This story is the first of three stories that were originally published in the anthology Shadows Over Baker Street, a book that intertwined the world of Sherlock Holmes with the Cthulhu Mythos. Holmes said: “Throw away all the impossible; what remains will be the answer, no matter how incredible it may seem.” Lovecraft felt that the truth would lead us to madness. Where these two worldviews collide is where the next story begins.