At the Mountain of Madness and Other Stories

by H.P. Lovecraft

Set in the Antarctic, where a group of explorers make sinister discoveries, this is one of Lovecraft's most successful – and most chilling – works. In this edition, the novella is accompanied by two short ‘The Shadow over Innsmouth†and ‘The Thing on the Doorstepâ€.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

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

[Vanessa Rainbolt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mountains of Madness: 2.5 stars
The Shadow over Innsmouth: 3.5 stars
The Thing at the Doorstep: 4 stars

[Tommy Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

H.P. Lovecraft was undoubtedly a genius of writing and his imagination was limitlessly brilliant as is displayed within these pages. There are 3 stories in this book: At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Thing on the Doorstep.

Mountains of Madness is probably the most revered of the three, and I can see why. It will be unlike anything you’ve ever read, Lovecraft goes to meticulous detail in describing the world explored by the geologist protagonist just like how a geologist would report it. So I can’t lie, I had to keep the dictionary handy reading this because there were too many esoteric words relating to geology that I didn’t recognise. This makes it quite a tough read, I can’t say with certainty I was enticed throughout because of how many times I had to stop and interpret what was being said. On the other hand you have to appreciate the length at which Lovecraft went to fortify the authenticity. It’s certainly a must read if you’re looking to see what all the fuss is about Lovecraft but if you’re just after a scare then I’d maybe look elsewhere.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a lot easier to follow and gets going much quicker. Lovecraft again perfects the detail to ensure vivid imagery within the readers mind and the nebulous gloomy atmosphere of Innsmouth is conveyed. Definitely a must read for Lovecraft fans and can probably be enjoyed by the general reader too.

My favourite story of the three was also the shortest, The Thing on the Doorstep, was suspenseful and compelling. It was interesting from start to finish and can be finished in an hour or two so no reason not to read it.

All in all, I think it’s important for enthusiastic readers to at least read a couple stories from Lovecraft because his style is so unique and his pioneering of a new genre of horror is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.

[Jessica Macdonald · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Here I shall sketch only the salient highlights in a formless, rambling way” - You’re not wrong, Lovecraft. You’re not wrong.

Never in my life have I had to put a book down and verbally exclaim how much I hate it every 10 pages until now. On the plus side, no word of a lie, it cured my medication induced insomnia so maybe I should be thankful.

[Maxwell Shafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid horror stories that have their fingerprints on nearly every aspect of modern science fiction, horror, and popular fiction in general. The Shadow over Innsmouth was easily my favorite of the three stories, while the framing device and language in At the Mountains of Madness hindered more than helped the story. The constant pauses to make sure I understood the awesome gravity of the story’s situation distracted from the action more than anything else. Overall glad that I read this and would recommend the 2nd half for any fans of science fiction, horror, or short stories in general.

[Ryan McNie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have long had a fascination with Lovecraft's works. It's a fascination I have often felt somewhat guilty for on account of him being pretty much all round terrible human being. He did, however, know how to write a damned good story.

This collection features three of his longer stories including his only novella. I will be writing a mini review of each in light of this.

At The Mountains Of Madness ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is Lovecraft's only novella. It is the story that I had heard most about and is often labelled as a good place to start his works due to the numerous name drops and the world building techniques employed.
It features an expedition to Antarctica in which a new truth about the nature of our planet comes to light.
It has an extremely strong start with Lovecraft's expert tone creating an unsettling atmosphere in the Antarctic wastes almost immediately and uncomfortable events quickly unfolding. However, it is held back but a large chunk of information dumping in the middle that takes up over a third of the book. It thus becomes a bit of a chore working through this section so that by the time you reach the conclusion most of the tension built up in the opening is completely diminished and both interest and mystery lost. Ironically, for one of his best known works, far from his best work for me personally albeit an absolute testimony to his imagination. 


The Shadow Over Innsmouth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Now we're talking. At atmospheric village by the sea that our narrator gets warned not to go to but goes anyway? Rumours about creatures seen in the water? Strange looking villagers and a cult that has taken over the local churches? Count me in.
This is Lovecraft at his atmospheric best. The tension grows throughout the story culminating in a great twist just when you thought it was over. Could we have done without the street names so accurate that you can (and many people have) drawn up a map? Could the drunkards ramblings have gone on for a few pages less? Yes and yes but this is still and fantastic story. 

The Thing On The Doorstep ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once again a fantastic story. Being somewhat shorter than those previously mentioned works in its favor. It has a few loose links to Innsmouth as well that was a nice little nod to all of these events occurring in the same universe. Ultimately, this is a much more personal character study. We are placed on the outside of events looking in with only loose clues given by the narrator and one of the best opening lines of any Lovecraft story I've read.

[Will Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the mountains of madness more like at the mountains of midness.

Shadow Over Innsmouth goes crazy tho

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

1 The Thing on the Doorstep
2 The Shadow Over Innsmouth
3 At the Mountains of Madness

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

What makes this so creepy and engaging is the fact that the story is actually written like a geological survey in a way. There's a lot, and I mean a lot, of unnecessary detail in the descriptions of the actual Antarctic survey. The effect it has is "if the story is this specific about stuff, then when he says he's unable to describe something, it must be really scary." It's very effective, although a little difficult to read at times. There were a few instances where I just skipped over a paragraph and then spent a page wondering whether I missed something important. After awhile you get tired of all the ways Lovecraft can say "as I already told you" or "like you most likely read in the newspapers at the time."

Many critics use this story to show that Lovecraft was capable of writing longer pieces when given the chance. I for one think that the shorter format left more to the imagination, like a good Twilight Zone episode.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve been familiar with H.P. Lovecraft for decades, but had never actually read any of his work. Maybe in the depths of my subconscious soul I knew his fiction just wasn’t for me. Well, the mystery is spoiled, I finally read a collection of his. It’s hate at first sight.

It’s hard for me to express just how much I hated the titular short story that wastes the majority of this book but I’ll try!!!

At the Mountains of Madness is about a geologist and the survey of some mysterious Antarctic mountains and the resulting discovery of an apparently terrible alien and the terrible oh-so-scary history it insinuates. The story is 90% insanely boring excruciatingly specific eye gougingly inane details about geology. The size and shape and size and measurement and color and size of rocks and ground and rocks and honestly I’ve blurred it all out. The other 10% is Lovecraft overtly telling you how scary stuff is with gems in the vein of, “I can’t describe the terror, it was too scary bro just trust me.”

There were two other stories, shorter than the first, which I enjoyed more. But it’s all relative - it’s hard not to look favorably on stories that aren’t the worst you’ve ever forced yourself to finish.

I guess I can thank Lovecraft for making me feel something?

Here’s my ode to Lovecraft: It’s a short story I’ve titled, “At the House of Horrific Detail.”

In the foreboding realm of Carpenter’s Enigma, where whispers of woodworking mysteries lingered in the air, there dwelled a meticulous, methodical carpenter named Barnaby Oakenshield. He had recently arrived to study the House of Horrific Detail, which stood as a testament to the terror of the ancient art of elder carpentry.

At the genesis of this architectural nightmare, Barnaby noted the foundation. It was not quite a square, not quite a rectangle, its bizarre shape-stradling form raised the hairs on Barnaby’s arms. It was poured concrete, but wait…Was it really concrete? Or some other strange, ancient mixture of pulverized rock and water. It was certainly gray, like concrete, but not exactly gray. The color reminded Barnaby of the disease ridden coats of dead rats. It was dead rat gray. Oh! Oh! What vile secrets were beneath the ground?

As he walked toward the entryway he stopped to study the frame of the terrible and ancient door. The door jambs, meticulously shaped to an imposing height of precisely 80 inches high, and exactly 36 inches wide exuded an aura of foreboding. The door itself, fashioned of horribly weathered and warped pine measured…slightly less than 80 inches high and 36 inches wide!!! Was it because the door must fit in the jamb? It stood as an imposing guardian, denying any glimpse of ease to those who dared traverse its threshold.

