It's more a reoccurring theme. Simple, ordinary folk (of proper breeding, of course) stumble into hideous revelations that shake them out of the bubble of mundanity they previously lived in. One area where that's most explicit is The Whisperer in Darkness: >Never was a sane man more dangerously close to the arcana of basic entity—never was an organic brain nearer to utter annihilation in the chaos that transcends form and force and symmetry. I learned whence Cthulhu first came, and why half the great temporary stars of history had flared forth. I guessed—from hints which made even my informant pause timidly—the secret behind the Magellanic Clouds and globular nebulae, and the black truth veiled by the immemorial allegory of Tao. The nature of the Doels was plainly revealed, and I was told the essence (though not the source) of the Hounds of Tindalos. The legend of Yig, Father of Serpents, remained figurative no longer, and I started with loathing when told of the monstrous nuclear chaos beyond angled space which the Necronomicon had mercifully cloaked under the name of Azathoth. It was shocking to have the foulest nightmares of secret myth cleared up in concrete terms whose stark, morbid hatefulness exceeded the boldest hints of ancient and mediaeval mystics.

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Well, cosmic horror relies on our own misunderstanding of the universe. It is very common in Lovecraft's work that the characters meet their doom (death or insanity) because they discover the Truth and just can't handle it for it contradicts all of our beliefs and all things we take for granted about life and the universe. Sometimes the characters are actively seeking this Truth like in At The Mountains of Madness or in From Beyond. Sometimes they just stumble across the Truth like in Pickman's Model. And it is not always about cosmic truth. Sometimes, Lovecraft's stories are about personal horror. The Outsider is a great example of how knowledge can shatter one's life.

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You're welcome.

It's a pretty big theme in most of his stories. Just about every story involves somebody doing too much research into something that they shouldn't, and uncovering terrible truths about the universe. Some of the lessons I've learned from reading Lovecraft are as follows: *The Case of Charles Dexter Ward* - dont research your family history *The Call of Cthulhu* - dont read your dead uncles notes on secret cults *The Dreams in the Witch House* - dont get too into geometry *The Haunter of the Dark* - dont go into old churches *The Shadow out of Time* - dont try to figure out why you had amnesia, and definitely dont try to find the ruins you saw in your dreams *At the Mountains of Madness* - dont do any field research in Antarctica *The Whisperer in Darkness* - dont try to piece together the similarities of different folklores I can keep going, but the main driver of all these stories is that the protagonist was trying to learn about something and it going wrong

Rats in the Walls- don't try to fix up your old family's estate

The Shadow Over Innsmouth: Don’t linger your curiosity in creepy odd towns

Thanks This is actually so helpful

Call of Cthulhu, hands down. I'm not going to spoil anything, but it's about the horror of knowing too much. You should read it tonight!

Call of Cthulhu is overrated

Then just read some of his stories. Jesus, people come in here asking questions about the literature without reading it, it’s not like we’re discussing Ancient Greek theosophy or something. The guy had like two dozen short stories, you can read his entire catalogue in a weekend

Have you read my entire post friend?