Nutshell: A too-curious protagonist explores the attic where an evil priest once lived, and finds a small device that bends time and brings the priest back.

Commentary: This is a weird one. It is extremely short and possesses the usual surprise ending, but it is hard to explain what exactly happens. The protagonist doesn't even know what he is doing ("I seemed to know what to do with [the object on the table], for I drew a pocket electric light -- or what looked like one -- out of my pocket and nervously tested its flashes... I recall that I did not regard it as a common flashlight..."). The ambiguity seems to harm the narrative, which is unusual in Lovecraft since he so often turns ambiguity into a boon; in his hands, an unnamable, indescribable nightmare is chewier fun than the usual Hollywood creepy-crawler. it may be that, in this story, Lovecraft wasn't actually shooting for horror, instead treading into the realm of hey-isn't-this-weird science-fiction.

This tale does touch on a theme that resurfaces in other Lovecraft tales: the possession of a person by another entity ( "Shadow Out of Time" is an excellent example of this theme's use).

This story is certainly worth a read, especially since it will only take a few minutes to peruse it. However, Lovecraft's awkward dialogue is often maddening, and nowhere is that flaw more evident than in this tale.

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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