Within the House of Horrific Detail, the flooring emerged as a meticulously calculated tapestry of terror. The planks, seemingly a green-tinged pressure-treated pine, were uniformly measured to a precise length of 6 feet, 2 ¼ inches. They created a maddening symphony of monotonous patterns. The grains and knots of the wood twisted like the tendrils of a maddened elder god, demanding unwavering attention to their alignment, ensuring a seamless presentation of cosmic distortion. And the nails, oh the nails! You’ll forgive me for omitting the blood thickening details of the nails!

The paint that embraced the walls was an oppressive shade that could only be called “Whispering Shadows,” and had been applied with disturbing accuracy - the brush strokes revealing alternating strokes precisely 1.5 inches in width. And yes, I did measure the strokes, how could I not! The unsettling confusion of macabre secrets invoked by the geometrically consistent application of otherworldly brushstrokes.

And the window frames! Oh reader! Should I tell you of the window frames? Of how they were precisely chiseled to a measurement of 30 inches by 48 inches, of their perversely beveled nature, framing the outside world in a disquieting manner. If it were only possible to hide the truth, to bury it under the warped floorboards, to shield you from the reality distorting glass that bent light and perception as if the laws of the universe held no sway over its construction.

WANT TO KEEP READING!?

Stories-6, Language-5, Ideas-6, Characters-6, Enjoyment-3, Overall-4.8

[Roxanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the Mountains of Madness: *4.5 stars. I thought this one could be very boring at parts, but the overall effect for me was still a 4.5 for me. It's been awhile since I've read something that thoroughly creeped me out as much as this story - I didn't realize I had a fear of the arctic poles until I read this. And it's the perfect setting for someone like Lovecraft to write. It's vast and mysterious and of course he's going to populate it with unspeakable horrors. Definitely tied with the Dunwich Horror as my favorite Lovecraft story.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth: *2 stars. I thought this was rather silly, if I'm being honest. I know Lovecraft has a thing about fish, but I couldn't take frogfish people all that seriously. I thought the ending was ridiculous, no matter how cool the last line was. Lovecraft does write the rare action scene here, though, and I did think that was fun. But really not his best.

The Thing on the Doorstep: *3 stars. I mean I'm not gonna write home about it, but I had a good time reading it. I’m usually not super into the body jumping stuff (the Whisperer in Darkness) but I thought this was short and sweet with an ending that will definitely stick with you.

[Austin Arango · Rating 3 out of 5]

At The Mountains Of Madness: 2 stars
The Shadow Over Innsmouth: 3.5 stars
The Thing On The Doorstep: 4.5 stars

At The Mountains Of Madness is easily a 2 star story. It's much longer than the others, but it mainly drowns you in detail of the landscape of Antarctica at the expense of horror. Something horrific would happen, and then the main character was back to Antarctica talk. Also, his friend who wouldn't reveal a horror he saw very much upset me by the end of the book due to how little horror there already was. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a bad story, but it's definitely mediocre at best.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth, I would say, is a 3.5 star story. It was a much better story. I enjoyed the details about the town and streets without losing the horror aspect. The creatures in that book are quite interesting and creepy, and the ending is great. I simply wish there was more story so you can learn an even greater amount about such a creepy place.

The Thing On The Doorstep was by far my favorite and is easily a 4-4.5 star story. It was a very short story but was told incredibly well. It manages to capture your attention from the first page and tells a quite unnerving story that ends in a bang. Absolutely killer story that sucks you in from beginning to end.

[Ds · Rating 2 out of 5]

A me dispiace tanto dare due stelline a Lovecraft, ma il romanzo principale è troppo infarcito di dettagli e precisazioni geografiche e tecniche per risultare piacevole. Mi è risultato davvero difficile andare avanti perché lo trovavo estremamente noioso.
Mi sono piaciuti decisamente di più i due racconti a complemento del romanzo. Creano proprio una bella atmosfera di inquietudine e fanno tutti parte dello stesso filone, quindi è proprio interessante leggerli uno dietro l'altro.
Ho amato comunque i riferimenti al Necronomicon, a Poe, e a Clark Ashton Smith.
E l'uso della parola "beyondness" che riassume benissimo l'atmosfera, i temi e i personaggi che troviamo sia nel romanzo principale sia nei racconti.
Inutile dire che il mondo, il lore, che Lovecraft costruisce è sempre geniale. Solo, secondo me, non è emerso al massimo nello stile del romanzo. Da una parte riconosco che essendo il protagonista uno scienziato e dovendo rimanere fedele anche al suo punto di vista, era inevitabile che risultasse molto dettagliato dal punto di vista scientifico, ma ha causato comunque una narrativa pesante.

