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H.P. Lovecraft Selects: Classic Horror Stories
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear." So wrote horror master H. P. Lovecraft in his landmark essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature," a survey that has for nearly a century served as a required reading list for tales of the supernatural. H. P. Lovecraft Selects: Classic Horror Fiction collects in one volume more than thirty stories that Lovecraft singled out in his essay as the best horror tales of all time, including:
The Vampyre: With this tale of the sinister Lord Ruthven and his predatory travels across the European continent, John Polidori helped to make the vampire one of the most popular themes in horror fiction.
Lot No. 249: Arthur Conan Doyle's groundbreaking story set the standard for treatments of mummies in horror fiction and films with its account of a collector of Egyptian artifacts who has found dangerously unorthodox uses for the centerpiece of his collection.
The Monkey's Paw: In this well-known tale by W. W. Jacobs, the owner of a magic talisman with the power to grant wishes finds that it can make dreams come true--and also nightmares.
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas: The antiquary who solves the cypher in M. R. James's macabre masterpiece thinks that he will soon take possession of the centuries-old treasure that it has helped to conceal--but he underestimates the unholy powers that its owner has invoked to safeguard it.
The White People: "You haven't realized what sin is," says a character in Arthur Machen's horror classic, before regaling the reader with an account of a young child's indoctrination into occult rituals that have terrifying consequences for their ill-ated victims.
Ancient Sorceries: Algernon Blackwood's adventure of psychic sleuth John Silence is a tale concerned with sorcerous doings in a small French town and how they relate to its abnormally large population of cats.
The House on the Borderland: William Hope Hodgson presents this novel-length work of cosmic horror as the journal of a man whose house is under siege from otherworldy monsters living in the chasm beneath it.
The Vampyre: With this tale of the sinister Lord Ruthven and his predatory travels across the European continent, John Polidori helped to make the vampire one of the most popular themes in horror fiction.
Lot No. 249: Arthur Conan Doyle's groundbreaking story set the standard for treatments of mummies in horror fiction and films with its account of a collector of Egyptian artifacts who has found dangerously unorthodox uses for the centerpiece of his collection.
The Monkey's Paw: In this well-known tale by W. W. Jacobs, the owner of a magic talisman with the power to grant wishes finds that it can make dreams come true--and also nightmares.
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas: The antiquary who solves the cypher in M. R. James's macabre masterpiece thinks that he will soon take possession of the centuries-old treasure that it has helped to conceal--but he underestimates the unholy powers that its owner has invoked to safeguard it.
The White People: "You haven't realized what sin is," says a character in Arthur Machen's horror classic, before regaling the reader with an account of a young child's indoctrination into occult rituals that have terrifying consequences for their ill-ated victims.
Ancient Sorceries: Algernon Blackwood's adventure of psychic sleuth John Silence is a tale concerned with sorcerous doings in a small French town and how they relate to its abnormally large population of cats.
The House on the Borderland: William Hope Hodgson presents this novel-length work of cosmic horror as the journal of a man whose house is under siege from otherworldy monsters living in the chasm beneath it.
776 pages, Hardcover
Published September 29, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 16, 2019
This is a collection of horror stories from the 1800s and early 1900s, handpicked for this collection by H.P. Lovecraft. These are stories he enjoyed and had an influence on his own work. Collections of short stories are always fun to read. Given that each book has a theme it follows, it's interesting to see how each author has their own take on that theme. Horror has a very wide spectrum, and it shows here. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, the terrors of man's own mind, and more are all covered.
I admit this book took me quite a while to read, around 6 months from start to finish. The danger with collections of stories is that if you read one you don't care for, it can put a damper on things and make the prospect of going forward feel tiresome. That's what happened here.
Carwin, the Biloquist by Charles Brockden Brown is the story that stalled me. There are 37 stories here, and this one is 3rd (also one of the longest). The premise sounded interesting at first, but things didn't work out the way I thought they would, and then this story just kind of lost me. It took a while for me to read, and I set the book down for a while afterward.
Fortunately, I picked it up again. That turned out to be my least favorite of the bunch and I read through the rest of the way at a good pace. So, what about my favorite? It's tough to pick out one, so I'll simply mention a few of the ones I enjoyed the most, in no particular order.
