The Temple of Dagon

Hello.

Most of Lovecraft's stories, as well as pretty much all Cthulhu stories I know, subscribe to the idea of "Plausible Deniability". Meaning that all consequences of the story must be hidden, so that the reader can imagine that the story "really happened". So no story is allowed to change the world, and no news is allowed to get out. (Click the link for a better explanation.)

The only Lovecraft story I can remember that almost breaks plausible deniability is "The Shadow over Innsmouth", where the authorities raid Innsmouth in the end. But even then, it is an isolated event that no one hears about.

I have always disliked plausible deniability. So I am looking for a Cthulhu Mythos or otherwise Lovecraftian story that breaks it and instead has major, visible consequences for the world. For example, we always hear predictions about how the Great Old Ones will one day awaken and destroy mankind, but we never see any signs of it actually happening. Ideally, I want to hear a story about the "strange eons" when the Great Old Ones awaken.

Caveat 1: Of course, I only want stories that are actually true to the spirit of the Cthulhu Mythos. For example, anything that involves "Cthulhu attacks Tokyo and gets repelled by kids in giant robots" or anything similar to that is out of the question. (I'm looking at you, Demonbane anime. Gods, that had an awful ending. Don't watch it.)

Caveat 2: Of course, even though I am asking about stories with a particular kind of ending, I do not want to hear story spoilers in this thread.

Can anyone recommend me stories like this?

The closest thing I can think of myself is the movie In the Mouth of Madness. It is not part of the Mythos, but it is quite Lovecraftian in style.

Thanks in advance.

off the top of my head, one of the featured writers here contributed a story called 'the temple' which involves major disasters in the public eye... there must be others, and by relatively famous authors.

i'm not sure that plausible deniability is the point of confining the awareness to smaller groups or individuals. i think an isolated viewpoint is more conducive to cosmic horror than a widespread cultural sort of experience.

I myself have not slept in a long time and will return to this post when i am both, sober and fully concious...

JJ Burke wrote:off the top of my head, one of the featured writers here contributed a story called 'the temple' which involves major disasters in the public eye... there must be others, and by relatively famous authors.

Thanks. I will check that one out.

tsathoggua wrote:I myself have not slept in a long time and will return to this post when i am both, sober and fully concious...

Have not slept? You're a Great Old One! I though sleeping was all you did these days.

For those interested in more recommendations, I posted an identical thread in the Yog-Sothoth forum.

Hahaha, if I were you, I'd stay away from those forums.

Whats up with the yogi forums???

lovecraft518 wrote:Hahaha, if I were you, I'd stay away from those forums.

Why, what's wrong with them?

thats what i want to know!!!

Theyre really rude, especially to worshippers of cthulhu
(not that i am one, but still)

Oh, okay then

Spectrum wrote:

JJ Burke wrote:off the top of my head, one of the featured writers here contributed a story called 'the temple' which involves major disasters in the public eye... there must be others, and by relatively famous authors.

Thanks. I will check that one out.

Well, I read "The Temple". It was good, but not great. It had good ideas, but the telling was very dispassionate and did nothing to create horror or atmosphere. "The Temple" feels more like a plot summary than an actual story. And the ending was a huge anticlimax. Still, it was not bad. Worth reading.

that was the first story i read on this site, so it sticks with me. some of his other pieces are more satisfying. poke around the menu and you'll find a few stories that are quite good (by various writers). i'm not sure why they're organized like this, in 3-4 different places...

I found a story that fits my description above. It is C-City by Kobayashi Yasumi, appearing in the collection Lairs of the Hidden Gods Volume III: Straight to Darkness. It is a fairly interesting story. Anyone interested in the thread might want to check it out.

Plausible deniability is essential to the appeal of the stories. A climactic rise of the Old Ones would demolish the sense of brooding mystery and tantalising conjecture essential to most of Lovecraft's best tales. The slow revelation of unwholesome hints and shuddersome surmises comprising the bulk of his longer yarns are far more thrilling and addictive than the climaxes, which are generally hinted at rather than explicitly confirmed. It's the atmosphere of quaint nostalgia, of loneliness, of apprehension and growing conviction that I really love about his work.

Plausible deniability is essential to the appeal of the stories. A climactic rise of the Old Ones would demolish the sense of brooding mystery and tantalising conjecture essential to most of Lovecraft's best tales. The slow revelation of unwholesome hints and shuddersome surmises comprising the bulk of his longer yarns are far more thrilling and addictive than the climaxes, which are generally hinted at rather than explicitly confirmed. It's the atmosphere of quaint nostalgia, of loneliness, of apprehension and growing conviction that I really love about his work.