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The Essential Lovecraft Stories
The Essential Lovecraft
Forty-eight of H.P. Lovecraft’s most important stories are brought together in this collection–available only from Audible–selected and with introductions by the award-winning, best-selling Lovecraft editor Leslie S. Klinger. Howard Philips Lovecraft was the early 20th-century genius who, almost singlehandedly, pioneered horror and scientific fiction, only to die in near-obscurity. Rediscovered by critics and scholars in the 1970s, Lovecraft’s work has influenced—by their own admission—every major horror or science-fiction writer of today.
Full cast of narrators include:
Fred Burman
Kevin Pariseau
Matt Godfrey
Peter Berkrot
Robert Fass
Timothy Andrés Pabon
Paul Woodson
Avi Roque
Raphael Corkhill
Foreword narrated by Leslie S. Klinger
Chapter 1: The Tomb narrated by Fred Berman
Chapter 2: Dagon narrated by Gregory Connors
Chapter 3: Polaris narrated by Simon Vance
Chapter 4: Beyond the Wall of Sleep narrated by Dan Bittner
Chapter 5: The Transition of Juan Romero narrated by Raphael Corkhill
Chapter 6: The Statement of Randolph Carter narrated by William DeMerritt
Chapter 7: The Doom That Came to Sarnath narrated by Peter Berkrot
Chapter 8: The Terrible Old Man narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla
Chapter 9: The Cats of Ulthar narrated by Vikas Adam
Chapter 10: Facts concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family narrated by Simon Vance
Chapter 11: The Temple narrated by Sascha Rotermund
Chapter 12: Celephaïs narrated by Simon Vance
Chapter 13: From Beyond narrated by Mirron Willis
Chapter 14: Nyarlathotep narrated by Kevin Kenerly
Chapter 15: The Picture in the House narrated by Neil Hellegers
Chapter 16: Ex Oblivione narrated by Jason Culp
Chapter 17: The Nameless City narrated by Jonathan Davis
Chapter 18: The Quest of Iranon narrated by Avi Roque
Chapter 19: The Outsider narrated by Raphael Corkhill
Chapter 20: The Other Gods narrated by Vikas Adam
Chapter 21: The Music of Erich Zann narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Chapter 22: Herbert West: Reanimator narrated by Jay Snyder
Chapter 23: The Unnamable narrated by William DeMerritt
Chapter 24: The Hound narrated by Raphael Corkhill
Chapter 25: The Lurking Fear narrated by Jay Snyder
Chapter 26: The Rats in the Walls narrated by Paul Woodson
Chapter 27: The Festival narrated by Fred Berman
Chapter 28: Under the Pyramids narrated by Jonathan Davis
Chapter 29: The Shunned House narrated by Robert Fass
Chapter 30: The Horror at Red Hook narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla
Chapter 31: He narrated by Marc Vietor
Chapter 32: Cool Air narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon
Chapter 33: The Call of Cthulhu narrated by Matt Godfrey
Chapter 34: The Silver Key narrated by William DeMerritt
Chapter 35: Pickman’s Model narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla
Chapter 36: The Strange High House in the Mist narrated by Kevin Kenerly
Chapter 37: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath narrated by William DeMerritt
Chapter 38: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Chapter 39: The Colour Out of Space narrated by Gregory Connors
Chapter 40: History of the Necronomicon narrated by Simon Vance
Chapter 41: The Dunwich Horror narrated by Marc Vietor
Chapter 42: The Whisperer in Darkness narrated by Kevin Pariseau
Chapter 43: At the Mountains of Madness narrated by Scott Brick
Chapter 44: The Shadow over Innsmouth narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Chapter 45: The Dreams in the Witch House narrated by Dan Bittner
Chapter 46: The Thing on the Doorstep narrated by Jason Culp
Chapter 47: The Shadow Out of Time narrated by Kevin Kenerly
Chapter 48: The Haunter of the Dark narrated by Neil Hellegers
Full cast of narrators include:
Fred Burman
Kevin Pariseau
Matt Godfrey
Peter Berkrot
Robert Fass
Timothy Andrés Pabon
Paul Woodson
Avi Roque
Raphael Corkhill
Foreword narrated by Leslie S. Klinger
Chapter 1: The Tomb narrated by Fred Berman
Chapter 2: Dagon narrated by Gregory Connors
Chapter 3: Polaris narrated by Simon Vance
Chapter 4: Beyond the Wall of Sleep narrated by Dan Bittner
Chapter 5: The Transition of Juan Romero narrated by Raphael Corkhill
Chapter 6: The Statement of Randolph Carter narrated by William DeMerritt
Chapter 7: The Doom That Came to Sarnath narrated by Peter Berkrot
Chapter 8: The Terrible Old Man narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla
Chapter 9: The Cats of Ulthar narrated by Vikas Adam
Chapter 10: Facts concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family narrated by Simon Vance
Chapter 11: The Temple narrated by Sascha Rotermund
Chapter 12: Celephaïs narrated by Simon Vance
Chapter 13: From Beyond narrated by Mirron Willis
