Nutshell: Arthur Jermyn, the decendant of several generations of odd-looking explorers and anthropologists, burns himself alive after he opens a box shipped from Africa.

Commentary: This is one of those Lovecraft tales, like "The Shadow over Innsmouth", where Lovecraft spends a lot of time on geneology. It is interesting to note that he would probably be lynched today for his less-than-politically-correct revulsion at interbreeding between races, but nevertheless, the tale is still a nice, creepy little yarn. I do love the opening paragraph; it's one of Lovecraft's best starts.

Best Quote: "Life is a hideous thing, and from the background behind what we know of it peer daemoniacal hints of truth which make it sometimes a thousandfold more hideous. Science, already oppressive with its shocking revelations, will perhaps be the ultimate exterminator of our human species -- if separate species we be -- for its reserve of unguessed horrors could never be borne by mortal brains if loosed upon the world."

Witch in her magic circle, conjuring demons.

Illustration from Nicolas Remi's Daemonolatria, from the German translation.

Hamburg, 1693

In Brief

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