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The Classic Horror Stories
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a reclusive scribbler of horror stories for the American pulp magazines that specialized in Gothic and science fiction in the interwar years. He often published in Weird Tales and has since become the key figure in the slippery genre of "weird fiction." Lovecraft developed an extraordinary vision of feeble men driven to the edge of sanity by glimpses of malign beings that have survived from human prehistory or by malevolent extra-terrestrial visitations. The ornate language of his stories builds towards grotesque moments of revelation, quite unlike any other writer.
This new selection brings together nine of his classic tales, focusing on the "Cthulhu Mythos," a cycle of stories that develops the mythology of the Old Ones, the monstrous creatures who predate human life on earth. The stories collected here include some of Lovecraft's finest, including "The Call of Cthulhu," "At the Mountains of Madness," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Colour Out of Space," "The Shadow over Innsmouth," and "The Shadow out of Time." The volume also includes vital extracts from Lovecraft's critical essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature," in which he gave his own important definition of "weird fiction." In a fascinating introduction, Roger Luckhurst gives Lovecraft the attention he deserves as a writer who used pulp fiction to explore a remarkable philosophy that shockingly dethrones the mastery of man.
Featuring a chronology, bibliography, and informative notes, this is a must-have critical edition for Lovecraft aficionados, and the best introduction to his work for first-time visitors to his strange fictional world.
This new selection brings together nine of his classic tales, focusing on the "Cthulhu Mythos," a cycle of stories that develops the mythology of the Old Ones, the monstrous creatures who predate human life on earth. The stories collected here include some of Lovecraft's finest, including "The Call of Cthulhu," "At the Mountains of Madness," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Colour Out of Space," "The Shadow over Innsmouth," and "The Shadow out of Time." The volume also includes vital extracts from Lovecraft's critical essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature," in which he gave his own important definition of "weird fiction." In a fascinating introduction, Roger Luckhurst gives Lovecraft the attention he deserves as a writer who used pulp fiction to explore a remarkable philosophy that shockingly dethrones the mastery of man.
Featuring a chronology, bibliography, and informative notes, this is a must-have critical edition for Lovecraft aficionados, and the best introduction to his work for first-time visitors to his strange fictional world.
487 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
129 people are currently reading
1045 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,110 books19.2k followersHoward 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
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
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August 2, 2019THE oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
H.P. Lovecraft Introduction from 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'
Lovecraft was the subject of the first book by the leading contemporary French Novelist Michel Houellebecq. [...] The novels of Stephen King are unthinkable without Lovecraft as are the films of the Alien series [...] Particularly the Swiss artist H. R. Giger's designs for the [first] film [in the Alien series]. [In the same vein] is Guillermo del Toro's fantasy cinema. [...] All this is not bad for a [reclusive] man of fragile health who only circulated his stories to close friends in handwritten form, or published them in tiny networks of amateur journals.
Roger Luckhurst Introduction of this book.
My first contact with Lovecraft was in 2013 when a Facebook friend sent me a pdf format of Lovecraft's complete fiction, but since I loathe reading in an electronic form I haven't read it, not even a paragraph. In 2014 when I was in Manchester, UK a flatmate gave me her The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories but the elaborate descriptions and elaborate use of adjectives and adverbs by Lovecraft made me abandoned (dnf) the book. Now 3 years later I seized him for good.
Note:
I read 83% of this book in 2016, so it makes it a 2016 book and I put it in 2016 reading challenge since I want to start 2017 with a new book.
THE TALES
▶ 1 The Horror at Red Hook
Lovecraft himself said that "The Horror at Red Hook" "[was] rather long and rambling, and I don't think it is very good.
I agree with him.
❇ ❇ ❇
▶ 2 The Call of Cthulhu
Most emblematic and well known story by Lovecraft. So I was expecting something longer than the 29 pages I read. And it felt like a journalistic piece of writing; a bit fragmented, with good elements of horror. It didn't move me though, the characters and narrative felt a bit flat and dry despite the slimy oozing atmosphere it had. Next time maybe
❇ ❇ ❇
▶ 3 The Colour out of Space
Finally a decent horror story. A meteorite falls nearby a farm and in a year everything is infested: vegetation, animals and the family that owns the farm. Madness, Disappearances, Disfigurements, Emissions of an alien vapour in indescribable colour.
What I was looking for in a collection of horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft.
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇,4
▶ 4 The Dunwich Horror
Something is (pretty) rotten in the state of Dunwich. Something not of this world. Something abominable and dangerous. A child the result of an albino woman and an unknown [possibly] non-human father.
All these and more surround this story that feels like a B-horror movie but certainly the story is not B rated.
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇
▶ 5 The Whisperer in Darkness
I felt a few shivers while reading this story especially during the last 30 pages. Extraterrestrial or to be more precise extracosmic beings are present in this story.
Our narrator has a correspondence with a Vermont folklorist who believes non-human evil creatures pester him at his farmhouse. Then out of the blue he invites the narrator to visit him as if nothing happened. I felt that something was wrong; & it was.
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇
▶ 6 At the Mountains of Madness
Longest story so far (103p.) Even though it was a really interesting story and had many references to Poe and other authors, even though it reminded me of Indiana Jones, Alien vs Predator, Dan Brown's, Deception Point, and other Science Fiction/Horror stories it had elements I don't really enjoy in a story. Elaborate descriptions; that slow down the pace of the story. Architectural descriptions that go on and on and description of how a beast or person looks and what he wears. . . Oh bother!
❇ ❇ ❇,5
▶ 7 The Dreams in the Witch-House
Probably the best story so far.
A university student rents an attic in an old house that's rumoured to be cursed since a witch that disappeared during the Salem trials was once living there. Nightmares are becoming one with reality. In his dreams he repeatedly encounters the witch, a negro (Lovecraft can't avoid racism) & a rat that has a human face (Brown Jenkin).
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇,5
▶ 8 The Shadow over Innsmouth
A scary story indeed. I felt goosebumps towards the end, see keyholes and abandoned hotel. The ending wasn't very bright for the narrator or for the reader. It depends on how you see it.
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇,5
▶ 9 The Shadow Out of Time
A VERY interesting story, BUT at the end it was all:
That horror which I saw. I'll tell you in a moment. The horror oh! the horror it's coming. The horror was there, I saw it you know what it was? A horror. . . No answers, a lot of confusion, felt a bit turn of the screw-ish so its initial enjoyment evaporated like a f
❇ ❇ ❇
Even though I find Lovecraft a repulsive racist and his race and eugenics views inexcusable even for his times, he was indeed a great storyteller and I will certainly look for more stories by him.
3.7 stars
H.P. Lovecraft Introduction from 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'
Lovecraft was the subject of the first book by the leading contemporary French Novelist Michel Houellebecq. [...] The novels of Stephen King are unthinkable without Lovecraft as are the films of the Alien series [...] Particularly the Swiss artist H. R. Giger's designs for the [first] film [in the Alien series]. [In the same vein] is Guillermo del Toro's fantasy cinema. [...] All this is not bad for a [reclusive] man of fragile health who only circulated his stories to close friends in handwritten form, or published them in tiny networks of amateur journals.
Roger Luckhurst Introduction of this book.
My first contact with Lovecraft was in 2013 when a Facebook friend sent me a pdf format of Lovecraft's complete fiction, but since I loathe reading in an electronic form I haven't read it, not even a paragraph. In 2014 when I was in Manchester, UK a flatmate gave me her The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories but the elaborate descriptions and elaborate use of adjectives and adverbs by Lovecraft made me abandoned (dnf) the book. Now 3 years later I seized him for good.
Note:
I read 83% of this book in 2016, so it makes it a 2016 book and I put it in 2016 reading challenge since I want to start 2017 with a new book.
THE TALES
▶ 1 The Horror at Red Hook
Lovecraft himself said that "The Horror at Red Hook" "[was] rather long and rambling, and I don't think it is very good.
I agree with him.
❇ ❇ ❇
▶ 2 The Call of Cthulhu
Most emblematic and well known story by Lovecraft. So I was expecting something longer than the 29 pages I read. And it felt like a journalistic piece of writing; a bit fragmented, with good elements of horror. It didn't move me though, the characters and narrative felt a bit flat and dry despite the slimy oozing atmosphere it had. Next time maybe
❇ ❇ ❇
▶ 3 The Colour out of Space
Finally a decent horror story. A meteorite falls nearby a farm and in a year everything is infested: vegetation, animals and the family that owns the farm. Madness, Disappearances, Disfigurements, Emissions of an alien vapour in indescribable colour.
What I was looking for in a collection of horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft.
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇,4
▶ 4 The Dunwich Horror
Something is (pretty) rotten in the state of Dunwich. Something not of this world. Something abominable and dangerous. A child the result of an albino woman and an unknown [possibly] non-human father.
All these and more surround this story that feels like a B-horror movie but certainly the story is not B rated.
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇
▶ 5 The Whisperer in Darkness
I felt a few shivers while reading this story especially during the last 30 pages. Extraterrestrial or to be more precise extracosmic beings are present in this story.
Our narrator has a correspondence with a Vermont folklorist who believes non-human evil creatures pester him at his farmhouse. Then out of the blue he invites the narrator to visit him as if nothing happened. I felt that something was wrong; & it was.
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇
▶ 6 At the Mountains of Madness
Longest story so far (103p.) Even though it was a really interesting story and had many references to Poe and other authors, even though it reminded me of Indiana Jones, Alien vs Predator, Dan Brown's, Deception Point, and other Science Fiction/Horror stories it had elements I don't really enjoy in a story. Elaborate descriptions; that slow down the pace of the story. Architectural descriptions that go on and on and description of how a beast or person looks and what he wears. . . Oh bother!
