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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the name of the religious sect?

2. What adjective is used to describe the black stone and the similar rock?

3. In what city does The Haunter of the Dark take place?

4. What type of ancient writings accompanied the statue?

5. What is the name of the man's employer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the supposed history of the Black Stone? Has the theory been proven?

2. Discuss the contents of the documents found by Thurston. Describe the strange reaction people have had by coming in contact with the statue.

3. Castro tells the group about the Great Old Ones. Who are the Great Old Ones? Where did they live? What was the group waiting for and how did they communicate with the outside world?

4. Who is Howard? What is Howard's main goal in the story?

5. Who was Von Junzt? What was his claim to fame?

6. How does Chalmers explain the existence of the Fourth Dimension to Frank?

7. Who is Ogden? Why does he go to work for John Carnby? What is the nature of Ogden's job?

8. What happens to Henry Wells in the woods?

9. What does the narrator see during his night by the Black Stone?

10. Where does Paul Tregardis find the crystal in Ubbo-Sathla? What is Paul Tregardis' first impression of the crystal?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In several stories, certain characters become possessed. In "Ubbo-Sathla," Paul Tregardis becomes possessed by the great wizard Zon Mezzamalech. In "The Shadow from the Steeple," Dr. Dexter becomes possessed after handling the Shining Trapezohedron. In "Rising with Surtsey," Julian Haughtree becomes possessed by a great, evil amorphous entity. Discuss possession. Do you believe possession is real? Explain. How can a person become possessed? How can someone tell if another is possessed? How did the characters change during and after the possession? What happens to the characters after they are possessed?

Essay Topic 2

Several characters throughout the book go insane after having an encounter with a specific object or entity. Examine the insanity of the characters. What makes each character go insane? What is the cause behind the personality shift? Is the person possessed or has he turned into an evil being? Does the person know he is going insane? What is the reaction of the people around the insane character? Is it possible to go insane from an encounter with a horrible entity? Can one be scared into insanity? Is there a treatment or cure? What happens to each character?

Essay Topic 3

Time travel is a popular notion in this genre. Time travel allows a character to experience another world, albeit with dangerous or deadly consequences. In "The Hounds of Tindalos," Chalmers claims that he has gone too far when it comes to time travel and that he has alerted the hounds of Tindalos which will ultimately make him pay for his misdeeds. Examine why time travel is a main topic in many horror stories. Explain how it is done in the stories and the characters' motivation for attempting to do it. Also examine the potential dangers in time travel and why the characters choose to ignore the warning signs.

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