The Temple of Dagon

This is probably the best story of Lovecrafts that I've even read. I don't think I've had such a large grin on my face since. I do have a question about the end though, which is, what are the creature down in the crypt?

That's one of my favorites as well. Nobody knows exactly what is in the crypt, which IMO is a crucial factor of the story's effectiveness.

I like to think it has something to do with "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", but I'm still not sure what's down there.

It was obviously a being with intelligence since it spoke back to him when it said Warren was dead. Like someone else said, the aspect of not knowing what's in the crypt is what makes the story so great.

Great story by the way.. Excellent read!

No way, Warren himself said that. Atleats I've always thought that. Like he went mad. He was somehow connected to the beasts down there and then he became one of them, just like the guy in "Shadows over Innsmouth" or smt.

I see, I see what your saying.. it could have been Warren who said that but I always thought of it as the thing/things that killed him speaking.

Either way.. Good stuff.

Actually, nothing happened to Warren. He was just using his "creepy voice" to pull a prank on Carter.

That's a great party trick. The guy's a hoot.

I don't believe you.

Do you have proof??

Not one iota.

E.A. Lovecraft wrote:That's one of my favorites as well. Nobody knows exactly what is in the crypt, which IMO is a crucial factor of the story's effectiveness.

I think that sums up the effectiveness of Lovecraft's entire appeal - for me at least. We can't see what a Shoggoth looks like, or hear what Cthulu sounds like etc etc. Our imagination fills in the blanks. That's why his stories are so atmospheric and eerie. Film versions and computer games will never come close because by necessity they have to SHOW us the monsters, which are never as scary in real life as our subconcious makes them with no visual aids.

Spot on, man. Too many subsequent mythos authors fail to realize that maintaining the unknown is a crucial ingredient of Lovecraft's effectiveness.

Agreed. Neil Gaiman also echoed this sentiment in the Eldritch Influence documentary about Lovecraft from a couple years ago. He said something akin to seeing a drawing of a Shoggoth and being disappointed, since the mind will almost always conjure up a weirder, scarier version.