The Inhabitant of the Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants

by Ramsey Campbell

A collection of fantasy and horror short stories by British author J. Ramsey Campbell, who dropped the initial from his name in subsequent publications. It was released in 1964 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,009 copies and was the author's first book. The stories are part of the Cthulhu Mythos. Campbell had originally written his introduction to be included in the book The Dark Brotherhood and Other Pieces under the title "Cthulhu in Britain". However, Arkham's editor, August Derleth, decided to use it here. The contents were reprinted with some of Campbell's later Lovecraftian work in his 1985 collection Cold Print.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Cthulhu Mythos, Lovecraftian, Weird Fiction, Science Fiction

303 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Ramsey Campbell is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today," while S. T. Joshi has said that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood."

Reviews

[Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Campbell's Afterword, it is clear that he is a bit embarrassed at having written these early tales. I can see why. No, these stories are not terrible, not by any means. But if you've read any of Campbell's later work, you can clearly see an emergent, if struggling, genius trying to claw its way out of the pit of pastiche with this collection. August Derleth, who initially edited these stories, was generous to the young Campbell. The letters back and forth between the two during their initial exchanges before this book was first published paint the picture of a kindly mentor who, though unafraid to call out the young (and I mean very young) Campbell in strong editorial terms, shows a soft spot that this editor (namely: me) would have cut out of his own heart. Call me mean.

But if Derleth had let his editorial judgement cut too deep, Campbell might not have ever emerged as the writer he has. And that would be a shame. So, good for Derleth having a heart.

Enough of sentiment. On to the stories.

We begin with "The Room in the Castle," which was good, but not great. Clearly a pastiche of Lovecraft, this relied a little too heavily on the old "shell game" of teasing a reveal, then pulling it back, then teasing and pulling it back again, then revealing the thing that was previously teased about at the very end. Not very startling, honestly. Well written, as you'd expect, but the mechanics of the piece felt amateur and really distracted this reader. Three stars

"The Horror from the Bridge" is more like it. Though I think that Campbell tips his hand way too much by "giving it away" without the reader having to work for it, I still liked this story quite a bit. Campbell himself admits in the afterword that he is sometimes guilty of "telling too much too soon". I'd say that's accurate. This tale is not outright scary, but "the mythos" don't necessarily have to be. It exhibits well Mark Fisher's notion of "the weird" as something intruding in our world that should not be there. Features both undead and mythos! Four stars.

"The Insects from Shaggai" is full of great things. The semi-material nature of the insects and the notion of possessing the victim and leading them to bring catastrophe upon . . . well, I can't give away too much. Ramsey's one weakness, and I've seen it in each of these stories so far, is that he telegraphs way too much. Foreshadowing is not fore-10000 -candle-watt-shining, Ramsey. Tone it down a touch! Four stars.

I enjoyed "The Render of the Veils," but it is a story that definitely needs more breathing room (another early habit of Campbell's that he admits to in his afterword). One of the two main characters just seemed to willing to go along with just about anything with little or not questioning. A longer lead-in might have made it more believable. Naivete might have been developed, rather than curtly assumed. A longer story would have helped to develop more dread, as well. This might make an interesting setup for a Delta Green one-shot scenario, but it doesn't make for great fiction. Good fiction, but not great. Three stars.

The story "The Inhabitant of the Lake" fires on all cylinders, save one: The info-dump by the realtor is unlikely and un-necessary. The story would have been stronger without it. Still, that doesn't keep this one from five star territory. There is good reason for its reputation for frisson. It is a solid piece of cosmic horror that earns its laurels. I see why this was chosen as the title story. Five stars!

"The Plain of Sound" hits the sweet spot of giving the reader just enough to think they have an idea of what the horror really is, while keeping it "tucked away" enough that the reader's imagination reaches and claws for it, but never quite sees it full-front. And it's this yearning that creates the terror in the reader: the realization that you *want* to stare the horror in the face, but can't. A strange twist on possible invasions from another dimension that reminds me (though "remind" is anachronistic here, except that my reading order didn't match the publishing order) of Jeffrey Thomas's story "Bad Reception" from his collection The Endless Fall and Other Weird Fictions. Five stars!

"The Return of the Witch". Meh. Too much meh-tafiction in the form of a Doctor providing information he couldn't possibly know. Meh-chanically clunky grammatical structures. A meh-andering plot. Meh-phistopholes would have loved this story. Just meh. Two stars.

"The Mine on Yuggoth" was what I hoped for when picking up this book! Eerie, unspoiled by infodumps and credibility-straining coincidence. A protagonist who just can't help but want to know more, until he knows too much. Subtle until the end, then BAM! This is how cosmic horror is done! Five inscrutably sentient stars!

Ah, those crazy folk-magic practicing villagers. I hate it when I stumble into their village and am sacrificed to Shub-Niggurath only to find that there are fates worse than death. Next time that happens, though, Campbell will have provided me with a great example of how to document these strange happenings with "The Moon Lens". Four stars.

Besides the strength of the stories (and I do think that most of them were strong), this volume includes an awkward tell-all afterword by the author, several pieces of correspondence between Campbell and August Derleth, and the first drafts of all the stories (and one that didn't - thankfully - make it into the collection). It's an interesting piece of Lovecraftiana that only owes its inspiration to Lovecraft. The ancillary materials add to the collection overall, I think, even if it predisposes one to judge the stories themselves a little more harshly. Actually, maybe they would excuse the stories' juvenalian aspects if one were to read the afterword first. But that would be putting the Lovecraftian cart before the horse and might spoil the eerie enjoyment that does infuse many of the pieces.

All-in-all, the book is not a good introduction to cosmic horror (though a couple of the stories are), but a definite must-read for those who love their Lovecraft or who want to read the seminal stories of one of the modern masters of horror.

[Mindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Inhabitant of the Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants is a reissue by PS Publishing of Campbell's first book, which was published in 1964 by Arkham House. This edition is a striking paperback with illustrations for each story by Randy Broecker. It includes the author's original opening, and then ten short stories written in the style of the Lovecraft mythos. The appendices contain a note from Campbell on the first drafts of his stories, and then seven of those original drafts. Following those stories is an Afterward for the 2010 edition of the book, and then actual reproductions of some of the original letters from August Derleth to Campbell during his writing.

This is a book that fans of cosmic horror, Lovecraft, and Campbell in particular will definitely want to add to their collections. I've read quite a bit of cosmic horror and all of Lovecraft's published stories, and it's very interesting to read a collection of stories written by a young Campbell who discovered a copy of Lovecraft's works at the age of 14. He was immediately inspired to write in the style of Lovecraft, and those stories make up this collection. I've read novels by Campbell, but not his short stories, and I can definitely see how much he has grown as a writer since penning these early tales.

Campbell moves the mythos from New England to the UK, and creates a fictional setting called the Severn Valley, which includes a number of towns, central of which is Brichester. He also added his own esoteric volume much like the Necronomicon called The Revelations of Glaaki. Some of the tales are better than others, but they all are very much rooted in the expanded mythos that Campbell created.

Two of the stories are definitely standouts in this collection. The Insects From Shaggai and the titular The Inhabitant of the Lake are my personal favorites. They are both very much inspired by Lovecraft, yet they retain Campbell's own voice.

All of the stories are worth reading simply because they are the first published writings from Campbell and it's so interesting how much Lovecraft influenced a teenage Campbell. He even writes in the afterword: "The first book of Lovecraft's I read made me into a writer." I enjoyed reading these early stories in the Lovecraft pastiche, and I think fans of Lovecraft and Campbell alike will feel the same way.

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Room in the Castle"
"The Horror from the Bridge"
"The Insects from Shaggai"
"The Render of the Veils"
"The Plain of Sound"
"The Return of the Witch"
"The Mine on Yuggoth"
"The Will of Stanley Brooke"
"The Moon-Lens"

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering that this was Campbell’s first book and was published when he was only 18 this is really impressive. He grasps what makes Lovecraft great and applies it to his own stories, adding to Lovecraft's mythos whilst also bringing new ideas and creatures to this universe.
To the Severn Valley in England he brings otherworldly terrors to a place that is remarkably close to where I live. This probably helped the stories resonate further with me, especially as I grew up in a similar rural setting.
The writing is effective and stays true to typical weird fiction sensibilities but you can tell that at this point in Campbell's career he was still trying to find his own voice. I've read a few short stories of Campbell's in various anthologies but this is the first full book of his that I've read and thought it was fantastic, I look forward to reading more of his work in the future!

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with most short story collections I have rated individually.

This is a collection of mostly Lovecraftian inspired short stories set in a fictional English setting. Campbell lacks the skill of the former when it comes to prose however and most of these stories are decidedly not scary or unsettling. What makes sense - and isn't initially clear is that these stories were in fact written when Campbell was 18 - in awe of Lovecraft and in contact with August Derleth who was something of a mentor for him.

In this light, the stories are of interest, and in fact not at all bad for an 18 year old. Ultimately however they are very formulaic and lack the complexity and genuine unease and terror that Lovecraft evokes.

This revised edition contains introduction by the author, additional correspondence between himself and Derleth and some additional stories and first drafts.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating the stories, on their own merit? 3 stars. But the experience of watching a master begin to write and seeing these early HPL stories is a terrific experience. Some few are great. Most are mediocre pastiche. But I had fun all the same.

I wanted to explore Campbell’s Brichester mythos and to do so fully, you gotta start here. Know what you’re getting into and enjoy the ride.

[Sylri · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first real deep-dive into the work of Ramsey Campbell, Cthulhu Mythos or not. I had always bounced off of his stuff when I’ve come across it in other horror anthologies. I’ve come to wonder if it’s because a lot of his later works are urban horror, while these early stories are of the more rural variety, and I’m definitely a much bigger fan of rural settings for horror. Perhaps it’s because I grew up in the country and only ever lived in a somewhat bigger city later in life - who knows. But I could definitely see it as a me thing rather than any indication of Campbell’s writing skills.