Chapter 14: Nyarlathotep narrated by Kevin Kenerly
Chapter 15: The Picture in the House narrated by Neil Hellegers
Chapter 16: Ex Oblivione narrated by Jason Culp
Chapter 17: The Nameless City narrated by Jonathan Davis
Chapter 18: The Quest of Iranon narrated by Avi Roque
Chapter 19: The Outsider narrated by Raphael Corkhill
Chapter 20: The Other Gods narrated by Vikas Adam
Chapter 21: The Music of Erich Zann narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Chapter 22: Herbert West: Reanimator narrated by Jay Snyder
Chapter 23: The Unnamable narrated by William DeMerritt
Chapter 24: The Hound narrated by Raphael Corkhill
Chapter 25: The Lurking Fear narrated by Jay Snyder
Chapter 26: The Rats in the Walls narrated by Paul Woodson
Chapter 27: The Festival narrated by Fred Berman
Chapter 28: Under the Pyramids narrated by Jonathan Davis
Chapter 29: The Shunned House narrated by Robert Fass
Chapter 30: The Horror at Red Hook narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla
Chapter 31: He narrated by Marc Vietor
Chapter 32: Cool Air narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon
Chapter 33: The Call of Cthulhu narrated by Matt Godfrey
Chapter 34: The Silver Key narrated by William DeMerritt
Chapter 35: Pickman’s Model narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla
Chapter 36: The Strange High House in the Mist narrated by Kevin Kenerly
Chapter 37: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath narrated by William DeMerritt
Chapter 38: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Chapter 39: The Colour Out of Space narrated by Gregory Connors
Chapter 40: History of the Necronomicon narrated by Simon Vance
Chapter 41: The Dunwich Horror narrated by Marc Vietor
Chapter 42: The Whisperer in Darkness narrated by Kevin Pariseau
Chapter 43: At the Mountains of Madness narrated by Scott Brick
Chapter 44: The Shadow over Innsmouth narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Chapter 45: The Dreams in the Witch House narrated by Dan Bittner
Chapter 46: The Thing on the Doorstep narrated by Jason Culp
Chapter 47: The Shadow Out of Time narrated by Kevin Kenerly
Chapter 48: The Haunter of the Dark narrated by Neil Hellegers
51 pages, Audible Audio
First published September 1, 2024
54 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,124 books19.3k 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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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 19, 2025
This compendium of Lovecraft's stories was well put together and read by many different narrators. That being said the content itself is hit or miss in my opinion. There are some good stories which Lovecraft is known for, but there are a lot that are just boring. The racism is definitely prevalent, see the story Rats in the Walls for a prime example. As others have said get an edition that has his best stories collected. Overall I enjoyed his world building and lore which set the stage for his cosmic horror that persists today and spawned the genre, Lovecraftian.
November 9, 2025
It genuinely amazes me that anyone still listens to/reads, let alone enjoys, let alone is a fan of this paranoid bigot's demented ramblings almost a century after his demise. Not because he was a disgusting bigot, even by the standards of the time. But because his stories are so mind-numbingly repetitive and excruciatingly *BORING!!!*
After all, whether they take the form of a report, a confession, log entries or a suicide note, they're (almost) always (almost) exactly the same! With some random white guy whiting... sorry... 'Writing' about the horrific events that he witnessed after the fact. And even when Lovecraft deviates from this formula, such as in "The Colour Out Of Space" when the narrator is supposed to have had the events of the story related to him by the only surviving witness in the area, it's a distinction without a difference. And before long, as all of the stories blended together, even the voices of the narrators began to sound exactly the same. So ultimately, the only thing that I even noticed as the audiobook droned on for what felt like an eternity was the racism, xenophobia and Nazi eugenics which permeated this paranoid bigot's demented ramblings at almost every turn; along with the editor's pitiful attempts to excuse and defend that blatant bigotry with some of the weakest and most laughable non-arguments I've ever heard. For example. dismissing the critics who (rightly) condemn "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" as "Another racist screed of Lovecraft's, expressing his views on Ethnic Purity." When, my Sister in Satan, the ticket agent at the beginning of the story literally compares what's happening in the town to white Americans marrying Chinese and Fijian women!
