Harley Warren
Encyclopedia
Harley Warren is a mysterious occultist who appears in H. P. Lovecraft
's story "The Statement of Randolph Carter
" as a friend of Carter (in the dream the story was based on Samuel Loveman
was the Warren character). He apparently perishes while exploring an underground crypt in Big Cypress Swamp, leaving Carter above, unharmed but mentally shaken. Warren is also mentioned in another Lovecraft story, "The Silver Key
", as "a man in the south, who was shunned and feared for the blaspemous things he read in prehistoric books and clay tablets smuggled from India and Arabia" as well as "Through the Gates of the Silver Key
" in which he was revealed to have been an expert linguist
of the primal Naacal
language of the Himalayas.
What singles Warren out from Lovecraft's many other doomed characters is his self-sacrificial, gentle nature (he pleads with Carter to put back the crypt's slab and run for it while he still has the chance) combined with a sinister element that is more in keeping with Lovecraft's other ambiguous anti-heroes such as Pickman and Herbert West
(Carter describes Warren's expression as disquieting when he talks of his occult theories).
What really caused Warren's death down there in the underground swamp crypt is unknown; in a letter that Lovecraft wrote to Clark Ashton Smith
, he mentions that Warren may have been destroyed by a 'begetting entity' within Smith's tale The Nameless Offspring, but this is quite possibly more speculation between friends than actual fact.
A character who bears a resemblance to him is Clark Ashton Smith's antehuman sorcerer Haon-Dor (from "The Seven Geases"), another seeker after forbidden lore. Warren is also mentioned in Brian Lumley
's Titus Crow
series as a member of a Bostonian group of psychics.
in The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter
.
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
's story "The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Statement of Randolph Carter
"The Statement of Randolph Carter" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written December 1919, it was first published in The Vagrant, May 1920...
" as a friend of Carter (in the dream the story was based on Samuel Loveman
Samuel Loveman
Samuel Loveman was a American poet, critic, and dramatist. His exotic and imaginative verse included 1926's the Hermaphrodite and Other Poems and 1944's the Sphinx Samuel Loveman (1887-1976) was a American poet, critic, and dramatist. His exotic and imaginative verse included 1926's the...
was the Warren character). He apparently perishes while exploring an underground crypt in Big Cypress Swamp, leaving Carter above, unharmed but mentally shaken. Warren is also mentioned in another Lovecraft story, "The Silver Key
The Silver Key
"The Silver Key" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in 1926, considered part of his Dreamlands series. It was first published in the January 1929 issue of Weird Tales. It was followed by a sequel, "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", co-written with E...
", as "a man in the south, who was shunned and feared for the blaspemous things he read in prehistoric books and clay tablets smuggled from India and Arabia" as well as "Through the Gates of the Silver Key
Through the Gates of the Silver Key
"Through the Gates of the Silver Key" is a short story co-written by H. P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price between October 1932 and April 1933. A sequel to Lovecraft's "The Silver Key", and part of a sequence of stories focusing on Randolph Carter, it was first published in the July 1934 issue of...
" in which he was revealed to have been an expert linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
of the primal Naacal
Naacal
Naacal is the name of an ancient people and civilization claimed to have existed by first Augustus Le Plongeon and later James Churchward. Though there is no scientific or archaeological evidence for the existence of the Naacals, various later fictional works have made use of them.-Augustus Le...
language of the Himalayas.
What singles Warren out from Lovecraft's many other doomed characters is his self-sacrificial, gentle nature (he pleads with Carter to put back the crypt's slab and run for it while he still has the chance) combined with a sinister element that is more in keeping with Lovecraft's other ambiguous anti-heroes such as Pickman and Herbert West
Herbert West
Herbert West is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft for his short story "Herbert West—Reanimator", first published in 1922. There have been several adaptations of the story including Herbert West as played by Jeffrey Combs in the 1985 Re-Animator movie and its two sequels, Bride...
(Carter describes Warren's expression as disquieting when he talks of his occult theories).
What really caused Warren's death down there in the underground swamp crypt is unknown; in a letter that Lovecraft wrote to Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
, he mentions that Warren may have been destroyed by a 'begetting entity' within Smith's tale The Nameless Offspring, but this is quite possibly more speculation between friends than actual fact.
A character who bears a resemblance to him is Clark Ashton Smith's antehuman sorcerer Haon-Dor (from "The Seven Geases"), another seeker after forbidden lore. Warren is also mentioned in Brian Lumley
Brian Lumley
Brian Lumley is an English horror fiction writer.Born in County Durham, he joined the British Army's Royal Military Police and wrote stories in his spare time before retiring with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 in 1980 and becoming a professional writer.He added to H. P...
's Titus Crow
Titus Crow
Titus Crow is the main character in the eponymous series of horror fiction books by Brian Lumley. The books are based on H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.-Description:...
series as a member of a Bostonian group of psychics.
In other media
Several actors in cinematic renditions of The Statement of Randolph Carter have portrayed Harley Warren, the most notable of them being John Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
in The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter is a 1993 horror film. It incorporates elements from the short story "The Statement of Randolph Carter" by H.P...
.