What do you think?
Rate this book
Macabre Stories
This collection brings together the unique stories from H. P. Lovecraft's formative years, ranging from the petrifying 'Dagon' through the playful 'Ibid' to the subtle horror of 'The Music of Erich Zann.' Featuring ancient powers, long-buried secrets, and cosmic terrors, Macabre Stories demonstrates the range and depth of Lovecraft's writing.
Sometimes shocking, sometimes horrifying, but always engaging, these tales are an impressive example of the master of horror's ability to entertain.
Sometimes shocking, sometimes horrifying, but always engaging, these tales are an impressive example of the master of horror's ability to entertain.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
116 people are currently reading
460 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,040 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
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
September 25, 2022
My wife took this amongst others to read while overseas. I had finished the Cline archeology book I brought and was going to sift through my knapsack for the next selection when my wife said she wanted to take a nap. She had this lying there, not exactly beckoning. But still.
I was hardly captivated but I did proceed cover to cover. The non horror/weird pieces (Ibid and the Doctor Johnson reminisce) are a tentative peek into Borges territory. My favorite story was The Picture in the House. I had read that and few others before. Most of these are fairly formulaic: each overwritten with a pseudo erudite protagonist, some ancient evil etcetera etcetera.
I was hardly captivated but I did proceed cover to cover. The non horror/weird pieces (Ibid and the Doctor Johnson reminisce) are a tentative peek into Borges territory. My favorite story was The Picture in the House. I had read that and few others before. Most of these are fairly formulaic: each overwritten with a pseudo erudite protagonist, some ancient evil etcetera etcetera.
February 11, 2022
Lovecraft got his start as a 'weird fiction' writer, before he got his own adjective after his death, whose creepy short stories were published in the flourishing pulp magazines of the early 20th century; this book is a collection of them. These are the earliest stories in this mega-collection, and it tells, in terms of the somewhat unformed style, short length, and eclectic subject matter. Yet there are still some absolute gems, especially 'The Temple', which is my favourite, and 'Dagon,' which is a proto-Cthulhu.
Given the often knee-jerk dismissal of Lovecraft by contemporary critics and readers for his admittedly atrocious racism, or "racialism" - or whatever you want to call it - I think it is worth meditating on his relationship to politics briefly. I am not saying that Lovecraft is "of his time" - though he is - as if that excuses his extreme prejudice to non-whites, but it's more that there are more layers to it than just that. First off, Lovecraft is essentially racist to *everyone*. Yeah this sounds like the neckbeard excuse of "I'm not racist, I'm just a misanthrope," but in Lovecraft's case it might actually be true. Lovecraft despises, in no particular order: Italians, Hispanics, Africans, Asians, the Irish, Catholics, Eastern Europeans, immigrants (all kinds and colours), the poor, rural ignorants, manual labourers, Germans, Russians, sailors, anarchists, socialists, liberals, and know-it-alls, especially scientists.
Secondly, Lovecraft was just a huge, capital L, Loser. His dad went nuts, his family - descended from aristocrats and snobbish towards the lower orders - were essentially broke, he was overly-close with his mum, had continually failed relationships with women, couldn't stand other people or crowds and his only real friends were other nerds and his pets, and died relatively young, as a professional if not creative failure. Attaching some significance to Lovecraft's racism is according him way too much respect: he was the Columbine shooter or 4chan poster of his time - a mixture of extreme verbose racism alongside total social immaturity and awkwardness.
This is not to excuse his racism or to claim he is not "problematic". Lovecraft is most certainly of the Right: but it is not the Right of Richard Spencer, Huxley, or Hitler. It is neither a coherent White nationalism (too many bad whites, as mentioned above), a sincere eugenicism (Lovecraft detests science and soulless atheism), nor a fascist futurism (dislikes Progress, the mob). Rather Lovecraft is a descendant of the nineteenth-century Conservative critics of Political Economy, such as Carlyle, fused with a Nietzschean disenchantment with the way in which modern science seeks to strip all wonder - or horror - from humanity's place in the cosmos. He is in this sense a right-wing anti-capitalist, and much of his writing can be charitably interpreted through this lens, much as Marx accepted elements of Carlyle or Müller's critique of the dehumanising elements of liberal economy without accepting their philosophical-political solutions aimed at retarding or reversing the bourgeois revolution. Lovecraft in fact is at his best when satirising the modern-minded know-it-all middle class sceptic, who patronises the lower orders and their silly "superstitions" before getting painfully bitten in the arse in the story's denouément as the cosmic, unknowable, presences in the universe make themselves felt. This is literally the structure of nearly all his best short stories and novellas and is a fitting metaphor for the way in which the horrors of colonialism and untrammelled scientific "progress" lashed to the murder-machine of capitalism and imperialism generate their comeuppance for the bourgeois West.
Given the often knee-jerk dismissal of Lovecraft by contemporary critics and readers for his admittedly atrocious racism, or "racialism" - or whatever you want to call it - I think it is worth meditating on his relationship to politics briefly. I am not saying that Lovecraft is "of his time" - though he is - as if that excuses his extreme prejudice to non-whites, but it's more that there are more layers to it than just that. First off, Lovecraft is essentially racist to *everyone*. Yeah this sounds like the neckbeard excuse of "I'm not racist, I'm just a misanthrope," but in Lovecraft's case it might actually be true. Lovecraft despises, in no particular order: Italians, Hispanics, Africans, Asians, the Irish, Catholics, Eastern Europeans, immigrants (all kinds and colours), the poor, rural ignorants, manual labourers, Germans, Russians, sailors, anarchists, socialists, liberals, and know-it-alls, especially scientists.
