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The Beast in the Cave
a selection from the beginning of the story:
The horrible conclusion which had been gradually intruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind was now an awful certainty. I was lost, completely, hopelessly lost in the vast and labyrinthine recess of the Mammoth Cave. Turn as I might, in no direction could my straining vision seize on any object capable of serving as a guidepost to set me on the outward path. That nevermore should I behold the blessed light of day, or scan the pleasant hills and dales of the beautiful world outside, my reason could no longer entertain the slightest unbelief. Hope had departed. Yet, indoctrinated as I was by a life of philosophical study, I derived no small measure of satisfaction from my unimpassioned demeanour; for although I had frequently read of the wild frenzies into which were thrown the victims of similar situations, I experienced none of these, but stood quiet as soon as I clearly realised the loss of my bearings.
Nor did the thought that I had probably wandered beyond the utmost limits of an ordinary search cause me to abandon my composure even for a moment. If I must die, I reflected, then was this terrible yet majestic cavern as welcome a sepulchre as that which any churchyard might afford, a conception which carried with it more of tranquillity than of despair.
Starving would prove my ultimate fate; of this I was certain. Some, I knew, had gone mad under circumstances such as these, but I felt that this end would not be mine. My disaster was the result of no fault save my own, since unknown to the guide I had separated myself from the regular party of sightseers; and, wandering for over an hour in forbidden avenues of the cave, had found myself unable to retrace the devious windings which I had pursued since forsaking my companions.
Already my torch had begun to expire; soon I would be enveloped by the total and almost palpable blackness of the bowels of the earth. As I stood in the waning, unsteady light, I idly wondered over the exact circumstances of my coming end. I remembered the accounts which I had heard of the colony of consumptives, who, taking their residence in this gigantic grotto to find health from the apparently salubrious air of the underground world, with its steady, uniform temperature, pure air, and peaceful quiet, had found, instead, death in strange and ghastly form. I had seen the sad remains of their ill-made cottages as I passed them by with the party, and had wondered what unnatural influence a long sojourn in this immense and silent cavern would exert upon one as healthy and vigorous as I. Now, I grimly told myself, my opportunity for settling this point had arrived, provided that want of food should not bring me too speedy a departure from this life.
44 pages, Leather Bound
First published January 1, 1918
20 people are currently reading
700 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,111 books19.3k followersHoward Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
— Wikipedia
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
— Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 366 reviews
March 16, 2019
Interesting short story filled with a sense of foreboding about a man who wanders away from his tour group in a cave, gets lost in the tunnels with no light, and what happens after that. I enjoyed it.
March 12, 2018
Enjoyable, if not Lovecraft's finest work. What I like about him is that he usually delivered the goods monster-wise. That's not exactly the case with this , but there's still enough of a twist on the mundane to keep this adequately creepy.
August 12, 2017
Oh my goodness
Now that's the kind of horror I'd like to read...the real fear... fear of the unknown
The funny thing is this short story was written by a 13 years old teen...we have a full grown men and women these days that keep throwing trash into pages and calls it a horror story...nothing beats the classics I suppose :)
the story tells of a man that found himself in a very tight spot, eye to eye with an unknown thing that he thinks of it as nothing but something evil and sinister, and allows his instinct to do the talking.
What would we do in his place?
Now that's the kind of horror I'd like to read...the real fear... fear of the unknown
The funny thing is this short story was written by a 13 years old teen...we have a full grown men and women these days that keep throwing trash into pages and calls it a horror story...nothing beats the classics I suppose :)
the story tells of a man that found himself in a very tight spot, eye to eye with an unknown thing that he thinks of it as nothing but something evil and sinister, and allows his instinct to do the talking.
What would we do in his place?
January 29, 2014
I've seen many mixed reviews for this story. However, I have to defend it. Its Lovecraft's first published (as far as I know) and its one of his scariest. But unlike a horror movie, or even some of the newer horror sex/gore fests stories today, you have to work for this to get the most out of it. You need to read it with a crystal clear, flexible imagination, and read it alone, at night in a dim room with a single light. If you really get in the shoes of the character, and see everything as he sees it, and you can pull up horrific imagery in you mind at a moment's notice, this is one of Lovecraft's most terrifying stories. Most people aren't up for the challenge, however.
