The story has generally received negative criticism, some calling the plot too vague and others too explicit. August Derleth's negative reaction to the unpublished story was conveyed by Lovecraft to another correspondent: "Derleth didn't say it was "unsalable"; in fact, he rather thought it "would" sell. He said it was a "poor story", which is an entirely different and much more lamentably important thing." Lovecraft responded to Derleth: "our reaction to my poor 'Dreams in the Witch House' is, in kind, about what I expected—although I hardly thought the miserable mess was "quite" as bad as you found it... The whole incident shows me that my fictional days are probably over."