The Horror in the Museum

"The Horror in the Museum" is a short story ghost written by H. P. Lovecraft for Hazel Heald in October 1932.

Plot

The tale concerns the relationship between Stephen Jones and George Rogers, the owner of a private wax museum specialising in the grotesque. Initially cordial it degenerates as Jones first mocks Rogers then comes to suspect (correctly) he is demented with his "wild tales and suggestions of rites and sacrifices to nameless elder gods". Jones takes up Roger's standing offer to spend a night in the museum and is attacked by his host who is in turn killed by the entity Rhan-Tegoth that he has been making sacrifices to and ends up becoming part of the displays.

Cthulhu Mythos connections

The debate will probably always continue as to whether or not The Horror in the Museum can be considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos proper, since it was a story that Lovecraft ghost wrote for Hazel Heald. However, the tale itself is littered with references to other Mythos stories, entities and objects. Such references include Tsathoggua, many-tentacled Cthulhu, proboscidian Chaugnar Faugn, the Necronomicon, the Book of Eibon, the Unaussprechlichen Kulten and its author Friedrich von Junzt, the Pnakotic Dhol chants, Leng and the Tcho-Tcho.

Collection

The story has been collected several times and can be found in The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions, which is currently in print.