, Mr. Lovecraft? Why wouldn't it be?
Why wouldn't it be, Mr. Lovecraft? Why wouldn't it be?
March 3, 2020
I was left wanting more. I know it's a short story, but it could have gone a little deeper.
November 22, 2020
Un cuento corto e interesante. Aunque desearía saber un poco más...
January 24, 2022
¿De dónde saldría ese árbol en medio de la nada? Un árbol tan asombroso y majestuoso que esconde una oscura realidad que nadie está listo para comprender.
August 27, 2022
Noooo!!!! This should've been longer, it was so damn beautiful and we'll written!!!!!!!
November 17, 2022
Плохое дерево!
May 7, 2024
I truly enjoyed this book; I was actually nervous and scared.
August 30, 2024
Not the most imaginative Lovecraftian tale.
October 21, 2024
هناك اشياء لا يجب ان يراها الانسان لانها خارج قدرات عقله علي الايستعاب ...
August 9, 2025
I am impressed by how underrated this one is. I had never even heard of it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews