The House on the Borderland (Version 2)
William Hope Hodgson
Read by John Van Stan
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-half.png)
This story helped propel 19th Century gothic fiction in the direction of “cosmic” horror. In fact, H.P. Lovecraft lists it as among his greatest influences. It begins simply enough: with two friends stumbling upon a ruined and curious house while vacationing in a remote village. After reading the tattered journal of the old recluse who lived there, they are shocked to discover an interdimensional, reality-bending nightmare full of nearly-indescribable horrors that range from demons, to bestial (somewhat Lovecraftian) monsters, and devastating parasitic fungal diseases. - Summary by jvanstan (5 hr 38 min)
Chapters
Dedication and Author's Introduction | 3:36 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Finding of the Manuscript | 23:37 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Plain of Silence | 12:48 | Read by John Van Stan |
The House in the Arena | 14:08 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Earth | 7:05 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Thing in the Pit | 13:44 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Swine-Things | 20:15 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Attack | 11:10 | Read by John Van Stan |
After the Attack | 9:45 | Read by John Van Stan |
In the Cellars | 8:15 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Time of Waiting | 6:40 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Searching of the Gardens | 13:55 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Subterranean Pit | 21:37 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Trap in the Great Cellar | 9:40 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Sea of Sleep | 9:10 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Noise in the Night | 23:01 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Awakening | 11:50 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Slowing Rotation | 14:05 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Green Star | 17:02 | Read by John Van Stan |
The End of the Solar System | 9:54 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Celestial Globes | 7:45 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Dark Sun | 11:00 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Dark Nebula | 11:00 | Read by John Van Stan |
Pepper | 2:20 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Footsteps in the Garden | 8:26 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Thing from the Arena | 19:05 | Read by John Van Stan |
The Luminous Speck | 5:55 | Read by John Van Stan |
Conclusion | 9:11 | Read by John Van Stan |
Grief | 2:30 | Read by John Van Stan |
Reviews
Wonderfully Read Proto-Lovecraftian Novel
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
A LibriVox Listener
The narrator of this wonderfully melancholic cosmic horror has a stupendous sense of the dramatic, which creeps through his reading. This was a thoroughly enjoyable book.
classic
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-half.png)
agathe
a classic story of the genre brought to life by a skillful, light handed reader. i am very grateful for all his hard work.
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-half.png)
![](/images/star-empty.png)
Max
Very good story and well read. But I did find parts of it rambling.
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
Sara Virginia
An amazing story, read by a wonderful narrator!
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-full.png)
![](/images/star-empty.png)
W. M. Pienton
I enjoyed how it was read more than the story itself.