Wilmarth's Moral and Intellectual Reversal

The Colour Out of Space

This flow follows Wilmarth’s attraction to forbidden knowledge as it shifts from scholarly curiosity to distrust and self-preserving flight.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Folklore Scholar The Folklore Scholar from "The Colour Out of Space". Learning Without Belief A Professional Interest Wilmarth studies New England folklore as an academic subject, confident that rational comparison can explain…

The Folklore Scholar from "The Colour Out of Space". Learning Without Belief A Professional Interest Wilmarth studies New England folklore as an academic subject, confident that rational comparison can explain…

Learning Without Belief A Professional Interest Wilmarth studies New England folklore as an academic subject, confident that rational comparison can explain its hidden races. A Secure Distance The beings remain objects of debate rather than forces he believes can affect his life.

Evidence Tempts Him Evidence Tempts Him from "The Colour Out of Space". Curiosity Deepens Letters and Photographs Akeley supplies tracks, a black stone, and descriptions that make the Vermont claims harder to dismiss.

Evidence Tempts Him from "The Colour Out of Space". Curiosity Deepens Letters and Photographs Akeley supplies tracks, a black stone, and descriptions that make the Vermont claims harder to dismiss.

Curiosity Deepens Letters and Photographs Akeley supplies tracks, a black stone, and descriptions that make the Vermont claims harder to dismiss. Forbidden Knowledge Wilmarth’s scholarly appetite draws him toward evidence he has already been warned not to pursue.

The Journey North The Journey North from "The Colour Out of Space". Crossing into the Hills A Chosen Risk Wilmarth accepts Akeley’s invitation and travels to a remote farmhouse with the record and correspondence.

The Journey North from "The Colour Out of Space". Crossing into the Hills A Chosen Risk Wilmarth accepts Akeley’s invitation and travels to a remote farmhouse with the record and correspondence.

Crossing into the Hills A Chosen Risk Wilmarth accepts Akeley’s invitation and travels to a remote farmhouse with the record and correspondence. Perception Changes The claw-like tracks and the strange atmosphere of the region turn abstract inquiry into personal apprehension.

The Lure of Cosmic Travel The Lure of Cosmic Travel from "The Colour Out of Space". Knowledge Against Caution A Grand Promise The apparent Akeley describes travel beyond Earth and offers access to alien knowledge through a brain cylinder.

The Lure of Cosmic Travel from "The Colour Out of Space". Knowledge Against Caution A Grand Promise The apparent Akeley describes travel beyond Earth and offers access to alien knowledge through a brain cylinder.

Knowledge Against Caution A Grand Promise The apparent Akeley describes travel beyond Earth and offers access to alien knowledge through a brain cylinder. Temptation Meets Dread Wilmarth is fascinated by the prospect, yet his discomfort with his host and the apparatus grows.

A Scholar Becomes a Fugitive A Scholar Becomes a Fugitive from "The Colour Out of Space". Curiosity Gives Way The Empty Chair Wilmarth finds the apparent host absent and sees objects suggesting that Akeley’s face and hands are artificial.

A Scholar Becomes a Fugitive from "The Colour Out of Space". Curiosity Gives Way The Empty Chair Wilmarth finds the apparent host absent and sees objects suggesting that Akeley’s face and hands are artificial.

Curiosity Gives Way The Empty Chair Wilmarth finds the apparent host absent and sees objects suggesting that Akeley’s face and hands are artificial. Escape and Aftermath He flees, choosing uncertainty and safety over any further attempt to obtain cosmic knowledge.

Before the 1927 flood reports

Spring to summer 1928

September 1928

The evening of the visit

Later that night