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H.P. Lovecraft Short Stories
Lovecraft's terrifying tales have influenced generations of horror writers. His otherworldly visions of cosmic horrors, alien beings, and a world not quite our own remain immensely powerful and able to terrify even the most resolute readers. This collection spans the breadth of Lovecraft's literary career, from his early forays into the Dreamlands to his mature writings of the Cthulhu mythos. It features such cult classics as "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Whisperer in Darkness," and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth."
384 pages, Hardcover
Published March 15, 2018
25 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,039 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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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 4, 2025
What can you say that hasn’t been said? Lovecraft is towering figure whose depth and staggering imagination are still being plumbed today and actively being studied across a wide spectrum of mediums.
For his day and genre, no one else came close. He's been imitated but rarely, if ever, duplicated.
His stories are editorial and jaw droppingly complex, but his prose is simple, precise, and places the reader in the middle of the action with a glut of phantasmagoric anticipation.
The Call of Cthulhu and The Dunwich Horror (among other works) have generated a cult following and been the inspiration for.... well, a lot.
I also like that there are good audiobooks of most of his stories on YT, the best of which come from The Exploring Series channel. Have a look.
I wrote a review of The Shadow over Innsmouth that elaborates a bit more on Lovecraft's esoterica; you can read it here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For his day and genre, no one else came close. He's been imitated but rarely, if ever, duplicated.
His stories are editorial and jaw droppingly complex, but his prose is simple, precise, and places the reader in the middle of the action with a glut of phantasmagoric anticipation.
The Call of Cthulhu and The Dunwich Horror (among other works) have generated a cult following and been the inspiration for.... well, a lot.
I also like that there are good audiobooks of most of his stories on YT, the best of which come from The Exploring Series channel. Have a look.
I wrote a review of The Shadow over Innsmouth that elaborates a bit more on Lovecraft's esoterica; you can read it here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
May 31, 2020
Excellent monsters, awful racism
May 23, 2024
Call of Cthulhu: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The whisperer in Darkness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The thing on the doorstep: ⭐️
The lurking fear: ⭐️⭐️
The shadow over Innsmouth: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Shunned House: ⭐️⭐️
From Beyond: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pickman's model: ⭐️⭐️
The nameless city: ⭐️⭐️
The Dreams in the Witch House: ⭐️⭐️
I really need to stop reading books written before like 1980. The premises of all of the stories were really cool, but I felt like an idiot trying to read this. Way too many big words and the way people wrote back then is just so hard to understand. I really wanted to like this book because I've heard so many good things about Lovecraft, and the themes were really interesting. I just couldn't understand anything he was saying lol.
The whisperer in Darkness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The thing on the doorstep: ⭐️
The lurking fear: ⭐️⭐️
The shadow over Innsmouth: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Shunned House: ⭐️⭐️
From Beyond: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pickman's model: ⭐️⭐️
The nameless city: ⭐️⭐️
The Dreams in the Witch House: ⭐️⭐️
I really need to stop reading books written before like 1980. The premises of all of the stories were really cool, but I felt like an idiot trying to read this. Way too many big words and the way people wrote back then is just so hard to understand. I really wanted to like this book because I've heard so many good things about Lovecraft, and the themes were really interesting. I just couldn't understand anything he was saying lol.
February 27, 2025
(3/5) Some of these short stories were so good but most were just too boring to feel satisfied with. Shoutout to The Whisperer In Darkness, The Thing On The Doorstep, From Beyond, and Pickman’s Model
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February 3, 2022Loved these short stories. I've always known that Lovecraft is an icon of the horror genre, but it was fascinating to read the material myself. The stories are latent with a feeling of inevitability. You know how it will end, but you are engrossed in the revelations as they come upon the characters in such a way that you feel just as surprised as they are.
The suspense in "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "The Whisperer in the Darkness" really add a tenseness that makes you press on, despite their length. Definitely recommend for someone who likes horror as a genre, and has never given Lovecraft a try.
It's only natural that due to its age, there will be unfamiliar vocabulary and sentence structure at times. In spite of this, the writing is largely comprehensible to the modern reader, with a few, easily-googled exceptions.
The suspense in "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "The Whisperer in the Darkness" really add a tenseness that makes you press on, despite their length. Definitely recommend for someone who likes horror as a genre, and has never given Lovecraft a try.
It's only natural that due to its age, there will be unfamiliar vocabulary and sentence structure at times. In spite of this, the writing is largely comprehensible to the modern reader, with a few, easily-googled exceptions.
February 25, 2023
It’s a good collection of works from Lovecraft. Many recommended short stories are included. These are great for people who want to start reading Lovecraft.
There are better alternatives, and this is not a complete collection, but it’s overall good!
There are better alternatives, and this is not a complete collection, but it’s overall good!
February 20, 2023
If I were to be presented with eldritch horrors beyond my comprehension I would simply not allow my countenance to become unbalanced. but im just built different i guess. some of these are quite good and many of them are Extremely Racist
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2018
The Call of Cthulhu ⭐
The Whisperer In Darkness ⭐⭐⭐
The Thing on the Doorstep ⭐⭐⭐
The Lurking Fear ⭐⭐
The Shadow Over Innsmouth ⭐⭐⭐
The Shunned House ⭐⭐
From Beyond ⭐
Pickman's Model ⭐
The Nameless City ⭐⭐
The Dreams In The Witch House ⭐
I had no idea, going in, that there would be.. ahem.. "dated" language. Lovecraft is downright racist at times 😬 I don't excuse historical figures for racism.
I'm going to bite my tongue on most of my criticisms. I did enjoy myself. I can see why Lovecraft's work has become classic, and I do appreciate what he contributed to literature.
(Finishing this book was a slog though...)
The Whisperer In Darkness ⭐⭐⭐
The Thing on the Doorstep ⭐⭐⭐
The Lurking Fear ⭐⭐
The Shadow Over Innsmouth ⭐⭐⭐
The Shunned House ⭐⭐
From Beyond ⭐
Pickman's Model ⭐
The Nameless City ⭐⭐
The Dreams In The Witch House ⭐
I had no idea, going in, that there would be.. ahem.. "dated" language. Lovecraft is downright racist at times 😬 I don't excuse historical figures for racism.
I'm going to bite my tongue on most of my criticisms. I did enjoy myself. I can see why Lovecraft's work has become classic, and I do appreciate what he contributed to literature.
(Finishing this book was a slog though...)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews