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The Great God Pan

 The Great God Pan
type
TVTItem
 The Great God Pan
label
The Great God Pan
 The Great God Pan
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TheGreatGodPan
 The Great God Pan
comment
The Great God Pan is a Novella written by Arthur Machen in two phases. Originally, the story was limited to what would later be the first chapter; this Short Story version of "The Great God Pan" was published in Vol. 2 No. 24 of The Whirlwind on December 13, 1890. Machen reworked it into a bigger tale the following year and got it published in 1894 as the fifth entry in John Lane's Keynotes Series. Controversial at the time, public opinion improved within two to three decades and it's nowadays regarded as one of the prototypes of the Cosmic Horror Story.In 1916, The Great God Pan received its first solo print. For the occasion, Machen wrote an introduction on the origin of the novella. In January 1891, several months after he had finished and submitted the first version of "The Great God Pan", he began work on "The City of Resurrections". When finished, he realized that like "The Great God Pan", it didn't fit the mold of a society tale as he'd set out to write. Thus, he was inspired to rework the two short stories into one novella, with "The City of Resurrections" becoming the third chapter. He completed the manuscript in June 1891. For its first print in 1894, The Great God Pan was bundled with The Inmost Light, a thematically similar text Machen wrote in 1892.Deep in the countryside of Wales, an occult scientist named Dr. Raymond invites a friend, Mr. Clarke, to witness an experiment he intends to perform on a teenage girl, which he claims will allow her "to see the god Pan". The experiment is a success, however the procedure destroys the girl's mind, and she is left in a permanent catatonic state. Horrified, Clarke disavows Dr. Raymond and occultism.Several years later in London, a man called Villiers runs into an old friend of his who's been brought to ruin by his wife, Helen Vaughan. Villiers, piqued by his friend's story, looks into the woman's past. Meanwhile, an alarming number of wealthy, prominent men are being driven to madness and suicide after encountering a mysterious woman known only as Mrs. Beaumont. Villiers' investigation eventually leads him to Clarke, who has answers about Helen and Mrs. Beaumont that are beyond his wildest ken.The Great God Pan was a huge influence on H. P. Lovecraft, who used it as the basis for The Dunwich Horror, as well as for the deity Shub-Niggurath. Other stories known or suspected to have been directly influenced by it are "The Nameless Offspring", Alraune, and "N.".
 The Great God Pan
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2023-11-02T21:16:54Z
 The Great God Pan
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2023-11-02T21:16:54Z
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DiesDifferentlyInTheAdaptation
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GoneMadFromTheRevelation
 The Great God Pan
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DBTropes
 The Great God Pan / int_12dd1d4c
type
Rape as Drama
 The Great God Pan / int_12dd1d4c
comment
Rape as Drama: Or rather, rape as horror. Never spoken outright, but it permeates the story in implication, from Dr. Raymond's creepy possession of and regard of Mary as his property, what Pan does to Mary and of course what Helen does to her victims, which is almost explicitly sexual in nature and traumatizes them to madness and suicide.
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The Great God Pan / int_12dd1d4c
 The Great God Pan / int_1ec3eb0a
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Take Our Word for It
 The Great God Pan / int_1ec3eb0a
comment
Take Our Word for It: There's a lot of unspeakably awful stuff that's hinted at or only described off-screen.
 The Great God Pan / int_1ec3eb0a
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The Great God Pan / int_1ec3eb0a
 The Great God Pan / int_1f6983f7
type
Ambiguous Situation
 The Great God Pan / int_1f6983f7
comment
Ambiguous Situation: It's never clarified how Villiers convinces Helen to hang herself, given that his plan to call the cops on her if she doesn't oblige seems feeble considering that her "murders" left no proof that a Muggle police would buy. However, given that there's at least one transcription of what Helen's "parties" had going on in them, it's possible Villiers had planned to denounce her for her occult practices and hope it would make at least enough of a mess to end her reign of terror.
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The Great God Pan / int_1f6983f7
 The Great God Pan / int_2764d432
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Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
 The Great God Pan / int_2764d432
comment
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Helen often appears to be a beautiful and charming woman.