❇ ❇ ❇,5
▶ 7 The Dreams in the Witch-House
Probably the best story so far.
A university student rents an attic in an old house that's rumoured to be cursed since a witch that disappeared during the Salem trials was once living there. Nightmares are becoming one with reality. In his dreams he repeatedly encounters the witch, a negro (Lovecraft can't avoid racism) & a rat that has a human face (Brown Jenkin).
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇,5
▶ 8 The Shadow over Innsmouth
A scary story indeed. I felt goosebumps towards the end, see keyholes and abandoned hotel. The ending wasn't very bright for the narrator or for the reader. It depends on how you see it.
❇ ❇ ❇ ❇,5
▶ 9 The Shadow Out of Time
A VERY interesting story, BUT at the end it was all:
That horror which I saw. I'll tell you in a moment. The horror oh! the horror it's coming. The horror was there, I saw it you know what it was? A horror. . . No answers, a lot of confusion, felt a bit turn of the screw-ish so its initial enjoyment evaporated like a f
❇ ❇ ❇
Even though I find Lovecraft a repulsive racist and his race and eugenics views inexcusable even for his times, he was indeed a great storyteller and I will certainly look for more stories by him.
3.7 stars
June 15, 2021
240316 this is a much later later later addition: just read an engaging postmodern sort of horror that is inspired by hp, an africanamerican version of horror built out of his work. it is a conflict the author is well aware of- systemic, open, constant racism, and in this way is a great comment on history and current racism... rec highly: Lovecraft Country
this is a later later addition: have read a few graphics, found some rather too clean, too legible, but then a few which are woozy, nauseous, disturbing to look at- and in this perhaps better capture the spirit of lovecraft. he is not meant to be sharply, clearly, scientifically rendered, but rather his images should be ugly as the world at 3 AM to a drunk drinking more, more, more as if there is somewhere to go to. this is why he might fail to translate to film, unless the other artist is equal to such imagery. just read an article in 241113 LA Review of Books, suggesting that in fact he is not a bad writer, that he is 'difficult' with a purpose, http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/real..., that maybe he was just out of his time, that even now he is not likely to be enlisted in anything like a 'canon'... yet if there has been a writer more influential over entire genres of the twentieth century, i cannot think of one...
this is a later addition: have read another collection, including 'the case of charles dexter ward', then some graphics, and can certainly place lovecraft in the history of 'body horror' like cronenberg, the sci-fi horror of 'alien' series... and decide to read some 'gothic horror' of which he might be thought a derivation. for pure expressions of horror, yes can see how influential his work has been. there is still the critical aspect of his kind of 'anti-rationalist' horror, his vision of an uncaring, amoral, unsettling universe- but this attitude feels now almost deliberate ploy to have some meaning, any meaning, even nihilist unmeaning, to human life... after reading much philosophy, much of which seems predicated on human reason as the way to understand and be living, even nietzche's designed refutation of the enlightenment ideals... after this, lovecraft seems a pop-culture expression against such hubris... something to read on more... I did still like 'the case...'...
170414 first review: i had not read lovecraft for many years, but read an essay in 050513 LA Review of Books, http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/to-..., on his work and this one collection specifically. wondering whether this would hold up, after so many other books read, films seen, life lived, i decided to try this out. i recall the emotions provoked of his work, more than the work itself, and his tendency to using four adjectives or adverbs where one might do- his repetition, his overstatement, his narrators always on the verge of madness or fear or horror- i think of with fondness. according to standards of literature of contemporary days, he is nearly indigestible, but i found the verbiage engaging... the idea words, concepts, eloquent descriptions, could never catch the weirdness, this is great...
i do not now and never did follow his sort of 'open-source' horror world, the 'cthulhu mythos', in fact do not read much horror. but it is much in evidence here. and yes the editor seems to have caught the right thread to link several of the stories, often naming the 'necronomicon' of that mad arab abdul azhared... but rather than summoning up thoughts of say stephen king, whose horror seems thin, pallid, not nearly as gibous and fungoid, blasphemous and nameless and...sorry, easy to get carried away- but rather than horror fiction i have read, i ended up thinking of beckett, where the horror is very darkly comic and not horror, and alain robbe-grillet, where the story is subtle, precise, language deployed in an emotionless survey, where emotions are inherent but unmentioned, where you just look... pretty much the opposite of this...
for this is what can be parodied or dismissed as bad literature- not in any ironic way, not any camp way, not 'so bad it is great'- it is the extremes of emotion that lovecraft furiously writes. there is no clearer case that demonstrates fear as being borne of ignorance. i read this, think of how it would emerge on pulp pages, how it would give its popular readers moments of horror etc., and oppress the reader with vast, uncaring, cosmic vistas, where we humans are not the first nor last nor greatest beings. or only beings. or have any great knowledge- throw in references to einstein primarily to discount his limited perspective- the fact lovecraft is a tortured prose stylist seems completely understandable, as he sounds like a tortured man...
so yes, he held and demonstrates in writing repellent excessive racism even more than of his time- but such views seem aligned with the times and also too many other artists eg. dw griffith- and so he flew too close to the dark sun of horror, the unimaginable, mutated, gibous, fungoid- sorry again. and can we recuperate his writing? say it is just of its time? well as long as we notice and critically assess such errors in thought. or is it errors in emotion? an artist friend, who does like horror in all mediums, claimed his most effective horror was the film 'the exorcist', because, after all, it is the devil after you and what can you do? i said you can not believe in god, thus not believe in the devil. so is horror borne of ignorance? is fear a human existential constant? this collection did inspire me to try and find another novella of his i had liked as much as At the Mountains of Madness- the novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward... any book that drives you to read another book, is a great book...
this is a later later addition: have read a few graphics, found some rather too clean, too legible, but then a few which are woozy, nauseous, disturbing to look at- and in this perhaps better capture the spirit of lovecraft. he is not meant to be sharply, clearly, scientifically rendered, but rather his images should be ugly as the world at 3 AM to a drunk drinking more, more, more as if there is somewhere to go to. this is why he might fail to translate to film, unless the other artist is equal to such imagery. just read an article in 241113 LA Review of Books, suggesting that in fact he is not a bad writer, that he is 'difficult' with a purpose, http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/real..., that maybe he was just out of his time, that even now he is not likely to be enlisted in anything like a 'canon'... yet if there has been a writer more influential over entire genres of the twentieth century, i cannot think of one...
this is a later addition: have read another collection, including 'the case of charles dexter ward', then some graphics, and can certainly place lovecraft in the history of 'body horror' like cronenberg, the sci-fi horror of 'alien' series... and decide to read some 'gothic horror' of which he might be thought a derivation. for pure expressions of horror, yes can see how influential his work has been. there is still the critical aspect of his kind of 'anti-rationalist' horror, his vision of an uncaring, amoral, unsettling universe- but this attitude feels now almost deliberate ploy to have some meaning, any meaning, even nihilist unmeaning, to human life... after reading much philosophy, much of which seems predicated on human reason as the way to understand and be living, even nietzche's designed refutation of the enlightenment ideals... after this, lovecraft seems a pop-culture expression against such hubris... something to read on more... I did still like 'the case...'...
170414 first review: i had not read lovecraft for many years, but read an essay in 050513 LA Review of Books, http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/to-..., on his work and this one collection specifically. wondering whether this would hold up, after so many other books read, films seen, life lived, i decided to try this out. i recall the emotions provoked of his work, more than the work itself, and his tendency to using four adjectives or adverbs where one might do- his repetition, his overstatement, his narrators always on the verge of madness or fear or horror- i think of with fondness. according to standards of literature of contemporary days, he is nearly indigestible, but i found the verbiage engaging... the idea words, concepts, eloquent descriptions, could never catch the weirdness, this is great...
i do not now and never did follow his sort of 'open-source' horror world, the 'cthulhu mythos', in fact do not read much horror. but it is much in evidence here. and yes the editor seems to have caught the right thread to link several of the stories, often naming the 'necronomicon' of that mad arab abdul azhared... but rather than summoning up thoughts of say stephen king, whose horror seems thin, pallid, not nearly as gibous and fungoid, blasphemous and nameless and...sorry, easy to get carried away- but rather than horror fiction i have read, i ended up thinking of beckett, where the horror is very darkly comic and not horror, and alain robbe-grillet, where the story is subtle, precise, language deployed in an emotionless survey, where emotions are inherent but unmentioned, where you just look... pretty much the opposite of this...
for this is what can be parodied or dismissed as bad literature- not in any ironic way, not any camp way, not 'so bad it is great'- it is the extremes of emotion that lovecraft furiously writes. there is no clearer case that demonstrates fear as being borne of ignorance. i read this, think of how it would emerge on pulp pages, how it would give its popular readers moments of horror etc., and oppress the reader with vast, uncaring, cosmic vistas, where we humans are not the first nor last nor greatest beings. or only beings. or have any great knowledge- throw in references to einstein primarily to discount his limited perspective- the fact lovecraft is a tortured prose stylist seems completely understandable, as he sounds like a tortured man...
so yes, he held and demonstrates in writing repellent excessive racism even more than of his time- but such views seem aligned with the times and also too many other artists eg. dw griffith- and so he flew too close to the dark sun of horror, the unimaginable, mutated, gibous, fungoid- sorry again. and can we recuperate his writing? say it is just of its time? well as long as we notice and critically assess such errors in thought. or is it errors in emotion? an artist friend, who does like horror in all mediums, claimed his most effective horror was the film 'the exorcist', because, after all, it is the devil after you and what can you do? i said you can not believe in god, thus not believe in the devil. so is horror borne of ignorance? is fear a human existential constant? this collection did inspire me to try and find another novella of his i had liked as much as At the Mountains of Madness- the novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward... any book that drives you to read another book, is a great book...
