Dr. Boris Kalamov is a recurring character in the works of Laird Barron. The Kalamov Dolmen and Kalamov Cavern were named after Dr. Boris Kalamov. Kalamov plays a role in events that took place in 1849, 1923 and the 1950's. ### __Dr Kalamov in Mysterium Tremendum__ In the story [[Mysterium Tremendum]], a group of friends visit the prehistoric dolmen on [[Mount Mystery]] on the [[Olympic Peninsula]] in [[Washington State]]. The dolmen was said to be discovered by Dr. Kalamov following an expedition in 1849. The story's protagonist hears the following being said on a History Channel special, but it's unsure whether it's actually true: "Of particular interest is the Kalamov Cavern site near Mystery Mountain National Park. The Kalamov Dolmen, named after Dr. Boris Kalamov, who discovered it in 1849, is remarkable in its size and antiquity. A relic of the Neolithic Age… three thousand B.C. Perhaps older." (Occultation, p. ) If true, Dr. Kalamov's expedition might actually predate [the real-world exploration of the Olympic Peninsula](https://www.historylink.org/File/7473). The story's protagonist later does more research and finds out the following: "Boris Kalamov turned out to be no doctor at all, but a rather smarmy eighteenth-century charlatan who faked his academic credentials in order to bolster extraordinary claims made in his series of faux scholarly books regarding naturalism and the occult. The good doctor’s fraudulent escapades came to a sad end thanks to French justice—he was convicted of some cryptic act of pagan barbarism and confined to a Parisian asylum for the remainder of his years." (Occultation, p. ) ### __Dr. Kalamov in The Men from Porlock__ Dr. Kalamov later appears in the story [[The Men from Porlock]], which takes place in 1923. It's highly unlikely that Kalamov, who explored the Olympic Peninsula and/or wrote books around 1849 (and supposedly spent the rest of his life in an asylum in France) is alive almost 75 years later. The suppposed Dr. Boris Kalamov who appears in The Men from Porlock is almost certainly one of the [[Children of Old Leech]]. Maybe there never existed a human Dr. Kalamov at all, or the original Dr. Kalamov was at some point in time replaced by an alien imposter. If so, this probably happened while exploring Mount Mystery. ### __Dr. Kalamov in The Croning__ Dr. Boris Kalamov is mentioned in [[The Croning]] as well. Here we get another mention of the 1849 expedition: "This was a small village about a jillion years ago, probably abandoned the same decade as Slango Camp, so far as we can determine. No name on record except a notation that B. Kalamov had surveyed the area in 1849, discovered a cave system. Can’t vouch for the authenticity of that because I can’t find corroboration that such a cave exists." (The Croning, p. ) One of the main characters in the story, Michelle Mock, is a colleague of Dr. Boris Kalamov and has been on expeditions with him. These expeditions took place probably somewhere in the 1950's or maybe the 1990's. Michelle describes Kalamov in a way that seems to fit our conclusions pretty well: "The man is tough as a cockroach. Can’t kill him. Keeps coming back for more. He got tortured by natives once. Lived to tell" (The Croning, p. ) #Character #Croning #Occultation