The House on the Borderland · Character

The Swine-Things

Pig-faced creatures that swarm the house by night, climbing drainpipes and hurling themselves against doors in a sustained, gibbering siege.

supporting

Also known as VI The Swine - Things, Things

First appearance: VI: The Swine-Things

As a supporting figure in The House on the Borderland, The Swine-Things is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Primitive evil creatures that attack the house.

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The Swine-things come out of the darkness in numbers, jabbering below the windows and forcing the study door inward inch by inch. The recluse fights them with rifle, crowbar, and falling stone, never sure how many wait beyond the candlelight. Their assault turns the house from refuge into fortress and sets the rhythm of the middle chapters.

See The Swine-Things in The House on the Borderland Book page

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the narrator, despite his rational skepticism, is swayed by T…

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In the story

The Swine-Things appears across 12 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The House on the Borderland
Primitive evil creatures that attack the house.
III: The House in the Arena
A single swine-thing is seen loping around the house, peering in windows, shaking bars, and pushing at doors, then charges at the narrator.
V: The Thing in the Pit
First direct encounter: a livid white, pig-like creature that wounds Pepper and later peers into the study window.
VI: The Swine-Things
Emerging from the Pit, they pursue the narrator and Mary, surround the house, and communicate in a guttural language; one stares at the narrator through a window.
VII: The Attack
Assault the study door, climb via a gutter pipe, and are driven off by gunfire and a falling copingstone.
VIII: After the Attack
Have vanished after the attack; their bodies removed during the night, but their threat still looms.
XI: The Searching of the Gardens
No longer present in the gardens; their remains under the copingstone have vanished without trace.
XII: The Subterranean Pit
Mentioned as the source of the hole's origin; their presence is feared but not encountered in this chapter.
XVIII: The Green Star
Mentioned as 'inmates of the Pit' that haunt the narrator's thoughts during the darkness.
XIX: The End of the Solar System
Crawl over the house and disappear into the pit when the house collapses.
XXII: The Dark Nebula
Heard murmuring with swine-laughter from beneath the narrator as he is trapped in the dark House.
XXV: The Thing from the Arena
The Thing from the arena appears as a vast, misty swine-face with phosphorescent slaver, staring through the window and compelling the narrator.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for The Swine-Things unlock in the free preview.

See The Swine-Things in VI: The Swine-Things

See The Swine-Things in The House on the Borderland