Dagon by H. P. Lovecraft

A traumatized WWI veteran recounts a nightmarish encounter with a monstrous sea god after becoming stranded on a mysterious island. As his sanity crumbles, he realizes the implications of what he witnessed. This short tale introduces key themes of Lovecraft’s cosmic horror—ancient gods, human fragility, and the insignificance of man. Dagon is one of Lovecraft’s earliest and most iconic stories, full of dread and watery despair.