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Coil</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. 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class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Short story by H. P. Lovecraft<br />Zealia Bishop</div><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above summary" style="font-size:125%; background: #ededed;">"Medusa's Coil"</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader" style="font-weight: bold; background:whitesmoke;"><a href="/wiki/Short_story" title="Short story">Short story</a> by <a href="/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft" title="H. P. Lovecraft">H. P. Lovecraft</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Zealia_Bishop" title="Zealia Bishop">Zealia Bishop</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Weird_Tales_January_1939.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Weird_Tales_January_1939.jpg/220px-Weird_Tales_January_1939.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="326" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Weird_Tales_January_1939.jpg/330px-Weird_Tales_January_1939.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Weird_Tales_January_1939.jpg 2x" data-file-width="373" data-file-height="553" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Cover of <i>Weird Tales</i>, January 1939</div></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background: #ededed;"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wikiversity-Mooc-Icon-Further-readings.svg/25px-Wikiversity-Mooc-Icon-Further-readings.svg.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="25" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wikiversity-Mooc-Icon-Further-readings.svg/38px-Wikiversity-Mooc-Icon-Further-readings.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wikiversity-Mooc-Icon-Further-readings.svg/50px-Wikiversity-Mooc-Icon-Further-readings.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="32" data-file-height="32" /></span></span><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Medusa%27s_Coil" class="extiw" title="wikisource:Medusa's Coil"><i>Text available</i></a> at <a href="/wiki/Wikisource" title="Wikisource">Wikisource</a></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap">Country</th><td class="infobox-data">United States</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap">Language</th><td class="infobox-data">English</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap">Genre(s)</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Horror_Fiction" class="mw-redirect" title="Horror Fiction">Horror</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background: #ededed;">Publication</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap">Published in</th><td class="infobox-data"><i><a href="/wiki/Weird_Tales" title="Weird Tales">Weird Tales</a></i></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap">Publication date</th><td class="infobox-data">January 1939</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>"<b>Medusa's Coil</b>" is a <a href="/wiki/Short_story" title="Short story">short story</a> by <a href="/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft" title="H. P. Lovecraft">H. P. Lovecraft</a> and <a href="/wiki/Zealia_Bishop" title="Zealia Bishop">Zealia Bishop</a>. It was first published in <i><a href="/wiki/Weird_Tales" title="Weird Tales">Weird Tales</a></i> magazine in January 1939, two years after Lovecraft's death. The story concerns the son of an American <a href="/wiki/Plantations_in_the_American_South" class="mw-redirect" title="Plantations in the American South">plantation</a> owner who brings back from <a href="/wiki/Paris" title="Paris">Paris</a> a new wife. It mixes elements of Lovecraft's <a href="/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos" title="Cthulhu Mythos">Cthulhu Mythos</a> with the ancient Greek myth of <a href="/wiki/Medusa" title="Medusa">Medusa</a>, but it has also been noted for its <a href="/wiki/Racist" class="mw-redirect" title="Racist">racist</a> aspects. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Plot">Plot</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Medusa%27s_Coil&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Plot"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The unnamed narrator of the story is driving to <a href="/wiki/Cape_Girardeau,_Missouri" title="Cape Girardeau, Missouri">Cape Girardeau, Missouri</a>, but gets lost in the unfamiliar countryside. He comes across a rundown <a href="/wiki/Plantations_in_the_American_South" class="mw-redirect" title="Plantations in the American South">plantation</a> house, and finds the only inhabitant is an emaciated old man named Antoine de Russy. The narrator asks if he could spend the night in the house. The old man agrees, and begins to tell him the tale of the place. He explains that he inherited the estate from his grandfather, and married in 1885. He had a son, Denis, who, as a young man, was sent to the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Paris" title="University of Paris">Sorbonne</a> in <a href="/wiki/Paris" title="Paris">Paris</a>. There, Denis met an artist, Frank Marsh, from <a href="/wiki/New_Orleans" title="New Orleans">New Orleans</a> and the two men became involved in a mystical cult. Denis became infatuated with the head of the cult, a woman named Marceline, and married her. Around 1916, Denis returned to Missouri with his new wife, but Antoine and his servants found her strangely repulsive. When Frank Marsh came to visit, he developed a friendship with Marceline and insisted on painting her portrait. </p><p>Aware that his son may become jealous, Antoine arranged for Denis to be called away on business, while Frank Marsh set about painting Marceline. However, Denis comes home unexpectedly, entered the studio where Marsh was painting Marceline, and a fight took place. It was then that the painting was first revealed, showing the truth as to what Marceline really was. In horror, Denis killed Marceline, but her "blasphemous braid of coarse black hair" struck and killed Marsh "coiling around him as a python would". Denis confessed all of this to his father, and then killed himself. Antoine buried the bodies in the cellar, including the coil of hair around Marsh. Antoine