This is another one of those Gothic novels that I picked up because of the cover - in this case, it has a very slight resemblance to the Rudy Nappi cover of the Nancy Drew book, The Sign of the Twisted Candles. Both books have a single candle prominently displayed on the cover, with the head of a woman next to the candle, and when I saw this book at the used bookstore, my mind immediately went to the Nancy Drew book, so I bought it. It has been sitting on my shelf for several years, so I figured it was about time I read it. The back cover blurb cries out "Witch Cult!" and goes on to give a brief synopsis of the story awaiting the reader inside. Knowing how most Gothic novels of the '60s and '70s often hinted at supernatural tales (but by the end reveal it to be merely a pretense used by a vile villain to achieve his or her goals), I anticipated the same here. Boy, was I wrong!
To the Dark Tower is a somewhat lengthy novel for a Gothic that is not labeled as "Queen-Size" or "Empress Size." At 187 pages in length, it provides the author with plenty of space to flesh out his story and characters - and yes, I said "his" story. Lyda Belknap Long is actually a pseudonym for American writer Frank Belknap Long (1901-1994), whose writing includes horror, fantasy, science fiction, and Gothic novels, as well as comic books and non-fiction. "Lyda" is the name of Long's wife, and so he used her name for his Gothic novels (which is funny, because this particular book has a dedication at the front that reads, "To the untiring help and teachings of my husband, Frank Belknap Long." I was surprised to learn Long wrote scripts for DC Comics, including stories with Congo Bill and the original Green Lantern, as well as scripts for Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel stories (later known as Shazam!). When I learned that Long was also a close friend of H.P. Lovecraft, the nature of this story made a lot more sense.
Long then jumps to our main character, Joan Lambert, who is driving her car along the desolate backwoods Kentucky road, trying anxiously not to allow her fear to overwhelm her. An archeologist, Joan has just returned from Spain, where she found some ancient cave writings that revealed a witch cult that existed centuries ago - and her exploration of those caves released an unholy, unseen terror that has followed her across the ocean to Kentucky! She hopes Dr. Allen can help her get these terrors under control, but the sudden appearance of a man in a monk robe standing in the middle of the road causes her to swerve up an embankment. What follows is a rather lengthy story of dark horror that wavers between the real and the imaginary. Are Joan's fears grounded in reality, or are they all really just in her head? Dr. Allen has invited a group of specialists to his secluded home in the hopes of helping Joan. But when Willie's body turns up, and a young couple on their honeymoon wind up dead in their car at the bottom of a gully, it is clear there is more going on here than imaginary fears.
I do give Long credit for making the cult very real. The deaths of Willie and the young couple (as well as another couple who stop to help them) are rather brutal and unexpected, making the book all that much darker. What has me confused, however, is the title and the cover to the book. To the Dark Tower would seem to hint that there is some tower of a great mansion involved in the story somehow - even the cover has painted a dark mansion in the background, behind Joan's floating head. Yet, nowhere in the story is there any tower (not even mentioned in passing!), nor is there any house that would resemble the one on the cover. In fact, there is also no candle used anywhere in the story! The tale is set in the modern time, with motor vehicles, electricity, and such, so there is no need for any candles. So, this begs the question - what prompted the title and the cover art? I'm aware that many publisher used (and re-used!) cover art for their Gothic novels that had no real relation to the story inside; they simply wanted covers that would attract those who were hooked on the Gothic craze that had taken over store bookshelves everywhere. But the title? It has no connection whatsoever to the story, so one is left to wonder why...
I did like the fact the story was set in Kentucky, my home state. I wish Long had narrowed down a location within the state, even if it was simply to have the characters drive through a specific area or mention a nearby town. Instead, Long keeps it vague, simply keeping it in a small town with plenty of wooded area. Even his references to Joan's time spent in Spain does not narrow down the location to any particular area of that country. There are, however, a few names in the book that caught my eye. When Joan meets the specialists at Dr. Allen's house, the men's names (which I'm guessing were arbitrarily chosen by the author) brought a smile to my face. The first is John Claymore (p. 132), whose last name is also the name of a city used by Mildred Wirt Benson in her Madge Sterling series, her Penny Parker series, and a few other of her books. The second is Joseph Moulton (p. 133), whose last name was the middle name of the creator of Wonder Woman (William Moulton Marston). The third is Helen Traven (p. 133), whose last name is shared by novelist B. Traven, which was a pen name of an unidentified activist who authored a number of books between the 1920s and 1960s. It is doubtful Long pulled those names from those particular places, but it is a fun coincidence.
The story is very heavy on exposition and very light on dialogue, which is one aspect that I did not enjoy. The majority of the book focused on Joan's fears of the unseen terror that seemed to lurk just out of sight, always following her, always leading her to wonder if death might not be a better option than living the rest of her life with this fear overpowering her. Long stays inside Joan's mind, with her obsessive fear completely taking her over, and after a while, you (as the reader) wish the author would ground the book in some level of reality with conversations and interaction with other people. However, finding out after I finished reading the book that Long was friends with Lovecraft, it gave me a new point-of-view with the story, and I think I can appreciate his writing style a little more.
This is far from your typical Gothic novel of that era. If you are expecting a story of a young, innocent woman being whisked away to a foreboding mansion with two men vying for her affection with dark secrets surrounding them at all every turn - this is not one of those stories. But, if you want something a bit different, a bit darker, and a bit morbid, then this one is for you.
RATING: 8 peculiarly shaped musical instruments out of 10 for giving readers a completely different side of the Gothic tale.
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