Sherlock Holmes: The Shadow From Beyond Read Online Free Page B

account of the Hyperborean Gods. ‘The Pnakotic Manuscripts’, supposedly written by the Great Race of Yith. A partial translation of ‘The Eltdown Shards’ by Gordon Whitney, collected via the ancient pottery fragments found in Eltdown South England as recently as 1882. There was a well-worn copy of ‘The Translation of the G’harne Fragments’ by Walmsley & Wendy-Smith, focusing on the pre-human G’harne area of Africa. A very recent copy of ‘The Zanthu Tablets: A Conjectural Translation’ by Harold Hayley Copeland, the same Copeland who was the only survivor of the ill-fated expedition to remote Tibet just a few years prior. Also of note, a rough copy of ‘The Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan’ whose existence was rumored to be a myth.
    Holmes scanned these tomes with great interest and awe, handled them with the utmost care and turned their pages as if they were made of thin fragile glass. He noted copies of ‘The Libor Ivonis’ and ‘The Book of Dyzan, alongside some ancient texts that featured titles in script unfamiliar even to himself.
    “Very rare indeed.” he muttered lightly to himself, “Too rare for a university professor to afford.”
    “What do you mean Holmes?” Watson asked
    “These books are so rare and expensive that it would be difficult for Harper to acquire them on his normal salary, many are first editions or original translations. Although I have heard of some of the titles here, I have never thought to read them as most have been dismissed by scholars as ancient works of fiction or simple rumor. This has not reduced their value however or desire by collectors in acquiring them at insane cost. Harper must have put much effort and money in obtaining them.”
    In another ornate exhibit case Holmes examined mementos amassed from Harper’s numerous travels abroad, curios from all parts of the globe were displayed within. Intermixed with the normal souvenir trappings one may collect Holmes noticed: two star shaped relics about the width of a man’s palm made of a strange and unknown grey stone material; some primitive photographs of scientific expeditions in the Arctic or Antarctic polar regions, the photos were dark and blurred and yet seemed to outline immense architectural structures high up in the frozen mountains beyond. Also on display was a plastic cast mold of some three toed creature, primitive and strange in appearance, it was large enough to occupy an entire two feet of shelf space.
    Also within the display were an array of various small stone and jade sculptures from assorted cultural backgrounds that depicted a similarly featured toad like figure of great obscenity, and a shiny onyx statuette of an octopoid-like being that squatted on a raised dais, its clawed hands rested gently on its upturned knees. The twisted visage of horror stared back at him through sparkling green gem eyes. Also of note were four large clay bas-reliefs featuring intricate carved hieroglyphs and images of horrific tentacled creatures of alien origin. In fact most of the curious items on display in Professor Harper’s study were beyond interpretation to even the great mind of Sherlock Holmes, it was if he had stumbled upon a whole realm of knowledge he had rarely before explored, or even knew existed. “Watson, it seemed the professor held knowledge of subjects beyond even my far ranging scope. I have heard vague mention of these strange and other worldly references before, yet have felt no interest to explore them on a deeper level. In my opinion such elements of mysticism have no relation to proper science and logic, it is all arcane hogwash! “I have read some of the fictional works of modern authors who have based their tales of the fantastic on the so- called non-fictional elements described within these ancient tomes as well as other historic texts known to exist around the globe, but I fear it is just to lend some element of false fact to elaborate their fictive prose. These scribes have