December 16, 2020
A reread of the material but not in this edition before. There are some decent notes but i don't really care much for annotations.
The Horror at Redhook [3/5]
This is considered one of Lovecraft's most racist stories... yeah the mixed race stuff is distinctly icky, but it is interesting that the bad guy is basically a fat version of Lovecraft himself. With the foreign helpers not some random people but one particular tribe of Kurdish devil worshippers.
Anyway the main issue with this tale much like 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs' is when it gets all dreamlike and you have the vague giant supernatural things marching about.
The Call of Cthulhu [3/5]
This one never really works for me. Main issue is that its all so past, the main horror is long over and cultists just arn't scary.
The Colour Out of Space [4/5]
I like the fact he's never going to drink the water despite how happy he is that the area is flooded now. I bet someone could do a good sequel to this where it turns out putting the main drinking supply resevoir in this area was a really bad idea :P .
The Dunwich Horror [5/5]
One section is very Ninth Gate and the outbreak of the horror is very Tremors :D . They even do a bit where in a line, a shed gets knocked down, then a fence, then the house gets hit, all by a creature which is out of your view.
The Whisperer in Darkness [4/5]
I was trying to figure out what this reminded me of... Invasion of the Bodysnatchers?, Wicker Man? but no it feels most like the early bits of Lord of the Rings where they're trying to escape the Shire and get past Bree. The weird enemies, their human collaborators, the messages going wrong, the farmer and his guard dogs of course.
The one stumbling block is that Lovecraft still focuses too much on the horror of the alien but the real horror in this is the familiar. This is the threat the natives feel when the big mining corporation starts moving into the area. It reminded me a bit of This Island Earth.
At the Mountains of Madness [4/5]
This one suffers a little from being to detailed. You could consider it one of Lovecrafts least racist in that he is able to sympathise with a completely alien culture... on the other hand the aliens he finds sympathy with are masters, whose slaves rose up against them... so it could also be considered one of Lovecrafts most racist stories, perspective is a wonderful thing ;) .
Dreams in the Witch House [3/5]
Too drawn out for the kind of horror its trying to generate. A protagonist called Gilman who is being driven insane by weird aspects of their room.. clearly a nod to Charlotte Perkins Gilmans 'The Yellow Wallpaper'. Also the way the other tenants try to help is liberally borrowed from Harkers train journey in Dracula.
I read this at the same time as Flatland, very appropriate company. Kaziahs method for escaping death is very similar to Alberts (Deaths assistant) in Discworld. Also i wonder if this had any influence on the :lol.
The Shadow Over Innsmouth [4/5]
A lot of different horror tropes in this one and done pretty well. It could be a little tighter however. I'm detecting hints of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Fly, The Wicker Man, the Truman Show :P .
The Shadow Out of Time [5/5]
This could have been a bit more emotional given what the protagonist has been through and lost but it does make up for that quite a bit near the end.
I do like how not evil the bad guys are, it could have been a lot worse for the protagonist if the aliens weren't just trying to do a job. They're not vicious, its not personal, they just have stuff to do. It also couldn't have been very pleasant for them either, theres a touch of '12 Monkeys' about it.
The Horror at Redhook [3/5]
This is considered one of Lovecraft's most racist stories... yeah the mixed race stuff is distinctly icky, but it is interesting that the bad guy is basically a fat version of Lovecraft himself. With the foreign helpers not some random people but one particular tribe of Kurdish devil worshippers.
Anyway the main issue with this tale much like 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs' is when it gets all dreamlike and you have the vague giant supernatural things marching about.
The Call of Cthulhu [3/5]
This one never really works for me. Main issue is that its all so past, the main horror is long over and cultists just arn't scary.
The Colour Out of Space [4/5]
I like the fact he's never going to drink the water despite how happy he is that the area is flooded now. I bet someone could do a good sequel to this where it turns out putting the main drinking supply resevoir in this area was a really bad idea :P .
The Dunwich Horror [5/5]
One section is very Ninth Gate and the outbreak of the horror is very Tremors :D . They even do a bit where in a line, a shed gets knocked down, then a fence, then the house gets hit, all by a creature which is out of your view.
The Whisperer in Darkness [4/5]
I was trying to figure out what this reminded me of... Invasion of the Bodysnatchers?, Wicker Man? but no it feels most like the early bits of Lord of the Rings where they're trying to escape the Shire and get past Bree. The weird enemies, their human collaborators, the messages going wrong, the farmer and his guard dogs of course.
The one stumbling block is that Lovecraft still focuses too much on the horror of the alien but the real horror in this is the familiar. This is the threat the natives feel when the big mining corporation starts moving into the area. It reminded me a bit of This Island Earth.
At the Mountains of Madness [4/5]
This one suffers a little from being to detailed. You could consider it one of Lovecrafts least racist in that he is able to sympathise with a completely alien culture... on the other hand the aliens he finds sympathy with are masters, whose slaves rose up against them... so it could also be considered one of Lovecrafts most racist stories, perspective is a wonderful thing ;) .
Dreams in the Witch House [3/5]
Too drawn out for the kind of horror its trying to generate. A protagonist called Gilman who is being driven insane by weird aspects of their room.. clearly a nod to Charlotte Perkins Gilmans 'The Yellow Wallpaper'. Also the way the other tenants try to help is liberally borrowed from Harkers train journey in Dracula.
I read this at the same time as Flatland, very appropriate company. Kaziahs method for escaping death is very similar to Alberts (Deaths assistant) in Discworld. Also i wonder if this had any influence on the :lol.
The Shadow Over Innsmouth [4/5]
A lot of different horror tropes in this one and done pretty well. It could be a little tighter however. I'm detecting hints of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Fly, The Wicker Man, the Truman Show :P .
The Shadow Out of Time [5/5]
This could have been a bit more emotional given what the protagonist has been through and lost but it does make up for that quite a bit near the end.
I do like how not evil the bad guys are, it could have been a lot worse for the protagonist if the aliens weren't just trying to do a job. They're not vicious, its not personal, they just have stuff to do. It also couldn't have been very pleasant for them either, theres a touch of '12 Monkeys' about it.
November 25, 2016
My own personal rating rule: since I'm more willing now to close a book if I don't like it, and if I've read at least a fourth of the book, then I give it a one-star rating. Big problem with this volume: If you've read one Lovecraft story, you've read them all. These stories are about weird alien visiting Earth, weird gods, weird whatever disrupting earthlings. There is certainly nothing horrifying here (but I've never been truly horrified by any book placed within the "horror" genre). A better title for this book might be "The Weird Fiction of Lovecraft."
The writing is solid and consistent, but that's the main problem: every story feels the same: I could only read four of the stories before closing the pages permanently. (As a side note, the most horrifying book I've ever read is "A Little Life", but at the same time it's the most beautiful and best book I've ever read.)
The writing is solid and consistent, but that's the main problem: every story feels the same: I could only read four of the stories before closing the pages permanently. (As a side note, the most horrifying book I've ever read is "A Little Life", but at the same time it's the most beautiful and best book I've ever read.)
October 27, 2014
Lovecraft is an interesting beast. Due to adaptations and the complicated relationship Lovecraft's works have to the public domain, many of his more popular creations have existence independent of their original context. They are something of a cultural meme. The terms Lovecraftian, Cthulhu, and Shoggoth often have meaning even to those who have never read a word of Lovecraft's prose
Unfortunately, while Lovecraft deserves some credit for the genesis of these tropes, much of his actual work is just not very good. This collection makes that obvious by leading off with "The Horror at Red Hook," a story where Lovecraft's much-noted racism is not just prominent but overwhelming. From there, the quality varies, but the premise is usually the same. A white man discovers some evidence that non-Abrahamic extremely powerful supernatural beings (Cthulhu, Shoggoth, Dagon etc) may exist. He then fails to cope.
The difficulty I have with Lovecraft is that his two main methods to convince me that I ought to be horrified do not succeed. His protagonists panic when faced with something different than and also more important than western civilization. The existential crisis of realizing they do not matter in the scheme of things combined with a deep seated dread from looking at mythos things too strange to understand produces their breakdowns. The first one, the dread of unimportance, holds some merit with me, and Lovecraft should be commended for introducing it. However, at this point, the myriad adaptations and reinterpretations of Lovecraft's ideas do a better job than the original of handling it, with less belabored prose.
However, it is the second, the panic of beholding something alien and different, that I find truly exasperating. Here, conceptually, I see a lot of Lovecraft's xenophobia. His narrators often panic and declare a thing to be horrifying and wrong, when information they are able to provide places it merely as foreign or difficult to explain. In fact, its often just as I become interested in the mythos that the protagonists become completely insane. I, like many of those engaged with the modern Lovecraft meme, feel the urge to study the mythos, to understand the lore or merely enjoy its strangeness. However Lovecraft's own protagonists, some of whom are anthropologists or scientists, do not.
In conclusion, looking back on Lovecraft's stories from the perspective of the Lovecraft meme, I find them unengaging. Lovecraft's best creations were his myths, and culture has loved them better than he did.
Unfortunately, while Lovecraft deserves some credit for the genesis of these tropes, much of his actual work is just not very good. This collection makes that obvious by leading off with "The Horror at Red Hook," a story where Lovecraft's much-noted racism is not just prominent but overwhelming. From there, the quality varies, but the premise is usually the same. A white man discovers some evidence that non-Abrahamic extremely powerful supernatural beings (Cthulhu, Shoggoth, Dagon etc) may exist. He then fails to cope.
The difficulty I have with Lovecraft is that his two main methods to convince me that I ought to be horrified do not succeed. His protagonists panic when faced with something different than and also more important than western civilization. The existential crisis of realizing they do not matter in the scheme of things combined with a deep seated dread from looking at mythos things too strange to understand produces their breakdowns. The first one, the dread of unimportance, holds some merit with me, and Lovecraft should be commended for introducing it. However, at this point, the myriad adaptations and reinterpretations of Lovecraft's ideas do a better job than the original of handling it, with less belabored prose.
