 Italian translations of "Dreadful Sanctuary" were published in 1953 and 1986; a German translation appeared in 1971, and a French translation in 1978.Partly inspired by Fortean ideas, the novel concerns an international conspiracy to prevent humanity from achieving space travel.In 1972, John J. Armstrong, a physically large and powerful inventor from New York, becomes concerned by the failures of seventeen manned and unmanned rockets to reach the Moon.