The Trap by H. P. Lovecraft. Short summary

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A private school teacher held a lesson in his home, after which one of his students disappeared. After a long search, the teacher discovers that the boy is trapped in an antique mirror.

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The protagonist of the story is Mr. Kanevin, a teacher at Brown’s private school. Kanevin had a passion for the occult and collected antiquities. The pride of his collection was an old Copenhagen glass mirror he found in an abandoned house.

One winter, the school had no heating and the teacher held a lesson in his home. In the evening it turned out that one of the students had disappeared. Robert’s belongings were there, but the boy was nowhere to be found.

Kanevin had telepathic powers and managed to communicate with Robert in his sleep. The boy was imprisoned in an ancient mirror. There were other prisoners besides him. The teacher broke the mirror and freed Robert. The other captives turned to ashes. Afraid they would not be believed, the teacher and the boy made up a kidnapping story.

From old documents, Kanevin discovered that the mirror that allowed him to enter another dimension was created by Axel Holm, a sectarian and sorcerer who dreamed of living forever. In order not to be bored, he lured other people into the mirror.