In The Mouth Of Madness: The Plot Of Every Sutter Cane Novel

Here’s the plot for every Sutter Cane novel from John Carpenter’s In The Mouth Of Madness. The early 1990s was a fallow period for horror and while there were hits like Dracula, the genre wasn’t doing great. It needed a shot in the arm creatively, which led to the emergence of meta-horror. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare kicked this off thread, with this entry seeing Freddy Krueger’s creator reflecting on his creation and the genre, as the story sees Freddy crossing over into reality.

Craven returned to this meta-commentary with Scream which became a huge hit and defined horror cinema for the latter half of the decade. Often unfairly overlooked from this era is In The Mouth Of Madness. This 1994 effort sees Sam Neill’s investigator track down missing H.P. Lovecraft-inspired author Sutter Cane whose work is driving readers insane.

In The Mouth Of Madness wasn’t much of a hit but has been reappraised as one of Carpenter’s best. Here are the plots to Cane’s work courtesy of the thefilmleague, which reference events in the movie. According to Greg Nictotero, his company KNB – who handled the movie’s effects – designed the book covers and painted two of them, while production staff handled the others due to time constraints.

The Hobb’s End Horror

The sleepy colonial town of Hobb’s End was right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. It seemed like the perfect retirement community for Carl and Helen Pickman, who had always dreamed of running a cozy little bed and breakfast. But there is something about the town that doesn’t seem quite right, something which is making Carl stick to his stomach… something which is changing his wife.

The Feeding

Summer has finally come, and for the first time since the divorce, Jack Sullivan is getting custody of his children Max and Amanda, for an entire mouth. But soon after their arrival, Jack notices a sudden and dramatic change come over his children. The games they play are increasingly dangerous. And their behaviour becomes more violent and cruel with each passing day. But it’s not just Max and Amanda. Every kid in town is changing, becoming more and more vicious. In desperation the town’s people gather to decide upon a plan. But the children have already chosen their fate. It’s time to get rid of the adults once and for all, by any means possible. Jack, and the rest of the adults soon find themselves being hunted down by sadistic hordes of their very own children. And what the children have in store for them is even more horrifying than the most frightening childhood nightmare.

The Breathing Tunnel

Tourist guides say it was part of the underground rail-road – a secret route to freedom for Southern slaves. But there are those who know otherwise. Many families fled into the tunnel in a desperate flight to liberty, but very few came back out. Jesse Washington’s grandfather was one of the few who survived. He told stories of a cavernous labyrinth which led to the very bowels of the earth… And of something living deep within the darkness, more terrifying than death itself, something which fed upon his entire family. But Jesse never paid much attention to the old man’s stories. The tunnel had been closed up long ago for safety reasons, and no had ventured inside for years. But it was sealed not to keep people out, but to keep something in. And that something has gotten lonely over the years… lonely and hungry. And now its coming to the surface to hunt.. and to feed. Now Jesse believes, but now may already be too late…

The Thing in the Basement

After losing both her job, and her boyfriend, Lauren Mitchell is confronted with her worst fear – she must move back in with her parents. But her nightmare is just beginning. For things have changed back home. Her parents have a new border living in their basement, and he’s not very friendly. In fact, he’s not even human. But that doesn’t stop the ghastly creature from wanting Lauren for its mate. It has chosen her to bear its parasitic offspring – a hideous new brood of creatures – a vicious new breed of evil. Lauren isn’t giving up without one hell of a fight. But even then, she may wind up dead… if she’s lucky.

The Whisperer Of The Dark

The rugged wilderness is a haven for hikers and nature lovers who enjoy its natural beauty and unspoiled majesty. And as autumn sets in, the forests come alive with their beautiful palettes of fall colors. But there’s something else which comes alive as the sun goes down, and the woods becomes a nocturnal playground for the creatures of the night.

Cody Youngblood’s people also belived the Wanago could come into the land of the living if enough people shared the infectous nightmares. Cody, however, has spent his entire life trying to distance himself from his native roots. But as his nightmares, and those of his friends, start taking shape in the real world. he soon finds himself forced to embrace the Shaministic teachings of his ancestors. To save himself and the ones he loves he must believe in the Indian magic he denounced as a young man. And even that may not be enough to save them from the savage terror which whispers in the dark.

Haunter Out Of Time

Plague and pestilence. War and Famine… Throughout history, mankind has been ravaged with horrific tragedy. And on each and every occasion it was there, gorging itself on humanity’s pain and suffering… Since the dawn of civilization, it has haunted the shadows of human existence, infecting agony and death upon all it embraces. It has been more than a hundred years since the darkness fell upon the new world. But the hour of evil is upon us once again. There is a vicious storm brewing, bringing winds of torment and a rain of terror. And with it comes the haunter, a parasitic monster who feeds on man’s most primal emotions: seeking ectasy in the torturous throes of human misery. No man, woman or child, is safe from its wickedness. And only the strongest will survive… The question is, survive as what?

In The Mouth Of Madness

There was a man come unto the earth with tales of terror and madness. But he was more than a teller of stories. He was a prophet. And his word would herald the coming of the apocalypse.

In The Mouth Of Madness.

This is the last book written by horror king Sutter Cane, before his mysterious disappearance. It is his book of revelations, the beginning of the end. After this book, nothing will ever be the same again…

About The Author

Padraig Cotter
(3485 Articles Published)

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It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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