What do you think?
Rate this book
Cthulhu Cymraeg
The old gods are dead... The older gods have returned!
Before the American master of the macabre H. P. Lovecraft there was the Welsh wizard of the weird Arthur Machen, who filled his pages with tales of ancient evil. Now, completing the circle, comes a collection of original tales from the land of Machen following in the footsteps of Lovecraft and his uncanny creations.
In What Others Hear by John Llewellyn Probert, a musician comes to rural Wales to convalesce in peace. But what terrible secrets hide behind the notes of the music he so loves? Adrian Chamberlin shows us that seemingly innocent old traditions can conceal sinister intentions when dark forces use them to deadly ends in Stranger Crossings. In Charles Black's tale, a brilliant Welsh scholar finds the price of knowledge can cost you everything when he discovers the true purpose of that dreaded tome The Necronomicon. And six more Lovecraftian tales of the otherworldly.
Before the American master of the macabre H. P. Lovecraft there was the Welsh wizard of the weird Arthur Machen, who filled his pages with tales of ancient evil. Now, completing the circle, comes a collection of original tales from the land of Machen following in the footsteps of Lovecraft and his uncanny creations.
In What Others Hear by John Llewellyn Probert, a musician comes to rural Wales to convalesce in peace. But what terrible secrets hide behind the notes of the music he so loves? Adrian Chamberlin shows us that seemingly innocent old traditions can conceal sinister intentions when dark forces use them to deadly ends in Stranger Crossings. In Charles Black's tale, a brilliant Welsh scholar finds the price of knowledge can cost you everything when he discovers the true purpose of that dreaded tome The Necronomicon. And six more Lovecraftian tales of the otherworldly.
150 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2013
10 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 15, 2014
A collection of stories from the land of Machen, Wales. These are real Mythos stories written seriously Rhys Hughes pun filled bicycle trip aside. All the authors either live in Wales or have lived in Wales. An excellent addendum is that the art displayed in the book is quite well done. S.t. Joshi's forward is a bit generic.
1 - S.T. Joshi - Farward
5 - Mark Howard Jones & Steve Upham - Introduction
9 - John Llewellyn Probert - What Other's Hear
29 - Rhys Hughes - The Bicycle Centaur
45 - Bob Lock - The Cawl Of Cthulhu
57 - Mark Howard Jones - Pilgrimage
69 - Brian Willis - Song Of Summoning
89 - Charles Black - The Necronmicon
97 - Liam Davies - Un-Dhu-Milhlhuk Would {If He Could}
103 - Paul Lewis - Periphery
123 - Adrian Chamberlin - Stranger Crossing
ILLUSTRATIONS BY Kate Evans
1 - S.T. Joshi - Farward
5 - Mark Howard Jones & Steve Upham - Introduction
9 - John Llewellyn Probert - What Other's Hear
29 - Rhys Hughes - The Bicycle Centaur
45 - Bob Lock - The Cawl Of Cthulhu
57 - Mark Howard Jones - Pilgrimage
69 - Brian Willis - Song Of Summoning
89 - Charles Black - The Necronmicon
97 - Liam Davies - Un-Dhu-Milhlhuk Would {If He Could}
103 - Paul Lewis - Periphery
123 - Adrian Chamberlin - Stranger Crossing
ILLUSTRATIONS BY Kate Evans
August 25, 2016
Being of Welsh descent I thought I might give this a try. The editors say they were trying to bring back a little Machen to the genre. With that in mind I was hoping for some stories based in Welsh folklore with a Lovecraftian twist. What I got was, with a couple exceptions, a fairly standard set of Lovecraft pastiches. The notable difference is they were set in Wales instead of New England or wherever.
There are a couple standouts all the same. Periphery by Paul Lewis was particularly good and very creepy while Stranger Crossings is very darkly humorous and one of the few that does delve into Welsh folklore.
The Bicycle-Centaur was a funky steam-punk thing. It was very entertaining but I think was only really included because the author decided to drop some names. While I'm not so sure it made a lot of sense to include, I'm glad they did because it was fun in its own right.
In the whole I would recommend this to fans of Lovecraftian fiction; there are some solid stories here. If you're looking for new takes on Welsh folklore you'll probably be disappointed.
There are a couple standouts all the same. Periphery by Paul Lewis was particularly good and very creepy while Stranger Crossings is very darkly humorous and one of the few that does delve into Welsh folklore.
