Except for one, the protagonists of the stories in Lonesome Places are male. Women are usually evil, often the cause of the evil in the story; when they are not, they are at best misled or they are the victims. And through his male protagonists, Derleth makes it clear that those who have imagination enough to believe in ghosts or other supernatural manifestations are superior beings, although frequently they are outsiders in their society. Often they are children; at other times they are outcasts; sometimes, however, they are clearly heroes in a world where others refuse to believe the evidence of their senses. In all cases, they know what others refuse to believe.

In three of the stories, "The Lonesome Place," "The Place in the Woods," and "A Room in a House," children know of danger at specific sites while their elders discount it. When the male children...