Anyway.... I find myself quite liking these stories, as much as Campbell puts himself down for their quality. Even before reading the Afterword where he gives his (often negative) opinions on the writings of his younger self, I’ve read interviews where he’s berating himself for bumbling on attempts to expand on some of Lovecraft’s entries in his Commonplace Book. Maybe it says something about my taste that I have a fondness for Lovecraft pastiches, but I found some of these truly fun. And I believe these stories must have some merit to warrant so many others building on them when adding their own takes on the Cthulhu Mythos.

Speaking of, my favorites are definitely the ones that build directly on the Mythos by adding new races and deities. This is what had sparked my interest in going back and reading Ramsey Campbell - he created many fan favorites such as the Insects from Shaggai and Gla’aki, among others that aren’t in this volume but can be found in its sequel Visions from Brichester. I also really jived with the explorations of the British countryside that I just didn’t connect with when I was younger. His new Mythos monsties and having such a strong setting are what gives his early Mythos tales such staying power for me.

I don’t normally do this in my reviews of anthologies, but I wanted to give a go at writing down my thoughts for the individual stories.



The Room in the Castle
A pretty standard Mythos story, but its use of Byatis from Bloch’s “The Shambler from the Stars” and exploration of the Severn Valley countryside elevates it for me. I feel a little bad not having much more to say about it but I did read this about two months ago now.

The Horror from the Bridge
Another pretty standard Mythos story. If you’re reading these in order in the anthology, then I think this is the first time you deal with a resident of dreaded Goatswood, though this story takes place mainly in Clotton (which my bad eyes kept reading as Cotton). Campbell says this is a pastiche of “The Dunwich Horror”, which is true down to the librarian in the end helping to take out a monster who breaks out of a building. It starts here but it becomes evident to me that Campbell has a few body “types” that he likes using for his monsters and the aquatic creatures in here fit that mold.

The Insects from Shaggai
Now this is where things start getting really interesting - which is a little funny to me cause this is the story I hear Campbell criticize the most. 😬
When detailing the Insects’ long history and interactions with other alien races I had in mind Mountains, and having Campbell confirm it in the afterword makes me glad I wasn’t off the mark there. Much condensed compared to that novella-length story, but it works here. The casual references to other alien races and even deities and conflicts between religions on other planets was like catnip to me. Honestly, I found the beginning part in the woods a bit by the numbers in comparison, though knowing what the things are in the woods made it better in retrospect.
This story has a definite sci fi bent, which I appreciate and wish I had an easier time finding more of. Lovecraft wrote in great detail of ancient alien races, their conflicts and culture, and though Campbell may bash this story often, I much appreciate that “The Insects From Shaggai” pays homage to At the Mountains of Madness in this way. Maybe there’s a whole treasure trove of Cthulhu Mythos sci fi that I’m just unaware of.

The Render of the Veils
This story was when I became hooked! Daoloth is an awesome idea and I’m surprised that it’s Gla’aki and Y’golonac that seems to get most of the love out of Campbell’s original GOO’s. A short and simple story, but it didn’t need to be any longer. I’m glad Campbell is returning to this deity in his recent trilogy.

The Inhabitant of the Lake
The first story where Gla’aki has a prominent role, as well as the related volumes The Revelations of Gla’aki. A good story in its own right and not just because of its relevance to Mythos lore. A creepy isolated house in the countryside, zombie cultists, and a lake monster. What more could you ask for? I like the thematic similarities to “The Colour Out of Space” as well. I can see why this was chosen as the title story.

The Plain of Sound
Another story with a sci fi bent rather than just being weird. The sci fi elements were really cool for me. I’m glad I didn’t see the illustration in this edition that accompanied the story before I read it because the aliens looked like the little grey aliens from the 60’s and that’s not how I pictured them at all. When looking up more about them because I thought the idea of the aliens and their dimension was so cool, I found that the Chaosium Call of Cthulhu RPG expanded on this story and tied it together with “The Music of Erich Zann”. I find these sorts of connections give me more appreciation for the individual stories rather than less.

The Return of the Witch
Very meh and I really don’t have much more to say about it. Extra disappointing because I really enjoyed the past four stories before this one. Body swapping story but The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and “The Thing on the Doorstep” both did it better. A shame cause I like stories with witches, esp now that stories with witches actually being witchy rather than a misunderstood feminist icon are in short supply (nothing wrong with those, I like them too but it’s not so much a subversion anymore when they outnumber the thing they were once subverting but that’s the thing with trends I suppose). My least favorite story in the collection.