comes to the end of his story, but offers to show his guest the horrific painting: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>It was as the old man had said—a vaulted, columned hell of mungled Black Masses and Witches' Sabbaths—and what perfect completion could have added to it was beyond my power to guess. . . . The utmost horror of all, of course, was Marceline—and as I saw the bloated, discoloured flesh I formed the odd fancy that perhaps the figure on the canvas had some obscure, occult linkage with the figure which lay in quicklime under the cellar floor. . . . Surpassing all in horror was the streaming black hair—which covered the rotting body, but which was itself not even slightly decayed. All I had heard of it was amply verified. It was nothing human, this ropy, sinuous, half-oily, half-crinkly flood of serpent darkness. Vile, independent life proclaimed itself at every unnatural twist and convolution, and the suggestion of numberless reptilian heads at the out-turned ends was far too marked to be illusory or accidental.<sup id="cite_ref-mc_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mc-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>Horrified, the narrator pulls out a gun and shoots the painting. But this, as the old man explains, has now unleashed a curse: "She and that hair will come up out of their graves, for God knows what purpose!" The narrator flees to his car, and drives away just as the house is engulfed in flames. After several miles, the narrator stops and talks to a farmer, but the farmer explains that the old man mysteriously disappeared and the house burned down "five or six years" earlier. The narrator drives on, but mentions one final horror that he learned from details in the lost masterpiece of poor Frank Marsh: </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>It would be too hideous if they knew that the one-time heiress of Riverside, the accursed gorgon or lamia whose hateful crinkly coil of serpent-hair must even now be brooding and twining vampirically around an artist's skeleton in a lime-packed grave beneath a charred foundation, . . . for, though in deceitfully slight proportion, Marceline was a negress.<sup id="cite_ref-mc_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mc-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Reception">Reception</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Medusa%27s_Coil&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Reception"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The story is noted for its racist elements, especially with the final racist revelation which is intended to be the culminating horror of the tale.<sup id="cite_ref-js166_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-js166-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This racism may have formed an integral part of the original draft around which Lovecraft added elements such as the <a href="/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos" title="Cthulhu Mythos">Cthulhu Cult</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-callaghan217_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-callaghan217-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>When <a href="/wiki/August_Derleth" title="August Derleth">August Derleth</a> published the story in an anthology in 1944, he changed the final line to: "though in deceitfully slight proportion, Marceline was a loathsome, bestial thing, and her forebears had come from Africa."<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Medusa%27s_Coil&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-mc-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-mc_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-mc_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFLovecraftBishop" class="citation book cs1">Lovecraft, H. P.; Bishop, Zealia. "6". <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Medusa%27s_Coil"><i>Medusa's Coil</i></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=6&rft.btitle=Medusa%27s+Coil&rft.aulast=Lovecraft&rft.aufirst=H.+P.&rft.au=Bishop%2C+Zealia&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikisource.org%2Fwiki%2FMedusa%2527s_Coil&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMedusa%27s+Coil" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-js166-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-js166_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJoshiSchultz2001" class="citation book cs1">Joshi, S. T.; Schultz, David E. (2001). <span class="id-lock-limited" title="Free access subject to limited trial, subscription normally required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/hplovecraftencyc00josh"><i>An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia</i></a></span>. Greenwood. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/hplovecraftencyc00josh/page/n186">166</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0313315787" title="Special:BookSources/0313315787"><bdi>0313315787</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=An+H.P.+Lovecraft+Encyclopedia&rft.pages=166&rft.pub=Greenwood&rft.date=2001&rft.isbn=0313315787&rft.aulast=Joshi&rft.aufirst=S.+T.&rft.au=Schultz%2C+David+E.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fhplovecraftencyc00josh&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMedusa%27s+Coil" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-callaghan217-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-callaghan217_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCallaghan2013" class="citation book cs1">Callaghan, Gavin (2013). <i>H. P. Lovecraft's Dark Arcadia: The Satire, Symbology and Contradiction</i>. McFarland. p. 217. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0786470792" title="Special:BookSources/978-0786470792"><bdi>978-0786470792</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=H.+P.+Lovecraft%27s+Dark+Arcadia%3A+The+Satire%2C+Symbology+and+Contradiction&rft.pages=217&rft.pub=McFarland&rft.date=2013&rft.isbn=978-0786470792&rft.aulast=Callaghan&rft.aufirst=Gavin&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMedusa%27s+Coil" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLovecraft1944" class="citation book cs1">Lovecraft, H. P. (1944). Derleth, August (ed.). <i>Marginalia</i>. Arkham House. p. 84.