September 9, 2025
The Beast in the Cave: H.P. Lovecraft: If you are tourist on a tour group in a strange cave for crying out loud don't be a loser and forget, your actually somewhere freaken dangerous, holy heck pay attention to your bloody surroundings, ya moron.?.and don't get lost. If you do,...say if you do....prepare yourself with rocks in your hand and stay perfectly still listen hard out because its pitch black, if that monster because ...there's always ...that monster is approaching bif those rocks in that direction and kill that monster dead. Short horror story that is fun and has you edgey without coffee huh...loving lovecraft his use of language is refreshing from a bygone era of 100 something plus years ago...super.massive crush on my super gi..normous 1112 page theif wacker in the head, collected works...best buy yet...
August 1, 2022
This one was ok. Not one of HP Lovecraft’s more popular stories but I don’t regret reading it. Pretty cool ending.
3/5 stars
3/5 stars
October 21, 2025
Si el pollo sin sazonar fuera un relato
September 6, 2015
2.5
The narrator, in his infinite wisdom, got separated from his group while they were following their guide through the caves. He wasn't aware there are so many tunnels. Soon he lost his light too. Nobody heard his screams.
Then he heard the sound. The last words are written in capital letters followed by a couple of exclamation marks. It ruined the story.
The narrator, in his infinite wisdom, got separated from his group while they were following their guide through the caves. He wasn't aware there are so many tunnels. Soon he lost his light too. Nobody heard his screams.
Then he heard the sound. The last words are written in capital letters followed by a couple of exclamation marks. It ruined the story.
September 16, 2018
Beautifully written horror short story, although the story itself was no better than a school assignment.
Read it purely for his excellency in language and for the imagery he creates.
Read it purely for his excellency in language and for the imagery he creates.
March 11, 2023
I really enjoyed this short story. We have caverns nearby to where I live. I'll think twice about who or what may be lurking in the shadows the next I go visiting!
February 22, 2022
Tengo entendido que es el primer cuento que escribió Lovecraft y es lo primero que he leído de él. Hay algo en su estilo que me ha gustado mucho, me ha recordado a Poe.
October 17, 2021
It's that time of year to pull out a few Lovecraft stories. This was one of his first published in 1918. I could have used a little more sense of despair & fright with from the MC who was lost in the unending passages of Mammoth Cave; especially when his light was going out and he was hearing something headed his way . The beast's identity didn't surprise me, but I did feel horror thinking of what must have happened in that cave.
August 29, 2025
3.75 - Really liked this one it reminded me of The Descent (2005) directed by Neil Marshall. I'd like to imagine that this could've been inspiration for the film because holy shit are they similar. Super enjoyable because I already have a fear of caves.
April 30, 2010
Interesting short story by Lovecraft. The protagonist wanders away from his guide while touring a cave, and soon hears strange sounds approaching him in the darkness...
May 20, 2020
LIT ON THE SPOT - REVIEW:
Presenting the Lovecraft Project:
H. P. Lovecraft is the father of the cosmic horror – the genre constructed around the notion that we human beings are a tiny, insignificant fraction of the universe, and that there are things much bigger and more important than we are hidden in the depths of the world.
The plan is to write a few paragraphs – a small review – on each of H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories and novellas, following a chronological order – as they are structured in the Barnes & Noble edition of H.P. Lovecraft The Complete Fiction. The point is to analyze how Lovecraft crafted his tales of horror, the narrative devices he used, the patterns in his writing, the common themes present in his work, and – of course – the blatant racism that permeates some of his narratives.
We’ll start with the story he wrote when he was just fifteen years old: The Beast in the Cave.
The Beast in the Cave
“The horrible conclusion which had been gradually obtruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind was now an awful certainty.” This is how Lovecraft’s first narrative starts: with a sentence that manages to encapsulate the horror that will become the foundation of his following stories. Here, we already have a lot of the elements that will mark his work: the horror based on a thought so terrible that the mind of a man can’t process it: it becomes confused in its refusal to accept it. In other words, the horror comes more from an unfathomable idea – from a horrible conclusion – than simply from a monstrous creature.
The Beast in the Cave is a story narrated in first-person about a man that, after getting separated from his guide, finds himself hopelessly lost inside the Mammoth Cave – whose name already hints at its wildness and at how it will tower over the protagonist: a cavern that is “terrible yet majestic.”