Secondly, Lovecraft was just a huge, capital L, Loser. His dad went nuts, his family - descended from aristocrats and snobbish towards the lower orders - were essentially broke, he was overly-close with his mum, had continually failed relationships with women, couldn't stand other people or crowds and his only real friends were other nerds and his pets, and died relatively young, as a professional if not creative failure. Attaching some significance to Lovecraft's racism is according him way too much respect: he was the Columbine shooter or 4chan poster of his time - a mixture of extreme verbose racism alongside total social immaturity and awkwardness.
This is not to excuse his racism or to claim he is not "problematic". Lovecraft is most certainly of the Right: but it is not the Right of Richard Spencer, Huxley, or Hitler. It is neither a coherent White nationalism (too many bad whites, as mentioned above), a sincere eugenicism (Lovecraft detests science and soulless atheism), nor a fascist futurism (dislikes Progress, the mob). Rather Lovecraft is a descendant of the nineteenth-century Conservative critics of Political Economy, such as Carlyle, fused with a Nietzschean disenchantment with the way in which modern science seeks to strip all wonder - or horror - from humanity's place in the cosmos. He is in this sense a right-wing anti-capitalist, and much of his writing can be charitably interpreted through this lens, much as Marx accepted elements of Carlyle or Müller's critique of the dehumanising elements of liberal economy without accepting their philosophical-political solutions aimed at retarding or reversing the bourgeois revolution. Lovecraft in fact is at his best when satirising the modern-minded know-it-all middle class sceptic, who patronises the lower orders and their silly "superstitions" before getting painfully bitten in the arse in the story's denouément as the cosmic, unknowable, presences in the universe make themselves felt. This is literally the structure of nearly all his best short stories and novellas and is a fitting metaphor for the way in which the horrors of colonialism and untrammelled scientific "progress" lashed to the murder-machine of capitalism and imperialism generate their comeuppance for the bourgeois West.
December 12, 2020
Reminds me a lot of Poe.
December 3, 2020
While I totally respect him as a classic, American-Gothic writer, he's definitely not my favorite. He's a bit verbose for my taste. I really enjoyed the actual story lines, but he goes a little crazy with some of the descriptions, and sometimes he takes a while to get to his point.
January 11, 2025
2.5
Consistently good? No.
Consistently racist? Absolutely.
Consistently good? No.
Consistently racist? Absolutely.
September 2, 2024
Macabre Stories
All stories down below.
Although Lovecraft's controversies are not unknown in the slightest, I still wanted to give a fair warning; H.P. Lovecraft is known to have been very openly racist, a white supremacist, xenophobic, an Anglophile, he opposed democracy, and only later in life he became a socialist.
Some of his views are very evident in some of his stories, and I will not be discussing every instance of this, but I will mention the times it was so evident it took away from the story as a whole, please consider this your trigger warning. If you are not willing or able to separate art and artist, I would very much consider skipping this author altogether.
3,5 stars rounded up. I really wanted to give this 5 stars but I just know I'll slap myself around the head when I get to Lovecraft's more profound work later. I was debating on how to actually review a bundle of 20-ish short stories, but came to the conclusion that I should probably just lay them out one by one.
The Tomb
Started off amazingly strong, absolutely adored this story and its ambiguity. Very well written. I love the use of narration in Lovecraft's work, almost nothing is a direct telling of a story, most of what I've read in this collection is either in manuscripts, letters or someone else telling a story. I loved the ambiguous ending as well.
Dagon
Keeping up with the Tomb, I was astonished by how great this was for me. A morphine addicted soldier finds himself floating to a hellscape, very gory for the time as well.
A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson
It took me a while to realise this was satire, but I couldn't enjoy it for being so. It felt like Lovecraft tried to make fun of himself but it did not quite land for me, because even in satire he seems like a prick.
Sweet Ermengarde or, The Heart of a Country Girl
Both this and his last story was published under a different pseudonym, maybe because both are meant to be comedy pieces, rather than horror. It's a romantic drama about Ethyl and her romantic escapades as well as her mortgage. Confusing but not off-putting in any way, just not expected from this writer.
Memory
With just over one page long, there's not a lot to say about this as a work completed. It's philosophical in nature and it really did grab me for what it tried to tell, as short as it was. Of I have to relate this to anything I'm familiar with, I would say this reminded me of r/horrorwritingprompts or r/twosentencehorror. Don't @ me.
Old Bugs
Not my favourite. Old Bugs is a cautionary tale about substance abuse whose "twist" you see coming miles away. Then again, who am I, maybe this is a parody as well and I'm just too dense to see it.
The Transition of Juan Romero
This! This is what I was expecting going into Lovecraft! Mines that run too deep to hit the bottom and mysterious sounds drawing people into the abyss. That's what I'm here for man! Give me "I dare not tell you what I saw" or "Too ghastly to describe"! More please.
The Terrible Old Man
It's very plain and simple. This story is very xenophobic. Lovecraft's distaste for "foreigners" coming to New England is evident and he seems to be very happy to kill them off in this story.
The Temple
My absolute favourite in this bundle. A found manuscript of a German U-boat commander, this story tells of a crew gone crazy after sinking another boat. War horrors mixed with the cosmic supernatural and a slow descent into madness, everything I really wish for in a Lovecraft story. If you read anything, please consider this and The Tomb.
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
Also known as "The White Ape" this story tells of "tainted ancestry" and "things you'd rather not find out". I skimmed this over as soon as I read the sentence "A grey city of white apes ruled by a white god". Pass.
The Street
A manifestly racist story about Russian immigrants in the land of the free, home of the brave. Absolutely not worth anyone's time.
The Picture in the House
This story strikes me to be one of the few realistic horror tales I've read so far, creepy guy, creepy house, creepy climax. It was a nice read, not too difficult in language either.
The Tree
"And they were roommates!". On a serious note I loved the "life finds a way" aspect of this story, not scary but actually rather heart-warming for me, a good story with a good narrative!