The Mine on Yuggoth
A welcome return to sci fi! The Mi-Go get some love in this one. I remember having once read it long ago but I wasn’t into sci fi on other planets as much then so I bounced off of it. Also didn’t help that it was in Chaosium’s Hastur Cycle, which has a huge Mi-Go section that I feel is quite out of place in a KiY anthology, but I was definitely looking for King in Yellow stories at the time so I could have just not been in the right frame of mind. A good story and I enjoy almost anything with some of Lovecraft’s classic alien races.

The Will of Stanley Brooke
Another pretty meh story for me, though this is at least more humorous than “The Return of the Witch”. My second least favorite story. I’ve noticed with these early stories of Campbell’s if there’s not a lot of Mythosy elements then I’m not super interested. I imagine it’s because he’s not a mature writer yet and if there’s not even Mythos building in the story then there’s not anything that some other author hasn’t done more skillfully. Out of the pastiches in here I feel these ones are the most deserving of Campbell’s criticism.

The Moon-Lens
A Shub-Niggurath story! So few and far between. The setup is very Innsmouthy but with mountain hillbillies (I don’t think England calls them hillbillies?) rather than coastal folk. I think this is the first story that actually takes place in Goatswood - now we know how apt the name is.

The Face in the Desert
A simple story that wasn’t in the original published edition of Inhabitant of the Lake. I guess Derleth didn’t like it enough to include it. I liked it more than Witch or Will, but I could see where people would disagree with me about that and can see why it would have been rejected. Only so much I can say about it since it was so short, but the implications that Alhazred wasn’t completely human is a fun one.

The Church in High Street
Originally titled “The Tomb-Herd” in Campbell’s first draft, I actually first read this in an Innsmouth anthology. It might be why my initial impressions of it weren’t the most favorable - It’s not really an Innsmouth homage in Britain (“The Moon-Lens” is more appropriate for that), and it doesn’t feature a coastal setting, and no Deep Ones either, so I can’t fathom the reason this was chosen for such a collection. There is a town with odd folk and a cultish conspiracy, but again, for me “The Moon-Lens” was the more obvious homage to Innsmouth. I did like the spatial distortion shenanigans, and after Mexican Gothic the mushroom stuff was a fun touch. So, I definitely liked reading it more this time around outside of the Innsmouth anthology context but still mostly only of interest for those interested in Campbell Cthulhuiana.



I haven’t read any of the first drafts yet - seems a little too soon after having just read the revised versions, though I know some are supposed to be pretty different from the revised versions that ended up being published.
The afterword and included letters between Campbell and Derleth are illuminating. As a Derleth fan I especially enjoyed the letters, and hope to get the volume of correspondence between the two at some point in the future. The afterword contains the bashing of many of his stories that I mentioned earlier - I know many authors don’t look kindly on their earlier work, but especially considering that he wrote these so young I consider these stories very good and I enjoy a lot of them in their own right. I’m glad I read his thoughts after I had read the respective stories.

After reading this collection I suppose I can now add myself to the large group that praises Campbell. Even though I may still not like his modern post-Mythos era, I really enjoyed a lot of these.
This book is definitely more for those who are uber-fans of the Mythos - this is a fun and interesting dive into Cthulhu Mythos history from one of the original greats.

[Sheena Forsberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven’t read a lot of Campbell yet but I enjoyed the short stories I found in Night Visions and was keen to try more, so I was very pleased when my FIL gifted me this.
My tweet about this being my next read had the author jokingly commenting to be kind as he was only a teenager when these were written. I’ve seen Campbell almost being apologetic about this collection several times, and although I do think he is too hard on his younger self (the collection was originally published when he was 18 years old, the stories having been written before then), the prose does bear the marks of a promising young author still trying to find his footing and voice. In most of the stories there is a feeling that Campbell was unwittingly? imitating HPL. Although I am glad this wasn’t my very first Campbell read, it is impressive for what it is, and you get an inkling of the author he was to become.
The most interesting (and honestly, touching) part of the collection is that it also contains early drafts + the correspondence between Campbell and August Derleth. Derleth did not go easy on Campbell, but it’s obvious he took care in giving constructive criticism and feedback to the youngster.
I wouldn’t recommend this as anyone’s first Campbellian read (you might be lead to believe that his prose is somewhat archaic and meandering), but it is worth a look when one’s read some of his later works.

-notes/summaries of the short stories below (the ones I enjoyed the most are as always marked with an ‘*’)

-The Room in the Castle:
Campbell wrote the first draft of this when he was only 14 years old & it was his first effort in trying to expand on Lovecraft’s mythos.
In this story we are acquainted with Parry who’s doing research for his friend in the British Museum when he stumbles upon local legends about a toad-monster and a castle on a hill that the locals avoid. The legends date back to the Romans and the monster seems to be a being known as Byatis imprisoned in a castle cellar by Sir Gilbert Morley. Not entirely unexpected, Parry insists on having a look around the castle and finds more than he bargained for.

