Notes on Dagon

The story "Dagon" is the last words of the story's main character.

The main character does not dwell on dreams and visions, but at one point chooses to travel at night in order to avoid dreaming. This aside, the environment and situations of the story suggest dream and vision.

When at last I awakened, it was to discover myself half sucked into a slimy expanse of hellish black mire which extended about me in monotonous undulations as far as I could see, and in which my boat lay grounded some distance away.

The environment is further described and it is difficult to move. This feeling is often described by me as "being stuck in molassess".

The description of the landscape resulting from the upheaval makes me remember other things I've read and seen. Here's a quote from the story:

Through some unprecedented volcanic upheaval, a portion of the ocean floor must have been thrown to the surface, exposing regions which for innumerable millions of years had lain hidden under unfathomable watery depths.

and now read this quote from a sea gypsy caught in an unprecedented upheaval:

"I was taking 12 tourists to a coral reef. Suddenly the water level dropped. I shouted for everyone to get on board. I knew something was really wrong. I raced across the bay, when suddenly, the water dropped to nothing, spinning the boat madly until it was stuck in the sand, on the bottom of the ocean, but there was no ocean. I told the tourists to run, and then the water came back."
- Sarang, a Moken sea gypsy

You can read the full article at http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GD23Ae03.html

Of the hieroglyphs on the monolith it is stated, "Several characters obviously represented marine things which are unknown to the modern world, but whose decomposing forms I had observed on the ocean-risen plain." Since 1919 we have built subs that have viewed such depths and creatures hard to describe. Here are some URLs that show some strange marine life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70c-g0j5Qcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T7nYEb00vA&mode=related&search=

Man I love that kinda stuff.

Take a look at the images of Dagon in this post. Now read the description of the fish men who worship Dagon in Lovecraft's story. The story of Dagon will be reincarnated later in Lovecraft's "Call of Cthulhu".

Go read about Dagon on the internet, it's really interesting stuff. There's this amphibious guy who comes out of the water in the morning to teach ignorant humans and then he goes back into the sea at sundown. Later, more amphibious creatures like Dagon show up. And, there's the key again! Here's a couple interesting sites:
http://www.piney.com/His61.html
http://www.geocities.com/dominorus/oannes_2.html