Of course, that's not even mentioning what one of Lovecraft's self-insert narrator's called his cat or the inherently superior Prussian U-boat commander who dismissed his fellow German naval officer as a weak-willed, weak-minded and inferior Rhinelander. (Reminding us that even as late as the 1960's, groups which we now consider to be fully 'White, and therefore, 'Superior,' such as Irish Americans were condemned for their 'Inferior Blood;' as we see in the countless Lovecraft ramblings in which inferior, degenerate white people are the villains.) And speaking of the degeneration of the superior white race through inbreeding and miscegenation, let's not forget the story which strongly implies that the population of Africa was once composed entirely of superior, civilisation building white men who left behind all of the ruins which white explorers idolise. But then they fell from grace and produced the inferior 'Negroid' races which now populate the continent by breeding with apes. A theory which one anthropologist put to the test, causing his great, great grandson to self-immolate when he learned the truth about his bloodline.
But in the end though, what do we expect from a man who once (co)wrote a story (not included in this collection,) in which the narrator is obsessed with, yet pathologically terrified of a black woman's natural hair and was deceived by her make-up which allowed her to pass as 'White?' Meaning that ultimately, Lovecraft was merely the David Icke of his time. Another paranoid, delusional bigot who took the vague, existential fear of no longer being the centre of the universe as the degenerate and inferior 'Others' gain equality which is the basis of all "I'm Not Fascist, BUT" conspiracy theories. But one who, instead of concocting the usual scare-stories about 'The International Jewish Conspiracy,' Haitian Immigrants eating your pets, schools performing trans surgeries on 5-year-olds and windmills causing cancer, scribbled down his nightmares about "The Old Ones" and other cosmic horrors. With the only actual difference between him and Fox News being that...
a) Fox News makes vastly more money from the fiction which it concocts,
b) Lovecraft (as far as we know,) never intended for his demented ramblings to be taken as fact. And most importantly of all,
c) No doubt as a result of his lifelong, chronic depression, Lovecraft's self-insert narrators always either succumbed to or were consumed by whatever vague nebulous horror stood in for "Social Justice & Equality Rendering The Conceit That Being A White Man From Makes You Inherently Superior Null & Void" in that story. Whereas the entire basis of all Fascism and other reactionary front-lashes against social progress and equality is the desperate, futile struggle to hold off that reality for as long as humanly possible.
As I say though, even if you're neurologically incapable of recognising Lovecraft's bigotry, let alone being put off by it, that still doesn't alter the fact that this anthology is excruciatingly boring and simply refuses to end! Only the short story about the New Englander who's implied to have survived since the time of the revolution through the consumption of human flesh was even mildly engaging, let alone nerve-wracking, and none of them were even slightly scary! Which, like a joke being funny, is the only true test of a horror anthology.
So unless you're a pathologically obsessed, hardcore fan of Lovecraft's work, as another reviewer has also suggested, I strongly recommend an anthology of his most famous stories over enduring this trial by tedium. Because while his fanboys might be quick to point out that even the overwhelming majority of Shakespeare's plays are dismissed as mediocre at best and deeply problematic garbage at worst; with many having needed to be edited to cut out the most offensive language and scenes, as a writer, Lovecraft wasn't even in the same Universe as Shakespeare! With even his 'Greatest' stories consisting (almost) entirely of a white guy explaining everything after the fact. So I have to assume that like Isaac Asimov, his enduring fame has less to do with his stories than with the lore that he created. With both "The Three Laws Of Robotics" & "Cthulhu" capturing the public's imagination enough to make most people ignore just how dry and boring the original stories about them actually are.
After all, whether they take the form of a report, a confession, log entries or a suicide note, they're (almost) always (almost) exactly the same! With some random white guy whiting... sorry... 'Writing' about the horrific events that he witnessed after the fact. And even when Lovecraft deviates from this formula, such as in "The Colour Out Of Space" when the narrator is supposed to have had the events of the story related to him by the only surviving witness in the area, it's a distinction without a difference. And before long, as all of the stories blended together, even the voices of the narrators began to sound exactly the same. So ultimately, the only thing that I even noticed as the audiobook droned on for what felt like an eternity was the racism, xenophobia and Nazi eugenics which permeated this paranoid bigot's demented ramblings at almost every turn; along with the editor's pitiful attempts to excuse and defend that blatant bigotry with some of the weakest and most laughable non-arguments I've ever heard. For example. dismissing the critics who (rightly) condemn "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" as "Another racist screed of Lovecraft's, expressing his views on Ethnic Purity." When, my Sister in Satan, the ticket agent at the beginning of the story literally compares what's happening in the town to white Americans marrying Chinese and Fijian women!
