Nothing says creepy horror like an H .P. Lovecraft novel, does it? Well, this story, The Tomb,  is not one of his bigger novels; it is, in fact, one of the short stories included in The Vagrant. I remember reading it long ago and picked it up again when I saw it in a compilation of horror stories on Librivox. You know those scary stories that slowly works its way towards a frightening conclusion whilst playing around with your imagination? Not the boom-voom fast numbers but something that takes its time in scaring the living daylights out of you? Yea, that's what The Tomb is all about.

The entire story is about a man's obsession with a tomb. As a young boy, he comes across a locked vault and from then on, he spends most of his years finding a way into that locked area. There appears to be some supernatural forces at play since the poor fellow, Jervas Dudley, is pulled in all sorts of directions by 'influences' from the vault. He actually ends up sleeping in the crypt and that's when you realize that his fascination with the tomb has gone a bit far. Has he been hypnotized/possessed by an other worldly force? Well, for the most part, you don't know for sure; after all, the man could be a raving lunatic. He might be imagining all this ghostly whisperings and whatnot. This question is answered right at the end and whilst some readers might have been expecting that particular outcome, I must say that the end itself was presented rather well.

Like I said earlier, the plot itself is nothing out of the ordinary. Alright, so a young man is interested in paranormals topics. He likes cozy little walks in a graveyard. Paint him black and white and he might as well be in a thrash metal band! What makes this story stand out is Lovecraft's excellent narration style and character development. He takes pains to build an eerie atmosphere around the tomb. When you first read about it, it makes you uncomfortable but you can easily dismiss such feelings easily. But as the story goes on, the author adds in little details and combines it with a sense of urgency felt by the main protagonist. So there you are, reading with a feeling of impending doom as you trace the footsteps of Jervas as he fumbles around trying to get into the tomb before finally being able to enter the dreaded area. You know something bad is going to happen. You want to shake Jervas by his shoulders and tell him to make a run for it. And can I add that the way the narrator jumps between past and present only adds to this sense of fear? Thus, the story starts in the present when Jervas is trapped in a place and can't get out. Then, we are taken back to his past where we get to see how the unfortunate man starts fretting about getting into the tomb. As you rush through the story, you will end up thinking: this can only end badly, Jervas.

Lovecraft also does a brilliant job with Jervas. He scatters little bits of information about Jervas' personality and overall look throughout the story. So while you are learning more about a gawky and temperamental man, you also witness how he changes with the ghostly influence. What was particularly effective was the description of the main protagonist's sense of loneliness. Jervas didn't fit in with other folks and spent time away from them which in turn meant that there was no one who would bring him back if he got lost in some dark dingy vault somewhere. At least that's the thought that kept running through my mind.