However, it is the second, the panic of beholding something alien and different, that I find truly exasperating. Here, conceptually, I see a lot of Lovecraft's xenophobia. His narrators often panic and declare a thing to be horrifying and wrong, when information they are able to provide places it merely as foreign or difficult to explain. In fact, its often just as I become interested in the mythos that the protagonists become completely insane. I, like many of those engaged with the modern Lovecraft meme, feel the urge to study the mythos, to understand the lore or merely enjoy its strangeness. However Lovecraft's own protagonists, some of whom are anthropologists or scientists, do not.
In conclusion, looking back on Lovecraft's stories from the perspective of the Lovecraft meme, I find them unengaging. Lovecraft's best creations were his myths, and culture has loved them better than he did.
March 27, 2013
Beneath the bloated, fungoid moon…
"As the ghastly light shone hideously down from the bloated, fungoid moon, the alien and unnameable thing from another aeon revealed itself as so loathsome, blasphemous and hellish that it would drive me to the uttermost edge of madness if I were to describe it..."
OK, I made that sentence up, but I bet anybody who's read HP Lovecraft was fooled for a moment. ;-)
This book brings together some of HPL's stories published from about 1926 onwards. Each story is extensively and interestingly annotated to tell when it was written, where published and how it fits in not just to HPL's own "Cthulhu Mythos" but also the wider landscape of "weird tales". There is also an excellent introductory essay by Roger Luckhurst which tells us about HPL's life and puts his work into the context of the period in which he was writing. Luckhurst's argument in part is that, love him or hate him, HPL has remained an influence on writers of weird fiction up to the present day. He credits HPL with being one of the main writers who moved horror away from the human-centric gothic tale, with its vampires, crucifixes and garlic, to a universe where man is an insignificant and helpless part of a greater whole.
I admit it - I thought the stories ranged from loathsomely mediocre to hellishly poor myself, (even though I've always been partial to mushrooms). Luckhurst quotes Edmund Wilson on the subject of HPL's tendency never to use one overblown adjective when four would do..."Surely one of the primary rules for writing an effective tale of horror is never to use any of these words - especially if you are going, at the end, to produce an invisible whistling octopus." My feelings precisely!
However, whether a fan of HPL's style or not, the introductory essay and annotations provide interesting insights into a genre that has had considerable influence over the years and those alone make the book a worthwhile read, hence my four star rating.
"As the ghastly light shone hideously down from the bloated, fungoid moon, the alien and unnameable thing from another aeon revealed itself as so loathsome, blasphemous and hellish that it would drive me to the uttermost edge of madness if I were to describe it..."
OK, I made that sentence up, but I bet anybody who's read HP Lovecraft was fooled for a moment. ;-)
This book brings together some of HPL's stories published from about 1926 onwards. Each story is extensively and interestingly annotated to tell when it was written, where published and how it fits in not just to HPL's own "Cthulhu Mythos" but also the wider landscape of "weird tales". There is also an excellent introductory essay by Roger Luckhurst which tells us about HPL's life and puts his work into the context of the period in which he was writing. Luckhurst's argument in part is that, love him or hate him, HPL has remained an influence on writers of weird fiction up to the present day. He credits HPL with being one of the main writers who moved horror away from the human-centric gothic tale, with its vampires, crucifixes and garlic, to a universe where man is an insignificant and helpless part of a greater whole.
I admit it - I thought the stories ranged from loathsomely mediocre to hellishly poor myself, (even though I've always been partial to mushrooms). Luckhurst quotes Edmund Wilson on the subject of HPL's tendency never to use one overblown adjective when four would do..."Surely one of the primary rules for writing an effective tale of horror is never to use any of these words - especially if you are going, at the end, to produce an invisible whistling octopus." My feelings precisely!
However, whether a fan of HPL's style or not, the introductory essay and annotations provide interesting insights into a genre that has had considerable influence over the years and those alone make the book a worthwhile read, hence my four star rating.
December 13, 2015
Lovecraft is quite a character. I say "is", despite his being deceased, because he is clearly the star of each story, no matter the name he gives to the narrator. This collection, which I've read sporadically throughout the year, was my first exposure to HPL's writing. While I certainly enjoyed some selections more than others, on the whole I find his creations fascinating.
As a character, HPL seems to have been a brilliant, well-read, intellectual, narcissistic, racist and sexist man with low opinion of anyone unlike himself. I don't think I would have wanted to get a coffee with him, but I quite appreciate his work. He had an impeccable talent for weaving words together, and his creations are uniquely strange. All of these stories are far-fetched, but enjoyable so. Some ramble on more than others in redundant explanation rather than plot development, which gets tiresome. Kudos to those that compiled this collection with its detailed notes.
Anyone with interest in sci-fi, and particularly horror, should give Lovecraft a try. His ability to inspire, both creativity and nightmares, is without doubt.
As a character, HPL seems to have been a brilliant, well-read, intellectual, narcissistic, racist and sexist man with low opinion of anyone unlike himself. I don't think I would have wanted to get a coffee with him, but I quite appreciate his work. He had an impeccable talent for weaving words together, and his creations are uniquely strange. All of these stories are far-fetched, but enjoyable so. Some ramble on more than others in redundant explanation rather than plot development, which gets tiresome. Kudos to those that compiled this collection with its detailed notes.
Anyone with interest in sci-fi, and particularly horror, should give Lovecraft a try. His ability to inspire, both creativity and nightmares, is without doubt.
September 6, 2024
‘We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.’
I thought this was absolutely extraordinary. I did not think there was single bad story in this particular collection. Some stood out above the rest, but that does not mean the ones beneath were somehow lacking in quality. I will not go into detail on every single story in this collection, but personally I felt that The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Shadow out of Time were particular standouts.
I love how Lovecraft adheres to an entire mythos he has created. Each story usually draws from this pool of lore, and it is fun watching everything come together. Usually (at least the stories in this collection) are based in Lovecraft’s fictional city of ‘Arkham’, in the very real Massachusetts, near the also fictional ‘Miskatonic University’. As such, characters who are the main focus of one story might be side characters or mentions in another. Sometimes, even monsters and artefacts are linked between stories. I really liked this detail, as it made the lurking terror of Lovecraft’s mythos feel very legitimate and like something to be really scared of. The mythos itself was excellent, I loved encountering each new monster or artefact or ancient cyclopean ruin.
Lovecraft’s writing style is very sharp and professional, clearly showcasing a very well-read and erudite man. However, his prose tends to veer off in one of two directions. On one hand, he superbly paints striking visual images of things beyond the imagination, and evokes strong feelings of fear, awe, and realisation that are revealed through truly excellent build-ups. Then on the other hand, his writing style can be a lot to digest in one sitting for the modern reader. For example, although I thought At the Mountains of Madness was brilliant, there was a part where Lovecraft describes things by quite literally providing their mathematical and numerical measurements – it was simply too much to keep track of. Sometimes Lovecraft is guilty of flat-out repeating himself, with some chunks of text saying exactly the same thing, or describing things verbatim to how they were a couple of pages ago. There are several times where he is telling us too much when leaving it to the imagination would have been better. That said, the ways he captures the severity of cosmic scale and human unimportance is still very entertaining and still makes it worth reading even if the going gets a bit tough at times.
I understand the criticism that some of his works feel a bit samey. There is a noticeable and repeated formula of: Individual makes some sort of discovery that leads them into Lovecraft’s mythos -> Gradual realisation of just how ancient or difficult to fathom something is -> Unavoidable mental deterioration and madness as a result. I will completely agree that his stories (at least in this collection) generally follow the same pattern, but I found that each story dealt with a unique monster, object, or scenario, which kept things fresh.
This is excellent stuff. I can see why Lovecraft has had such a profound impact on Gothic literature, fantasy literature, horror literature, and has left such a distinct impression on the world of writing as a whole. His ideas are so otherworldly and unique. I had waited a long time to actually read some of Lovecraft’s works since first hearing his name, and I am extraordinarily glad I have finally done so. I would highly recommend this book and Lovecraft’s stories to anyone. Be prepared for quite dense prose and complex visual imagery, but rest assured it is well worth reading.
I thought this was absolutely extraordinary. I did not think there was single bad story in this particular collection. Some stood out above the rest, but that does not mean the ones beneath were somehow lacking in quality. I will not go into detail on every single story in this collection, but personally I felt that The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Shadow out of Time were particular standouts.
I love how Lovecraft adheres to an entire mythos he has created. Each story usually draws from this pool of lore, and it is fun watching everything come together. Usually (at least the stories in this collection) are based in Lovecraft’s fictional city of ‘Arkham’, in the very real Massachusetts, near the also fictional ‘Miskatonic University’. As such, characters who are the main focus of one story might be side characters or mentions in another. Sometimes, even monsters and artefacts are linked between stories. I really liked this detail, as it made the lurking terror of Lovecraft’s mythos feel very legitimate and like something to be really scared of. The mythos itself was excellent, I loved encountering each new monster or artefact or ancient cyclopean ruin.
Lovecraft’s writing style is very sharp and professional, clearly showcasing a very well-read and erudite man. However, his prose tends to veer off in one of two directions. On one hand, he superbly paints striking visual images of things beyond the imagination, and evokes strong feelings of fear, awe, and realisation that are revealed through truly excellent build-ups. Then on the other hand, his writing style can be a lot to digest in one sitting for the modern reader. For example, although I thought At the Mountains of Madness was brilliant, there was a part where Lovecraft describes things by quite literally providing their mathematical and numerical measurements – it was simply too much to keep track of. Sometimes Lovecraft is guilty of flat-out repeating himself, with some chunks of text saying exactly the same thing, or describing things verbatim to how they were a couple of pages ago. There are several times where he is telling us too much when leaving it to the imagination would have been better. That said, the ways he captures the severity of cosmic scale and human unimportance is still very entertaining and still makes it worth reading even if the going gets a bit tough at times.