When the story begins, the protagonist is trying to remain calm, despite the gloomy paths his thoughts travel: he initially describes the way men tend to go mad at similar circumstances, and we can see that he’s trying to come to terms with the fact that he’s bound to die from starvation and that he has only himself to blame for his terrible situation.
The cave, immense and dark, is a maze with “forbidden avenues” that form the “bowels of the earth.” He’s lost, he’s not supposed to be there – and is being punished for his daring – and now he’s going to be carefully digested by the earth that surrounds him, never to be seen again. The suspense is quickly built by the presentation of a small time frame for the protagonist to save himself: the light of his torch is soon to fade and envelop him in the cold darkness of the cave.
Things also take a turn for the worse when, possibly attracted by his cries for help, something unhuman gets close to him. Lovecraft is not subtle in his early work, and here he marks in italics how the footsteps the protagonist was hearing “were not like those of any mortal man.” – a sentence so foreboding that needs no mark of emphasis.
The narrator describes the sounds of a strange beast that sometimes moves like a human, sometimes on all fours. To increase the horror, the character remarks how the light of his torch has extinguished: the time frame to save himself has finally closed and now remained only the darkness, which seems to hold physical pressure on his body, and the beast, whose form he’s not capable of distinguishing in the dark.
As it will be a common thing in Lovecraft’s stories, the sheer terror the narrator feels inflicts in him a kind of paralysis, making him unable to speak, shout, move, or react. This feeling, however, is temporary, and the protagonist is able to pick up some limestones and throw them at the general direction of the creature.
Here is when the tension disappears from the story,
Therefore, if the story begins with the horror being built around ideas, it sadly ends being about a creature. One could argue that what is really horrible is the realization that nature could that to a man; that it could transform a human being into a monster, but that idea is never discussed. Since the story ends at the revelation, the issue of a man becoming a creature is never actually discussed, going only for shock value.
The Beast in the Cave begins as an efficient horror and atmospheric story, but it ends up sounding more silly than horrifying by its last paragraphs.
---> If you liked this review, visit us at LIT ON THE SPOT for more!
Presenting the Lovecraft Project:
H. P. Lovecraft is the father of the cosmic horror – the genre constructed around the notion that we human beings are a tiny, insignificant fraction of the universe, and that there are things much bigger and more important than we are hidden in the depths of the world.
The plan is to write a few paragraphs – a small review – on each of H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories and novellas, following a chronological order – as they are structured in the Barnes & Noble edition of H.P. Lovecraft The Complete Fiction. The point is to analyze how Lovecraft crafted his tales of horror, the narrative devices he used, the patterns in his writing, the common themes present in his work, and – of course – the blatant racism that permeates some of his narratives.
We’ll start with the story he wrote when he was just fifteen years old: The Beast in the Cave.
The Beast in the Cave
“The horrible conclusion which had been gradually obtruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind was now an awful certainty.” This is how Lovecraft’s first narrative starts: with a sentence that manages to encapsulate the horror that will become the foundation of his following stories. Here, we already have a lot of the elements that will mark his work: the horror based on a thought so terrible that the mind of a man can’t process it: it becomes confused in its refusal to accept it. In other words, the horror comes more from an unfathomable idea – from a horrible conclusion – than simply from a monstrous creature.
The Beast in the Cave is a story narrated in first-person about a man that, after getting separated from his guide, finds himself hopelessly lost inside the Mammoth Cave – whose name already hints at its wildness and at how it will tower over the protagonist: a cavern that is “terrible yet majestic.”
When the story begins, the protagonist is trying to remain calm, despite the gloomy paths his thoughts travel: he initially describes the way men tend to go mad at similar circumstances, and we can see that he’s trying to come to terms with the fact that he’s bound to die from starvation and that he has only himself to blame for his terrible situation.
The cave, immense and dark, is a maze with “forbidden avenues” that form the “bowels of the earth.” He’s lost, he’s not supposed to be there – and is being punished for his daring – and now he’s going to be carefully digested by the earth that surrounds him, never to be seen again. The suspense is quickly built by the presentation of a small time frame for the protagonist to save himself: the light of his torch is soon to fade and envelop him in the cold darkness of the cave.
Things also take a turn for the worse when, possibly attracted by his cries for help, something unhuman gets close to him. Lovecraft is not subtle in his early work, and here he marks in italics how the footsteps the protagonist was hearing “were not like those of any mortal man.” – a sentence so foreboding that needs no mark of emphasis.
The narrator describes the sounds of a strange beast that sometimes moves like a human, sometimes on all fours. To increase the horror, the character remarks how the light of his torch has extinguished: the time frame to save himself has finally closed and now remained only the darkness, which seems to hold physical pressure on his body, and the beast, whose form he’s not capable of distinguishing in the dark.
As it will be a common thing in Lovecraft’s stories, the sheer terror the narrator feels inflicts in him a kind of paralysis, making him unable to speak, shout, move, or react. This feeling, however, is temporary, and the protagonist is able to pick up some limestones and throw them at the general direction of the creature.
Here is when the tension disappears from the story,
Therefore, if the story begins with the horror being built around ideas, it sadly ends being about a creature. One could argue that what is really horrible is the realization that nature could that to a man; that it could transform a human being into a monster, but that idea is never discussed. Since the story ends at the revelation, the issue of a man becoming a creature is never actually discussed, going only for shock value.
The Beast in the Cave begins as an efficient horror and atmospheric story, but it ends up sounding more silly than horrifying by its last paragraphs.
---> If you liked this review, visit us at LIT ON THE SPOT for more!
April 15, 2021
Puede que sea uno de los mejores cuentos de Lovecraft, no por la trama sino por la asombrosa narración, que no le falta ni le sobra una letra. Como el cuento de Poe, Corazón delator.
La trama es simple: un hombre se aparto del grupo, para inspeccionar partes de la caverna que el guía no tenia pensado ir, y se perdió. Algo tan simple como eso, pero lo asombroso viene después y el final te deja con muchas dudas.
La trama es simple: un hombre se aparto del grupo, para inspeccionar partes de la caverna que el guía no tenia pensado ir, y se perdió. Algo tan simple como eso, pero lo asombroso viene después y el final te deja con muchas dudas.
February 22, 2015
A short story from 1918 set in Mammoth Cave. A man wanders off from his guided tour to explore a side passage in the cave and gets lost. With his light extinguished and yelling for help not bringing rescuers, the darkness begins to bring in despair. Suddenly, a set of strange footsteps approach unlike any heard before.
The Beast in the Cave is a quick snippet with a funhouse ending that what Lovecraft specialized in and passed down to future generations of horror masters. You can tell this is one of his earlier works, but enjoyable nonetheless.
4 out of 5 stars
You can also follow my reviews at the following links:
https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2J1...
TWITTER - @KenMcKinley5
The Beast in the Cave is a quick snippet with a funhouse ending that what Lovecraft specialized in and passed down to future generations of horror masters. You can tell this is one of his earlier works, but enjoyable nonetheless.
4 out of 5 stars
You can also follow my reviews at the following links:
https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2J1...
TWITTER - @KenMcKinley5
March 17, 2020
One of the very first pieces Lovecraft wrote, purportedly when he was 14-15 years old.
It does read a bit like an off-the-cuff creative writing assignment. But honestly, I'm impressed at his vocabulary and sense of pacing for his age and experience level. He's even got a twist worked in. I didn't see this much skill in the vast majority of college level English majors.
And I have to wonder... Was this pretty typical command of the English language for middle teens at the start of the 20th century? Or was Lovecraft just a spectacularly bookish teen? >.>
It does read a bit like an off-the-cuff creative writing assignment. But honestly, I'm impressed at his vocabulary and sense of pacing for his age and experience level. He's even got a twist worked in. I didn't see this much skill in the vast majority of college level English majors.
And I have to wonder... Was this pretty typical command of the English language for middle teens at the start of the 20th century? Or was Lovecraft just a spectacularly bookish teen? >.>
August 19, 2016
Guy finds himself lost and (perhaps not as) alone (as it first seemed) in a pitch-black cave. He is approached by what is surely a quite excellent piece of meat. However, as is tradition in a lovecraftian piece of prose, the aforementioned guy is overwhelmingly neurotic, and as such he conjures the image of some terrifying beast, unknowing that the piece of meat surely only wants his unyielding love.
October 8, 2021
I can't believe this was written by a 13 year old. I thought it was terrifying and extremely relatable. Who hasn't wanted to or actually slipped away from a guide on some tour, especially one somewhere that provokes one's sense of adventure, such as a mine or a cave? And who, if they later found themselves hopelessly lost and pursued, hunted in the darkness by something strange and unknown, wouldn't feel the mindless, consuming fear of being the hunted?
