The short story, “The Rats in the Wall,” by H.P. Lovecraft details the story of an heir of the De La Poer family who slowly descends into utter insanity. Delapore, the narrator and main character, moves to England from the United States in order to restore an old estate his ancestors once owned. As he restores the estate, otherwise known as Exham Priory, Delapore finds himself on a recession to hysteria as he goes farther down an unearthly catacomb. The entire story of “The Rats in the Walls” details many events that didn’t actually happen, but were delusions created by Delapore’s mind. H.P. Lovecraft’s use of diction, description, and figurative language argues that Exham Priory is a place that induces insanity, as exemplified by many events in this story.

The original inclination of Delapore’s madness stems back to his ancestors. He says, “It appeared that my ancestor was accused with much reason of having killed all the other members of his household, except four servant confederates, in their sleep, about two weeks after a shocking discovery which changed his whole demeanour” (79). This foreshadows future events in the story, as it appears Delapore goes through a similar situation when he ventures into the depths of Exham Priory. The quote allows the reader to hone in on what lies ahead for the main character, as this part in the passage seems to center around this house. This scene also sets up the eerie tone of this story, as Delapore lives in the house where these murders happened and some mysterious event caused these murders to happen. The other source of Delapore’s insanity could simply be the estate itself. It seemed he didn’t have any delusions while living in the United States, and instead they started once he moved to Exham Priory. He says, “When the war ended…I grew to manhood, middle age, and ultimate wealth…and as I merged into the greyness of Massachusetts business life I lost all interest in the mysteries which evidently lurked far back in my family tree” (76). When living in the States, Delapore lived a normal life of a business man, which I presume no man who is suffering from severe mental illness could do. Thus creating a connection between the madness and Exham Priory, or it could be madness due to ancestral genetics. Science has proven that some forms of mental illness are hereditary, so this could be a cause of Delapore’s madness. This is supported by the incident involving his ancestor, because it is certain serial killers do not have sane minds, and both Delapore and his late ancestor were serial killers. Either way, Delapore is driven to madness and experiences things that are nowhere near the depths of reality.

The first delusion Delapore experiences involves the supposed rats.  “Whether the arras actually moved I cannot say. I think it did, very slightly. But what I can swear to is that behind it I heard a low, distinct scurrying as of rats or mice” (81). This is the first mention of the rats, which no one else seems to notice except for Delapore and his cat. This notion that only Delapore experiences these oddities is further supported; “On the evening of August 7th…the servants assured me that nothing unusual had occurred…not a trap in the house had been sprung” (85). The traps were triggered and the cats got aggravated only when Delapore was home, which hints that Delapore, unbeknownst to even himself, was causing these things to happen. As the story progresses, the rats are used to describe Delapore’s descent to insanity. “But I was not far behind, for there was no doubt after another second. It was the eldritch scurrying of those fiend-born rats…determined to lead me on even unto those grinning caverns of earth’s centre” (88). The rats symbolize insanity itself, being that those who are insane experience delusions that those who are sane do not. In this story, rats are more than just gross creatures up to no good. Instead, the rats in this story are like the white noise produced by a television without any service. The rats are an ear-piercing disturbance that doesn’t go away, a disturbance that could cause a sane man to go insane. 

The end of the story is when the reader truly learns of Delapore’s madness. “The Rats in the Walls” ends with Delapore eating his friend, Capt. Norrys. The biggest clue that lead to this conclusion was the repetition of “plump” to describe Capt. Norrys throughout the story. “I was entertained by Capt. Norrys, a plump, amiable young man” (76), “Norrys, his plump face utterly white and flabby” (86), and finally “Something bumped into me—something soft and plump” (88). Using the word “plump” to describe a friend is fairly odd; an individual would use “plump” to describe some kind of vegetable or fruit. He goes on to say, “Why shouldn’t rats eat a de la Poer as a de la Poer eats forbidden things?” (88). Delapore thinks he is fighting back against the rats, against the delusions. Cannibalism is obviously a “forbidden” act in our society, so why cannibalism? Is it because of the totemic characteristics of what was within the insane chasm Delapore and his crew were exploring? The environment Delapore is in is full of civilization-defying paradigms and mythical nightmares, so cannibalism seems to fit the attitude being portrayed. 

A major indicator of a broken mind is the denial of one’s own thoughts and actions. Delapore doesn’t even realize the shear capacity of what he did to his friend Capt. Norrys, nor does Delapore realize that the rats never existed in the first place. In the end, Delapore is admitted to an insane asylum, along with the “psychic investigator,” Thornton. This suggests that Delapore’s condition isn’t hereditary, but instead it is the place itself causing madness. The problem with this is why it didn’t affect the others who went on the expedition as well? Were the others just better suited to handle the nightmarish environment? Delapore and Thornton were the only ones to go insane because of Delapore’s ancestry of mental illness, and Thornton’s ties to already paranormal events because he is a “psychic investigator.”

“The Rats in the Walls” by H.P. Lovecraft explores themes that some may find disturbing or unnerving. As the story progresses, Delapore’s mind slowly unravels and his perception of reality is devastatingly altered as his delusions get the best of him. Through H.P. Lovecraft’s use of diction, description, and figurative language it can be argued that the actions Delapore takes are due to insanity brought on by Exham Priory.
