H.P. Lovecraft Goes to the Movies: The Classic Stories that Inspired the Classic Horror Films

by H.P. Lovecraft

With more than 100 movies based on his writing, H.P. Lovecraft ranks among the most adapted authors in history--along with Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King.  His unnervingly scary tales appeal to both diehard fans of horror and readers with mainstream tastes, and H.P. Lovecraft Goes to the Movies presents the very best of his filmed stories. Additionally, this unique collection provides an enlightening historical introduction, short headnotes for each story calling out interesting trivia, and an appendix with credits for each screen version.
 
THE STORIES INCLUDE:
"The Colour out of Space": filmed twice, once as a vehicle for Boris Karloff called Die, Monster, Die!
"The Dunwich Horror," also filmed two times, once with Dean Stockwell
"Pickman's Model" and "Cool Air": both for Rod Serling's Night Gallery TV program
"The Call of Cthulhu," which laid the foundation for the Cthulhu Mythos


 

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Anthologies, Lovecraftian

376 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2011

About the author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.

Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

— Wikipedia

Reviews

[Geoffrey]

Were you aware of how much Lovecraft influenced the screenplay of Alien? Neither was anyone else involved in this collection, apparently.

Picked up expecting some criticism or insights into cinematic adaptations of the author. A brief introduction touches on this, but it is ultimately a collection of 13 Lovecraft stories that had varying degrees of success as movies. Each one has a brief paragraph telling you when it was adapted, but this lacks the basic information you could get from scanning an imdb page. A popular collection of stories for those new to Lovecraft, but minimal effort has been put in, and a more accurate title would be: Reanimator, you loved the movie now read the source material.

[Chelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this because I thought it would be about the movies that were based off of Lovecraft's stories. However, all it does is give a couple sentences that basically say nothing more than, "This movie was made in this year" and then the rest of the chapter is the actual story. If you have read Lovecraft's stories, then there is no reason to purchase this book. If you haven't read ANY of them and you want a good place to start, the ones included in this book are a good place to start. Though I would recommend just buying a Lovecraft anthology, looking up the stories that are in this book, and reading them there. If you're really curious about the film facts, look them up on Wikipedia. I'm pretty sure that's all the author did here.

[Ras Steyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half-way through this macabre book and savouring every word. I'm in love with this dead genius. Done with this one. Some overlapping repeats; but that's bound to happen if you're a virtual bibliophile.

[Ryn McAtee · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a writer with an unparalleled gift for capturing horrific and unimaginable creatures and settings on the page, Lovecraft’s passive voice made reading anything that wasn’t scary an absolute slog. I understand it was much more common at the time, but it was an effort for me not to fall asleep reading a lot of these stories. Lovecraft’s stories remind me a lot of Bob Dylan’s songs: good but a hell of a lot better when done by someone else.

[Ailurus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nicely sized collection of Lovecraft's more iconic works and some nice details on those that appeared on the silver screen.

[Angela]

This book has been sitting on my shelf for a bit, I have been interested in delving into Lovecraft's work for awhile. A game night friend has recently introduced me to Arkham Horror, which is based on Lovecraft's worlds. There are monsters and investigators, and as I start reading this book, I see where they got a lot of their locations for the game. I also see how Lovecraft has influenced many a horror writer and filmmaker.

The Colour Out in Space:filmed as Die, Monster, Die and The Curse A lot of alien stories and films may have been inspired by this - asteroid falls to earth and ends up killing everything in the area. I saw some of Stephen King's story It Grows on You in this, and even some of Men in Black

Cool Air: filmed as an episode of Night Gallery. A story told in first person, which somehow makes it all the creepier

Beyond the Wall of Sleep: filmed as a couple smaller films, which are only mentioned as who produced them. Lovecraft had some fascinations with sleep, and dreams. Which coupled with the next tale - shows some influences to Nightmare on Elm Street and even Dreamscape

The Dreams in the Witch House: filmed as Curse of the Crimson Altar and as an episode of Masters of Horror. This story was a bit longer than the previous tales in this collection, and delves deeper in the psyche, and the dream world.

