"The Castle of Terror" by L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter (1967)

Originally appeared in Conan of Cimmeria, 1969.

Plot: Conan is crossing the plains of Kush when a pride of lions begin hunting him. To avoid them and an approaching rainstorm, he enters a gigantic black castle with weird Lovecraftian geometry. he surmises the building was built by the Serpent men in pre-catalysmic times. While sleeping he perceives that souls fly about like bats. These souls collect into a mass of arms, legs and heads. Before the monster can attack Conan, a group of Stygian slavers comes to the castle. While the mosnter is tearing them apart, Conan sneaks out, steals one of their horses. One of the raiders makes it out, but has gone completely insane.

Monsters:

The Hundred-headed Ghost - These shadowy souls conglomerate into a mass of pulpy flesh covered with arms, legs and heads. It is very strong and hungry, tearing Stygian slavers into bloody shreds.

History: Probably the weakest Conan story structurally, except perhaps for "Wolves Beyond the Border". Despite this the Mythos stuff is fun if you are a fan. Probably mostly written by Lin Carter.

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