The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a novel by H. P. Lovecraft written in early 1927 and first published in the May and July issues of Weird Tales in 1941 under the title The Madness Out of Time. It was one of the very few Cthulhu Mythos books to take place in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft's hometown.

Back cover

Incantations of black magic unearthed unspeakable horrors in a quiet town near Providence, Rhode Island. Evil spirits – whose memory lived on in half-understood legends and vile superstitions – lurked in underground caverns . . . waiting to be unleashed.

Driven by the spirit of his dead ancestor, a master of the black arts, Ward delved into his forbidden past and resurrected the darkest evil from beyond the grave . . . a supernatural force so gruesomely relentless that it twists genius to madness and kills without offering the mercy of death!

Adaptations

In 1963 Roger Corman made a loose adaptation of the story to film, The Haunted Palace, starring Vincent Price.

In 1992 Dan O'Bannon made a much more faithful adaptation, The Resurrected, starring John Terry and Chris Sarandon.

Publications

• At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels (hardcover) published by Arkham House, ISBN 0870540386
• The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (paperback) published by Del Rey, ISBN 0345354907

External links

• The H. P. Lovecraft Archive includes additional information and photographs
• The Haunted Palace (1963) at Internet Movie Database
• The Resurrected (1992) at Internet Movie Database

Electronic Texts

• Full text which includes a scan of the "Saxon minuscules" (not included in the other resources, below)
• WikiSource - Full text
• Full text