Forbidden Knowledge

Many of the stories here deal with the theme of forbidden knowledge. There is always a sense in the background of most of these stories that there is some knowledge that men are not supposed to have. Once this knowledge is gained, madness or death usually results. In "Dagon" the knowledge is the knowledge of the existence of the "Old God" Dagon and more importantly that there are powerful creatures that control the world without our knowing it. In "From Beyond" the knowledge is explicitly the ability to perceive the other realm that exists al around us. Even here there is the presence of a malevolent force that is hunting the humans. In "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" the narrator interacts with Joe Slater who, in his dreams, has learned about another world of light beings and demons. In "The Other Gods" this theme is quite explicit...