I understand the criticism that some of his works feel a bit samey. There is a noticeable and repeated formula of: Individual makes some sort of discovery that leads them into Lovecraft’s mythos -> Gradual realisation of just how ancient or difficult to fathom something is -> Unavoidable mental deterioration and madness as a result. I will completely agree that his stories (at least in this collection) generally follow the same pattern, but I found that each story dealt with a unique monster, object, or scenario, which kept things fresh.
This is excellent stuff. I can see why Lovecraft has had such a profound impact on Gothic literature, fantasy literature, horror literature, and has left such a distinct impression on the world of writing as a whole. His ideas are so otherworldly and unique. I had waited a long time to actually read some of Lovecraft’s works since first hearing his name, and I am extraordinarily glad I have finally done so. I would highly recommend this book and Lovecraft’s stories to anyone. Be prepared for quite dense prose and complex visual imagery, but rest assured it is well worth reading.
November 24, 2024
An excellent set of short stories and novellas, and a great place to start dipping into the Lovecraftian Mythos.
I really, really liked this. It feels like a breath of fresh air in my previous months, which have become a little formulaic in terms of what I’ve been reading, at least in terms of prose and structure. The way Lovecraft spins his proverbial weaves is so enchanting, slowly increasing tension whilst also adding consistently to the wider world in which Lovecraft spins. Particular highlights for me are ‘The Whisperer in Darkness’, ‘The Shadow of Innsmouth’ and ‘The Shadow out of Time’. Each of these feel so unique and deal with different fears, perspectives and ideas. Some of the other stories which i didn’t enjoy as much do feel a little formulaic though, with very similar plot and pacing. Nonetheless, even those were still good.
Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone fancying a new and very different author to begin to tackle.
I really, really liked this. It feels like a breath of fresh air in my previous months, which have become a little formulaic in terms of what I’ve been reading, at least in terms of prose and structure. The way Lovecraft spins his proverbial weaves is so enchanting, slowly increasing tension whilst also adding consistently to the wider world in which Lovecraft spins. Particular highlights for me are ‘The Whisperer in Darkness’, ‘The Shadow of Innsmouth’ and ‘The Shadow out of Time’. Each of these feel so unique and deal with different fears, perspectives and ideas. Some of the other stories which i didn’t enjoy as much do feel a little formulaic though, with very similar plot and pacing. Nonetheless, even those were still good.
Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone fancying a new and very different author to begin to tackle.
April 30, 2016
I loved the colour out of space, I very much liked The whisperer in darkness, and The dunwhich horror.
With At the Mountains of Madness I had many breaks in which I read other books. It is tooooo long and there are to many descriptions. The Dreams in the Which House was too repetitive.
In general I find all the stories too repetitive and H.P.Lovecraft keeps using the same vocabulary once and again. Masonry, aeons, cyclopean pop up in every single story thousand times.
This book became a neverending task. Finally I can move on and start something new.
With At the Mountains of Madness I had many breaks in which I read other books. It is tooooo long and there are to many descriptions. The Dreams in the Which House was too repetitive.
In general I find all the stories too repetitive and H.P.Lovecraft keeps using the same vocabulary once and again. Masonry, aeons, cyclopean pop up in every single story thousand times.
This book became a neverending task. Finally I can move on and start something new.
January 1, 2021
It’s in the title CLASSIC Horror Stories. The inspiration to many authors who came after him. If you look past the racism and repulsive eugenics views you will see the incredible storytelling of Mr. H.P.L.
All the short stories in this book are great, although, in my humble opinion, there are some stories he could have done with 3 pages instead of 5 pages of describing the setting of a story. My favorites are The Horror at Red Hook, At The Mountain of Madness, and The Dreams At the Witch House.
All the short stories in this book are great, although, in my humble opinion, there are some stories he could have done with 3 pages instead of 5 pages of describing the setting of a story. My favorites are The Horror at Red Hook, At The Mountain of Madness, and The Dreams At the Witch House.
Read
November 20, 2016One note; in the introduction, Roger Luckhurst refers to Jorge Luis Borges as a "novelist." Really? This is nitpicking, but when you make a mistake like this in the first couple of paragraphs, it really undermines the integrity of your credit as "editor."
April 2, 2023
the naming of his cat makes more sense having read this
December 10, 2018
“The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.”
Here are my thoughts about this book:
Now I know why everyone loves H.P. Lovecraft. With this bone-chilling short stories I was immersed and very amused how frightened I was. While reading his works, I get this weird aura and feeling that these stories are very convincing and can do big influences on many people. I get it now why he's very respected in the horror literature world and popular with goths.
BUT!
*cue dramatic music
THIS EDITION IS SO UNREADABLE. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TO PICK THIS ONE UP. Go read other editions 'cause this one sucks.
I feel like these stories are too long. I ended up taking a nap TWICE! while I was reading this. I think the writing style was based on the time it was written and that is why I feel like it's very unreadable. (specially the first ones) I always chuckle every time the book use the word "queer" when describing unsettling things. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) The writing choices are very terrible. The plot was what makes this stories scary and great. Wikipedia pages about these stories can scare you more than reading this book alone.
After reading this, I am now invested on lovecraft's works. I would literally pick up a retelling of his books if I had a chance. My favorite story "The Dreams in the Witch House" it's weird and scary and unsettling.If you're one of the people who thinks h.p. lovecraft is overrated, I respect that. I can see how you may say that but I really enjoyed his works and am planning on reading more about this book. This book makes me want to re-read Lovecraft Country.
I give this book 3 stars because it wasn't that terrible. I was just disappointed I picked the wrong book. I wish I understood this book better.
(Of course! That's definitely the ugliest cover that I have ever seen. You're not alone mah dude. I don't know why I picked this up on the library with that disgusting design)
November 5, 2024
No me ha tocado leer este libro en el mejor momento de mi vida, ni en el que más atención o ganas de leer tengo.
Había leído historias de este señor hace unos 10 años en español, y guardé la sensación de que el rollo me había gustado.
Y bueno, sí, están guay. No se cortó nada con el racismo en algunos relatos, y me acabé cansando. La idea de seres chungos extraterrestres que viven o han vivido en la tierra y caen de las estrellas me gusta, pero ya digo que no tenía la concentración ni el ánimo para leerlos todos.
Igual en otro momento de mi vida lo vuelvo a sacar de la biblioteca y lo acabo contenta. Quizás no. Ya se verá.
Había leído historias de este señor hace unos 10 años en español, y guardé la sensación de que el rollo me había gustado.
Y bueno, sí, están guay. No se cortó nada con el racismo en algunos relatos, y me acabé cansando. La idea de seres chungos extraterrestres que viven o han vivido en la tierra y caen de las estrellas me gusta, pero ya digo que no tenía la concentración ni el ánimo para leerlos todos.
Igual en otro momento de mi vida lo vuelvo a sacar de la biblioteca y lo acabo contenta. Quizás no. Ya se verá.
July 8, 2013
Another book from NetGalley, this one because I had never read H.P. Lovecraft. I had thought about it, of course, after reading works influenced by him (it's almost impossible not to) and a collection of his most relevant stories seemed like a great way to finally do it. I've previously mentioned here that I'm not a great fan of horror literature, but I must say that Lovecraft surprised me with stories more close to what we call weird than actual horror, which made this that much more interesting to me.
This collection starts with an excellent introduction by Roger Luckhurst that gives the reader some contextual information without spoiling too much and ends with some more explanatory notes. Luckhurst's contribution in one of the details that distinguish this from other Lovecraftian collections, giving it an almost academical component without ever being boring or over-thought. There is a real intention to help the reader understand the text as it was written. Towards that - another distinguishing detail - the works were reproduced as faithfully to the original writing as possible without the alterations made by the different editors that published them in the first place.
The book collects the following stories: The Horror at Red Hook, The Call of Cthulhu, The Colour out of Space, The Dunwich Horror, The Whisperer in Darkness, At the Mountains of Madness, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Shadow out of Time. The is also an excerpt from his essay, Supernatural Horror in Literature.
If when it comes to cultural interest, this was one of the most important books I've read recently, my thoughts on the stories themselves aren't always as positive. On on hand, I recognize that Lovecraft is, to my knowledge, probably the most effective author generating an ambience of weirdness and feelings of intrusion and unpredictability. On the other hand, the amount of adjectives and their repetition - specially in different stories - become overwhelming and tiresome. I feel his style works best in short stories and probably read separately, as they were published. Given all I've just said, it's easy to see why the one I enjoyed less was At the Mountains of Madness, which in spite of being one of his best known works is also one of the biggest and ended up boring me.
H.P.Lovecraft focuses on a kind of fear that differs from the usual in the more traditional, religiously biased stories or in the contemporary ones, that focus on feelings of entrapment and enemies hidden in plain sight. The fear in Lovecraft isn't associated with any punishment or guilt or even anything necessarily human. It comes from the outside, from space, from other dimensions, it's external to our comprehension. The terrifying beings in his works have a near incredible description, such is the weirdness of their organisms. There is an association between these creatures (with whom he created a whole interconnecting structure that came to be called the Cthulhu Mythos) and cults or witchcraft contributing to the plausibility of the stories. The creatures have incomprehensible behaviour, live through ages which gives them a different concept of existence and have abilities far beyond ours. Common to every one of their appearances is the feeling of weirdness they cause to the narrator, as if his world was being invaded by something he can't understand and that, perhaps precisely because of that, terrifies him immediately. Lovecraft transmits, more that fear, this feeling of near insanity, through a mix of doubt and expectation associated with blurred and over-adjectivized information that gets the reader almost to nausea.
