The Nameless City

As I read this, I realised that this was one of Lovecraft's earlier works. The horror factor is inspired by Egyptian mythology and symbology.

The atmospheric build-up is ever-present in Lovecraft's short stories, but in this one, there's an an attempt to paint ancient architecture as scary-looking and horrible, but it doesn't mesh well with the protagonists actions. I do agree that curiosity and an urge to explore the unknown can be a powerful motivator, but when you're going down really steep stairs and claustrophobically low tunnels, it's really illogical to continue to push forward without going back for safer survival gear - especially when your only torch starts to go low and then die out.

I also found the ending to be a hit confusing and feels like a cop-out. Basically the protagonist doesn't really know what he's seen and doesn't really know how he got back out. I liked the setting up of the end, but not the end.

It's really creepy, a good short story fit for Halloween :-D
I'm having a reading marathon, The Complete Cthulhu Mythos, as listed by Lynn Carter

The Nameless City
The Hound
The Festival
The Call of Cthulhu
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
The Dreams in the Witch House
At the Mountains of Madness
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Shadow Out of Time
The Haunter of the Dark
The Thing on the Doorstep
The History of the Necronomicon
Fungi from Yuggoth