 The Great God Pan / int_2764d432
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The Great God Pan / int_2764d432
 The Great God Pan / int_2d840c9b
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ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow
 The Great God Pan / int_2d840c9b
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Things Man Was Not Meant to Know:
 The Great God Pan / int_2d840c9b
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The Great God Pan / int_2d840c9b
 The Great God Pan / int_34c6ed8
type
Don't Go in the Woods
 The Great God Pan / int_34c6ed8
comment
Don't Go in the Woods: "Ah, mother, mother, why did you let me go in the forest with Helen?" "The man in the wood! Father! Father!"
 The Great God Pan / int_34c6ed8
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The Great God Pan / int_34c6ed8
 The Great God Pan / int_3517000d
type
Mad Scientist
 The Great God Pan / int_3517000d
comment
Mad Scientist: Dr. Raymond is pretty vocal about using a girl as a test subject for his insight into the supernatural.
 The Great God Pan / int_3517000d
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The Great God Pan / int_3517000d
 The Great God Pan / int_3c0a4666
type
Noodle Incident
 The Great God Pan / int_3c0a4666
comment
Noodle Incident/Nothing Is Scarier: To an artform, since most of the horror is derived from Fridge Horror as you're invited to fill in the gaps of the scant information you're given.
 The Great God Pan / int_3c0a4666
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The Great God Pan / int_3c0a4666
 The Great God Pan / int_3ed8a8b9
type
I'm Melting!
 The Great God Pan / int_3ed8a8b9
comment
I'm Melting!: A variation in which the person becomes a blob after dying.
 The Great God Pan / int_3ed8a8b9
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The Great God Pan / int_3ed8a8b9
 The Great God Pan / int_408ba21c
type
Womb Horror
 The Great God Pan / int_408ba21c
comment
Womb Horror: Mary is forcibly impregnated with and gives birth to Pan's daughter (or possible avatar) Helen.
 The Great God Pan / int_408ba21c
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The Great God Pan / int_408ba21c
 The Great God Pan / int_41a32b6
type
Mystical Pregnancy
 The Great God Pan / int_41a32b6
comment
Mystical Pregnancy: Mary is impregnated by Pan during the experiment.
 The Great God Pan / int_41a32b6
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The Great God Pan / int_41a32b6
 The Great God Pan / int_4548bae
type
Teen Pregnancy
 The Great God Pan / int_4548bae
comment
Teen Pregnancy: Mary is 17 when she's impregnated with Helen.
 The Great God Pan / int_4548bae
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 The Great God Pan / int_4548bae
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The Great God Pan / int_4548bae
 The Great God Pan / int_48c99e19
type
Death by Adaptation
 The Great God Pan / int_48c99e19
comment
Death by Adaptation: Dr. Raymond and Austin both die in the graphic novel despite surviving the original story.
 The Great God Pan / int_48c99e19
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The Great God Pan / int_48c99e19
 The Great God Pan / int_504a1991
type
Body Horror
 The Great God Pan / int_504a1991
comment
Body Horror: The description of Helen's corpse changing sex, transforming into a beast and then melting definitely has shades of this.
 The Great God Pan / int_504a1991
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The Great God Pan / int_504a1991
 The Great God Pan / int_566f3ddd
type
Nature Spirit
 The Great God Pan / int_566f3ddd
comment
Nature Spirit: A very, very dark version, being an Eldritch Abomination embodying the wilds and the "darkness beyond the stars".
 The Great God Pan / int_566f3ddd
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The Great God Pan / int_566f3ddd
 The Great God Pan / int_631ef99
type
Shapeshifter Swan Song
 The Great God Pan / int_631ef99
comment
Shapeshifter Swan Song: Apparently, Helen becomes a sort of living, primordial ooze upon dying.
 The Great God Pan / int_631ef99
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The Great God Pan / int_631ef99
 The Great God Pan / int_6a1c2a6
type
Cosmic Horror Story
 The Great God Pan / int_6a1c2a6
comment
Cosmic Horror Story: As mentioned above, Lovecraft cited this story as one of his main influences.
