LOVECRAFT'S FIRST STORY IN WEIRD TALES

First published in the amateur press journal, THE VAGRANT in 1919, H.P. Lovecraft's "Dagon" is an early entry in his so-called Cthulhu Mythos tales. Lovecraft himself did not consider aligning his creations of the Great Old Ones and other persona as an organized pantheon of "gods", and instead preferred to leave them in their chaotic manifestations. It was August Derleth who coined the phrase, "Cthulhu Mythos" in order to neatly categorize the various entities that Lovecraft produced in his writings. But how can you turn order out of chaos?

At the urging of  W. Paul Cook, the editor of THE VAGRANT, Lovecraft began writing more fiction after his "Juvenalia" in 1917. Urged on again by the support of his friends, he submitted five stories to Edwin Baird, the first editor of "The Unique Magazine", WEIRD TALES. Among these, Baird accepted "Dagon" and it appeared in the October 1923 issue.

In his fascinating book, THE WEIRD TALES STORY, pulp historian and author Robert Weinberg mentions that Baird was not fond of Lovecraft's writing and it was at the direction of publisher J.C. Henneberger that he accept and publish anything Lovecraft sent to him. However, the story is refuted by some and the debate remains unresolved.

In the story, Dagon is considered a sea deity. It appears that Lovecraft appropriated the Medieval interpretation of the name, which is historically incorrect. The name goes as far back as the Bible where Dagon was a god originally worshiped in ancient Syria and was associated with instead with the weather.

In any event, "Dagon" is a fine short tale that is considered to be a cornerstone of his Cthulhu cycle of stories. Here it is from the pages of WEIRD TALES.