THE BLACK, DEAD THING

A close friend of H.P. Lovecraft, Frank Belknap Long (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was a prolific writer of horror, science-fiction and many other genre stories, including a number of Cthulhu Mythos tales. He is probably best known for his supernatural tale, "The Hounds of Tindalos" and the book, "The Horror From the Hills", first serialized and then published as a stand-alone book from Arkham House based on a dream that Lovecraft shared with him.

I am reading, 12 STORIES FOR LATE AT NIGHT, one of Alfred Hitchcock's long-running Dell paperback anthologies and was struck by a particular tale by Mr. Long, reprinted from Arkham House's collection, THE HOUNDS OF TINDALOS. Titled here as "Second Night", it was originally published in the October, 1933 issue of WEIRD TALES as "The Black, Dead Thing", a title that I like much better for obvious reasons! The story was often anthologized, and for good reason -- it's a very creepy story!