 Following the introduction of an "Ask Houdini" column, as well as the publication of two short stories allegedly written by the escape artist, Henneberger sought out Lovecraft in February 1924 and commissioned him to write the tale of a supposedly true experience that Houdini had had in Egypt.Lovecraft was paid $100 (approximately $ in present-day terms) to ghostwrite the story, at the time the largest sum he had ever been given as an advance.This was a major factor in motivating him to take the job as, after listening to Houdini's story and researching its background, Lovecraft concluded that the tale was completely fabricated and requested permission from Henneberger to take artistic license.