These are stories that assume we've left behind those fears associated with religious morality, with guilt, seducing or punishing devils, saved pious or doomed non-believers and because of that are dedicated to the exploration of the fears of those who question alien life, outer-dimensional life, time travel or who consider the possibility of there being other creatures with abilities similar or superior to ours and whose intentions are unintelligible even when we come across them. There is, on the other hand, an obvious preoccupation with racial and cultural purity which shows, to those who are alert, a prejudice that Lovecraft was openly supportive of - something that can spoil the experience of reading his work.
As it is, I recommend this collection to those who haven't read H.P. Lovecraft and have any interest in speculative fiction and horror or weird in particular, but also to those who have read one or other isolated work and wishes to read the original and more memorable ones. It will also be useful to those who wish to understand the author's context, a man who came to influence so much of what has been written ever since, and not just in horror literature.
This review was originally published in Portuguese and English on my blog.
This collection starts with an excellent introduction by Roger Luckhurst that gives the reader some contextual information without spoiling too much and ends with some more explanatory notes. Luckhurst's contribution in one of the details that distinguish this from other Lovecraftian collections, giving it an almost academical component without ever being boring or over-thought. There is a real intention to help the reader understand the text as it was written. Towards that - another distinguishing detail - the works were reproduced as faithfully to the original writing as possible without the alterations made by the different editors that published them in the first place.
The book collects the following stories: The Horror at Red Hook, The Call of Cthulhu, The Colour out of Space, The Dunwich Horror, The Whisperer in Darkness, At the Mountains of Madness, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Shadow out of Time. The is also an excerpt from his essay, Supernatural Horror in Literature.
If when it comes to cultural interest, this was one of the most important books I've read recently, my thoughts on the stories themselves aren't always as positive. On on hand, I recognize that Lovecraft is, to my knowledge, probably the most effective author generating an ambience of weirdness and feelings of intrusion and unpredictability. On the other hand, the amount of adjectives and their repetition - specially in different stories - become overwhelming and tiresome. I feel his style works best in short stories and probably read separately, as they were published. Given all I've just said, it's easy to see why the one I enjoyed less was At the Mountains of Madness, which in spite of being one of his best known works is also one of the biggest and ended up boring me.
H.P.Lovecraft focuses on a kind of fear that differs from the usual in the more traditional, religiously biased stories or in the contemporary ones, that focus on feelings of entrapment and enemies hidden in plain sight. The fear in Lovecraft isn't associated with any punishment or guilt or even anything necessarily human. It comes from the outside, from space, from other dimensions, it's external to our comprehension. The terrifying beings in his works have a near incredible description, such is the weirdness of their organisms. There is an association between these creatures (with whom he created a whole interconnecting structure that came to be called the Cthulhu Mythos) and cults or witchcraft contributing to the plausibility of the stories. The creatures have incomprehensible behaviour, live through ages which gives them a different concept of existence and have abilities far beyond ours. Common to every one of their appearances is the feeling of weirdness they cause to the narrator, as if his world was being invaded by something he can't understand and that, perhaps precisely because of that, terrifies him immediately. Lovecraft transmits, more that fear, this feeling of near insanity, through a mix of doubt and expectation associated with blurred and over-adjectivized information that gets the reader almost to nausea.
These are stories that assume we've left behind those fears associated with religious morality, with guilt, seducing or punishing devils, saved pious or doomed non-believers and because of that are dedicated to the exploration of the fears of those who question alien life, outer-dimensional life, time travel or who consider the possibility of there being other creatures with abilities similar or superior to ours and whose intentions are unintelligible even when we come across them. There is, on the other hand, an obvious preoccupation with racial and cultural purity which shows, to those who are alert, a prejudice that Lovecraft was openly supportive of - something that can spoil the experience of reading his work.
As it is, I recommend this collection to those who haven't read H.P. Lovecraft and have any interest in speculative fiction and horror or weird in particular, but also to those who have read one or other isolated work and wishes to read the original and more memorable ones. It will also be useful to those who wish to understand the author's context, a man who came to influence so much of what has been written ever since, and not just in horror literature.
This review was originally published in Portuguese and English on my blog.
July 27, 2019
Entering the bizarre, sometimes frightening (macabre, eldritch, sordid) world of HP Lovecraft is like entering a new dimension where imagination roam free and without hinges. The distinct early 20th century prose style entrances with refined taste, in tandem with its interesting contents, often involving overpowered aliens and impregnable deities from Pluto (woops Yuggoth) that forms the legendary Cthulhu mythos. In a mere span of a few dozen K words (the longest short story is around 40k), the Lovecraft stories show such level of ambition that dwarfs many novels in terms of the haunting power and afterthought they elicit in the reader's mind. Although I find it true that the language can feel exaggerated or over the top, many of the paragraphs overly long and redundant, and the similar, often stale formula he used in most every fictional work, they do not deduct from the overall reading experience all that much when your mind is occupied by ghastly images of wild creations, and the pure terror of unfathomable outer beings lurking at the fringes of human civilisation capable of destroying humanity just by showing up. Lovecraft's world is vivid, stylish, horrific yet beautiful, and it speaks to me - a fan of not just good prose writing but boldly imaginative settings and universes.
Now I must provide my personal ranking of all the more famous Lovecraft works, at least the ones featured in this book, which compared to other collections is rather meager in content, although enough to apprise of Lovecraft's genius.
1. The Dunwich Horror
- Not my favourite Lovecraft work, but probably his best. Dunwich Horror has the best, most intriguing story of them all, at times reminding me of Jaws. The beginning is already pretty solid even though like all Lovecraft stories it is expository and background talk, and at the end there is a memorable twist that makes you want to reread again. There is a real sense of threat throughout and it ultimately well serves the Cthulhu mythos. If you are looking for a lengthier story to start with before going into the quintessential story, this is my recommendation.
2. The Call of Cthulhu
- MUST READ, cuz well afterall it is how you learn about Lovecraft, isn't it? While it might be lacking in terms of word count, it is definitely not dearth in term of content, and nothing less than stellar in terms of idea execution and pace. My favourite aspect is its use of multi-perspective storytelling, using the accounts of different fictional characters and different forms of information to build up suspense, and finally culminating in a worthy climax featuring the ultimate Lovecraft creation - Mr. Cthulhu. It settles the formula for the future brainchilds to come, and it is the purest and most seminal piece in his oeuvre. The writing is also phenomenal.
3. The Whisperer in the Darkness
- The scariest Lovecraft story. I had low expectations coming into this tale, knowing it's plot is pretty simple. While it opens lackluster (not as strong as Madness and Innsmouth), it picks up midway through and manages to exude actual scariness/fright. The unwitting narrator was lured into a false sense of security that is very obvious, making his helpless tread through classical sci-fi/horror set ups pretty unbearable for readers. It was literally disturbing until the last sentence, and I appreciate the surprise. It would be better if the story were longer and more detailed.
4. At the Mountain of Madness
- Actually my favourtie Lovecraft work. It has the best setting and opening of them all, with the story taking place in the enticing mysterious Antarctic realms far away from the bustling urban life, under the backdrop of a curious expedition. As the story developed, I was not impressed by some of the choices and story beats, but still ended up satisfied by the ending and the memorable details that embellishes the story. The mythos is also more fleshed out than the other tales, and accompanied by classical Lovecraftian elements, makes for some of my favourite reading experiences.
5. The Shadow over Innsmouth
- I'm actually not as impressed by this work as the others. Not sure why. I still consider it a good work, with the standard Lovecraftian formula in play. The climax was not as stark and memorable as his other works, and it suffers from too much bloated content. However, it should be noted that the world is very fleshed out, thanks in part to a certain character's long speech in the middle and the shocking revelation at the end. The tone is the grimmest of all the Lovecraft tales, and the action scenes are a welcoming addition, although I think it is bogged down by a bit too much inner thinking. Check it out if you want to get a glimpse of Lovecraft's best and worst aspects.
Here, these are all my thoughts, and I salute Lovecraft for the great times and unforgettable dreams.
Now I must provide my personal ranking of all the more famous Lovecraft works, at least the ones featured in this book, which compared to other collections is rather meager in content, although enough to apprise of Lovecraft's genius.
1. The Dunwich Horror
- Not my favourite Lovecraft work, but probably his best. Dunwich Horror has the best, most intriguing story of them all, at times reminding me of Jaws. The beginning is already pretty solid even though like all Lovecraft stories it is expository and background talk, and at the end there is a memorable twist that makes you want to reread again. There is a real sense of threat throughout and it ultimately well serves the Cthulhu mythos. If you are looking for a lengthier story to start with before going into the quintessential story, this is my recommendation.
2. The Call of Cthulhu
- MUST READ, cuz well afterall it is how you learn about Lovecraft, isn't it? While it might be lacking in terms of word count, it is definitely not dearth in term of content, and nothing less than stellar in terms of idea execution and pace. My favourite aspect is its use of multi-perspective storytelling, using the accounts of different fictional characters and different forms of information to build up suspense, and finally culminating in a worthy climax featuring the ultimate Lovecraft creation - Mr. Cthulhu. It settles the formula for the future brainchilds to come, and it is the purest and most seminal piece in his oeuvre. The writing is also phenomenal.
3. The Whisperer in the Darkness
- The scariest Lovecraft story. I had low expectations coming into this tale, knowing it's plot is pretty simple. While it opens lackluster (not as strong as Madness and Innsmouth), it picks up midway through and manages to exude actual scariness/fright. The unwitting narrator was lured into a false sense of security that is very obvious, making his helpless tread through classical sci-fi/horror set ups pretty unbearable for readers. It was literally disturbing until the last sentence, and I appreciate the surprise. It would be better if the story were longer and more detailed.
