Interesting that the root of this word is Latin for cave.
grotesque
adj.
5Fr < It grottesca (pittura), orig., (picture) in a cave < grotta, GROTTO: from resemblance to designs found in Roman caves6
1 in or of a style of painting, sculpture, etc. in which forms of persons and animals are intermingled as with foliage, flowers, or fruits in a fantastic or bizarre design
2 characterized by distortions or striking incongruities in appearance, shape, or manner; fantastic; bizarre
3 ludicrously eccentric or strange; ridiculous; absurd
n.
1 a grotesque painting, sculpture, design, etc.
2 a grotesque thing or quality
—SYN FANTASTIC
gro[tesque$ly
adv.
gro[tesque4ness
n.