"Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" is a tall-tale that Houdini crafted during one of his tours of Egypt. Lovecraft took Houdini's story, and having realized that it never actually happened, turned it into a wild fantasy that fits somewhat comfortably in the author's larger body of work. Casting Houdini into a role of pulp adventurer (imagine Indiana Jones in Lovecraft Country), Lovecraft describes the magicians supposed Egyptian adventure--in which he is assaulted and bound by angry natives and dropped into the secret bowels of the pyramids--as if he were there to witness it first hand. It is extremely detailed and informative