-The Horror from the Bridge:
Another town with deep held secrets they’d rather avoid speaking of. This time about a bridge that washed away during a storm & rumors of sorcery and tentacles alien beings who live trapped under the town and where the entrance can be found in the river (and opened if Betelgeuse aligns correctly and the seal from the Elder Gods is removed).

-The Insects From Shaggai:
A man investigates Goatswood after learning about the area’s legends. Features an alien insect race which had their planet destroyed and now aim to enslave other species on the planets they settle on. Also, they have the ability to teleport & take control of people’s minds.

-The Render of the Veils:
Gillman decides to participate in an occult ritual with Fisher, a man he shared a taxi with that very evening. Fisher has previously traveled to another dimension where he learned about a god, Daoloth.
They decide to summon said God and have it show them things as they truly are in all dimensions. A tale of being careful what you wish for.

-The Inhabitant of the Lake:*
Cartwright, an artist, rents a place by the lake in the hopes of stirring up some inspiration. A family fled the house not long before and the son of said family struggled with nightmares of a creature in the lake and by the window. It doesn’t take long until Cartwright is haunted by nightmares of his own & stumbles upon writings about an ancient being and wonders if he’ll ever make it home again.

-The Plain of Sound:
University students are bored, visit an old inn, manage to get lost on their way home & stumble upon a strange noise which ends as soon as they reach a mysterious house. In the house, they find the classic sketchy books and a diary about weird stuff and an odd contraption. They learn that a former professor used to be stationed in the house to study the noises but was soon plagued by dreams about unknown cities and aliens who communicated with him. Events lead the professor to decide that the aliens weren’t entirely friendly & he turned the machine into a weapon. The story deals with the students not leaving well enough alone and the fallout of their choice.

- The Return of the Witch:*
A man takes over a house that used to belong to a rumored witch and her son. The new owner discovers that there’s one door that is locked to him & decides to open it with disastrous consequences. Ultimately a possession tale.

-The Mine on Yuggoth:
Edward Taylor is enamored with ‘unorthodox practices’ (including leading a witch cult) & becomes obsessed with the metal mined on Yuggoth (or more specifically, the associated immortality), and begins to research the Revelations of Glaaki & the Necronomicon. He eventually manages to make his way there but it costs him dearly.

-The Will of Stanley Brooke:*
Stanley Brooke has cancer & is dying. This doesn’t stop him from looking for a potential cure in books.
He tells his lawyer that he wants a new will drawn up, disinheriting his family and instead willing it all away to a stranger, William Collier, whom nobody’s even met. The will states that Collier looks identical to Brooke and will carry a handwritten note from Brooke. Collier is indeed the spitting imagine when he shows up, but behaves in such a peculiar manner that the lawyer starts to suspect something is very wrong. The lawyer takes Collier away in his car supposedly (and entirely untrue) because the family is angry after learning about their disinheritance. Collier is never seen again and we’re lead to believe that the lawyer might have seen to that due to reasons only known to him.

-The Moon Lens:
A man shows up at the door of a doctor insisting on being euthanized due to a ‘condition which makes living unbearable’. As the story goes, he was tricked into believing he’d missed his train by some strange town-folk, cornered and nearly sacrificed to Shub-Niggurath. He makes a narrow escape but is in some manner forever changed, the sight of which enough to drive the doctor insane.

——Early drafts:
in a lot of cases there aren’t the biggest differences, although a lot of them were misguidedly still set in the US (Derleth correctly suggested the change of setting it in the UK).
There’s in some instances examples of feedback marked in these texts.

-The Box in the Priory:
(Aka The Room in the castle). A Lovecraftian Pandora’s Box-kind of story. A man is doing some research on the history of America’s colonization when he learns of a kept deity, Byatis, who tormented some of the early settlers. Byatis was supposedly imprisoned in a box (cage) in a priory on a hill. Unable to help himself, he sets out to uncover the truth of the legends.

-The Tomb Herd: (~The Church in the High Street)
A man calls on his friend who’s settled in a town surrounded by dark lore (worship of trans-spatial beings, a temple to Yog-Sothoth in which monstrous rituals had been performed). Looking for his friend, he stumbles upon the notes he left behind & learns about a Yule rite dealing with something buried in the necropolis below a church (cosmic lunacy) & will feel compelled to find out what resides in the crypts.

-The Face in the Desert:
A man hears about a desert in which Abdul Alhazred, author of the Necronomion, supposedly became possessed and decides to investigate. What he finds are pillars/statues of monstrosities, alien letters & the feeling of threatening truths behind the veil of everyday.

-The Horror From the Bridge:
Similar but clearly different. Takes place in Healyville, Massachusetts and speaks of Salem (of none of which Derleth approved). The change to a UK setting was a sensible one.

-The Tower From Yuggoth:
The story of how a man ended up in an institution and lost his sanity; A young man researches strange species said to coexist with man & climbs a tower said to link the two. Fairly similar to the Mine on Yuggoth and firmly planted in Cthulhu mythos.

