Nutshell: An amateur spelunker gets lost in a cave. After his flashlight expires, he encounters an unseen creature in the darkness.

Commentary: The tale is a fun, quick read, although you have to keep in mind that Lovecraft wrote it in 1905, when he was only fifteen years old (!). It's premise isn't nearly as original as most of his later work, but it certainly is impressive when you consider it is really one of his first forrays into fiction. It is also interesting to note that his signiture storytelling formulas are already established at such an early stage. It's not his best work, but certainly worth a look.

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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