 The Great God Pan / int_6a1c2a6
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The Great God Pan / int_6a1c2a6
 The Great God Pan / int_6b5a92dc
type
Uncanny Valley
 The Great God Pan / int_6b5a92dc
comment
Uncanny Valley: In-universe. Several characters describe Helen as beautiful but... wrong.
 The Great God Pan / int_6b5a92dc
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The Great God Pan / int_6b5a92dc
 The Great God Pan / int_6bda9a30
type
Meaningful Name
 The Great God Pan / int_6bda9a30
comment
Meaningful Name: Mary has a child with a divine entity.
 The Great God Pan / int_6bda9a30
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The Great God Pan / int_6bda9a30
 The Great God Pan / int_6d332aea
type
Driven to Suicide
 The Great God Pan / int_6d332aea
comment
Driven to Suicide: Both Helen's victims and herself.
 The Great God Pan / int_6d332aea
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The Great God Pan / int_6d332aea
 The Great God Pan / int_851dda8f
type
Humanoid Abomination
 The Great God Pan / int_851dda8f
comment
Humanoid Abomination: Helen was probably one of the first in modern literature.
 The Great God Pan / int_851dda8f
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The Great God Pan / int_851dda8f
 The Great God Pan / int_8774fb47
type
Eldritch Abomination
 The Great God Pan / int_8774fb47
comment
Eldritch Abomination: This version of Pan is definitely very different from the merry satyr god of Greek Mythology. In addition, it is strongly implied Pan is also the Celtic god Nodens, who would later join Lovecraft's works as one of his eldritch deities...
 The Great God Pan / int_8774fb47
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The Great God Pan / int_8774fb47
 The Great God Pan / int_9dd84122
type
Occult Detective
 The Great God Pan / int_9dd84122
comment
Occult Detective: Villiers would qualify if he knew what he was investigating was supernatural.
 The Great God Pan / int_9dd84122
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The Great God Pan / int_9dd84122
 The Great God Pan / int_a110e36d
type
Campbell Country
 The Great God Pan / int_a110e36d
comment
Campbell Country: Takes place in Britain, though it predates the Trope Codifier.
 The Great God Pan / int_a110e36d
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The Great God Pan / int_a110e36d
 The Great God Pan / int_a2cbad1
type
Half-Human Hybrid
 The Great God Pan / int_a2cbad1
comment
Half-Human Hybrid: Though somewhat implied to be less of a hybrid and more an avatar.
 The Great God Pan / int_a2cbad1
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The Great God Pan / int_a2cbad1
 The Great God Pan / int_a734c20
type
Black Widow
 The Great God Pan / int_a734c20
comment
Black Widow: Helen, whose husbands tend to be Driven to Suicide after she's got their money.
 The Great God Pan / int_a734c20
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The Great God Pan / int_a734c20
 The Great God Pan / int_a973c172
type
Indirect Serial Killer
 The Great God Pan / int_a973c172
comment
Indirect Serial Killer: Helen's modus operandi is to abuse her victims in ways best left to the imagination and expose them to things beyond their comprehension, driving them irrevocably insane and culminating in their suicides.
 The Great God Pan / int_a973c172
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The Great God Pan / int_a973c172
 The Great God Pan / int_ae5ab58b
type
Luck-Based Search Technique
 The Great God Pan / int_ae5ab58b
comment
Luck-Based Search Technique: Villiers first stumbles upon the notes accidentally.
 The Great God Pan / int_ae5ab58b
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The Great God Pan / int_ae5ab58b
 The Great God Pan / int_bf110089
type
Break Them by Talking
 The Great God Pan / int_bf110089
comment
Break Them by Talking: Although Helen's horrors are widely considered to be related to sexual or physical experiences, the only time we have a glimpse of what happens in her bedroom she is simply sitting in the bed while telling something to her soon-to-be-dead husband. What was she saying, of course, is unrevealed.
