Who is the philosopher protagonist of 'The Strange High House in the Mist'?

The philosopher protagonist of “The Strange High House in the Mist” is Thomas Olney.

Olney visits Kingsport, Massachusetts, with his family and becomes fascinated by a house perched impossibly high on a cliff above the sea. Local people fear the building because no one appears to reach it, yet it is clearly inhabited. Olney eventually climbs the crag and enters the house through a door that opens onto mist and the abyss.

Inside, he meets the mysterious resident and encounters ancient lore and supernatural visitors, including references to gods and remote mythic places. Olney returns to Kingsport the next day, but the experience has transformed him so deeply that the story suggests his spirit remains in the strange house.

Lovecraft wrote the story on November 9, 1926, but Weird Tales did not publish it until October 1931. The story was reportedly influenced by Lord Dunsany and by Mother Ann, a headland near Gloucester, Massachusetts. Ward Phillips, Randolph Carter, and Basil Elton are characters associated with other Lovecraft works.