-The Insects from Shaggai:
See earlier entry with the same title; ultimately not much changed.

-The Church in High Street:
See the tomb herd

[Kostas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was some of the earliest tales written by Ramsey, and in fact the book includes the first drafts of many of these stories submitted to August Derleth, allowing the reader to see the progression from early draft to final, taking into account Derleth's suggestions and demands.

Ramsey was like 16 or so at the time he wrote some of those. It is damn impressive. They are not the best thing to ever happen in mythos tales, but they are all solid, and some of them are quite good and imaginative. The actual rating of this entire book is more like 3.5, but it is such a lovely edition by PS and has enough bonus material to qualify for a round up in my eyes.

I would not hesitate to recommend it to fans of Yog-Sothothery. Keep in mind that there is a companion volume to this, titled Visions from Brichester, which contains some later more mature stories by Campbell, and I would argue against reading one without the other.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this collection definitely has the roughness of a young writer finding their style, there's a charm and creativity to Campbell's style of Lovecraftian stories. He writes in a more direct manner than his idol, but with much of the same imagination that keeps me reading this genre. The first drafts in the back of this edition are intriguing but rarely have enough differences to warrant a second pass. The highlights for me were:
The Insects from Shaggi
The Inhabitant of the Lake
The Plain of Sound
The Moon-Lens

[Han Adcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my first thoughts, on reading "The Horror From the Bridge" (the second tale in this collection) was: who is Peabody and why is their voice drifting out of the window (on page 28)?

The second story, "The Insects from Shaggai" was one of my favourites. The description of the alien beings' odyssey across space was fascinating, and I appreciated the usage of the metaphysical way it was narrated by a character who was also a writer of cosmic horror, being told a local legend to put into a story. It was ironic that the narrator decided the tale wasn't worth writing about... until he experienced the horrors of it himself, that is.

"The Render of the Veils" was another favourite. I liked the idea of a model of a god that confuses the eye and appears to change size depending on how you look at it. This story also explores the idea of how we can never know ourselves truly and sometimes the greatest horror in the universe is our own selves.

"The Inhabitant of the Lake", an epistolary tale, contained nightmarish dream sequences which I enjoyed, as well as the way Ramsey Campbell wove other legends subtly into his tale, e.g. hinting at a cosmic horror explanation for the existence of vampires, and explaining that the ancient covens of witches in England may have been worshipping something far more insidious than Satan...

In "The Mine on Yuggoth", a man is searching for a metal that he could use to become immortal and travels to Yuggoth... but his visit is very poorly timed! I enjoyed the bizarre descriptions of what Edward Taylor viewed in the alien library and the method of passage between that planet and that of Earth.

In "The Will of Stanley Brooke", a man passes away and changes his will at the last minute so that his doppelgänger inherits everything... but who - or what - is the doppelgänger really? I loved the dark, tongue-in-cheek ending of this one. The lawyer was my favourite character because of the calm, decisive way he handled the situation.

"The Moon-Lens" was another one of my favourites. I particularly liked how Ramsey Campbell wove the myth of Shub-Niggurath (The Black Goat with a Thousand Young) with other goat-centric ancient religious practices in Roman and Greek times as well as witches' sabbats. The description of the dimension under the hill was interesting as well, with its weird distortion of distance and bodily proportions.

This edition of the book has "Appendices" -- first drafts of the stories Ramsey Campbell sent to Arkham House before he changed the settings of the tales to the Severnford in England (amongst other things). It was fascinating to read these earlier incarnations and notice what had changed or improved in the final versions.

I loved the idea of the old central myth-cycle in "The Tomb-Herd" -- the idea that other religions (e.g Mayan religion) could be based upon it. I also liked the subtle inclusion of ghostly lights (perhaps based on the supernatural phenomenon of orbs) and the inclusion of the old faerie trick of making humans lose their way by making all roads lead back to where they started. The prose in this was somewhat overdramatic and the words "abominable" and "hideous" cropped up a lot, but I liked the imagery of the statues under the church and the horrible fungi growing out of the graves.

The imagery in "The Face in the Desert" was vivid, especially the description of the desert, though the ending was predictable.

"The Horror From the Bridge" (an early draft of the story with the same title in the main part of the book, set in Massachusetts, America) has a main character called Joseph Peabody. This must be the "Peabody" which cropped up on page 28 earlier in the collection -- presumably a typo.

I actually preferred "The Tower From Yuggoth" to its later version, "The Mine on Yuggoth" as the main character's journey of discovery was longer and more dramatic, so I felt closer to the characters. The descriptions of the scenery in some places was captivating.

The Insects from Shaggai - an earlier version of the same-titled story in the main section of the book - was somewhat overwritten. Ramsey Campbell used the word "clattering" a lot here!