The Statement of Randolph Carter: sadly, I didn't note things when I actually read this, so I was able to find an audio version by HorrorBabble (https://youtu.be/QyQZ2UvtiYk) - and the reader did a fantastic job. Lovecraft has a lot of first person stories, which lends some super creepiness, and you can hear the madness in the teller (as they are usually telling their story to another party, who stands in place of the audience).

The Unnamable: bleh. too short, not really much of a story, kind of a blurb

The Dunwich Horror: I started reading this, but it was taking me so long, I got lost in the story a bit. So, I borrowed this story from the library on audio book. It is a super creepy story, and reminds me of so many things I have seen and read. Lovecraft really was an influence on many an artist!

Herbert West-Reanimator: After much success listening to The Dunwich Horror, I decided to find the other stories if I could. This one was found on HorrorBabble (https://youtu.be/rQcZ9gzIDfM) I have not yet watched this movie, but I can't imagine it being more disturbing than the story. How a doctor intrigued by the possibility of reanimating the dead slowly devolves into the classic mad scientist. And where is Herbert West now? I am not sure I want to know.

Pickman's Model: HorrorBabble (https://youtu.be/StwG65eLH9o) I think the dramatization added even more to this story - if you choose to listen, don't stop after the creepy reveal...keep listening! This story of a talented artist who has the skill to find and portray the darker side of the world may be my favorite of the Lovecraft tales.

The Call of Cthulhu: HorrorBabble (https://youtu.be/2xB4yHCgly8) Maybe the most famous of the Lovecraft tales, even those who haven't read the stories know the basics of Cthulhu. I did not realize it was an actual cult that worships these beings/gods/beasties. And I had in my head that Cthulhu was a demon - from hell, and yet, the story leads one to think maybe they are aliens? or from a separate dimension - one not so very separated from our own.

From Beyond: HorrorBabble (https://youtu.be/mrHlYJ3WqoI) - wow. What if you could see into the ultraviolet world (which we can now) and it was not just a different colored world, one where color is seen differently, but what if you could see the beasts that share this world with us. Would it drive you mad?

Dagon: HorrorBabble (https://youtu.be/YqIpjnTOVQQ) - I listened to Innsmouth first, and you can see where these two stories go together. I am not a big fan of the fish people (although, it did make me think of Atlantis, and Aquaman -- though he doesn't look like a fish...)

The Shadow Over Innsmouth: listened to this on Overdrive, borrowed from the library. See above.

[Mikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is yet another one of those books I've picked up solely because of the awesome cover, but I've been wanting to read Lovecraft for a long time now so that may pardon my shallow decision-making process. As far as anthologies go, it's fairly light on extra material -- I would have appreciated essays critiquing the films and shorts that each of the stories inspired, but I was otherwise satisfied enough with my first foray into the world of HP Lovecraft.

The Shadow over Innsmouth was by far my favorite of the stories. Lovecraft is a master at creating a tense and subtly terrifying atmosphere, but he outdid himself with the quietly ominous town of Innsmouth and its bizarre and hostile citizens. The climax of the story was heart-pounding and even though it was written in a first-person narrative and therefore one could conclude that the protagonist makes it out alive, I did have moments of doubt and fear for him. I can see how this and Dagon are easily translated into film. The Call of Cthulu, though, was a bit of a disappointment, considering how it's easily the most popular of his stories.

It's funny and an amazing testament to his skill -- how Lovecraft can make a geometric angle or even a color terrifying. He's a bit of a tease, with his constantly retreating behind the indescribable quality of many of the more harrowing elements of his stories, but leaving us to imagine the unimaginable actually works. His tales open up the imagination to alien landscapes of impossible and horrible grandeur and creatures that only a very active and awful mind could create.

