Well this is true. Our prophet when he was at little age he had an altar with the statues of Apollo and Afrodite.This question actually opens a new chapter and the answer is not simple, it is the same like asking "Is Cthulhu real" and epecting a simple answer, but no there must be tomes to this question to be answered, and we still don't know.But this opens a new portal to deism. I have heard that Lovecraft's grandfather had a library with occult books and some times our little aged prophet was hanging there. So a theory that I had is because he was reading old occult manuscripts he opened his third eye, and found the archetypesb that we today call them as "The Great Old Ones".Here I also want to mention the name of Alhazred.Lovecraft liked Arabic toys.He had a room only with arbic toys pillows, and he was calling himself as "Abdul Alhazred".After some years he traveled to the dreamlands and some people still have access there through Astral Projection.Then he heard the name 'Necronomicon' in his dreams.He aded it in his stories, and we must remember that the biggest part of the Cthulhu Mythos is based on his dreams.For example the story Nyarlathotep as he said is a whole dream that he saw, and changed only three lines when he was writing it. I have searched for these things and I find it intresting.But this can't be alone, and must be mixed with something else.It is not only those <<paranormal>> expiriences he had.But he maybe because he saw and realised the madness of the world he came closer to the call of Great Cthulhu.There are many things to cover here.

~Tsoker Syha'hnythulhgon