Of course, that's not even mentioning what one of Lovecraft's self-insert narrator's called his cat or the inherently superior Prussian U-boat commander who dismissed his fellow German naval officer as a weak-willed, weak-minded and inferior Rhinelander. (Reminding us that even as late as the 1960's, groups which we now consider to be fully 'White, and therefore, 'Superior,' such as Irish Americans were condemned for their 'Inferior Blood;' as we see in the countless Lovecraft ramblings in which inferior, degenerate white people are the villains.) And speaking of the degeneration of the superior white race through inbreeding and miscegenation, let's not forget the story which strongly implies that the population of Africa was once composed entirely of superior, civilisation building white men who left behind all of the ruins which white explorers idolise. But then they fell from grace and produced the inferior 'Negroid' races which now populate the continent by breeding with apes. A theory which one anthropologist put to the test, causing his great, great grandson to self-immolate when he learned the truth about his bloodline.
But in the end though, what do we expect from a man who once (co)wrote a story (not included in this collection,) in which the narrator is obsessed with, yet pathologically terrified of a black woman's natural hair and was deceived by her make-up which allowed her to pass as 'White?' Meaning that ultimately, Lovecraft was merely the David Icke of his time. Another paranoid, delusional bigot who took the vague, existential fear of no longer being the centre of the universe as the degenerate and inferior 'Others' gain equality which is the basis of all "I'm Not Fascist, BUT" conspiracy theories. But one who, instead of concocting the usual scare-stories about 'The International Jewish Conspiracy,' Haitian Immigrants eating your pets, schools performing trans surgeries on 5-year-olds and windmills causing cancer, scribbled down his nightmares about "The Old Ones" and other cosmic horrors. With the only actual difference between him and Fox News being that...
a) Fox News makes vastly more money from the fiction which it concocts,
b) Lovecraft (as far as we know,) never intended for his demented ramblings to be taken as fact. And most importantly of all,
c) No doubt as a result of his lifelong, chronic depression, Lovecraft's self-insert narrators always either succumbed to or were consumed by whatever vague nebulous horror stood in for "Social Justice & Equality Rendering The Conceit That Being A White Man From Makes You Inherently Superior Null & Void" in that story. Whereas the entire basis of all Fascism and other reactionary front-lashes against social progress and equality is the desperate, futile struggle to hold off that reality for as long as humanly possible.
As I say though, even if you're neurologically incapable of recognising Lovecraft's bigotry, let alone being put off by it, that still doesn't alter the fact that this anthology is excruciatingly boring and simply refuses to end! Only the short story about the New Englander who's implied to have survived since the time of the revolution through the consumption of human flesh was even mildly engaging, let alone nerve-wracking, and none of them were even slightly scary! Which, like a joke being funny, is the only true test of a horror anthology.
So unless you're a pathologically obsessed, hardcore fan of Lovecraft's work, as another reviewer has also suggested, I strongly recommend an anthology of his most famous stories over enduring this trial by tedium. Because while his fanboys might be quick to point out that even the overwhelming majority of Shakespeare's plays are dismissed as mediocre at best and deeply problematic garbage at worst; with many having needed to be edited to cut out the most offensive language and scenes, as a writer, Lovecraft wasn't even in the same Universe as Shakespeare! With even his 'Greatest' stories consisting (almost) entirely of a white guy explaining everything after the fact. So I have to assume that like Isaac Asimov, his enduring fame has less to do with his stories than with the lore that he created. With both "The Three Laws Of Robotics" & "Cthulhu" capturing the public's imagination enough to make most people ignore just how dry and boring the original stories about them actually are.
June 9, 2025
This is an absolutely massive collection of Lovecraft stories. Unless you are absolutely obsessed with Lovecraft and want to consume his entire body of work, you'd be better off reading an anthology of just his most famous stories.
June 16, 2025
I read these because someone recommend them to me and because I thought giving short stories a go would help get me out of a reading slump.
Learning about HP as a person and learning his life's work was interesting and I quite enjoyed some of the stories...but ultimately, not really my thing! I am definitely more of a long, drawn out saga type of gal!
the audio was great though!
Learning about HP as a person and learning his life's work was interesting and I quite enjoyed some of the stories...but ultimately, not really my thing! I am definitely more of a long, drawn out saga type of gal!
the audio was great though!
October 3, 2025
It was fascinating to hear about H.P. Lovecraft's writing journey, but I quickly gave up. Maybe I'll try a shorter book one day.
November 26, 2025
Actually a DNF don’t want to read or hear that language don’t care that it was normal in his day.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews