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Exact textual stateSynopsis

Untitled synopsis (The Shadow in the Well)

Part of The Shadow in the Well

StateSynopsisSurviving witnesses1TSS catalogue units1
Textual identity is not textual authority. “Catalogue primary/default” selects the default catalogue representation; it does not mean that this wording is automatically Howard’s most authoritative text.

Introduction

This untitled synopsis for The Shadow in the Well outlines a pirate story set in 1711 on an island along the Spanish Main, involving John Groshawk, Steve, Nell Brent, hidden treasure and a supernatural threat associated with a mysterious well.

Summary spoilers
  • The synopsis sets the scene on an island where a pirate ship is anchored, with the crew ashore and the newly appointed captain, John Groshawk, taking charge.
  • Steve, the captive, is bound to a tree but is rescued by Nell Brent, a woman pirate who has previously saved him. Her actions set the plot in motion against Groshawk's orders.
  • Groshawk and select crew members venture into the island's interior in search of a treasure left by a magical and sinister pirate from the past. Nell and Steve, after her rescue effort, follow a separate path which leads them to a dark temple with a mysterious well.
  • Inside the temple, they encounter various dangers and the rest of Groshawk’s crew. A monstrous entity emerges from the well, causing chaos and fear among the pirates.
  • The narrative climax occurs when Nell uses a torch to fend off the creature, allowing her and Steve to escape. This act leads to the pirates’ panicked retreat back to their ship, overwhelmed by the supernatural horrors they've encountered.
  • The crew hastily departs the island, haunted by their experiences, leaving the cursed treasure behind.

Characters in this exact text

Ash StarkAsh Stark — pirate in Groshawk’s treasure-search partyMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Bill DealBill Deal — pirate in Groshawk’s treasure-search partyMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Dick BainDick Bain — pirate in Groshawk’s treasure-search partyMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Jim WorleyJem Worley — pirate in Groshawk’s crewMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Jeremy FletcherJeremy Fletcher — pirate in Groshawk’s treasure-search partyMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Joab GodfreyJoab Godfrey — pirate in Groshawk’s treasure-search partyMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215John GroshawkJohn Groshawk — pirate captain antagonistOn Pagefirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Juan the ButcherJuan the Butcher — Costa Rican half-breed pirate in Groshawk’s crewMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215La CosteLe Coste — French pirate in Groshawk’s crewMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Mike BellafonteMike Bellefonte — powerful pirate in Groshawk’s crewOn Pagefirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Nell BrentNell Brent — woman pirate who saves/frees Steve ClarneyOn Pagefirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Peter OrdPeter Ord — fastidious pirate in Groshawk’s crewMentionedfirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215Solomon DeasSolomon Deas — pirate left on the beach; killed by Steve ClarneyOn Pagefirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215SteveSteve Clarney — Irish captive/protagonistOn Pagefirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 215the entity in the wellthe entity in the well — unnamed monstrous supernatural being emerging from the well in the synopsisOn Pagefirst: Pirate Adventures UE p. 216

Surviving manuscript evidence

The records below describe surviving physical typescripts, carbons, manuscript material and documentary catalogue evidence for this exact textual state. TSS numbers identify physical catalogue units; they are not story or draft IDs.

Synopsis — surviving Howard synopsis typescriptHoward synopsis typescript
Extent1 pageCompletenessComplete

Physical extent: 1 page / 1 TSS catalogue unit

TSS: 21883

Original typescript (OT).

Additional documentary notes

  • Untitled Witness: The spreadsheet records this synopsis as untitled. (witness level)

Source: 000 TSS of REH moving towards final.xls · Complete List · Shadow in the Well, The (s1) · TSS 21883

Textual witnesses & editorial mediation

These records describe how this textual state is known or represented. A witness may be authorial, editorially mediated, restored, transcribed or otherwise derived without becoming a new Howard-authored textual state.

Pirate Adventures - Ultimate EditionRestored reading editionAuthority basis: Restoration toward authorial text · Treatment: Restored toward authorial wording

https://reh.world/publications/?reh_publication=2255