The Music of Erich Zann
Absolutely classic. Have I told you about the "I could never describe the horrors I've witnessed" yet? I have of course but that does not undo this story of any praise I want to give it. I'm partial to everything music related so guess who biased? I am. Loved it, every bit of it.
In the Vault
Apparently this story was "too gruesome" to be published for a long time. Of course, this means nothing to us with our horror and splatterpunk books in todays day and age, but it is rather amusing to read what would have been considered too gruesome in 1925. I liked it! It felt simple in a good way, not too much overarching theme or buried lessons.
The Very Old Folk
The very old folk is I believe a letter from Lovecraft to a fellow horror writer in which he describes a dream of horrors in the roman empire. I can't with those names man they all blend together, probably can barely recount one of ??? characters. This also is not finished, as he just woke up and wrote down what he dreamt about.
The Evil Clergymen
This story kind of feels like an early possession story of sorts to me. It was (as are most) very short and so I was not too invested, but I could see where this was going. It's not too difficult, not too special, but a good addition to this collection in my opinion.
The Book
Another unfinished short story in this bundle. I haven't got too much to say about this, any more and my review of it will probably be longer than the story itself. You can absolutely miss it, yet you don't have much to lose if you read it either.
Ibid
A "mock biography" of a roman scholar Ibidus, this story tells about the travels of his skull after his demise. I wouldn't consider this piece to be funny, but it is pretty light-hearted of a story.
All stories down below.
Although Lovecraft's controversies are not unknown in the slightest, I still wanted to give a fair warning; H.P. Lovecraft is known to have been very openly racist, a white supremacist, xenophobic, an Anglophile, he opposed democracy, and only later in life he became a socialist.
Some of his views are very evident in some of his stories, and I will not be discussing every instance of this, but I will mention the times it was so evident it took away from the story as a whole, please consider this your trigger warning. If you are not willing or able to separate art and artist, I would very much consider skipping this author altogether.
3,5 stars rounded up. I really wanted to give this 5 stars but I just know I'll slap myself around the head when I get to Lovecraft's more profound work later. I was debating on how to actually review a bundle of 20-ish short stories, but came to the conclusion that I should probably just lay them out one by one.
The Tomb
Started off amazingly strong, absolutely adored this story and its ambiguity. Very well written. I love the use of narration in Lovecraft's work, almost nothing is a direct telling of a story, most of what I've read in this collection is either in manuscripts, letters or someone else telling a story. I loved the ambiguous ending as well.
Dagon
Keeping up with the Tomb, I was astonished by how great this was for me. A morphine addicted soldier finds himself floating to a hellscape, very gory for the time as well.
A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson
It took me a while to realise this was satire, but I couldn't enjoy it for being so. It felt like Lovecraft tried to make fun of himself but it did not quite land for me, because even in satire he seems like a prick.
Sweet Ermengarde or, The Heart of a Country Girl
Both this and his last story was published under a different pseudonym, maybe because both are meant to be comedy pieces, rather than horror. It's a romantic drama about Ethyl and her romantic escapades as well as her mortgage. Confusing but not off-putting in any way, just not expected from this writer.
Memory
With just over one page long, there's not a lot to say about this as a work completed. It's philosophical in nature and it really did grab me for what it tried to tell, as short as it was. Of I have to relate this to anything I'm familiar with, I would say this reminded me of r/horrorwritingprompts or r/twosentencehorror. Don't @ me.
Old Bugs
Not my favourite. Old Bugs is a cautionary tale about substance abuse whose "twist" you see coming miles away. Then again, who am I, maybe this is a parody as well and I'm just too dense to see it.
The Transition of Juan Romero
This! This is what I was expecting going into Lovecraft! Mines that run too deep to hit the bottom and mysterious sounds drawing people into the abyss. That's what I'm here for man! Give me "I dare not tell you what I saw" or "Too ghastly to describe"! More please.
The Terrible Old Man
It's very plain and simple. This story is very xenophobic. Lovecraft's distaste for "foreigners" coming to New England is evident and he seems to be very happy to kill them off in this story.
The Temple
My absolute favourite in this bundle. A found manuscript of a German U-boat commander, this story tells of a crew gone crazy after sinking another boat. War horrors mixed with the cosmic supernatural and a slow descent into madness, everything I really wish for in a Lovecraft story. If you read anything, please consider this and The Tomb.
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
Also known as "The White Ape" this story tells of "tainted ancestry" and "things you'd rather not find out". I skimmed this over as soon as I read the sentence "A grey city of white apes ruled by a white god". Pass.
The Street
A manifestly racist story about Russian immigrants in the land of the free, home of the brave. Absolutely not worth anyone's time.
The Picture in the House
This story strikes me to be one of the few realistic horror tales I've read so far, creepy guy, creepy house, creepy climax. It was a nice read, not too difficult in language either.
The Tree
"And they were roommates!". On a serious note I loved the "life finds a way" aspect of this story, not scary but actually rather heart-warming for me, a good story with a good narrative!
The Music of Erich Zann
Absolutely classic. Have I told you about the "I could never describe the horrors I've witnessed" yet? I have of course but that does not undo this story of any praise I want to give it. I'm partial to everything music related so guess who biased? I am. Loved it, every bit of it.
In the Vault
Apparently this story was "too gruesome" to be published for a long time. Of course, this means nothing to us with our horror and splatterpunk books in todays day and age, but it is rather amusing to read what would have been considered too gruesome in 1925. I liked it! It felt simple in a good way, not too much overarching theme or buried lessons.
The Very Old Folk
The very old folk is I believe a letter from Lovecraft to a fellow horror writer in which he describes a dream of horrors in the roman empire. I can't with those names man they all blend together, probably can barely recount one of ??? characters. This also is not finished, as he just woke up and wrote down what he dreamt about.
The Evil Clergymen
This story kind of feels like an early possession story of sorts to me. It was (as are most) very short and so I was not too invested, but I could see where this was going. It's not too difficult, not too special, but a good addition to this collection in my opinion.
The Book
Another unfinished short story in this bundle. I haven't got too much to say about this, any more and my review of it will probably be longer than the story itself. You can absolutely miss it, yet you don't have much to lose if you read it either.
Ibid
A "mock biography" of a roman scholar Ibidus, this story tells about the travels of his skull after his demise. I wouldn't consider this piece to be funny, but it is pretty light-hearted of a story.
February 26, 2024
This was a challenge for me. The stories are great, there were some that had me holding my breath while reading, however the writing style of HP Lovecraft was not to my taste. I usually like old written language but i personally think Lovecraft takes quite a long time to get to the point. There had been times where I zoned out but thankfully I was able to visualise the stories that he was telling.
February 27, 2023
It's so horrifying and full of antiquity that I can't even describe it.
September 19, 2025
TL:DR Half of the stories in this are bangers, the other half range from just alright to complete wastes of time. Top 5 stories (in order) are, In The Vault, The Music of Erich Zann, The Temple, The Transition of Juan Romero, and The Picture in the House.
Beginning to read this book in March is what marked the beginning of this account. This book, and the short stories within, started me on a journey of reading more and appreciating text like I never have so I do owe this book a lot. Unfortunately, I read most of it in early March and kind of let it sit on the shelf after a vacation only to forget about it. Reading a little more here and there, but never much. Today having finally finished it I want to take a moment to give a proper thought to each short story with 1-2 sentences each and my personal score out of 10, so here goes...
The Tomb (7) - Simple story that tells a strong narrative with good use of language. Its uncomplicated, but builds an effective story.
Dagon (5) - Drags a bit, but its still a fun read.
A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson (3) - Not only difficult to read due to how it is written, but also truly very boring. Maybe I just don't get it.
Sweet Ermengarde or, The Heart of a Country Girl (6) - Fun, but drags. Doesn't feel like it resolves as strongly as you assume it will.
Memory (6) - Shortest story in the book. Doesn't overstay its welcome, but its too simple to love.
Old Bugs (6) - Memorable story, but didn't quite wow me. Still fun.
The Transition of Juan Romero (8) - Strong writing that pulls in inventive and unique supernatural elements. The discomfort and confusion created in the story is well done and satisfying. The setting is also fun.
The Terrible Old Man (5) - Simplistic scary story you might tell at a campfire. Its fun, but the story is tired.
The Temple (8) - This is probably the most "Lovecraftian" piece of literature in this collection, mysterious, ancient, cyclopean, ruins that are underwater. What really makes this one fun however is our main character, I can only appreciate his unwavering hard headedness and outlook.
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and his Family (7) - Upon a second read through I enjoyed this story a lot more. Its long, but the pay off is well earned and fun.
The Street (4) - Boring and longer than it should be.
The Picture in the House (7) - Unsettling and tense. Very strong writing and a simple but entertaining story.
The Tree (6) - Not exactly to my taste, felt inspired by fantasy. I think it was fun though.
The Music of Erich Zann (9) - Awesome concept, wrought with delusions and fantastic description.
In the Vault (10) - If you read any story, read this one. Best horror, pay off, and writing in the whole book by far.
The Very Old Folk (4) - Simple story that drags the worst out of any in the book. Suffers severely due to its length and simplicity.
The Evil Clergyman (6) - Simple and fun, suffers from the same problem Memory does.
The Book (5) - Very cerebral story, doesn't overstay its welcome.
Ibid (4) - Simple story, not really all that fun though.
Beginning to read this book in March is what marked the beginning of this account. This book, and the short stories within, started me on a journey of reading more and appreciating text like I never have so I do owe this book a lot. Unfortunately, I read most of it in early March and kind of let it sit on the shelf after a vacation only to forget about it. Reading a little more here and there, but never much. Today having finally finished it I want to take a moment to give a proper thought to each short story with 1-2 sentences each and my personal score out of 10, so here goes...
The Tomb (7) - Simple story that tells a strong narrative with good use of language. Its uncomplicated, but builds an effective story.
Dagon (5) - Drags a bit, but its still a fun read.
A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson (3) - Not only difficult to read due to how it is written, but also truly very boring. Maybe I just don't get it.
Sweet Ermengarde or, The Heart of a Country Girl (6) - Fun, but drags. Doesn't feel like it resolves as strongly as you assume it will.
Memory (6) - Shortest story in the book. Doesn't overstay its welcome, but its too simple to love.
Old Bugs (6) - Memorable story, but didn't quite wow me. Still fun.
The Transition of Juan Romero (8) - Strong writing that pulls in inventive and unique supernatural elements. The discomfort and confusion created in the story is well done and satisfying. The setting is also fun.
The Terrible Old Man (5) - Simplistic scary story you might tell at a campfire. Its fun, but the story is tired.
The Temple (8) - This is probably the most "Lovecraftian" piece of literature in this collection, mysterious, ancient, cyclopean, ruins that are underwater. What really makes this one fun however is our main character, I can only appreciate his unwavering hard headedness and outlook.
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and his Family (7) - Upon a second read through I enjoyed this story a lot more. Its long, but the pay off is well earned and fun.
The Street (4) - Boring and longer than it should be.
The Picture in the House (7) - Unsettling and tense. Very strong writing and a simple but entertaining story.
The Tree (6) - Not exactly to my taste, felt inspired by fantasy. I think it was fun though.
The Music of Erich Zann (9) - Awesome concept, wrought with delusions and fantastic description.
In the Vault (10) - If you read any story, read this one. Best horror, pay off, and writing in the whole book by far.
The Very Old Folk (4) - Simple story that drags the worst out of any in the book. Suffers severely due to its length and simplicity.
The Evil Clergyman (6) - Simple and fun, suffers from the same problem Memory does.