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Marginalia&rft.pages=84&rft.pub=Arkham+House&rft.date=1944&rft.aulast=Lovecraft&rft.aufirst=H.+P.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMedusa%27s+Coil" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Medusa%27s_Coil&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?363051"><i>Medusa's Coil</i></a> title listing at the <a href="/wiki/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database" title="Internet Speculative Fiction Database">Internet Speculative Fiction Database</a></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikisource-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/15px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/23px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/30px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="430" /></a></span> The full text of <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Special:Search/Medusa%27s_Coil" class="extiw" title="wikisource:Special:Search/Medusa's Coil">Medusa's Coil</a> at Wikisource</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output 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P. Lovecraft"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:H._P._Lovecraft" title="Template talk:H. P. Lovecraft"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:H._P._Lovecraft" title="Special:EditPage/Template:H. P. Lovecraft"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="H._P._Lovecraft" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft" title="H. P. Lovecraft">H. P. Lovecraft</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft_bibliography" title="H. P. Lovecraft bibliography">Bibliography</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Short stories</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Beast_in_the_Cave" title="The Beast in the Cave">The Beast in the Cave</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Alchemist_(short_story)" title="The Alchemist (short story)">The Alchemist</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Tomb_(short_story)" title="The Tomb (short story)">The Tomb</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Dagon_(short_story)" title="Dagon (short story)">Dagon</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/A_Reminiscence_of_Dr._Samuel_Johnson" title="A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson">A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Polaris_(short_story)" title="Polaris (short story)">Polaris</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Beyond_the_Wall_of_Sleep" title="Beyond the Wall of Sleep">Beyond the Wall of Sleep</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Memory_(H._P._Lovecraft)" title="Memory (H. P. Lovecraft)">Memory</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Old_Bugs" title="Old Bugs">Old Bugs</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Transition_of_Juan_Romero" title="The Transition of Juan Romero">The Transition of Juan Romero</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_White_Ship_(story)" title="The White Ship (story)">The White Ship</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Street_(short_story)" title="The Street (short story)">The Street</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Doom_That_Came_to_Sarnath" title="The Doom That Came to Sarnath">The Doom That Came to Sarnath</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Statement_of_Randolph_Carter" title="The Statement of Randolph Carter">The Statement of Randolph Carter</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Terrible_Old_Man" title="The Terrible Old Man">The Terrible Old Man</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Tree_(short_story)" title="The Tree (short story)">The Tree</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Cats_of_Ulthar" title="The Cats of Ulthar">The Cats of Ulthar</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Temple_(Lovecraft_short_story)" title="The Temple (Lovecraft short story)">The Temple</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Facts_Concerning_the_Late_Arthur_Jermyn_and_His_Family" title="Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family">Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Celepha%C3%AFs" title="Celephaïs">Celephaïs</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/From_Beyond_(short_story)" title="From Beyond (short story)">From Beyond</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Nyarlathotep_(short_story)" title="Nyarlathotep (short story)">Nyarlathotep</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Picture_in_the_House" title="The Picture in the House">The Picture in the House</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Ex_Oblivione" title="Ex Oblivione">Ex Oblivione</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Sweet_Ermengarde" title="Sweet Ermengarde">Sweet Ermengarde</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Nameless_City" title="The Nameless City">The Nameless City</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Quest_of_Iranon" title="The Quest of Iranon">The Quest of Iranon</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Moon-Bog" title="The Moon-Bog">The Moon-Bog</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Outsider_(short_story)" title="The Outsider (short story)">The Outsider</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Other_Gods" title="The Other Gods">The Other Gods</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Music_of_Erich_Zann" title="The Music of Erich Zann">The Music of Erich Zann</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Herbert_West%E2%80%93Reanimator" title="Herbert West–Reanimator">Herbert West–Reanimator</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Hypnos_(short_story)" title="Hypnos (short story)">Hypnos</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/What_the_Moon_Brings" title="What the Moon Brings">What the Moon Brings</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Azathoth_(short_story)" title="Azathoth (short story)">Azathoth</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Hound" title="The Hound">The Hound</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Lurking_Fear" title="The Lurking Fear">The Lurking Fear</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Rats_in_the_Walls" title="The Rats in the Walls">The Rats in the Walls</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Unnamable_(short_story)" title="The Unnamable (short story)">The Unnamable</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Festival_(short_story)" title="The Festival (short story)">The Festival</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Shunned_House" title="The Shunned House">The Shunned House</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Horror_at_Red_Hook" title="The Horror at Red Hook">The Horror at Red Hook</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/He_(short_story)" title="He (short story)">He</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/In_the_Vault" title="In the Vault">In the Vault</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Cool_Air" title="Cool Air">Cool Air</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Call_of_Cthulhu" title="The Call of Cthulhu">The Call of Cthulhu</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Pickman%27s_Model" title="Pickman's Model">Pickman's Model</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Silver_Key" title="The Silver Key">The Silver Key</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Strange_High_House_in_the_Mist" title="The Strange High House in the Mist">The Strange High House in the Mist</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Colour_Out_of_Space" title="The Colour Out of Space">The Colour Out of Space</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Descendant_(short_story)" title="The Descendant (short story)">The Descendant</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Necronomicon" title="History of the Necronomicon">History of the <i>Necronomicon</i></a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Very_Old_Folk" title="The Very Old Folk">The Very Old Folk</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Ibid_(short_story)" title="Ibid (short story)">Ibid</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Dunwich_Horror" title="The Dunwich Horror">The Dunwich Horror</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Dreams_in_the_Witch_House" title="The Dreams in the Witch House">The Dreams in the Witch House</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Thing_on_the_Doorstep" title="The Thing on the Doorstep">The Thing on the Doorstep</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Evil_Clergyman" title="The Evil Clergyman">The Evil Clergyman</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Book_(short_story)" title="The Book (short story)">The Book</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Haunter_of_the_Dark" title="The Haunter of the Dark">The Haunter of the Dark</a>"</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Novellas</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Dream-Quest_of_Unknown_Kadath" title="The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath">The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Whisperer_in_Darkness" title="The Whisperer in Darkness">The Whisperer in Darkness</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/At_the_Mountains_of_Madness" title="At the Mountains of Madness">At the Mountains of Madness</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Shadow_over_Innsmouth" title="The Shadow over Innsmouth">The Shadow over Innsmouth</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Shadow_Out_of_Time" title="The Shadow Out of Time">The Shadow Out of Time</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Novels</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Case_of_Charles_Dexter_Ward" title="The Case of Charles Dexter Ward">The Case of Charles Dexter Ward</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Collaborations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Green_Meadow" title="The Green Meadow">The Green Meadow</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Poetry_and_the_Gods" title="Poetry and the Gods">Poetry and the Gods</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Crawling_Chaos" title="The Crawling Chaos">The Crawling Chaos</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Horror_at_Martin%27s_Beach" title="The Horror at Martin's Beach">The Horror at Martin's Beach</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Under_the_Pyramids" title="Under the Pyramids">Under the Pyramids</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Curse_of_Yig" title="The Curse of Yig">The Curse of Yig</a>"</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Mound_(novella)" title="The Mound (novella)">The Mound</a></i></li> <li>"<a class="mw-selflink selflink">Medusa's Coil</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Horror_in_the_Museum" title="The Horror in the Museum">The Horror in the Museum</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Through_the_Gates_of_the_Silver_Key" title="Through the Gates of the Silver Key">Through the Gates of the Silver Key</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Out_of_the_Aeons" title="Out of the Aeons">Out of the Aeons</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Tree_on_the_Hill" title="The Tree on the Hill">The Tree on the Hill</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Till_A%27_the_Seas" title="Till A' the Seas">Till A' the Seas</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/In_the_Walls_of_Eryx" title="In the Walls of Eryx">In the Walls of Eryx</a>"</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Poetry</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Fungi_from_Yuggoth" title="Fungi from Yuggoth">Fungi from Yuggoth</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Essays</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Cancer_of_Superstition" title="The Cancer of Superstition">The Cancer of Superstition</a></i></li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Supernatural_Horror_in_Literature" title="Supernatural Horror in Literature">Supernatural Horror in Literature</a>"</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/To_Quebec_and_the_Stars" title="To Quebec and the Stars">To Quebec and the Stars</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Autobiography:_Some_Notes_on_a_Nonentity" title="Autobiography: Some Notes on a Nonentity">Autobiography: Some Notes on a Nonentity</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Locations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arkham" title="Arkham">Arkham</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lovecraft_Country" title="Lovecraft Country">Lovecraft Country</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/R%27lyeh" title="R'lyeh">R'lyeh</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Characters</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Necronomicon" title="Necronomicon">Abdul Alhazred</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Herbert_West%E2%80%93Reanimator" title="Herbert West–Reanimator">Herbert West</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Randolph_Carter" title="Randolph Carter">Randolph Carter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harley_Warren" title="Harley Warren">Harley Warren</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Deities</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Azathoth" title="Azathoth">Azathoth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cthulhu" title="Cthulhu">Cthulhu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nyarlathotep" title="Nyarlathotep">Nyarlathotep</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shub-Niggurath" title="Shub-Niggurath">Shub-Niggurath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hastur" title="Hastur">Hastur</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dagon" title="Dagon">Dagon</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Books about</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft:_A_Life" title="H. P. Lovecraft: A Life">H. P. Lovecraft: A Life</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft:_Against_the_World,_Against_Life" title="H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life">H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/An_H._P._Lovecraft_Encyclopedia" title="An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia">An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Lovecraft:_A_Biography" title="Lovecraft: A Biography">Lovecraft: A Biography</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Lovecraft:_A_Look_Behind_the_Cthulhu_Mythos" title="Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos">Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Themes/Concepts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cosmicism" title="Cosmicism">Cosmicism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos" title="Cthulhu Mythos">Cthulhu Mythos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lovecraftian_horror" title="Lovecraftian horror">Lovecraftian horror</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Necronomicon" title="Necronomicon">Necronomicon</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Lovecraft Circle</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/August_Derleth" title="August Derleth">August Derleth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clark_Ashton_Smith" title="Clark Ashton Smith">Clark Ashton Smith</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Bloch" title="Robert Bloch">Robert Bloch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_E._Howard" title="Robert E. Howard">Robert E. Howard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Frank_Belknap_Long" title="Frank Belknap Long">Frank Belknap Long</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Legacy</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lovecraft_studies" title="Lovecraft studies">Lovecraft studies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_works_influenced_by_the_Cthulhu_Mythos" title="List of works influenced by the Cthulhu Mythos">Works influenced by the Cthulhu Mythos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft_(band)" title="H. P. Lovecraft (band)">H. P. Lovecraft (band)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft_Historical_Society" title="H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society">H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Adaptations_of_works_by_H._P._Lovecraft" title="Category:Adaptations of works by H. P. Lovecraft">Adaptations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lovecraft_(crater)" title="Lovecraft (crater)">Lovecraft (crater)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belton_Regio" title="Belton Regio">Cthulhu Macula</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aklo" title="Aklo">Aklo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dream_Cycle" title="Dream Cycle">Dream Cycle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lovecraft:_Fear_of_the_Unknown" title="Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown"><i>Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown</i> (documentary)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sonia_Greene" title="Sonia Greene">Sonia Greene (wife)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Thing_in_the_Moonlight" title="The Thing in the Moonlight">The Thing in the Moonlight</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Category:H._P._Lovecraft" title="Category:H. P. Lovecraft">Category</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medusa%27s_Coil&oldid=1255258018">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medusa%27s_Coil&oldid=1255258018</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:1939_short_stories" title="Category:1939 short stories">1939 short stories</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Atlantis_in_fiction" title="Category:Atlantis in fiction">Atlantis in fiction</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Cthulhu_Mythos_short_stories" title="Category:Cthulhu Mythos short stories">Cthulhu Mythos short stories</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Fantasy_short_stories" title="Category:Fantasy short stories">Fantasy short stories</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Collaborative_short_stories" title="Category:Collaborative short stories">Collaborative short stories</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Missouri_in_fiction" title="Category:Missouri in fiction">Missouri in fiction</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_stories_by_H._P._Lovecraft" title="Category:Short stories by H. 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