 The Great God Pan / int_bf110089
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The Great God Pan / int_bf110089
 The Great God Pan / int_c3bafbce
type
Satan
 The Great God Pan / int_c3bafbce
comment
Satan: Clarke comes to believe Pan to be Satan. After witnessing the experiment on Mary, he writes a series of memoirs surrounding Helen's upbringing called Memoirs to Prove the Existence of the Devil. Towards he end of the second chapter, he reaches the conclusion that Helen is an incarnation of the devil.
 The Great God Pan / int_c3bafbce
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The Great God Pan / int_c3bafbce
 The Great God Pan / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 The Great God Pan / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: Helen Vaughan is likely named after Helen from Classical Mythology — another demigoddess who was a Child Of Rape — whose beauty infamously catalyzed the Trojan War.
 The Great God Pan / int_c75df49a
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The Great God Pan / int_c75df49a
 The Great God Pan / int_d09e2412
type
ChildOfRape
 The Great God Pan / int_d09e2412
comment
Child Of Rape: Helen is born after her mother Mary is raped by the cosmic entity called Pan.
 The Great God Pan / int_d09e2412
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The Great God Pan / int_d09e2412
 The Great God Pan / int_def127cc
type
Leave Behind a Pistol
 The Great God Pan / int_def127cc
comment
Leave Behind a Pistol: A non-firearms variant.
 The Great God Pan / int_def127cc
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The Great God Pan / int_def127cc
 The Great God Pan / int_df24d8fa
type
Platonic Cave
 The Great God Pan / int_df24d8fa
comment
Platonic Cave: Raymond believes in this, and it is what drove him to perform the experiment.
 The Great God Pan / int_df24d8fa
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The Great God Pan / int_df24d8fa
 The Great God Pan / int_e0e6af6e
type
Adaptational Abomination
 The Great God Pan / int_e0e6af6e
comment
Adaptational Abomination: The titular Pan himself, going from a whimsical satyr to something much, much more alien.
 The Great God Pan / int_e0e6af6e
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The Great God Pan / int_e0e6af6e
 The Great God Pan / int_e1d1a88c
type
Disposable Vagrant
 The Great God Pan / int_e1d1a88c
comment
Disposable Vagrant: What Dr. Raymond regards Mary as due to having "rescued" her from poverty when she was a child.
 The Great God Pan / int_e1d1a88c
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 The Great God Pan / int_e5e07b2d
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You Cannot Grasp the True Form
 The Great God Pan / int_e5e07b2d
comment
You Cannot Grasp the True Form: Pan is described this way.
 The Great God Pan / int_e5e07b2d
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The Great God Pan / int_e5e07b2d
 The Great God Pan / int_f528b28d
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Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?
 The Great God Pan / int_f528b28d
comment
Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?: A number of men have married Helen Vaughan under her many aliases. They tend not to survive.
 The Great God Pan / int_f528b28d
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The Great God Pan / int_f528b28d
 The Great God Pan / int_fa6bfde9
type
Have a Gay Old Time
 The Great God Pan / int_fa6bfde9
comment
Have a Gay Old Time: Take a shot every time "queer" is used instead of "weird" or "strange". Also: "gay curtains".
 The Great God Pan / int_fa6bfde9
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 The Great God Pan / int_fdee662
type
Semi-Divine
 The Great God Pan / int_fdee662
comment
Semi-Divine: Helen is the child of a god and a female human, which makes her a monstrous and twisted version of a demigod.
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Great God Pan
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Death by Adaptation / int_c813858a
 The Great God Pan
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Did You Just Romance Cthulhu? / int_c813858a
 The Great God Pan
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Don't Go in the Woods / int_c813858a
 The Great God Pan
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Leave Behind a Pistol / int_c813858a
 The Great God Pan
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Nature Spirit / int_c813858a
 The Great God Pan
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Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly / int_c813858a
 The Great God Pan
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No Such Thing as Bad Publicity / int_c813858a
 The Great God Pan
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Novella / int_c813858a
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Platonic Cave / int_c813858a
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Sex Signals Death / int_c813858a
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Slime Girl / int_c813858a
 The Great God Pan
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Supernatural Fiction / int_c813858a