Wildgoose Lodge by William Carleton
"Wildgoose Lodge," a chilling tale by William Carleton, is set against the backdrop of 19th-century Ireland and involves a secretive Roman Catholic society known as the Ribbonmen. The narrative begins with the narrator receiving a summons to a clandestine meeting during a harsh winter storm, where he finds a group gathered in a church under grim circumstances. The leader, Patrick Devann, also known as the Captain, presides over a gathering with a dark purpose, revealing that their meeting is centered on punishing those they view as traitors to the society.
As tension builds, the men are compelled to drink whiskey as a pledge of their commitment to this ominous mission, which remains shrouded in secrecy. The story unfolds dramatically as the group, emboldened by their shared oath, sets out into the storm to confront a family accused of betrayal. What follows is a harrowing account of violence, as the Captain leads a brutal assault on the family, culminating in acts of horrific murder and arson. The narrator's horror contrasts sharply with the group's chilling resolve, ultimately providing a stark exploration of themes related to loyalty, vengeance, and the moral implications of mob mentality. This tale of terror not only draws upon historical events but also invites reflection on the darker aspects of human nature.
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Wildgoose Lodge by William Carleton
First published: 1830
Type of plot: Realism, horror
Time of work: The 1820's
Locale: Near Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland
Principal Characters:
The narrator , a member of a Roman Catholic secret societyPatrick Devann , the Captain of the secret society
The Story
"Wildgoose Lodge," a nineteenth century tale of terror based on an actual event, begins with the narrator receiving a summons to attend a meeting of a Roman Catholic secret society called the Ribbonmen. In the middle of winter, on a gloomy, stormy day, the narrator, filled with apprehension about the summons, goes to the meeting in the parish chapel. Forty people are waiting for him there, but the welcome he receives is not the hearty greeting to which he is accustomed. Although he does not know the reason for the meeting, he knows that it involves something terrible.
The leader of the Ribbonmen, Patrick Devann, a schoolmaster who teaches in the chapel and on Sunday is clerk to the priest, gives the narrator a glass of whiskey to drink, but the narrator holds back because they are in a church. As more men enter, all are made to drink the whiskey as a sign of their commitment to the act that Devann, called the Captain, has planned, although no one knows what that act is. The Captain reads the names of a group of members of the society who have betrayed the organization and says that all those assembled are brothers on a sacred mission to punish the traitors. The Captain takes the Missal on the altar and swears by the sacred and holy book of God that he will perform the action they have met to accomplish. When he strikes the book with his open hand with a loud sound, the candle goes out and the chapel is thrown into darkness; there is the sound of rushing wings that makes all the men pull back in horror at what they perceive is a supernatural event. However, someone explains that the candle was extinguished by a pigeon and that the sound of rushing wings resulted from the many pigeons roosting in the rafters having been frightened by the loud noise.
Although not all the men swear to participate in the punishment of the so-called traitors, all of them swear to keep secret what happens on this night. A small number of men, whom the narrator calls the Captain's gang, swear to participate and then affirm their oath by yelling and leaping in triumph around the altar. Afterward, all the men—one hundred thirty strong—go out into the stormy night, at one point fording a flooded area around the house of the family to be punished by leapfrogging over one another. When the men reach the house of the accused traitors, the Captain immediately sets it afire and tells his men "No mercy is the password for the night."
When a woman puts her head out the window of the burning house and begs for compassion, the Captain and his gang pierce the woman's head with a bayonet and push her body back into the flames. When a man with his clothes burned off comes out of the house, he begs that his child, an infant, be spared. The Captain calls him a "bloody informer" and shoves him back into the flames. When a woman with an infant in her arms appears at the window, the Captain thrusts his bayonet into the infant and throws it into the flames also. Throughout these atrocities, the narrator is filled with horror, but no one does anything to stop the slaughter. Finally, all the victims are dead, and the house is quickly consumed by flames.