H.P. Lovecraft tells the story of the cursed Delapore family in his short story “The Rats in the Walls.” Delapore is the narrator and protagonist of the short story, and he unwinds his family history as he takes on the task of renovating his ancestors’ abandoned mansion, the Exham Priory.  Lovecraft focuses on key concepts, like the architecture of the Exham Priory, and he uses graphic imagery to reveal Delapore’s ill-fate.  As he spends more nights in the Priory, he learns about his disturbing family lineage, and what he discovers eventually drives him insane.  Lovecraft’s emphasis on the architecture of the mansion, the “slithering” rats in the walls, and the heinous imagery make it obvious to the reader that Delapore’s family’s curse is ultimately inevitable.  

The Exham Priory’s architecture is a key factor and driving force in Lovecraft’s short story.  He describes the Priory as having a “peculiarly composite architecture, involving Gothic towers resting on a Saxon or Romanesque substructure” (Lovecraft 75).  Although picturesque, the Priory was deemed evil by the townspeople, who refused to set foot in or even go near the steps of the manor.  The Gothic building appears to be built on top of the Romanesque substructures, as if attempting to cover up the Priory’s haunting history.  This is consequently fitting since the architecture, religion, and overall views of both time periods differ so greatly.  While Roman architecture is described to be dull, which is representative of its violent time.  However, Gothic structure is elaborate, beautiful and ornate, which characterize a time of change and hope.  Perhaps the Gothic construction on top of the Roman substructure was an attempt to cover up the evil within the Priory with a beautifully ornate design.  Also, Lovecraft mentions that much of the house is made of limestone, a rock that is known to deteriorate easily.  The limestone should have decayed, given that the house was centuries old. Furthermore, Delapore speaks more and more of the slithering rats in the walls as his insanity the story progresses.  If the rats in the walls truly were there, constantly scratching at the walls, the rats should have scraped the walls away over time.  Because it eerily did not deteriorate, the limestone also symbolizes the unavoidable and underlying evil in the Exham Priory.  The evil, like the limestone, was expected to decompose over time, yet it was ineludible, much like the wickedness. 

Lovecraft’s second sentence of the story is, “The restoration had been a stupendous task, for little had remained of the deserted pile but a shell-like ruin; yet because it had been the seat of my ancestors I let no expense deter me” (Lovecraft 75).  It is strange that Lovecraft would refer to the Exham Priory as a “shell-like ruin” so soon in the text, as he was nothing but optimistic about taking on the “stupendous” task of renovating at this point in the story.  By describing the house as he does, Lovecraft foreshadows what is to come of the mansion and for himself at the end of the story. The Priory consequently becomes a shell-like ruin when it is left empty yet again, after Delapore has gone mad and is consumed by his family curse.  Delapore also claims the rats are “slithering” through the walls.  The first time Delapore mentions the rats, he describes them as “the scampering army of obscene vermin which has burst from the castle three months after the tragedy that doomed it to desertion” (Lovecraft 78).  Describing the rats as “scampering” is appropriate and does not give way to anything unusual.  However, once the rats abruptly woke Delapore in the middle of the night, he says, “for on every side of the chamber the walls were alive with nauseous sound- the verminous slithering of ravenous, gigantic rats” (Lovecraft 81).   Snakes are known to slither, while rats are more known to scamper.  Because snakes have been portrayed countless times in history as the devil’s advocate, Lovecraft is trying to portray the rats as the devil-like creature in this narrative by giving them a snake’s adjective.  

Finally, H.P. Lovecraft uses striking imagery to add shock value to his story.  The old English graffiti that is written on the walls are direct quotes from the Magna Mater, whose dark worship was once vainly forbidden to Roman citizens (Lovecraft 77).  As Delapore’s renovation continues and his knowledge about his family history grows, Delapore finds human skulls and bones deep in the cellar along with the English graffiti.  Lovecraft thoroughly describes the haunting cellar, giving the reader a feeling of chilling suspense and fear.  Delapore realizes that the skeletons are “invariably in postures of daemoniac frenzy, either fighting off some menace or clutching other forms with cannibal intent” (Lovecraft 86).  Once he sees the skeletons in the cellar, he then discovers the cannibalism in his heritage. He had earlier called the sight a “horrible suggestion,” indicating that Delapore does not want to admit the horror he has unleashed (Lovecraft 86).  Lovecraft’s use of the word cannibalism only once in the story is indicative of Delapore’s unwillingness to accept the history of his ancestors, for it is almost too hard for Delapore to say it aloud.  Also, Delapore’s cat, Nigger-Man, could be considered to be Delapore’s foreshadowing counterpart.  Nigger-Man notices the rats in the walls minutes before Delapore does each time, and as Delapore’s insanity progresses, his cat appears to directly forebode his downfall.  For example, seconds before Delapore goes mad, he saw his cat “monstrously perched atop a mountain of bones,” and he “wondered at the secrets that might lie behind his yellow eyes” (Lovecraft 88).  Delapore’s cat is Lovecraft’s most obvious form of foreshadowing throughout the story.  Lastly, the reader can conclude that his main literary device used is foreshadowing, and that is what creates the uncanny effect he has on the reader. 

Lovecraft’s utilization of different literary devices and language makes it clear to the reader that Delapore’s downfall because of his family history is an inevitable curse, and the more he discovers about his ancestors the more possessed he becomes.  Delapore could neither resist nor escape the evil in his family lineage, just as the foundation of the Priory is eerily indestructible even though it’s built on limestone rock, a Roman foundation that could never truly support what was built over it. Delapore’s turn for the worst was his destiny, just as the renovation of the Exham Priory was doomed to fail.  Delapore’s curiosity drove him mad, and Lovecraft does an excellent job of portraying evil in its purest form, drawing parallels between Delapore’s family’s own curse, the curse within the structure of the Priory, and the slithering rats in the walls. 
