Stories by this Author

Stories by All Authors

Cthulhu Files Home

The Round Tower

By H. P. Lovecraft

S. of Arkham is cylindrical tower of stone with conical roof — perhaps 12 feet across & 20 ft. high. There has been a great arched opening (quarter way up?), but it is sealed with masonry. The thing rises from the bottom of a densely wooded ravine once the bed of an extinct tributary of the Miskatonic. Whole region feared & shunned by rustics. Tales of fate of persons climbing into tower before opening was sealed. Indian legends speak of it as existing as long as they could remember — supposed to be older than mankind. Legend that it was built by Old Ones (shapeless & gigantic amphibia) & that it was once under the water. Dressed stone masonry shews odd & unknown technique. Geometrical designs on large stone above sealed opening utterly baffling. Supposed to house a treasure or something which Old Ones value highly. Possibly nothing of interest to human beings. Rumours that it connects with hidden caverns where water still exists. Perhaps old ones still alive. Base seems to extend indefinitely downward — ground level having somewhat risen. Has not been seen for ages, since everyone shuns the ravine.

Textual Notes

A scan of the original manuscript is available in the Brown Digital Repository. S. T. Joshi has published his reading of the text in H. P. Lovecraft, Collected Fiction Volume 3 (1931-1936): A Variorum Edition. It can also be found in "The Fragments at the Threshold" at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Joshi suggests the fragment is from the mid-1930s. Joshi ascribes the title "The Rose Window" to August Derleth.

Stories by This Author

Stories by All Authors

CthulhuFiles.com Home

The stories or poems on this page, or linked to directly from this page, are believed to be in the public domain.

The heading image for Librarium Cthulhuvius incorporates details from Raymond Bayless's cover illustration for the seventh printing of H. P. Lovecraft, The Dunwich Horror and Others, Sauk City, WI: Arkham House Publishers, Inc.

Editorial content © 2020-2026 by Joseph Morales

Send comments to jfm.baharna@gmail.com.