2,600 words (11–14 minutes)
Genre(s): Gothic Horror, Existential Horror
Originally published in Weird Tales, April 1926.

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Alone in an ancient, crumbling castle with no memory of the outside world, a solitary figure yearns to break free from the oppressive darkness of his existence. Driven by a desperate longing for light and companionship, he embarks on a perilous climb to glimpse the sky, only to emerge into a world far stranger—and far more terrifying—than he could have imagined. A tale of alienation, self-discovery, and cosmic horror, The Outsider is one of Lovecraft's most haunting explorations of identity and the inescapable truths that lurk within the self.