The Church on the High Street is a revised version of "The Tomb Herd," this time set in the English Cotswolds. August Derleth, the head of Arkham House, was given freedom to tweak the story before publication so this was more of a collaboration between Ramsey and August. I actually preferred this version to "The Tomb-Herd" as it had more details and compelling imagery, as well as the inclusion of a mysterious character known as John Clothier, whom I'd have liked to read more about. However, I felt that the ending of this story wasn't as strong as the ending of "The Tomb-Herd."

In the Afterword, the author describes the process behind each of those first drafts and what inspired them, often criticising his early self for making rookie mistakes! Aspiring writers will find this section useful, as well as the copies of the letters August Derleth sent to Ramsey Campbell regarding his story submissions in the early 60s.

[Azirafel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ramsey Campbell es uno de los grandes nombres de la literatura de terror del siglo XX. Ocupa un lugar peculiar, después de todo empieza su carrera muy joven como heredero del Círculo de Lovecraft y la termina como uno de los grandes nombres de la generación contemporánea a Stephen King. Esta situación de bisagra se hace transparente si tenemos en cuenta que pasaron 9 años entre la publicación de sus cuentos más lovecraftianos, y su primera novela. Los primeros, que son los incluídos en este libro, salieron en 1964 y la segunda ya en 1973, apenas un año antes de que debutara Stephen King con Carrie y compartiendo estanterías con gente como Dean R. Koontz o James Herbert.

Dentro de su enorme producción es curioso el peso que siempre ha tenido, precisamente, esa etapa sesentera de juventud en la que se acercó de manera reverencial a lo lovecraftiano. Me atrevo a aventurar que esto se debe sobre todo a la inclusión de sus aportaciones en el canon del juego de rol de La llamada de Cthulhu. Ahí aparecen a principios de los ochenta Glaaki y su libro maldito, las Revelaciones de Glaaki. También los insectos de Shaggai, Brichester o el valle del Severn, con su bosque de Goatswood lleno de misteriosos aquelarres. Por supuesto, que todo suene tan bien como lo anterior no hace más que favorecer el que se reivindique una etapa que destaca sobre todo por la creación de nuevos conceptos, aunque en ocasiones estén emparentados de manera muy clara con modelos muy anteriores.

El verdadero problema es que Ramsey Campbell estaba muy verde cuando escribió estos relatos, recordemos que se publicaron cuando tenía dieciocho años. Técnicamente se ve un autor que tiene potencial, eso es indudable y su carrera posterior lo confirma, pero que aún no sabe manejar bien la escritura. Sus historias se llenan de apartes explicativos que no tienen sentido narrativo, los personajes hablan todos con la misma voz, las historias a menudo caen en valles sin fin y los párrafos descriptivos en ocasiones acaban con la paciencia de cualquiera.

Pero no todo es malo, porque a lo largo del volumen se va observando una mejora progresiva. Los relatos, en general, van siendo cada vez mejores, más originales y menos machacones en su lenguaje y en su veneración de propuestas ajenas. Al final, eso sí, lo que queda es la notable intención de crear un ambiente lovecraftiano diferente en un valle británico que, por desgracia, no aprovecha las relaciones que podían encontrarse con elementos como el folk horror (antes de que tuviese dicho nombre) o la tradición de los M.R. James o Arthur Machen. Ramsey Campbell era tan lovecraftiano que parecía incapaz de mirar más allá de su referente inmediato, hasta el punto de que tuvo que ser August Derleth el que le dijera que se llevara sus relatos al Reino Unido en primer lugar, porque él los ambientaba en Nueva Inglaterra.

En resumen, un conjunto de relatos más bien flojo que, todo sea dicho, va mejorando con el paso de las páginas aunque no brilla más allá de algunas de las ideas que aporta, con todo lo relacionado con la figura del habitante del lago, Glaaki.

[Dan Sihota · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed with this book, The Inhabitant Of The Lake And Less Welcome Tenants. I suspect my disappointment is largely due to the fact that I had high expectations. I have never read anything by Ramsey Campbell before, but he is an author I have heard a great deal about, a huge amount of praise has been heaped on him over the years, unfortunately, this collection of stories is probably not his best work.

There is no single way of defining a horror story, the simplest definition would be: "a story that horrifies the reader". This definition could also include: "a story that scares the reader, makes them feel uncomfortable, leaves them with something to think about afterwards", and so on. Creating a good horror story is not easy, this can involve having a patient build-up, scenes of suspense, witty dialogue, unexpected events, etc. It is for this reason, horror stories can vary greatly. Creating a story which is filled with themes from popular horror stories, such as monsters or aliens, does not in itself make a good horror story, unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of thing Campbell has produced here. The frustrating thing is that these stories themselves are actually well-written, I just wish he had tried to write something a little more original instead of trying to produce something reminiscent of Lovecraft.

One of the reasons I wanted to read this book is because a song I really like, "Still Life" by Iron Maiden, is based on the title story of this book. I cannot think of another example where a story narrated in a song is actually better than the story it is based on.