The Book (5) - Very cerebral story, doesn't overstay its welcome.
Ibid (4) - Simple story, not really all that fun though.
March 30, 2023
Precursor short stories before the more well-known bulk of his work. Classic examples of general creepiness, but hard to put down. As mesmerizing to people as a swaying cobra is to birds and other prey.
March 7, 2018
Esperaba encontrarme con los horrores cósmicos de los dioses que albergan el universo macabro de Lovecraft, pero en lugar de eso me encuentro, en su mayoría, con cuentos que hoy en día no encajan en el terror cósmico, tomando en cuenta que casi cada uno de los relatos de este libro cuentan con casi 100 años de vida, creo que no es sólo digno de admiración sino de los más grandes respetos que un hombre haya logrado redactar cosas tan adelantadas a su epoca.
Con respecto a los que sí son parte de su afamado universo de terror cósmico me encuentro un poco decepcionado en gran parte por las pinturas que estos cuentos han isnpirado y que hicieron volar mi imaginación mucho más que las letras de Lovecraft, sin embargo mis expectativas fueron excedidas y satisfacidas en "La Llamada de Cthulhu", "La música de Erich Zann", "La Llave de Plata" y el repuganante "Hechos relativos a la última hora de Arthur Jermyn y su familia."
Sin duda un buen libro para iniciarse en Lovecraft.
Con respecto a los que sí son parte de su afamado universo de terror cósmico me encuentro un poco decepcionado en gran parte por las pinturas que estos cuentos han isnpirado y que hicieron volar mi imaginación mucho más que las letras de Lovecraft, sin embargo mis expectativas fueron excedidas y satisfacidas en "La Llamada de Cthulhu", "La música de Erich Zann", "La Llave de Plata" y el repuganante "Hechos relativos a la última hora de Arthur Jermyn y su familia."
Sin duda un buen libro para iniciarse en Lovecraft.
February 27, 2023
"Indescribable" "unable to describe" "no words can describe".
Those seems to be the favorite phrases of this book. At least once in almost every single short story is something "undescribable".
Interesting take on descriptions in writing.
Other than that, I have nothing else to say. Very moderate/average book. Could be scary at a bonfire?
Those seems to be the favorite phrases of this book. At least once in almost every single short story is something "undescribable".
Interesting take on descriptions in writing.
Other than that, I have nothing else to say. Very moderate/average book. Could be scary at a bonfire?
March 2, 2018
Al principio no me terminaba por adentrar al mundo de Lovecraft, pero los cuentos de las últimas páginas me fascinaron. Lástima por los errores de edición y de gramática de la editorial, quizás sin éstos, lo hubiese disfrutado más.
July 12, 2024
i read this book first in the collection of hp lovecraft works. macabre stories is right up my ally so i enjoyed it overall. a couple racist pieces in there tho 😑
the tomb is an iconic piece but it kinda bored me.
dagon was fire. underwater horror and gore. the typical lovecraftian “what i saw was so bad you literally have no idea” lol
a reminiscence of dr. samuel johnson is a satire i guess? it was lovecraft making fun of himself/ making references to jabs ppl make at him. lovecraft has a strange sense of humor. i wasn’t really a fan.
sweet ermengarde or, the heart of a country girl lovecraft published under a different name. it’s different from a lot of lovecraft work and is kinda a love story/ girl boss. not really for me
memory is a philosophical tale of life on earth after humans. either very hopeful or a horror story depending on how u look at it. i really enjoyed it.
old bugs was not published, it was actually a letter lovecraft wrote to his friend as a warning against alchohol. i didn’t care for it maybe just because i can’t relate. also maybe lovecraft should’ve been worried about other things.. like not being racist 😗 anyways
the transitions of juan romero, lovecraft kept from being published his whole life. some parts feel too developed while others feel underdeveloped. racist 😒
the terrible old man is a lil horror story. i enjoyed it.
the temple was fire. loved the parts w the bodies under the water staring back at them.
facts concerning the late arthur jeremy and his family was great other than the racism 😒. themes of tainted ancestry, knowledge you are better off without, and a reality which human understanding finds intolerable.
the street was xenophobic bullshit 😒
the picture in the house was a little spooky story. it was okay.
the tree is green mythology which is unique for lovecraft. i loved this story and the vibes. it’s technically not really a good story cause if u google it u can see some info lovecraft came out w about this story but it just wasn’t communicated at all in the story itself lol. like it makes the story more interesting but if lovecraft didn’t come out and say that happened we would have no way of knowing like in the story he just never says that 😭 but i still liked it. whatever.
the music of erich zass, more lovecraftian “dude what i’m hearing is so crazy like you guys could never even understand” lol. i enjoyed the buildup but something was missing for me.
in the vault has gothic vibes that remind me of edgar allan poe. a karma horror story. i enjoyed it.
the very old folk is a dream lovecraft had that he wrote to a friend. took place in spain - ancient greece. he’s xenophobic even in his dreams lol 👎🏼
the evil clergyman was another dream lovecraft had that he wrote about to a friend. lots of lovectaftian devices. possession story? i thought it was okay.
the book is actually an incomplete piece (late 1933?) but i’m obsessed. i love it and the fact that it’s incomplete. “for he who passes the gateway always wins a shadow, and never again can he be alone.”
ibid is a biography satire. i think history buffs would really like this and the name dropping lol but this piece wasn’t really for me.
the tomb is an iconic piece but it kinda bored me.
dagon was fire. underwater horror and gore. the typical lovecraftian “what i saw was so bad you literally have no idea” lol
a reminiscence of dr. samuel johnson is a satire i guess? it was lovecraft making fun of himself/ making references to jabs ppl make at him. lovecraft has a strange sense of humor. i wasn’t really a fan.