So as far as anthologies go, this is not at all a very informative one, but its story selection is perfect for someone starting out in the weird and wonderful world of HP Lovecraft.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

H.P Lovecraft Goes to the Movies seems like an excuse just to publish a collection of Lovecraft stories. The stories are certainly good, and this was my personal introduction to his writing, but information otherwise is rather slim. There were small blurbs, no more than a pargraph or maybe two, starting each story explaining some details about the relationship between the story and how/when it was filmed. And in the "credits" section shares who played what roles in the production of the associated films/t.v. programs. In short, nothing spectacular.

But Lovecraft's writing itself--and by that I mostly mean his ideas--are fascinating. So although I do recommend for fans of horror or the weird to pick up some Lovecraft, there are many collections of his stories available. The stories in this collection are all, I thought, very good, and so in that way I can recommend this book.

The additional information tying together the stories and their production as movies is rather weak, in my opinon, and so for anyone looking for more information on film adaptations of Lovecraft stories, I think these readers will be dissapointed.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection because in focusing on which stories have been chosen to be adapted for film, we aren't necessarily looking at which stories are the best or most haunting, but which stories people thought would be possible to present visually without losing the creeping horror that makes a Lovecraft tale unique.

Lovecraft stories are terrifying because of how much is left to the imagination. Sure we all know how Cthulu is described with his squid-face and his wings and claws, but "Call of Cthulu" is frightening because of what is unknowable. The indescribable texture of the statue and sickening vastness of the eldrich horror itself are the salient aspects and those things can't be easily shown. Indeed, once the reader's imagination is removed from the telling, the tale must inevitably shrink. Still, plenty of directors have made the attempt, apparently. There is much of that mythos to be found in this collection as well as a few stories more reminiscent of Poe with a science fiction spin that still had that ineffable Lovecraft quality.

It is a good collection of stories by a great horror writer. I recommend reading it during the day, with your lights on.

[D.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I understand that if you already own a collection of H.P. Lovecraft stories, you don't need to purchase this book. The blurbs are very, very small and there isn't any information about any movies. Really, it was just an excuse to published more Lovecraft. Which is fine. Just know you aren't getting anything new here. For me, this was a great introduction to the late mastermind behind The Call of Cthulu. I had always been very interested in the story, and once I finished that one I was pretty hungry for more.

Loved The Shadow Over Innsmouth, too! Actually all his stories are great. A must-buy if you are new to Lovecraft and a horror fan or just love weird, classic stories.

[Katy Koop · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great. Really captivating. I've never really read horror, but I read the book in order to gain insight into the likes of Guillermo Del Toro and Mike Mignola and I fell in love a little bit. Lovecraft's use of language is a bit excessive, but it is fun.
This gets four stars because the movies in this book are not that well known and the book does not go into production details at all. Only like shooting date. It could really by any lovecraft anthology- the movies don't add anything.

[Chorvelynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful! H.P. Lovecraft is truly a horror genius. My favorite stories are Pickman's Model and the last but not the least story in the book The Shadow Over Innsmouth. I have definitely missed reading horror thrillers:-)

[Merry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's H.P. Lovecraft so obviously there is a lot of purple prose to go through, but it is an interesting read, especially knowing you are delving in a classic well-known mythology of Cthulhu.

Good anthology for those focusing on the main Cthulhu stories.

[ines · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first time reading Lovecraft's stories and I was amazed! Just the way he writes and describes and sets the scene and the atmosphere is very good I think. You can almost feel like you're there. The stories in this book are pretty damn chilling and weird and wonderful. I loved it!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was just given this book with reading instructions! One story a week in the order they were written, discussions to be held weekly...I love gifts that come with homework :)

[David Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to Lovecrafts work if you haven't read any of his stuff before. Four of his best stories he ever wrote are included, and the other nine works are highly entertaining as well.