Lot No. 249 by Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame) involves a collector of Egyptian artifacts who isn't about to let anybody interfere with his work.
The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs is a tale a lot of us are familiar with, in one form or another, as we are shown that wishes can come true, just not always the way we expected or hoped they would.
Clarimonde by Theophile Gautier is the story of a priest who has fallen in love with a woman who has a dark secret.
What Was It? by Fitz James O'Brien is definitely at the top of the list. It deals with the unknown. I enjoyed this one because not only is it creepy, but you also can't help but feel sorry for the antagonist.
Waters of Death by Erckmann-Chatrain. I wasn't sure where this was going at first, but let me just say it involves something a lot of people are afraid of.
The Were-Wolf by Clemence Housman. A man struggles with the realization that there's a werewolf among his people, but nobody will believe him.
The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson is the longest story here and also it's easy to see how this was a big influence on Lovecraft. A man has a strange vision of hideous things living near him. But was it all in his mind, or was it a sign of things to come?
The Hoard of the Gibbelins by Lord Dunsany is a short piece about a knight seeking treasure. It's more amusing than scary.
The Last Kiss by Maurice Level is a tale of revenge that may make you squirm a bit.
Overall, I enjoyed many of the stories in this book. There are only 2, perhaps 3 that just didn't capture me. Anybody who has the least bit of interest in horror should definitely check this out. There's likely to be something for everybody here.
I admit this book took me quite a while to read, around 6 months from start to finish. The danger with collections of stories is that if you read one you don't care for, it can put a damper on things and make the prospect of going forward feel tiresome. That's what happened here.
Carwin, the Biloquist by Charles Brockden Brown is the story that stalled me. There are 37 stories here, and this one is 3rd (also one of the longest). The premise sounded interesting at first, but things didn't work out the way I thought they would, and then this story just kind of lost me. It took a while for me to read, and I set the book down for a while afterward.
Fortunately, I picked it up again. That turned out to be my least favorite of the bunch and I read through the rest of the way at a good pace. So, what about my favorite? It's tough to pick out one, so I'll simply mention a few of the ones I enjoyed the most, in no particular order.
Lot No. 249 by Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame) involves a collector of Egyptian artifacts who isn't about to let anybody interfere with his work.
The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs is a tale a lot of us are familiar with, in one form or another, as we are shown that wishes can come true, just not always the way we expected or hoped they would.
Clarimonde by Theophile Gautier is the story of a priest who has fallen in love with a woman who has a dark secret.
What Was It? by Fitz James O'Brien is definitely at the top of the list. It deals with the unknown. I enjoyed this one because not only is it creepy, but you also can't help but feel sorry for the antagonist.
Waters of Death by Erckmann-Chatrain. I wasn't sure where this was going at first, but let me just say it involves something a lot of people are afraid of.
The Were-Wolf by Clemence Housman. A man struggles with the realization that there's a werewolf among his people, but nobody will believe him.
The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson is the longest story here and also it's easy to see how this was a big influence on Lovecraft. A man has a strange vision of hideous things living near him. But was it all in his mind, or was it a sign of things to come?
The Hoard of the Gibbelins by Lord Dunsany is a short piece about a knight seeking treasure. It's more amusing than scary.
The Last Kiss by Maurice Level is a tale of revenge that may make you squirm a bit.
Overall, I enjoyed many of the stories in this book. There are only 2, perhaps 3 that just didn't capture me. Anybody who has the least bit of interest in horror should definitely check this out. There's likely to be something for everybody here.
January 21, 2020
I enjoyed many of the stories in this collection of short stories including Dead Valley, The House of Sounds, The House in the Borderlands, and What Was It to name some of my favorites. What Was It was spooky with a taste of the surreal and imagery. It was a bit tricky to get past the old English writing but after a couple of pages, one gets used to it and begins to enjoy the stories. There were only a couple of stories I didn't enjoy. Carwin, the Biloquist I thought was leading up to a horrifying climax but it didn't seem to get there. Frustrating! The other story I did not care too much for is The Last Kiss. It was well written and suspenseful, I just simply didn't care for the mean spirited characters.
August 6, 2020
This is a collection of some well written stories but none of the stories scared me. It is nice to read where some thoughts came from and might have been terrifying for the times, but might not work on modern readers.
December 13, 2016
An excellent collection of vintage horror stories.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews