“A Not Quite Unguarded Treasure“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

As he surveyed the hidden trophy room, he felt betwixt emotions.

Of a terrifying foe there was no sign, but he could see a deep fissure pouring a steady flow of lava across much of the hall.

Mainly he felt relief as, apart from the slow giant iguanas who paid him little attention as they lazily basked in the scorching heat of the lava flow, there was no other guardian.

Desperately scanning the flow for any minute window of opportunity, he didn’t notice the wall silently seal up behind him, or appreciate the nearest lizards were inching their way forward.

“An Unexpected Appearance“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

I recently procured the abandoned house on the hill, a purchase I regretted too late.

I heeded not the words of neighbours, nor paid mind to the tales I heard tell as a child, for it was in fine condition and came fully furnished.

It was a bargain that I would still have considered had it been twice its price. However, I should never have read that blasted journal, nor shined the light of that damnable torch on that pink crystal gemstone I found wrapped in silk, for the image of that ghostly vicar it cast will forever haunt me.

“In the Company of Shadows“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

A volume like this should never appear in a thrift shop window.

That it was could only mean that its former protector had died before passing it to a new guardian.

Obviously, the domestic house clearers had been unaware of its true nature or value, but as I leafed through its pages, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck tingle.

As I bore the book into my attic, I could sense a new a shadow on the wall.

No matter, I thought with a chuckle, for up here it would have the company of other shades.

“The Ornate Mirror” – A Lovecraftian Drabble

When I bought the ancient mirror, I was pained by the ill treatment its ornately carved frame had received.

To restore it I paid an artisan handsomely to have its unusual swirls carefully restored, with the undamaged framework as reference.

I had imagined it irksome work, but the carpenter expressed a fascinated appreciative for the commission.

Upon the agreed completion date, I arrived and found the frame resplendent but the workshop inexplicably empty.

After a sizeable and fruitless wait I returned home, but since and forever after I can no longer inspect my reflection without feeling I have unseen company.

“The Pursuit of Knowledge“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

The wizard’s relentless pursuit of ultimate truth and omnipotent knowledge came at a price he could never have imagined.

For in order to know all, he had to assimilate all, and he had no idea of what that entailed.

In an instant his pathetically unprepared mind was suddenly overwhelmed with every thought and experience from every living being, from every planet, in every universe, from the beginning of time to end of eternity.

Such an incalculably gargantuan influx of data would have taxed the mightiest of deities, but to a human wizard it would rendered them stupefied for an eternity.

“Love Turned to Stone“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

If you are reading this then I am dead, poisoned at the hands of my husband.

For years I had been preternaturally dominated under his mesmeric powers, but having grown bored of my aging beauty he employed older dark magics against me, unknowingly abating his earlier bewitchments.

I never truly loved him, nor would my father have given his permission or his blessing towards our union had he too not been subject to my husband’s thaumaturgy.

My last act will be to settle our account as I have forcibly made him stomach the same petrifying concoction that he slipped me.

“Ha’penny Full of Horrors“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

Why I ever rose to that foolish bet I will never know. A moments hot headedness and now I have to suffer a night in this ha’penny house of horrors.

It is not that I would ever succumb to the fanciful notion of these crudely fashioned waxen figures animating with malign intent, but remaining here in a grimy workshop overnight is an uncomfortable inconvenience. If only the wooden floorboards would desist creaking, that draft refrain from swaying the exhibits and their eerie shadows cease appearing to be continuously edging closer then I might finally be able to drift off asleep.

“Radiant Angles“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

Surveying the room that was to be my home for the next three years, a slight tremble trickled through me.

The rooms interior dimensions are a mangle of offset corners and irregular angles, and I could swear they seem to radiate with purple luminescence.

Admittedly I knew the rumour concerning its previous occupant, but in Arkham there is not a cobbled lane, blind alley or gabled roof not possessing its own dark history, especially here in the old town.

My only misgiving is if its entrenched rat doesn’t decamp, as often background noises have a habit of pervading my dreams.

“The Fisherman’s Scourge“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

For years I have kept secret the full account of what transpired, but now I deem it time to reveal the truth.

You may choose to disbelieve, but the folk of that damned coastal town had sold their souls, even their children, in exchange for an abundance of fish, gold and a watery everlasting life.

My only concern is that the dawn raids and torpedoes did little but to drive their sick religion underground, away from inquisitive prying eyes.

Thus, for some time now, I’ve felt the desire to return and verify for myself the end of that corrupting scourge.

“An Exploration Too Far“ – A Lovecraftian Drabble

The team leader stared at the silent radio one last time before he ordered his team into action.

The forward team had taken most of the excavating machinery and flown off across the Antarctic plateau days before, and their first transmissions had showed great promise being filled with vivid descriptions of mountains dwarfing Everest and complex fossilised remains predating all established history.

By the time the main team reached the satellite outpost all they found was a tangle of strangled corpses, occasionally dissected as if under autopsy, and the trail of a single runaway husky sled dwindling into the distance.