Those Who Seek

"Those Who Seek" is a short story by the late American author August Derleth.
== Synopsis ==
The son of a rich landowner, a man named Arnsley, commissions artist Jason Phillips to paint an ancient ruined chapel which lies on his land and which he has developed a fascination for. The two spend the night on location in order to complete the painting, and during the night Arnsley disappears. Whilst searching for his companion, Phillips discovers an open portal in the abbey and, looking into it is driven into a delirium. 
While in the hospital, Arnsley's body is discovered in a hidden room within the abbey, horribly mutilated. The police record an open verdict on the case.
After his discharge two months later, Phillips tracks down a priest with an interest in the history of places such as the abbey. The priest tells him that it used to be used as a place of worship by a cult devoted to an entity known as the "God of Blood", and that a tunnel beneath the abbey connected it to the ocean. This implies that some ancient and terrible creature travelled from the sea, murdered Arnsley, then returned.
== Characters ==
* Jason Phillips, an accomplished artist in the employ of Arnsley's rich father.
* Arnsley, the son of a lord, and a man with too much time on his hands.
* Father Richards, a local scholar.
== Publication History ==
"Those Who Seek" was first published in pulp magazine Weird Tales in January 1932, and has seen inclusion in a number of collections since.
== Trivia ==
* Despite containing no obvious connections, "Those Who Seek" is widely considered to be a part of the Cthulhu Mythos. This is likely due to the description of the God of Blood (like a huge black-green jelly, and seems equipped with minute suckers and tentacles, much like an octopus. It resembles a sea creature very much, giving off a blue-gray light, and flaring a bright green from its eyes) and the injuries inflicted on Arnsley being typical of the depiction of Mythos entities across the years.
Category:August Derleth works
Category:Mythos-Inspired Works
Category:Lovecraft Circle Works