Dream Cycle

This is the recollection of a man facing the end of his life and the sweet refuge that sleep offers. The man desired to find the way into his dream land permanently -- the latch that would allow him through the gate. He finds a yellowed papyrus that tells of conflicting experiences on the other side of the gate, some of wonderful things and others horrifying and terrible. Although not sure which to believe, his desire to cross through intensified. He then finds that the answer to his dilemma may lie with a certain drug.

Celaphais tells the story of a man who is the sole survivor of his family and just a nameless face among the other inhabitants of London. Depressed and fed up with life, he begins to favor the alternate reality he discovers while dreaming and even creates a new identity for himself, Kuranes. While "living" as Kuranes, he discovers his dream utopia of Celaphais in the Valley of Ooth-Nargai. Much to his disappointment, Kuranes is continually pulled away from Celaphais and begins to try harder and harder to re-find it and live there forever. He turns to drugs to help him sleep more and winds up losing his home on his quest for Celaphais.

HP Lovecraft's evocative tale of exploration.