sweet ermengarde or, the heart of a country girl lovecraft published under a different name. it’s different from a lot of lovecraft work and is kinda a love story/ girl boss. not really for me
memory is a philosophical tale of life on earth after humans. either very hopeful or a horror story depending on how u look at it. i really enjoyed it.
old bugs was not published, it was actually a letter lovecraft wrote to his friend as a warning against alchohol. i didn’t care for it maybe just because i can’t relate. also maybe lovecraft should’ve been worried about other things.. like not being racist 😗 anyways
the transitions of juan romero, lovecraft kept from being published his whole life. some parts feel too developed while others feel underdeveloped. racist 😒
the terrible old man is a lil horror story. i enjoyed it.
the temple was fire. loved the parts w the bodies under the water staring back at them.
facts concerning the late arthur jeremy and his family was great other than the racism 😒. themes of tainted ancestry, knowledge you are better off without, and a reality which human understanding finds intolerable.
the street was xenophobic bullshit 😒
the picture in the house was a little spooky story. it was okay.
the tree is green mythology which is unique for lovecraft. i loved this story and the vibes. it’s technically not really a good story cause if u google it u can see some info lovecraft came out w about this story but it just wasn’t communicated at all in the story itself lol. like it makes the story more interesting but if lovecraft didn’t come out and say that happened we would have no way of knowing like in the story he just never says that 😭 but i still liked it. whatever.
the music of erich zass, more lovecraftian “dude what i’m hearing is so crazy like you guys could never even understand” lol. i enjoyed the buildup but something was missing for me.
in the vault has gothic vibes that remind me of edgar allan poe. a karma horror story. i enjoyed it.
the very old folk is a dream lovecraft had that he wrote to a friend. took place in spain - ancient greece. he’s xenophobic even in his dreams lol 👎🏼
the evil clergyman was another dream lovecraft had that he wrote about to a friend. lots of lovectaftian devices. possession story? i thought it was okay.
the book is actually an incomplete piece (late 1933?) but i’m obsessed. i love it and the fact that it’s incomplete. “for he who passes the gateway always wins a shadow, and never again can he be alone.”
ibid is a biography satire. i think history buffs would really like this and the name dropping lol but this piece wasn’t really for me.
December 31, 2023
It feels bad to give it 3 stars, since Lovecraft is such an unique writer. But some of these stories are not worth reading in my opinion. All the stories in this book are fairly short but still take quite a bit of energy to read. For me, it was a nice ritual to read 1 of them each time and ponder about the story. If I can recommend only 3 stories of this book it'd be: the temple, in the vault, and the evil clergyman. All of them are very odd, but carry some mystique and horror. They're also not too heavy on the "undescribable" and "unspeakable" as Lovecraft is known for.
I do think this whole book is worth a read for fans of this genre/time period. But for people just interested but not committed, it'd recommend those 3!
I do think this whole book is worth a read for fans of this genre/time period. But for people just interested but not committed, it'd recommend those 3!
January 23, 2023
I definitively see why Lovecraft's works are so popular. This is one of the extraordinarily rare authors managing to actually evoke emotions from my numb spirit.
That being said, this felt very faintly repetitive at times, although I mostly ignored it, given that these stories are still from the same author and to be seen within the same flair.
But again - I don't want to end this review on a low note, because this collection is anything but ill-written - it was charming nevertheless and I will gladly continue reading Lovecraft!
That being said, this felt very faintly repetitive at times, although I mostly ignored it, given that these stories are still from the same author and to be seen within the same flair.
But again - I don't want to end this review on a low note, because this collection is anything but ill-written - it was charming nevertheless and I will gladly continue reading Lovecraft!
January 6, 2025
An interesting collection that represents Lovecraft's early work as a writer. A large variety of styles and tones (the Poe-inspired Gothic horrors such as "The Tomb" or more modern "The Temple" are the best). Many of them work, some don't. Some stories highlight Lovecraft's xenophobia ("The Street" reads like a Twitter red-pill manifesto), but I think there's value in recognizing his issues, especially when considering how we ought to respond to his literary impact.
February 9, 2022
Una excelente compilación de historias. Cada una de ellas te intriga en su suspenso único, pues nunca sabes qué secretos revelará el final. Ciertamente, el terror cósmico de Lovecraft te enloquece.
Read
July 10, 2024The Music of Erich Zann ✅
In the Vault ✅
The Very Old Folk ✅
The Evil Clergymen ✅
The Book ✅
Ibid ✅
In the Vault ✅
The Very Old Folk ✅
The Evil Clergymen ✅
The Book ✅
Ibid ✅
September 19, 2024
This collection could be four stars for having two of my favorite Lovecraft stories, “Dagon” and “the Temple”. But loses a star for having “the Street” which is not only horribly boring, but also extraordinarily racist, even for Lovecraft and the time it was written.
January 27, 2024
Hay algo en sus cuentos que no hizo clic conmigo, un par me parecieron extraordinarios, ¿será que en estos tiempos ya hay cosas más macabras?
