When Massachusetts native Albert Wilmarth, a college professor of folklore, reads about strange things floating in the great floods in Vermont, he enters the fray to try to calm the fears of the locals. Soon a well-educated well-to-do farmer named Henry Akeley sends Albert a private letter showing that there may be more to the stories than he thinks. Albert is suddenly intrigued about this mystery. Now involved, unbeknownst to him, he may be a target of a wicked evil.

A man named Goreng volunteers to enter a “prison” allowing folks to gain awards such as college degrees, and various other incentives. However, it being a prison, actual criminals are there as well. When he arrives, he discovers that there are 333 levels and a platform containing food travels down to each level to feed the jailed. Unfortunately the lower you are, the less food is left leaving many desperate and fraught.

THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS originally appeared in the magazine Weird Tales in August 1931. Years later, the story, even with its novel length is included in most collections of the author’s best stories. With its blend of rural horror, alien invaders, and well paced mystery, the story has remained one of his most popular. Dark Discussions takes a look at this tale in their latest book episode.