The Bicycle-Centaur was a funky steam-punk thing. It was very entertaining but I think was only really included because the author decided to drop some names. While I'm not so sure it made a lot of sense to include, I'm glad they did because it was fun in its own right.
In the whole I would recommend this to fans of Lovecraftian fiction; there are some solid stories here. If you're looking for new takes on Welsh folklore you'll probably be disappointed.
March 10, 2024
An intriguing idea for a book: Lovecraftian tales from Wales. The Welsh theme was a little laboured with only the final story about the Mari Llwyd tradition being significantly to do with Wales. Several of the stories were rather similar in theme: visitor to Wales experiences strange ancient evil. 'The Bicycle Centaur' is simply bizarre.
They nine tales are all well written, though 'Stranger Crossing' needed a final edit as it contained several errors. Some of the themes had promise but relied too heavily on hinted peril or forebodings of evil, without anything really conclusive. Overall, not a very satisfying read and I will not be checking out the second collection.
They nine tales are all well written, though 'Stranger Crossing' needed a final edit as it contained several errors. Some of the themes had promise but relied too heavily on hinted peril or forebodings of evil, without anything really conclusive. Overall, not a very satisfying read and I will not be checking out the second collection.
October 31, 2025
Really variable stuff here, a couple I very much enjoyed, another couple I felt resentful for the time I wasted on them, the rest I won’t remember next week. Funnily enough, the one I enjoyed the most ("What Others Hear") didn’t have any direct mention of the Cthulhu Mythos.
May 21, 2017
A brilliant collection of stories that perfectly pays homage to Machen and Lovecraft. On my third copy after lending out and losing the first two!
April 24, 2021
Not the usual Derlethic derivative crap. Selections are well chosen.
September 1, 2019
New England - the old streets of colonial Boston, the wild hills and forests of Vermont and upstate Maine, the land both so young and so very old - is a perfect setting for Lovecraft's stories of eldritch terror and forbidden lore that it seems both strange and somewhat fitting to see the setting transposed to Wales. And of all the British Isles, Wales seems most suitable for the Cthulhu mythos - it is an old land but one with a storied history of habitation, the continued mixing of Welsh and English folklore.
Of these stories, there are two that stand out as worthy entries into the Mythos: "What Others Hear" by John Llewelyn Probert and "Song of Summoning" by Brian Willis. Both are able to take elements of Lovecraft's writing and elegantly transpose it into a Welsh setting without it feeling contrived or self-referential. Both are more subtle than their companion pieces - while there are some moments where Lovecraft opts to show rather than tell, it is his ability to build and maintain an atmosphere of uncanniness that keeps his stories fresh in the minds of horror fans. A lot of the other stories in this collection felt too 'on the nose' for want of a better term - revelling in callbacks and self-referential winks to the reader that what they are reading is a Cthulhu story.
However, in spite of the collection's being less than the sum of its parts, it still offers a fascinating introduction by S. T. Joshi - one of the best scholars on Lovecraft today - and the hope that other authors will explore similar settings for these eldritch nightmares.
Of these stories, there are two that stand out as worthy entries into the Mythos: "What Others Hear" by John Llewelyn Probert and "Song of Summoning" by Brian Willis. Both are able to take elements of Lovecraft's writing and elegantly transpose it into a Welsh setting without it feeling contrived or self-referential. Both are more subtle than their companion pieces - while there are some moments where Lovecraft opts to show rather than tell, it is his ability to build and maintain an atmosphere of uncanniness that keeps his stories fresh in the minds of horror fans. A lot of the other stories in this collection felt too 'on the nose' for want of a better term - revelling in callbacks and self-referential winks to the reader that what they are reading is a Cthulhu story.
However, in spite of the collection's being less than the sum of its parts, it still offers a fascinating introduction by S. T. Joshi - one of the best scholars on Lovecraft today - and the hope that other authors will explore similar settings for these eldritch nightmares.
December 25, 2013
The first story in this collection is stellar. *What Others Hear* by John Llewellyn Probert is brilliantly executed and one of the best Mythos stories I've read in 2012. I hope the rest of the stories in this collection are as good.
January 29, 2014
An interesting collection of stories. The first 3 were most definitely the best.
February 17, 2014
excellent collection of stories.
February 17, 2014
agree with Jon, below. first 3 stories probably the best but thoroughly enjoyed the book
February 21, 2014
Some great, some forgetable, all weird.
December 23, 2014
Well-written tales by talented authors. Enjoy!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews