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| Weird Tales 1925.02 |
Opening Statement:
Again I say, I do not know what has become of Harley Warren, though I think--almost hope--that he is in peaceful oblivion, if there be anywhere so blessed a thing.Synopsis:
Randolph Carter and his friend Harley Warren visit a graveyard in order to investigate a portal which apparently connects the surface world with the underworld. This gateway purportedly allows demons access to Mankind. Once the tomb (gateway) is located, Warren descends into a deep dark abyss, but maintaining communications with Carter through a wire transmitter. Later, Warren is heard to confront some kind of horror, and urges Carter to flee and seal the tomb. Eventually, a strange, inhuman voice from Warren’s end tells Carter that "Warren is dead".From Dr. Armitage's Notes:
- 1st appearance of Randolph Carter (next seen in "The Unnamable".
- 2nd tomb-story (after "The Tomb").
- 1st published story which develops the idea of a secret underground universe populated by dangerous forces ("The Transition of Juan Romero" was published posthumously in 1944) .
The Horrible Conclusion:
I heard it, and knew no more--heard it as I sat petrified in that unknown cemetery in the hollow, amidst the crumbling stones and the falling tombs, the rank vegetation and the miasmal vapors-- heard it well up from the innermost depths of that damnable open sepulcher as I watched amorphous, necrophagous shadows dance beneath an accursed waning moon.Read it here.
And this is what it said:
"YOU FOOL, WARREN IS DEAD!"
Follow'd by "The Terrible Old Man".
