The most prominent device by which Derleth tells his tales is the direct chronological narrative. His stories move directly from the earliest event in the story to the culmination, usually a surprise ending. By demanding nothing of his readers in the way of working out technical complications, Derleth assures the stories are read rapidly from beginning to end, thus assuring that the surprise ending has maximum effect. One endearing technique that he uses frequently is second-person commentary. Derleth addresses his audience as if he were speaking with them and calls their attention to their own similar experiences. In stories featuring imaginative children, for example, he calls on readers to remember when they "knew" the danger in "lonesome places" that adults could not fathom.

In a variation on this technique, Derleth asks readers of "The Slayers and the Slain," to reconsider why libraries have strict rules about permissible places...