4. At the Mountain of Madness
- Actually my favourtie Lovecraft work. It has the best setting and opening of them all, with the story taking place in the enticing mysterious Antarctic realms far away from the bustling urban life, under the backdrop of a curious expedition. As the story developed, I was not impressed by some of the choices and story beats, but still ended up satisfied by the ending and the memorable details that embellishes the story. The mythos is also more fleshed out than the other tales, and accompanied by classical Lovecraftian elements, makes for some of my favourite reading experiences.
5. The Shadow over Innsmouth
- I'm actually not as impressed by this work as the others. Not sure why. I still consider it a good work, with the standard Lovecraftian formula in play. The climax was not as stark and memorable as his other works, and it suffers from too much bloated content. However, it should be noted that the world is very fleshed out, thanks in part to a certain character's long speech in the middle and the shocking revelation at the end. The tone is the grimmest of all the Lovecraft tales, and the action scenes are a welcoming addition, although I think it is bogged down by a bit too much inner thinking. Check it out if you want to get a glimpse of Lovecraft's best and worst aspects.
Here, these are all my thoughts, and I salute Lovecraft for the great times and unforgettable dreams.
November 17, 2025
Solid collection of some of Lovecraft's greatest hits, all of which I have read before. The selection is based around Cthulhu Mythos stories, although not of all of them ("The Horror at Red Hook" or "The Colour Out of Space" for instance) are closely tied to the mythos. Generally, these stories showcase Lovecraft's febrile imagination and intense prose, although in a few of the stories ("The Whisperer in Darkness", "The Shadow Out of Time") I think he got a bit lost in his world-building. The best stories in this collection would be "The Call of Cthulhu," which is a superbly effective story of secret cults, "The Colour Out of Space," which is holistically one of the greatest horror stories ever written, and "At the Mountains of Madness," which although long-winded, is an interesting blend of sci-fi, horror, and Lovecraft's one personal philosophy.
August 5, 2022
Torn between 2 stars and 3.
Initially I quite enjoyed the stories, I thought they were imaginative and the thorough descriptions added a lot to the atmosphere. But as I read more of the stories, the issues became more apparent: roughly half the stories could share a synopsis, I felt there were expressions of what I'll charitably refer to as outdated ideas, the thorough descriptions were given at the expense of other aspects of storytelling (e.g. character), the stories themselves ended up feeling somewhat repetitive, and ultimately the lengthy descriptions ended up wearing on me.
If you want to read this collection, I would strongly recommend pacing yourself rather than reading the stories through consecutively, as I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read each story in between other books.
Initially I quite enjoyed the stories, I thought they were imaginative and the thorough descriptions added a lot to the atmosphere. But as I read more of the stories, the issues became more apparent: roughly half the stories could share a synopsis, I felt there were expressions of what I'll charitably refer to as outdated ideas, the thorough descriptions were given at the expense of other aspects of storytelling (e.g. character), the stories themselves ended up feeling somewhat repetitive, and ultimately the lengthy descriptions ended up wearing on me.
If you want to read this collection, I would strongly recommend pacing yourself rather than reading the stories through consecutively, as I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read each story in between other books.
June 7, 2016
2.5
The book was half too long. If I had stopped reading where At the Mountains of Madness originally ended, I would have been happier. The stories tended to have similar plot points and story arcs. There is real originality here, and I see the writer’s influence in many ways. In fact that I why I read him, was because many things get described as “Lovecraftian.” The Whisperer in the Darkness was my favorite.
Lovecraft’s favorite word seems to be “Cyclopean.” He used it about every 12 pages, and I am not sure I have ever seen it used before. I had to look up what it meant in the context he was using it. Once I noticed it, I could not stop noticing it, and had to smile at its overuse.
The book was half too long. If I had stopped reading where At the Mountains of Madness originally ended, I would have been happier. The stories tended to have similar plot points and story arcs. There is real originality here, and I see the writer’s influence in many ways. In fact that I why I read him, was because many things get described as “Lovecraftian.” The Whisperer in the Darkness was my favorite.
Lovecraft’s favorite word seems to be “Cyclopean.” He used it about every 12 pages, and I am not sure I have ever seen it used before. I had to look up what it meant in the context he was using it. Once I noticed it, I could not stop noticing it, and had to smile at its overuse.
Read
July 10, 2022No rating because I don't think I can assign a star rating to something that is so clearly a product of past times, and whose contents turn me off morally.
Enjoyable in an academic sense of tracing the heritage of modern day speculative fiction and horror, and sometimes achieved being eerie and disturbing to my jaded reader eyes, but unenjoyable in many other respects:
- Enough has been said about HPL's real life racism, and I won't pile on, but suffice to say that I was shocked at how pervasive and *thematic* the racism and racialization was. It was not just a period distaste for POC and other cultures, it was a deep fear and disgust against the Other that pervaded each and every story. I was talking to a friend about how the racism in the stories turned me off, and she asked why they couldn't edit the stories to sanitize the racism, and it made me realize...you can't. The horror of the stories COME FROM fear and disgust at people or creatures that HPL labels as alien/demonic/degenerate/pollutant cults tearing at and seething under the fragile (clean) structure of (nordic/anglo) Western Civilization, and even if the analogies to real life minorities was not intentional or explicit, it would still be very awkward. However, the analogies are unfortunately very intentional, and very explicit.
- HPL loves the word Cyclopean. And sinister. And eldritch. And grotesque. And..etc etc. I found his writing style academically interesting but tedious and overwrought as a reader. He piles on the adjectives and adverbs thickkkkkkkk, which lends his writing a feverish and unbalanced rhythm - which in some ways does enhance the horror of his stories...but also I do not prefer it.
- Unfortunately his cosmic monsters put his writing at a conundrum: describe the monster, or don't. Describe the monster, and make me giggle at the absurdity of their physical proportions (I'm an internet denizen of the 21st century and weird tentacles and lurid colorations aren't scary anymore, they're silly and pulpy (and honestly, hentai-y)). Don't describe the monster, and come off as lazy and uninspired - "oh NO it was too TERRIBLE to explain - you HAVE to believe me! I was v skrred." I think this is due to changing tastes over time - maybe these monsters were more freaky back in the day, but reading it from now, I was unimpressed and even found some monster designs kind of hilarious.
- If you've read one Lovecraft you kind of have read them all. The subject matter, of horrid (and racially charged) cults and unknowable, blasphemous (and racially charged) monsters in the remotest regions of the world (or even from SPACE or the PAST), does not change. That's not really a fair criticism since that's what he's known for and his specialty, but do not expect a broad range in his work.
- I don't enjoy how many of his works have this framing device of someone writing to a future reader. It could be interesting but basically all the works are like that, and it is used to hide and reveal crucial information in a way that eventually felt very annoying and cheap. So many times of - "now I reveal this information because I was working up the courage! I can't be sure of its veracity because I doubt my own sanity, but I implore YOU the reader to stop reading and shield your mind from the HORRORS ahead!"
To cap off, each short story with a general like/dislike:
- The Horror at Red Hook: DISLIKE. f*ck this one, it's basically just racism against immigrants, with an uninteresting cult doing uninteresting culty blasphemy, but the cult are FOREIGNERS *gasp
- The Call of Cthulhu: DISLIKE. I like it for being the OG and being the mascot for cosmic horror, but I do not like how it's just an excuse to do a world tour to imply that less developed countries and poor people are evil, dumb brutes who worship dark gods because they're degenerate filth that want to raise Cthulhu and destroy the world
- The Colour out of Space: MEH. Initially I was intrigued by the idea of a baddie being an ephemeral 'colour', but it didn't go as weird as I was expecting. The genre has stretched since HPL, with authors like China Mieville and Jeff Vandermeer have gotten wayyyy weirder.
- The Dunwich Horror: DISLIKE. This is basically saying that rednecks are evil and/or stupid, and tentacles aren't scary anymore, sorry.
- The Whisperer in the Darkness: LIKE. Protagonist has no self preservation instinct but I was genuinely creeped out by him talking to an individual that I knew was no longer himself..
- At the Mountains of Madness: LIKE. I disagree intellectually with the ability of the protagonists to figure out the history of these beings from reading their decorative carvings, butttt - it was a great setting, with beautiful and eerie scenery, and a true feeling of isolation.
- The Dreams in the Witch-House: LIKE. Plot is kind of generic and again features creepy dreams, again, but I like evil math.
- The Shadow over Innsmouth: DISLIKE. Basically expresses the anti-miscegenation fear of finding out that your great grandmother was Jewish or black or whatever - the HORROR. At least had a cool chase scene.
- The Shadow out of Time: LIKE. This one was more fun, because the idea of wacky time kidnapping is unique among HPL works, and I enjoyed the narrator's wavering between believing and disbelieving his own experiences.
Enjoyable in an academic sense of tracing the heritage of modern day speculative fiction and horror, and sometimes achieved being eerie and disturbing to my jaded reader eyes, but unenjoyable in many other respects:
- Enough has been said about HPL's real life racism, and I won't pile on, but suffice to say that I was shocked at how pervasive and *thematic* the racism and racialization was. It was not just a period distaste for POC and other cultures, it was a deep fear and disgust against the Other that pervaded each and every story. I was talking to a friend about how the racism in the stories turned me off, and she asked why they couldn't edit the stories to sanitize the racism, and it made me realize...you can't. The horror of the stories COME FROM fear and disgust at people or creatures that HPL labels as alien/demonic/degenerate/pollutant cults tearing at and seething under the fragile (clean) structure of (nordic/anglo) Western Civilization, and even if the analogies to real life minorities was not intentional or explicit, it would still be very awkward. However, the analogies are unfortunately very intentional, and very explicit.
