Talk:Herbert West–Reanimator

Plot summary
What about a plot summary? That's what I came here looking for, because I recall that in the end Herbert West was no kind of re-animator and it was the narrator who turned out to be insane and, it was implied, murderous. So, wikipedia, is that what happened? Does memory serve me?24.14.242.98 01:23, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Not necessarily. It was basically left open for the reader to decide whether all of the narrator's past accounts were true, or just the alibi of a lunatic for incinerating a fellow scientist. It wasn't, however, stated that West was never a re-animator. 174.18.28.22 (talk) 02:04, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Can I get concurrance this is a silly statement?
This depiction is uncannily similar to the famous Romero zombies and other latter-day zombie interpretations that would follow in later decades.

Um, yeah, because something written in the '20s couldn't possibly inspire a filmmaker decades later, could it?

Anybody have problems with this being re-written?


 * Or you could just remove it. It doesn't add anything to the lead. If someone could find a source whereby Romero or someone else says it was an influence then add it back in in a section on works it has influenced (although my understanding is that it was EC Comics and the fifties and sixties zombie movies that influenced Romero - they may have their roots in this story but again that'd be me speculating until someone could source it). (Emperor 00:45, 25 July 2007 (UTC))

it does not say romero was inspired by it(i dont believe he was) it just says it is similar and it is from what i see i am glad i found this page because the fact that there is a story out in the 20s about zombies being brought back with science is very intresting —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.220.1.137 (talk) 04:45, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Um hello, Racism?
Is nobody going to mention that this story is one of the most cringe-inducing examples of Lovecraft's well-documented racism? Seriously. The description of the black boxer is pretty straightforward in its assertion that black people are animals. It should at least get a mention. MosKillinest (talk) 21:54, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

Racism was actually very common during Lovecraft's era. He was an Anglo-Saxon supporter, and believed whites were above all others (like many other Americans of his time). He supported segregation (like many others) and believed that English culture was the pinnacle of all of civilization (incorrect, but very widespread during the time). He was just conforming with others during his time.

VonV (talk) 00:21, 20 March 2008 (UTC) yeah i actually am a little Iffy about reading his books after reading that article that is just horrible(and ironic considering black comedy in america is more intelligent than most British and english comedy i see) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.220.1.137 (talk) 04:47, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

First off, if someone wants to know more about Lovecraft's racial opinions, they can check out the article on him. Secondly, he wasn't just conforming with others during his time. Although segregation and racism were popular, he was an very vocal "pure" Anglo-Saxon, and made distinctions against any other race, regardless of color. I mean, seriously. Look at some of his letters, his ex-wife's account of him, or even just the Lovecraft article. Still, you have to be lax because that era WAS so different from now. Finally, don't be put off just by his racism. It's also not ironic, because this is a HORROR SHORT STORY, and not comedy. Still, it's really quite a good story if you can overlook the racist bit. 174.18.28.22 (talk) 02:04, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

"and ironic considering black comedy in america is more intelligent than most British and english comedy i see" - In your obviously mis-informed opinion. ```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.35.82.133 (talk) 04:19, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Whether or not Lovecraft's racial opinions were typical for his time, I think the racial elements of this story are of enough interest to modern readers that they deserve mention in the article. Does anyone have any good sources to cite along those lines? Webster100 (talk) 20:37, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

Details of the Story have been Revised
There were many errors in the articles about the book (summarizing each chapter). For instance, in the chapter "The Horror From the Shadows", "Lt. Clapman-Lee" never existed. The actual name was "Major Eric Moreland Clapman-Lee". The man who was only mentioned as a lieutenant in the chapter was "Lt. Ronald Hill" who was killed in the crash of the airplane. I've also reworded some of the things in the article about the characters (once again, Clapman-Lee) and in the final chapter of the book "The Tomb-Legions".

VonV (talk) 00:25, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Lovecraft's poorest work?
The article cites S.T. Joshi as saying this is "universally acknowledged as Lovecraft's poorest work," and provides a valid reference. But Joshi himself seems to have revised his opinion of the Herbert West tales over the years. In the Penguin Books edition of The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales (1999), Joshi writes: "In other ways the story builds up a certain cumulative power and suspense, and it is by no means Lovecraft's poorest fictional work." (p375). PCM2 (talk) 23:08, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Weird Tales?
Why is the image for this article a Weird Tales cover? The article says the story was published in Home Brew. Weird Tales isn't mentioned once in the text of the article, and I don't see any evidence that it was ever published there. Webster100 (talk) 20:32, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
 * In the lower lefthand corner of the cover it says, "A NEW LOVECRAFT SERIES Herbert West: Reanimator". Aɴɢʀ (talk) 18:31, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

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Merge from Herbert West
I don't see how the character Herbert West passes WP:NFICTION for a stand-alone article; that article is basically a fork of this one and should be merged here. Thoughts? --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 07:15, 26 June 2020 (UTC)

Merge – No content in the article to suggest notability, the bulk of the article is West's appearance in other media, all of which is uncited. Loafiewa (talk) 11:58, 16 October 2020 (UTC)
 * ✅ Klbrain (talk) 11:50, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

West as portrayed by Jeffrey Combs was selected by Empire magazine as the 42nd greatest horror film character,
Do we need to be told twice? 2A01:CB0C:CD:D800:BDD0:36E8:B12D:355C (talk) 12:04, 9 July 2022 (UTC)