Herbert West Reanimator and Other Tales

by H.P. Lovecraft, Katie Fox (Editor), Omar Rodriguez Rodriguez (Cover Design)

The first horrible incident of our acquaintance was the greatest shock I ever experienced, and it is only with reluctance that I repeat it. As I have said, it happened when we were in the medical school1 where West had already made himself notorious through his wild theories on the nature of death and the possibility of overcoming it artificially. His views, which were widely ridiculed by the faculty and by his fellow-students, hinged on the essentially mechanistic nature of life; and concerned means for operating the organic machinery of mankind by calculated chemical action after the failure of natural processes. In his experiments with various animating solutions, he had killed and treated immense numbers of rabbits, guinea-pigs, cats, dogs, and monkeys, till he had become the prime nuisance of the college. Several times he had actually obtained signs of life in. animals supposedly dead; in many cases violent sign5; but he soon saw that the perfection of his process, if indeed possible, would necessarily involve a lifetime of research. It likewise became clear that, since the same solution never worked alike on different organic species, he would require human subjects for further and more specialised progress. It was here that he first came into conflict with the college authorities, and was debarred from future experiments by no less a dignitary than the dean of the medical school himself -- the learned and benevolent Dr. Allan Halsey, whose work in behalf of the stricken is recalled by every old resident of Arkham. I had always been exceptionally tolerant of West’s pursuits, and we frequently discussed his theories, whose ramifications and corollaries were almost infinite. Holding with Haeckel that all life is a chemical and physical process, and that the so-called "soul" is a myth, my friend believed that artificial reanimation of the dead can depend only on the condition of the tissues; and that unless actual decomposition has set in, a corpse fully equipped with organs may with suitable measures be set going again in the peculiar fashion known as life. That the psychic or intellectual life might be impaired by the slight deterioration of sensitive brain-cells which even a short period of death would be apt to cause, West fully realised. It had at first been his hope to find a reagent which would restore vitality before the actual advent of death, and only repeated failures on animals had shewn him that the natural and artificial life-motions were incompatible. He then sought extreme freshness in his specimens, injecting his solutions into the blood immediately after the extinction of life. It was this circumstance which made the professors so carelessly sceptical, for they felt that true death had not occurred in any case. They did not stop to view the matter closely and reasoningly. It was not long after the faculty had interdicted his work that West confided to me his resolution to get fresh human bodies in some manner, and continue in secret the experiments he could no longer perform openly. To hear him discussing ways and means was rather ghastly, for at the college we had never procured anatomical specimens ourselves. Whenever the morgue proved inadequate, two local negroes attended to this matter, and they were seldom questioned. West was then a small, slender, spectacled youth with delicate features, yellow hair, pale blue eyes, and a soft voice, and it was uncanny to hear him dwelling on the relative merits of Christchurch Cemetery and the potter’s field. We finally decided on the potter’s field, because practically every body in Christchurch was embalmed; a thing of course ruinous to West’s researches.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Howard 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

Reviews

[Martin Iguaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los relatos compilados en este volumen (lo último que pienso leer por ahora de Lovecraft, porque ya he leído más que suficiente del autor estos meses) no son los mejores de su obra. En parte, porque algunos fueron escritos por encargo, y como suele suceder cuando un escritor escribe por motivos económicos y no por placer, no le permiten a Lovecraft desplegar sus mejores artes. Por otra parte, no forman parte de los Mitos de Cthulhu ni mencionan el Necronomicón. Por lo tanto, diría que es una miscelánea que muestra el Lado B de la obra literaria de Lovecraft. No son terriblemente malos, pero tampoco son extraordinarios.

[Klodovik2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dobre priče neke čak i vrhunske ali ipak nije moj žanr. Nisam pročitao do kraja

[Ricardo Parra M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta recopilación de relatos de Philips Lovecraft reúne una gran variedad de relatos tanto cortos como largos, en la presente antología se reúnen los siguientes relatos con su respectiva calificación:

Herbest West: Reanimador - ★★★★☆
Las ratas de las paredes - ★★☆☆☆
El terrible anciano - ★★★★★
Historia del Necronomicon - ★★★★☆
El árbol - ★★★☆☆
Dagón - ★★★★★
El clérigo malvado - ★★★★✰☆
El extraño - ★★★✰☆
El horror en la Playa Martín - ★★★★★
El pantano de la luna - ★★★☆☆
El ser bajo la luz de la luna - ★★★★☆
La bestia en la cueva - ★★★★★
La decisión de Randolph Carter - ★★★★☆
La llamada de Cthulhu - ★★★★★
La música de Erick Zann - ★★★★☆
La Nave Blanca - ★★★★☆

Hay unos pocos que son bastante confusos, otros que son innecesariamente largos y otros que, a pesar de su longitud, hicieron que me sumergiera completamente en la historia y los disfrutara mucho.

A grandes rasgos es una recopilación interesante, en donde su mayor característica es la de entregarnos una serie de criaturas enigmáticas y siniestras, propio de él como propulsar del terror cósmico y/o onírico.

Realmente es un libro que se lee muy rápido porque, aunque existen relatos que son largos y llenos de detalles, permiten ser leídos con gran rapidez. La única gran queja es en aquellos relatos que menciona al inicio aquellos que no entendieron o que fueron innecesariamente largos e incluso algunos que contaban con palabras desconocidas.

Anteriormente había leído cuentos de forma individual y algunos ya los conocía, pero este es el primer acercamiento a una antología enfocada solamente a su narrativa, pero como dije es interesante y rápida leer a pesar de lo palpable que es la época en que fueron escritos, aunque eso puede tornarse aburrido para alguien que no disfruta los relatos de épocas antiguas.

[Domagoj Bodlaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't revisit your childhood loves

[Elisabeth Merriman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my fav, most of these stories run along the lines of “me and my male bestie getting up to no good”

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

first was the worst, second was also the worst, third was alright and the fourth was decent.

I have only one note: if lovecraft was born in the 2000s, he would be a ALM supporter and use the italicized oh… /oh/

[Matthias Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read that Lovecraft disliked that each section was required to end in a cliffhanger and begin with a recap; I agree that this got annoying. A few other problems with this, but Herbert West is an iconic character.

[Verico · Rating 3 out of 5]

La selección no me ha gustado demasiado a excepción de dos relatos.

[Julie Rylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfull!

This book is a mix between Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hide (Stevenson) and Crime At The Morgue Street (Poe), it just keeps getting better and better and better and you cannot stop reading it and, as the other two listed below, the end is something really morbid and exciting.

The Reanimator belives that people can live after death only through their vital functions (probably something like a zombie with brains) and he devotes all his life to the cause, but things start getting pretty nasty, especially when he decides that maybe - just maybe - parts of the human body can live again too, but separately, if you know what i mean ;)

This book has actually two more tales, but far less interisting. If someone showed me the second tale(which i don't remember the name) i would most certainly doubt it was written by Lovecraft... I only have seen that "poetic softness of the morbid" in Poe.

And the last one "the olivetree" is nice, more like a 3 stars tale.

[David Aybar Allca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy bueno, como siempre algo de Lovecraft nunca defrauda. Este compilado tiene muy buenas historias, si bien algunas capaz no traten o no mencionen a Cthulhu y demas primigenios, son historias muy buenas entre ellas destaco la de Herbert West así como también la de Los Sueños en la casa de la bruja

[Louis Yank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reanimator is a middle of the road Lovecraft story, spooky but repetitive. I know it is not a favorite of his own work but the idea behind it is wonderful. Always interesting to read a re-working of the Frankenstein story

[Nicol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amé el primer relato y estaba convencida que los otros también. Decayó un poco mi gusto en algunos o tal vez estaba demasiado cansada como para poder apreciarlos bien. Pero en general el libro me gustó. Tal vez deba releerlo de nuevo en algún momento.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

zombie literature before there was zombie literature.

[Launsett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esperaba mucho de este libro por el autor y por todo lo que había escuchado de su estilo, pero a las finales el libro no fue lo que creí que seria. Los primeros cuentos se me hicieron insufribles, el autor describe mucho y llega a crear personajes realmente desagradables, por lo cual puede llegar a hacer pesada la lectura, pero tiene ideas interesantes. Hubieron historias que me gustaron, pero creí que la lectura seria más de terror. Aun así, creo que es un buen libro de fantasía y llega a tocar ciertos temas humanos como la eternidad, la superstición, las creencias, los sueños, entre algunos otros, que son bastante interesantes.
Mis cuentos favoritos fueron: "Las ratas en las paredes", "Los gatos de Ulthar", "El viejo Bugs" y "el viejo terrible" me parecieron bastante atractivos y disfrute leerlos. Creo que leeré otras historias del autor para crear una mejor opinión de su estilo y carácter.

[Duchess_Nimue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knjiga sadrži priče:
-Herbert West - Reanimator,
-Vrebajuća strava,
-Boja iz svemira,
-Zov Cthulhua,
-Dunwichski užas.

Priče su mi simpatične i zanimjive. Uspješno su me zaintrigirale još pri početku. Jedino me se "Dunwinchski užas" nije dojmio.

[Joeymib · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entiendo perfectamente que Lovecraft es el inicio de todo. Pero no sé porqué los relatos no me convencieron. Me gustó el relato que da nombre al libro y El Grabado en la Casa. Quizás es así porque mi primer encuentro con el autor se dio en forma muy tardía.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

No lo odie...
Simplemente creo que no fue para mi
Hubos algunos relatos buenos, pero tmb hubo malos y uno lnsufrible que no termine de leer
Intentaré darle otra oportunidad a Lovecraft dentro de un tiempo con otras obras, y de verdad espero que me dejen un mejor sabor de boca

[Nutzlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro, Reanimador es una joya. Admiro lo bien relatado que está el tema de revivir a los muertos de una manera científica. Los otros relatos también son entretenidos y aunque sean cortos (algunos) te sientes satisfecho con lo que leíste.

[Rossxread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este es mi libro introductorio a las obras de Lovecraft, me ha gustado tanto cómo me ha perturbado, cada relato a pesar de corto tiene detalles tan bien logrados que me deja con ganas de leer más.
(H.P es un genio, aunque en estos tiempos estaría muy funado 🙊)

[Stella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reanimator
Vrebajuća strava
Boja iz svemira
Zov Cthulhua
Dunwichski užas

[Gissela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mis historias favoritas fueron "Herbert West" y "Aire frío". Se me hizo difícil leer "Los sueños en la casa de la bruja" xd buena historia pero mi cabeza estuvo así todo el tiempo 🤯🤯🤯

[Erick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unos cuentos mejores que otros. Pero en general muy entretenidos, mis favoritos el reanimador y el grabado en la casa . 8/10

[Lúthien T · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyed every word of it

[Samu · Rating 1 out of 5]

La persona que escribió este libro tiene que ir a terapia ya

[Xavier Ferrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aunque no es horror cósmico, el relato de "Herbert West:Reanimador" es buenísimo y destaco también el de "Los sueños en la casa embrujada"

[Valentina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve finally found Lovecraft in our library and I’m all over it. I just got back from library with two new books of stories and I’m excited to read it :) I think short horror stories are my favourite and even if I don’t get scared there’s always something attracting me to the genre. I might get disturbed but not really scared, it’s the same with horror movies…

First story was about a doctor who was reanimating people. That wasn’t really scary and the end was the “dream solution”.
Second story had an abandoned mansion on the hill with weird incidents happening. I absolutely loved the end where we found that owners of the mansion are still alive and mutated from incest and cannibalism. Lovecraft seems to like those themes since they appear in some of his other stories.

Third story was my absolute favourite and it was about the meteor from the space bringing weird sickness to one farm and it’s occupants. Animals died, kids drowned in the well, wife got insane and locked in the attic, nature got weird colored, trees started moving at night and everything glowed.

Fourth was about the Cthulhu and the cults worshiping it. It was the first time the creature had the complete description and I guess that’s why it got popular.
Fifth had the lone village, the weird family worshiping the Old ones, creepy demon baby, animals dying and the end where we find out that the demon getting loose and killing everyone was the demon baby’s twin.

[Fugo Feedback]

Mierda que estuvo jodido encontrar esta tapa. Tanto, que tuve que sacar una foto pedorra con la webcam y ponerla provisoriamente hasta sacar una pasable. No sé qué onda el contenido de este libro, pero me sorprende la habilidad de los de la editorial para fundirla de modo tal que no se encuentra un comino de información sobre ellos por ningún lado. Quizás ellos mismos se exiliaron fuera de continuidad, vaya uno a saber...

[Gordan Karlic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a fan of the horror movie and it would seem I am not the biggest fan of horror fiction.
It is good stuff (if you are fun of the genre) but for me it is alright, nothing special.
Next book, please.

[Variaciones Enrojo]

Antología de literatura "pulp" de autores mayoritariamente españoles.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro 3 de 3 (que yo sepa) de la Colección Pulp! de Proyectos Editoriales Crom.