In defence of Campbell, the fact that these stories were first published when he was 18 years of age might explain why they are a little underwhelming, therefore, this book would not be a fair reflection on Campbell's later works, and I am sure I will get around to reading more of his works in future.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating peak at the early work of Ramsey Campbell. Written when he was 18 years old, the stories are a pastiche of Lovecraft, but they show the promise of later work by Campbell. 4-stars because not only does this edition showcase the early work by a later expert, but also because it includes later-day Campbell's afterward with his thoughts on the early stories, first drafts of some of the stories, tales cut from the initial collection, and the author's correspondence with August Derleth - friend of Lovecraft and publisher of the book. All-and-all a fun look into the start of what would become a fantastic career.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ramsey Campbell is a better writer than H. P. Lovecraft, but certainly not as iconic. His early works, rooted as they are in Lovecraft mythos elements, improve quickly as he ditches the initial reliance on Lovecraftian prose stylings, and moves towards writing in his own plain-spoken but obtuse style. This volume was expanded into the superior "Cold Print," which bridged the gap with more of his post-Lovecraft early stories; by comparison "The Inhabitant of the Lake" suffers due to an overreliance on pastiche.

[Lino · Rating 4 out of 5]

The closest thing to Lovecraft I've ever come across. I love the fact that Campbell is trying to create a new mythos that's inspired by Lovecraft, rather than just regurgitating his monsters. There's a reason Lovecraft generally didn't describe his freaks in great detail, and it's not because he was hoping later writers would fill out his wiki :D

My only criticisms to Campbell are the sparse descriptions, and how generally impotent his horrors are. Hopefully these will get remedied in his later works.

[Arthur B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Campbell was very much learning his craft when he wrote these stories, and so the earliest tales in the collection (in order of writing) are a bit creaky. He'd improve significantly after this, and it's interesting to see him in the process of shedding those old Lovecraftian cobwebs and finding his own voice. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/200...

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Campbell's first book contains his early pastiches of Lovecraft set in the Severn Valley of England. No real surprises here and most of the stories pale in comparison to his later work. The title story is easily the best. I bought the Arkham House edition several years ago for about $100. I'm glad that I have it, but I doubt that I will read the stories again, with the possible exception of the title story.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Приятно съм изненадан. Дебютен сборник на Рамзи Кемпбъл, признато вдъхновен от Лъвкрафт, но ситуиран в Англия и надграждащ доста добре митоса. Десет разказа, остарели като хубаво вино, искрено ми харесаха. Едноименният "The Inhabitant Of The Lake" се оказа вдъхновението зад текста на Still Life на Iron Maiden, което най-после ми помогна да си обясня текста на тази песен 20+ години по-късно.

[Cory Brock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall these are decent Lovecraft pastiches, but they fall a bit flat more often than not. Campbell does at least acknowledge their shortcomings in the afterword, but that doesn’t change the fact that each story, in his words, “regurgitates Lovecraftian tropes.”

[steven duane · Rating 5 out of 5]

And to think he was so young when he wrote it. Amazing.

[Regan]

A man in the Amsterdam Sloterdijk train station Starbucks at 8am

[Louis Yank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best group of Lovecraft pastiches written by a teenager

[Taneli Repo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirjoitan tästä Kuiskaus pimeässä nro 2/2023:ssa.

[Seregil of Rhiminee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Inhabitant of the Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants (PS Publishing, 2011) is a perfect new edition of The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants (Arkham House, 1964).

I'm not going to write a long review about this new edition, but I'll mention that everybody, who has read H.P. Lovecraft and loves his Cthulhu stories, should read this book.

S.T. Joshi has said about Campbell that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood." I agree with this statement, because Campbell's Lovecraftian stories and other horror short stories are excellent.

In my opinion this new edition is an excellent short story collection.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reprint paperback of a very very early Ramsey Campbell collection consisting mostly of Lovecraft pastiches. I don’t particularly get on with old HP’s style of writing even if I think the mythos is fun so consequently a lot of these work better for me than what they’re imitating. Campbell’s later very signature feel and style is absent here but definitely worth a (re)visit.

The Room in the Castle - 8/10
The Horror from the Bridge - 8/10
The Insects from Shaggai - 7/10
The Render of the Veils - 8/10
The Inhabitant of the Lake - 8/10
The Plain of Sound - 7/10
The Return of the Witch - 6/10
The Will of Stanley Brooke - 5/10
The Mine on Yuggoth - 7/10
The Moon Lens - 8/10

[Debra]

Recommended author and book as noted in Chapter 9 of Berkley's 1983 paperback edition of Danse Macabre.

[Chuck McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic collection from one of the absolute masters of modern horror. Highly recommended to all fans of horror, but especially if you love Lovecraftian fiction, or are looking for a great starting point to dip your toe into the work of Ramsey Campell.

[Eric David Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inhabitant of the Lake by Ramsey Campbell

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few stories were a little rough - not sure if RC was just finding his voice, or if he was trying TOO hard to be like Lovecraft, but once the stories get good, they're really fun.