August 12, 2025
I got this box set of HP Lovecraft because you know I'm getting more into reading and everyone loves HP Lovecraft so I was like okay. I will probably love him too. I don't really know like what order you're supposed to read them in. I looked it up and people kept saying like different things. it was kind of like Sherlock Holmes where people would be like. oh, it doesn't really matter what order you read them in which by the way with Sherlock Holmes that's actually not even correct. it definitely does matter what order you read them in. but I was like you know what. I'll just read it in the order that it came in. so this is the first one in this box that I think it actually is like the first one in his like series as well. just cuz I know like the tomb is like the first story in this one and that was like his first if not one of his first stories
this was a great introduction to like the world of HP Lovecraft. it's literally all just like short stories, but all the short stories like are pretty good. well most of them are pretty good. I usually end up liking the ones that follow like one person and then sort of have like a twist at the end. like I really liked the one with. let me see what it's called. oh, I really liked in the vault. I thought that was really good. it kind of reminded me of the tomb and I thought it was like the same place or something cuz I know like some of these stories are connected right? or maybe like connected. you know later down the line. but no it was totally different and I really liked in the wall. it was really creepy. I liked the one with the music guy and like how this dude like looked out the window and it was like nothing was there. I don't know that was really weird but I liked it
I think that like goes in general for like most of the book is like I liked what was going on. I didn't really get what was happening well like I did like I sort of got it but I felt like I was definitely like missing something like I didn't know like the reason why things were happening yet. I know there's like a whole thing with like Cthulhu and dagon and there's like evil c stuff cuz there's also like a reoccurring thing where it's like raining all the time like around these you know gruesome or horrifying like experiences
I think probably like the most interesting story. here is the one with that guy who is way too proud to be a German. I think cuz it's like during when was his printed actually or when would when did he write this? I was about to say during world war II. I don't know if it actually was during world war II. I don't know who this guy is maybe world war? I don't really know. it was definitely during a war because the Germans were like scared of the Americans right but like him or like him and his crew like going into sort of mania and then him deciding to just like kill them all or let them all die. and then you know finding this underwater sea like town and you know like we as the reader don't get to see like what's inside the temple of that town that he like builds up like crazy. but we know like it's something probably horrific and I don't know. I think that one was actually really funny too. I feel like that's like the one story that was really trying to be funny cuz he just kept being like. oh, I'm a German. I'm a pure blooded German and then like his co-captain or whatever he like respects until he starts saying things he doesn't like him then he's like well. he's he's kind of not as German as I am and it's like okay
my one critique and the reason why it can't be five stars. actually two critiques I think like a lot of the stories just kind of they're all really short like I said, but I feel like sometimes they just say like way too much. that's like unnecessary like doesn't really add anything at some points. and also there are some stories in here that I like literally just don't even care about. like there was this one story where this guy is just talking about like a book club or something I don't know like I probably just didn't understand it or something but he was literally just talking about like a book society and then like the last one I bit I just didn't really care about is like some skull. oh and another thing
please I hope there aren't as many stories in like the next collection that I read which is the Randolph Carter tales where Lovecraft just like list off so many people in so many places at once and I'm supposed to keep track of like all of them. like I don't know what's going on dude. you can't expect me to keep all that in my memory for like an eight-page story dude. and it also will just like reference like random fucking pieces of literature like as if I know anything about it. and it's really funny because in the last story and ibid it has like footnotes like to describe more about this thing as if but then like the footnotes don't even help me understand what the fuck it's talking about still like at the it's literally just like bullshit. I'm like okay, I don't know what. I still don't understand what I'm reading but okay
but yeah I would say overall pretty good. I'm definitely going to read the Carter files I guess cuz that's the next one according to the order of this box set okay?
yeah
edit actually: I'm seeing a lot of people talk about like the racism in this book and I feel like I should probably point it out too. even though I didn't really say to my reveal. the only time that I thought was just being like downright racist was in the one where there's like an underground like chasm or something and the protagonist is like going down there with a Mexican man and HP Lovecraft just like stops to talk about how much he fucking hates Mexicans for some reason and it's like really weird.
apparently the street story was also racist. I didn't really even understand what was going on in the street story. I don't know if that's because of like I said before, like sometimes he's just saying like so much and it doesn't even fucking makes sense or because I was like Loki not even paying attention but I wouldn't be surprised.
usually when like reading like older literature or consuming like any kind of older media, I'm kind of like prepared for the racism at this point, so it wasn't really like a huge factor in my review. okay, and I'm not going to even try to defend HP Lovecraft because apparently he's like even more racist than this book will tell you okay? it only really becomes an issue for me personally when it becomes ingrained in The narrative of the book. like for example, I'm going to give spoilers for Sherlock Holmes sign of four real quick.
although in general like Sherlock Holmes at least from what I've read so far because I'm that's like a series I'm also reading right now. there is like general racism or disdain towards like the other people who aren't you know white basically literally just like if you're not European, white or American white. we hate you basically, but it's never really like that bad except for and sign of four from what I've seen so far. the reason for that is because they use the racism as like an actual science and integrate it into Sherlock Holmes deduction in that book and it's just like really weird because it basically just reads as like Sherlock Holmes being like. oh yeah, well black people are disgusting crazy animals so I am sure that only a black person could have done this crazy disgusting crime and it's like oh wow and then he keeps going and being like yeah. well, obviously the black disgusting creature who who perpetrated this crime you know had an accomplice and I'm not even sure how he talked with his accomplice because he was clearly a babbling idiot who didn't know any English or any other language. apart from grunts and growls it was something like crazy like that. it was like okay. I don't like that.
