A young man named Thurber befriends Richard Upton Pickman, a painter of detailed and exquisite scenes of horror and evil. Rejected by the art community because of the content of his work, Pickman is only too happy to show Thurber some of the more shocking works that he keeps hidden. But when Thurber accompanies Pickman to his gallery, he discovers the horrible truth about Pickman's uncanny ability to paint life-like horrors.

H.P. Lovecraft's writing served as the basis for what is now called "The Cthulhu Mythos," a universe created by Lovecraft and subsequent writers—most famously Lovecraft's publisher August Derleth—that centered around the horror of "The Great Old Ones." The Cthulhu Mythos has become influential in popular culture and has inspired numerous books, comics, films, and games.

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