- HPL loves the word Cyclopean. And sinister. And eldritch. And grotesque. And..etc etc. I found his writing style academically interesting but tedious and overwrought as a reader. He piles on the adjectives and adverbs thickkkkkkkk, which lends his writing a feverish and unbalanced rhythm - which in some ways does enhance the horror of his stories...but also I do not prefer it.
- Unfortunately his cosmic monsters put his writing at a conundrum: describe the monster, or don't. Describe the monster, and make me giggle at the absurdity of their physical proportions (I'm an internet denizen of the 21st century and weird tentacles and lurid colorations aren't scary anymore, they're silly and pulpy (and honestly, hentai-y)). Don't describe the monster, and come off as lazy and uninspired - "oh NO it was too TERRIBLE to explain - you HAVE to believe me! I was v skrred." I think this is due to changing tastes over time - maybe these monsters were more freaky back in the day, but reading it from now, I was unimpressed and even found some monster designs kind of hilarious.
- If you've read one Lovecraft you kind of have read them all. The subject matter, of horrid (and racially charged) cults and unknowable, blasphemous (and racially charged) monsters in the remotest regions of the world (or even from SPACE or the PAST), does not change. That's not really a fair criticism since that's what he's known for and his specialty, but do not expect a broad range in his work.
- I don't enjoy how many of his works have this framing device of someone writing to a future reader. It could be interesting but basically all the works are like that, and it is used to hide and reveal crucial information in a way that eventually felt very annoying and cheap. So many times of - "now I reveal this information because I was working up the courage! I can't be sure of its veracity because I doubt my own sanity, but I implore YOU the reader to stop reading and shield your mind from the HORRORS ahead!"
To cap off, each short story with a general like/dislike:
- The Horror at Red Hook: DISLIKE. f*ck this one, it's basically just racism against immigrants, with an uninteresting cult doing uninteresting culty blasphemy, but the cult are FOREIGNERS *gasp
- The Call of Cthulhu: DISLIKE. I like it for being the OG and being the mascot for cosmic horror, but I do not like how it's just an excuse to do a world tour to imply that less developed countries and poor people are evil, dumb brutes who worship dark gods because they're degenerate filth that want to raise Cthulhu and destroy the world
- The Colour out of Space: MEH. Initially I was intrigued by the idea of a baddie being an ephemeral 'colour', but it didn't go as weird as I was expecting. The genre has stretched since HPL, with authors like China Mieville and Jeff Vandermeer have gotten wayyyy weirder.
- The Dunwich Horror: DISLIKE. This is basically saying that rednecks are evil and/or stupid, and tentacles aren't scary anymore, sorry.
- The Whisperer in the Darkness: LIKE. Protagonist has no self preservation instinct but I was genuinely creeped out by him talking to an individual that I knew was no longer himself..
- At the Mountains of Madness: LIKE. I disagree intellectually with the ability of the protagonists to figure out the history of these beings from reading their decorative carvings, butttt - it was a great setting, with beautiful and eerie scenery, and a true feeling of isolation.
- The Dreams in the Witch-House: LIKE. Plot is kind of generic and again features creepy dreams, again, but I like evil math.
- The Shadow over Innsmouth: DISLIKE. Basically expresses the anti-miscegenation fear of finding out that your great grandmother was Jewish or black or whatever - the HORROR. At least had a cool chase scene.
- The Shadow out of Time: LIKE. This one was more fun, because the idea of wacky time kidnapping is unique among HPL works, and I enjoyed the narrator's wavering between believing and disbelieving his own experiences.
December 9, 2023
Finally read the tales of H.P. Lovecraft after watching so many movies inspired by his work.
This book had the best stories -- true chilling classics filled with eldritch horrors and cosmic dread.
This book had the best stories -- true chilling classics filled with eldritch horrors and cosmic dread.
September 8, 2018
I didn't care for 2 of the stories in this collection but the rest really make up for that. Excellent, original story telling ahead of its time. This is a great book to have in your library.
July 21, 2021
Stories suffer from similarity greatly, enjoyed much more when spaced out, going to read a handful of essays (especially Houellebecq), so not sure
November 19, 2021
I loved it at first: Lovecraft had this unique ability to create the atmosphere of horror using a vocabulary of the 16th-century monk, lengthy descriptions, and a pinch of racism. The mythology he created is dazzling and deserves some respect. His work paved the way through the debris of the Old Ones and long-lost nightmares to the box office. His work inspired most of the horror movies we watch today: from The Thing (the good one) and Annihilation to the Re-animator. First two stories I was immersed into the book, could not stop, and was quite frightened, to be honest.
But the more I read the book, the more it felt like not moving anywhere. I know that Lovecraft is all about how language betrays us and how it can not describe the horror that characters endure. But still, why everything is indecribable? Why every shadow is looming? Why re-iterate over and over the same spooky phrase?
And yeah, let's face it - if he didn't die soon enough - he would be praising Hitler. Heidegger did that and Hamsun too, from the "good" ones. But yo! Lovecraft's xenophobia is not an addition to his art, it is the very root of it. He is scared and despises everything that is not like him. We may think that he was an impressionable man, that saw hell in real life, obsessively describing it and in the end - his obsession grew into bigotry. Maybe it's good to leave him with that.
Ah oh yeah, my favorite part is in my least favorite story "At the mountains of madness": the Old Ones were socialists.
But the more I read the book, the more it felt like not moving anywhere. I know that Lovecraft is all about how language betrays us and how it can not describe the horror that characters endure. But still, why everything is indecribable? Why every shadow is looming? Why re-iterate over and over the same spooky phrase?
And yeah, let's face it - if he didn't die soon enough - he would be praising Hitler. Heidegger did that and Hamsun too, from the "good" ones. But yo! Lovecraft's xenophobia is not an addition to his art, it is the very root of it. He is scared and despises everything that is not like him. We may think that he was an impressionable man, that saw hell in real life, obsessively describing it and in the end - his obsession grew into bigotry. Maybe it's good to leave him with that.
Ah oh yeah, my favorite part is in my least favorite story "At the mountains of madness": the Old Ones were socialists.
July 11, 2023
i tried my hand at 4 or 5 stories in this collection, to varying success. the colour out of space was definitely my favourite, the only one i read in full and would recommend, i think. there were interesting parts to the call of cthulhu and at the mountains of madness as well, though both were far too long and verbose and filled with boring fluff before getting to the eldritch horror so i skim read and even skipped large chunks. other stories i gave up on entirely, like the horror at red hook which was just interminable racism.
so many interesting ideas and descriptions in these works, but way too much verbose, purple writing, overlong descriptions of inconsequential and boring details, and obviously the racism throughout. in fact i probably liked the colour out of space best because it was on the shorter side and as far as i recall it didn't have any racist diatribes - though only through virtue of only having (assumed) white characters.
the impact of lovecraft's writing and mythos is undeniable, but going to the source of one of my favourite genres of horror ultimately proved pretty disappointing. i think i'll stick with lovecraft-inspired works over the originals.
so many interesting ideas and descriptions in these works, but way too much verbose, purple writing, overlong descriptions of inconsequential and boring details, and obviously the racism throughout. in fact i probably liked the colour out of space best because it was on the shorter side and as far as i recall it didn't have any racist diatribes - though only through virtue of only having (assumed) white characters.
the impact of lovecraft's writing and mythos is undeniable, but going to the source of one of my favourite genres of horror ultimately proved pretty disappointing. i think i'll stick with lovecraft-inspired works over the originals.
July 29, 2024
I went into this book with high expectations as I've heard great things about Lovecraft. However, this felt like a knockoff of something by Poe. None of the stories remotely scared me or even gave me a slight shiver in the way some of Poe's works did. I also had a love-hate relationship with the interconnected stories in this book. I like when an author is able to weave elements from their past works into their new ones, but I also like to see something new. By the end I was getting very bored of Arkham. I also couldn't stand At the Mountains of Madness - it was way too long and felt like at least half of it was set up for the actual "horror." That being said, my favorite stories were The Dreams in the Witch-House and The Shadow out of Time, the latter of which I found the most intriguing.
February 27, 2019
It is very difficult to score this particular book due to the number of individual stories by HP Lovecraft. A lot of the short stories in this collection are the famous entries, but among them are some more unusual choices. Some of these choices are better than others. An issue that is present with all of Lovecraft's stories is the dense language. I found it difficult to read a number of them straight after one another. Not a huge issue, but it is a book that I had to take a break from after several of the stories. Lovecraft is hugely influential on the horror genre as well as many authors in general and the imagination and invention of the author is strong enough to break through the dense prose and entertain the reader, if for only short bursts at a time though.
July 7, 2017
It was the legacy an influence of Lovecraft that brought me to read him, but I found his writing doesn't live up to the art is has inspired. I think each story read independently is actually quite good. For me, the effect diminished as I read further into the collection.
He crafted a style of horror that was brilliantly original and I'd certainly call him one of the main progenitors or the modern horror genre. However, his dogged adherence to the same story format, in terms of its narrator, plot development, various personality-starved characters and conclusions quickly made it a chore to read. In his idea he was creative, but in its delivery he was mundane.
He crafted a style of horror that was brilliantly original and I'd certainly call him one of the main progenitors or the modern horror genre. However, his dogged adherence to the same story format, in terms of its narrator, plot development, various personality-starved characters and conclusions quickly made it a chore to read. In his idea he was creative, but in its delivery he was mundane.
March 21, 2019
The writing is entriguing and complex, a lot is lost to age because I am not practiced enough to know dead words so i find myself needing to guess words by context or have breaks in the thrill to research the words. This particular book has asterisks (*) next to figures/sayings in the book that have endnotes explaining what they are. Another loss of momentum. The stories are good but might require multiple readthroughs for the casual readers.
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