I don't know why I had to explain Sherlock Holmes to get my point. I don't think there's anything wrong with rating. this book lesser or any books lesser because of racism no matter how old they are. I'm just saying like in my personal opinion it's not inherently a factor to me. smooches
this was a great introduction to like the world of HP Lovecraft. it's literally all just like short stories, but all the short stories like are pretty good. well most of them are pretty good. I usually end up liking the ones that follow like one person and then sort of have like a twist at the end. like I really liked the one with. let me see what it's called. oh, I really liked in the vault. I thought that was really good. it kind of reminded me of the tomb and I thought it was like the same place or something cuz I know like some of these stories are connected right? or maybe like connected. you know later down the line. but no it was totally different and I really liked in the wall. it was really creepy. I liked the one with the music guy and like how this dude like looked out the window and it was like nothing was there. I don't know that was really weird but I liked it
I think that like goes in general for like most of the book is like I liked what was going on. I didn't really get what was happening well like I did like I sort of got it but I felt like I was definitely like missing something like I didn't know like the reason why things were happening yet. I know there's like a whole thing with like Cthulhu and dagon and there's like evil c stuff cuz there's also like a reoccurring thing where it's like raining all the time like around these you know gruesome or horrifying like experiences
I think probably like the most interesting story. here is the one with that guy who is way too proud to be a German. I think cuz it's like during when was his printed actually or when would when did he write this? I was about to say during world war II. I don't know if it actually was during world war II. I don't know who this guy is maybe world war? I don't really know. it was definitely during a war because the Germans were like scared of the Americans right but like him or like him and his crew like going into sort of mania and then him deciding to just like kill them all or let them all die. and then you know finding this underwater sea like town and you know like we as the reader don't get to see like what's inside the temple of that town that he like builds up like crazy. but we know like it's something probably horrific and I don't know. I think that one was actually really funny too. I feel like that's like the one story that was really trying to be funny cuz he just kept being like. oh, I'm a German. I'm a pure blooded German and then like his co-captain or whatever he like respects until he starts saying things he doesn't like him then he's like well. he's he's kind of not as German as I am and it's like okay
my one critique and the reason why it can't be five stars. actually two critiques I think like a lot of the stories just kind of they're all really short like I said, but I feel like sometimes they just say like way too much. that's like unnecessary like doesn't really add anything at some points. and also there are some stories in here that I like literally just don't even care about. like there was this one story where this guy is just talking about like a book club or something I don't know like I probably just didn't understand it or something but he was literally just talking about like a book society and then like the last one I bit I just didn't really care about is like some skull. oh and another thing
please I hope there aren't as many stories in like the next collection that I read which is the Randolph Carter tales where Lovecraft just like list off so many people in so many places at once and I'm supposed to keep track of like all of them. like I don't know what's going on dude. you can't expect me to keep all that in my memory for like an eight-page story dude. and it also will just like reference like random fucking pieces of literature like as if I know anything about it. and it's really funny because in the last story and ibid it has like footnotes like to describe more about this thing as if but then like the footnotes don't even help me understand what the fuck it's talking about still like at the it's literally just like bullshit. I'm like okay, I don't know what. I still don't understand what I'm reading but okay
but yeah I would say overall pretty good. I'm definitely going to read the Carter files I guess cuz that's the next one according to the order of this box set okay?
yeah
edit actually: I'm seeing a lot of people talk about like the racism in this book and I feel like I should probably point it out too. even though I didn't really say to my reveal. the only time that I thought was just being like downright racist was in the one where there's like an underground like chasm or something and the protagonist is like going down there with a Mexican man and HP Lovecraft just like stops to talk about how much he fucking hates Mexicans for some reason and it's like really weird.
apparently the street story was also racist. I didn't really even understand what was going on in the street story. I don't know if that's because of like I said before, like sometimes he's just saying like so much and it doesn't even fucking makes sense or because I was like Loki not even paying attention but I wouldn't be surprised.
usually when like reading like older literature or consuming like any kind of older media, I'm kind of like prepared for the racism at this point, so it wasn't really like a huge factor in my review. okay, and I'm not going to even try to defend HP Lovecraft because apparently he's like even more racist than this book will tell you okay? it only really becomes an issue for me personally when it becomes ingrained in The narrative of the book. like for example, I'm going to give spoilers for Sherlock Holmes sign of four real quick.
although in general like Sherlock Holmes at least from what I've read so far because I'm that's like a series I'm also reading right now. there is like general racism or disdain towards like the other people who aren't you know white basically literally just like if you're not European, white or American white. we hate you basically, but it's never really like that bad except for and sign of four from what I've seen so far. the reason for that is because they use the racism as like an actual science and integrate it into Sherlock Holmes deduction in that book and it's just like really weird because it basically just reads as like Sherlock Holmes being like. oh yeah, well black people are disgusting crazy animals so I am sure that only a black person could have done this crazy disgusting crime and it's like oh wow and then he keeps going and being like yeah. well, obviously the black disgusting creature who who perpetrated this crime you know had an accomplice and I'm not even sure how he talked with his accomplice because he was clearly a babbling idiot who didn't know any English or any other language. apart from grunts and growls it was something like crazy like that. it was like okay. I don't like that.
I don't know why I had to explain Sherlock Holmes to get my point. I don't think there's anything wrong with rating. this book lesser or any books lesser because of racism no matter how old they are. I'm just saying like in my personal opinion it's not inherently a factor to me. smooches
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2023
Having already read some Lovecraft, I can see his style peaking through in these early stories, although it is still buried. Also there, barely concealed, is his penchant for bigotry. Idk this was kind of a slog to get through, even though it’s only 160ish pages spread over 20 stories.
Dagon was p good though, so that’s something.
Dagon was p good though, so that’s something.
October 28, 2021
Favorite stories (in order):
1- The Temple
2- Memory
3- The Tomb
4- Old Bugs
3- The Picture in the House
1- The Temple
2- Memory
3- The Tomb
4- Old Bugs
3- The Picture in the House
December 22, 2019
2014: Algo que me sorprende de este autor es su capacidad para no poner diálogos entre personajes en sus narraciones. Pues casi no hablan (y decir casi me parece exagerado, puesto que sólo hay dialogo como dos o tres veces como máximo)Una perturbadora narración en el sentido de que deja a más de uno atrapado en el suspenso y el horror cósmico, que sólo el buen H.P. Lovecraft puede dejarnos.
December 2, 2023
A few classics: Dogon and the Picture & In the House; a few surprisingly well written ideas: the Vault and the Street... and then a lot of mediocre early works as well as some very dated attempts at humor. Will be moving on to some later works and hope for a better overall collection.
September 5, 2019
Overall, a nice collection. A couple of the stories are underwhelming, but most range from entertaining to great.
October 21, 2019
This was the first world of H.P. Lovecraft that I have read and honestly. The stories told in this collection were for me just ok. I didn’t love nor hate any of them.
January 19, 2023
The occasional gem can be found here amidst much tedium.
June 2, 2023
some good some bad
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews