The Hounds of Tindalos

"The Hounds of Tindalos" is a short story by early Mythos contributor Frank Belknap Long.
The story's narrator, "Frank", appears to be the same character from Long's previous Mythos tale, "The Space-Eaters", as both are set in the fictional town of Partridgeville.
== Synopsis ==
The story follows unconventional researcher Halpin Chalmers who believes that he can view the entirety of time and space through the use of a mysterious Eastern narcotic called Liao. Conducting an experiment with the drug under the supervision of his friend, a man named Frank, Chalmers sends his consciousness out into the depths of time. Unfortunately for him, he travels too far back in time and attracts the attentions of the Hounds of Tindalos, predatory creatures which inhabit the angles of time and space, rather than the curves, as most creatures do.
Despite Chalmers' efforts to stave off the Hounds, they come for him (perhaps with the aid of their allies, the Satyrs and the Doels) and his body is found in his home a few days after a localised earthquake, decapitated and bloodless, and covered in a mysterious blue ichor. When taken for analysis, the substance is found to represent a form of life previously thought impossible.
== Characters ==
* Frank, the narrator, and presumably a friend of Chalmers. He does not believe that Chalmers has experienced anything other than a bad trip caused by the untested drug. He appears to be the author, Frank Belknap Long, inserting himself into his own story.
* Halpin Chalmers, a traditional-minded researcher who is nevertheless willing to try folkloric solutions to modern problems, disagreeing with the dogma of modern scientific theory.
* Detective Sergeant Douglas, the police officer in charge of the investigation into Chalmers' death.
* James Morton, the chemist and bacteriologist who analysed the substance found coating Chalmers' body. He seems to be named after Long's friend and fellow Kalem Club member James F. Morton.
== Behind the Mythos ==
The Hounds of Tindalos was first published in the March 1929 edition of pulp magazine Weird Tales. Since then, it has appeared in numerous collections of horror and Mythos work, including the Wildside Press eBook issue The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack in 2012.
Category:Frank Belknap Long works
Category:Lovecraft Circle Works