History Literature / TheGreatGodPan

%%* DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu: More like "were you just raped by Cthulhu?" and "did you just romance [[Literature/TheDunwichHorror Wilbur Whateley]]?"

* IndirectSerialKiller: Helen's modus operandi is to abuse her victims in ways best known to the imagination and expose them to things beyond their comprehension, driving them irrevocably insane and culminating in their suicides.

* IndirectSerialKiller: Helen's modus operandi is to expose her victims to eldritch secrets, do things to them better left to the imagination and drives them to kill themselves.

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 on 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.

->''"Great God, what simpletons! Show them Arthur Machen's ''Great God Pan'' and they'll think it a common Dunwich scandal!"''
-->--'''Creator/HPLovecraft''', "Literature/TheDunwichHorror"

Written by Creator/ArthurMachen in 1894 and originally published in a magazine, ''The Great God Pan'' is known for being one of the prototypes of the CosmicHorrorStory. It was a huge influence on Creator/HPLovecraft, who used it as the basis for his own story ''Literature/TheDunwichHorror'', as well as for the [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos deity]] [[MotherOfAThousandYoung Shub-Niggurath]]. It is worth noting that the main themes of the story - the idea that there are ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow and [[EldritchAbomination horrors outside of our reality that we do not understand]] - are very Lovecraftian in nature, making these tropes [[OlderThanTheyThink older than you think]].

''The Great God Pan'' is also [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_God_Pan#Influence considered by]] Creator/StephenKing to be "one of the best horror stories ever written. Maybe the best in the English language." He has stated that the 2008 novella ''[[Literature/JustAfterSunset N.]]'' was a "riff" on it.

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, begins to look into the woman's past. Meanwhile, an alarming number of wealthy, prominent men are being driven to [[GoMadFromTheRevelation madness]] and [[DrivenToSuicide 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.

You can read it [[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Great_God_Pan here]].

''The Great God Pan'' is also [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_God_Pan#Influence considered by]] Creator/StephenKing to be "one of the best horror stories ever written. Maybe the best in the English language." He has stated that the 2008 novella ''N.'' was a "riff" on it.

** [[spoiler: Helen herself is accidentally poisoned by Raymond and then shot by Villiers rather than being goaded into committing suicide.]]

** [[spoiler: In the original story, Helen's childhood friend Rachel disappears into the woods after a traumatic event and is never seen again, with the townspeople and her family presuming her dead. In the comic, she is instead found dead under unexplainable circumstances in her bedroom after the aforementioned traumatic event.]]

%%* DisposableVagrant: What Dr. Raymond regards Mary as.

%%* DrivenToSuicide: Both Helen's victims and [[spoiler:herself]].

%%* NoodleIncident: Quite possibly the most skillful and frightening use of this trope ever.
* NothingIsScarier: To an artform, since most of the horror is derived from FridgeHorror as you're invited to fill in the gaps of the scant information you're given.

%%* SlimeGirl: [[spoiler:Helen after dying.]]

* BreakTheCutie: It was what got everyone into that mess.

* DeathBySex: The unspeakable horrors that drive Helen's victims to suicide are strongly implied to be sexual in nature, although Victorian propriety prevented Machen from elaborating - probably for the better, as NothingIsScarier, and changing attitudes towards sex would probably make a lot of what he would come up with fairly tame by today's standards.
* DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu: More like "were you just raped by Cthulhu?" and "did you just romance [[Literature/TheDunwichHorror Wilbur Whateley]]?"
* DisposableVagrant: What Dr. Raymond regards Mary as (see the ValuesDissonance [[YMMV/TheGreatGodPan entry]]).

* DrivenToSuicide: Both Helen's victims and [[spoiler:herself]].

* NoodleIncident: Quite possibly the most skillful and frightening use of this trope ever.

* SlimeGirl: [[spoiler:Helen after dying.]]

* TheVamp: Helen.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Helen (when she doesn't have the UncannyValley effect going on) often appears to be a beautiful and charming woman.

Deep in the countryside of Wales, a scientist, Dr. Raymond, invites a friend named 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 [[MindRape 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 named Villiers runs into an old friend of his who was brought to ruin by his wife, Helen Vaughan. Villiers, piqued by his friend's story, begins to look into the woman's past. Meanwhile, an alarming number of wealthy, prominent men are being driven to [[GoMadFromTheRevelation madness]] and [[DrivenToSuicide 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.

Deep in the countryside of Wales, a scientist, Dr. Raymond, invites a friend named Clarke to witness an experiment he intends to perform on a young woman, which he claims will allow her "to see the god Pan". However, the procedure [[MindRape destroys the woman's mind]], and she is left in a permanent catatonic state. Horrified, Clarke disavows Dr. Raymond and occultism.

* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:[[Literature/TheBible Mary had a child with a divine entity]]]].
* MysticalPregnancy: Mary is impregnated by Pan during the experiment.

In Wales a scientist, Dr. Raymond, experiments on a woman named Mary to enable her to "see Pan". Sadly, her mind is broken and Clarke, who watched the experiment, gives up occultism. Cut to several years later in London, where another man named Villiers meets an old friend of his who was led to misery by his wife Helen Vaughan. Curious, Villiers begins investigating. Meanwhile, an alarming number of wealthy, prominent men are being driven to [[GoMadFromTheRevelation madness]] and [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]] following their encounters with a mysterious woman known as Mrs. Beaumont. Though Clarke is initially hesitant to give him the information he needs, Villiers soon learns that Mrs. Beaumont is indeed Helen Vaughan, the daughter of Mary and the [[EldritchAbomination pagan nature deity]] Pan.

* ChildOfRape: [[spoiler: Helen Vaughn is born after her mother Mary is raped by the cosmic entity called Pan.]]

* DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu: More like "Were you just raped by Cthulhu" and "Did you just romance [[Literature/TheDunwichHorror Wilbur Whateley]]?"

In Wales a scientist, Dr. Raymond, experiments on a woman named Mary to enable her to "see Pan". Sadly, her mind is broken and Clarke, who watched the experiment, gives up occultism. Cut to several years later in London, where another man named Villiers meets an old friend of his who was led to misery by his wife Helen Vaughan. Curious, Villiers begins investigating. Meanwhile, an alarming number of wealthy, prominent men are being driven to [[GoMadFromTheRevelation madness]] and [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]] following their encounters with a mysterious woman known as Mrs. Beaumont. Though Clarke is initially hesitant to give him the information he needs, Villers soon learns that Mrs. Beaumont is indeed Helen Vaughan, the daughter of Mary and the [[EldritchAbomination pagan nature deity]] Pan.

* ShoutOut: Helen Vaughan is likely a reference to Helen of Troy, an outstandingly beautiful and charming daughter of Zeus and Leda.

%% * SupernaturalFiction

* WombHorror: Pan's impregnation of Mary and subsequent birth to his daughter [[spoiler:or possibly avatar]] Helen.

--> "Et Diabolus Incarnatus Est. Et Homo Factus Est." ("And the Devil was made incarnate. And was made man."