April 30, 2017
Listened the audiobook with creepy music in the background (but I also have a paper version of it).
I'm telling you - wow!!!
So far this and 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' are my favs.
I'm telling you - wow!!!
So far this and 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' are my favs.
October 30, 2024
Lovecraft's "The Beast in the Cave" plays on our fear of the dark and unknown. While short and eerie, Lovecraft finds a way to use as many words when fewer would have been sufficient. I found this pattern in his writing to be particularly annoying in this work.
April 27, 2020
Short but sweet.
November 19, 2020
Svårt att betygsätta ett så tidigt verk, och dessutom en så kort novel. Men en 2:a får funka.
January 19, 2021
14 year old HP had a fine command of the English language in this enjoyable mini-horror, but his storytelling skills were not yet fully realised. I found it a little laborious, though I still liked it quite a bit!
3.5
Taken from ‘The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft’
3.5
Taken from ‘The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft’
January 23, 2025
Very atmospheric, tense and exciting. It is amazing how Lovecraft manages to tell a well-rounded horror story in just 11 pages.
July 19, 2025
„and then he woke up and it was all a dream“ ahh ending
If i wrote this as a teen i wouldve thought that i cooked so hard
If i wrote this as a teen i wouldve thought that i cooked so hard
February 6, 2023
A fine example of Lovecraft's early work. While it lacks in creativity when compared to his more famous work, it is a pleasure to see the seeds of his infamous techniques being played with, and despite the simplicity of this story it is still crammed full of paralysing, indescribable fear and paranoia.
The opening lines submerge us straight into mind of our scared yet unwaveringly genteel mannered protagonist as he describes to us his dire situation. "The horrible conclusion which had been gradually obtruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind was now an awful certainty. I was lost, completely, hopelessly lost in the vast and labyrinthine recesses of the Mammoth Cave."
The immediacy of the situation is typical of Lovecraft; we know right away that somethings not right dispite there being nothing to go by except the protagonists demeanor. The introduction of a tangible horror element, again in typical Lovecraft fashion, is barely exposed until later on, and even then is never fully revealed to us.
I'm a big fan of hiding things in the dark. Whether it is hidden physically in shadows, or merely incomprehensible. I'll never forget a quote I read online from Howard: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
I'm glad I decided to start reading Howards less known works, for I have discovered within them the exact same ingredients I became addicted to when I first discovered The Call of Cthulhu many years ago.
While technically not a highly rateable story, I would recommend every horror fan reads this.
The opening lines submerge us straight into mind of our scared yet unwaveringly genteel mannered protagonist as he describes to us his dire situation. "The horrible conclusion which had been gradually obtruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind was now an awful certainty. I was lost, completely, hopelessly lost in the vast and labyrinthine recesses of the Mammoth Cave."
The immediacy of the situation is typical of Lovecraft; we know right away that somethings not right dispite there being nothing to go by except the protagonists demeanor. The introduction of a tangible horror element, again in typical Lovecraft fashion, is barely exposed until later on, and even then is never fully revealed to us.
I'm a big fan of hiding things in the dark. Whether it is hidden physically in shadows, or merely incomprehensible. I'll never forget a quote I read online from Howard: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
I'm glad I decided to start reading Howards less known works, for I have discovered within them the exact same ingredients I became addicted to when I first discovered The Call of Cthulhu many years ago.
While technically not a highly rateable story, I would recommend every horror fan reads this.
August 7, 2025
A man gets separated from his flock of adventurers as they explore a mysterious Mammoth Cave. He hears strange noises in the darkness and gets attacked by a creature that forces him to fend blindly for his life in a fight to the death with nothing but a rock.
The very last word at the end of the story changes the entire context of the tale. The horror is beastly in nature, but also something more ordinary than expected. I thought this simple twist added a more morbid and tragic climax to the story.
Maybe a tad cliche by modern standards, but unexpected from Lovecraft, the guy that likes to insert supernatural twists and grotesque monsters in all of his stories.
The very last word at the end of the story changes the entire context of the tale. The horror is beastly in nature, but also something more ordinary than expected. I thought this simple twist added a more morbid and tragic climax to the story.
Maybe a tad cliche by modern standards, but unexpected from Lovecraft, the guy that likes to insert supernatural twists and grotesque monsters in all of his stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 366 reviews