[Billy Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly want to give this particular book a 3, but because the first story, The Mountains of Madness was quite possible one of the worst stories I've ever read I couldn't do it. It is mind numbingly dull, too focused on landscape and pondering on the idea of the hint of a scent of horror for probably 110 of the 126 pages of that story that it took me 5 days to read that. I kept falling asleep!

The other two stories are actually very well written and were good horror. Now I'll say they are elevated by how badly the first story was. The 'thing on the doorstep' is a bit too insistent, Innsmouth was probably the best one out of the lot but even still its kind of middle of the road. There's no satisfaction from the endings.

Also in Mountains of Madness there came a point where Lovecraft was just about to describe something horrifying and the character then said, 'No no...its too terrifying to describe, to do so would be to drive the reader mad.' Like come on. If this is the perfect into like the back of the book says then I plan to never read any Lovecraft again.

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

At mountains of madness was a disappointment to me, perhaps I’m not invested enough in the lore to appreciate it, but it feels Lovecraft style lends itself much better to a shorter format, with “The Thing on the Doorstep” being both the shortest and most compelling of the three stories included. MoM felt repetitive and over saturated with descriptions that though I expect meant to ground the story, went for too long to a detriment of the pace. In general I feel like the common issue I have with the three stories is too much buildup followed by a not so shocking ending that often does not live up the the hyperbole of the narrator as they tease (many times too much to the point of spoiling the reveal) the implications of the dark secret about to be unveiled.
Also, hard to ignore some of the racist undertones of Levecraft’s stories, you don’t have to read it that way, but once you notice it is hard to ignore it.

[rifu wanna read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini merupakan kumpulan cerita yang ditulis oleh H. P. Lovecraft, yang berisikan 5 cerita, yaitu Orang Luar, Seruan Cthulhu yang berisi tiga sub-bab, Pembisik di Kegelapan, Di Puncak Kegilaan, dan Makhluk di Ambang Pintu. Meski ceritanya berbeda-beda, tapi ada satu kemiripan di setiap cerita, yaitu adanya makhluk kosmik mengerikan yang datang dari bintang-bintang. Perawakan makhluk-makhluk ini digambarkan dengan sangat apik dan terperinci, tapi kalian harus baca bener-bener biar bisa ngebayangin wujudnya kira-kira seperti apa. Kalau bingung, liat https://lovecraft.fandom.com/wiki/ aja, hehe.

Buku ini sebagian besar berisi narasi akan penggambaran akan makhluk-makhluk, situasi mencekam, tempat-tempat aneh, dan kejadian-kejadian di luar nalar manusia yang membutuhkan fokus buat ngebayangin setiap barisnya. Aku sendiri ngehabisin kurang lebih 3 hari buat namatin buku berisikan 452 halaman ini. Meski demikian, buku ini kurekomendasiin buat dibaca, terutama penyuka horor kosmik🙌

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unaussprechlichen Kulten, Necronomicon, and other forbidden books are forbidden for a reason. Reading these promotes a conduit into our internal psyches and potential ingress to outer malign influences. Three scenarios in this book: exploring primeval ruins in Antartica, the strange goings-on in the town of Innsmouth, and posession and trading souls unwillingly. These are some of his longer stories.

[diagnosed bookaholic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of 3 short horror stories; At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth, and The Thing on the Doorstep. At the Mountains of Madness is the longest of the stories. However it was my least favourite from this collection, I found it to be monotonous and a bit maddening. The Shadow over Innsmouth was a lot more interesting, and The Thing on the Doorstep was even more enjoyable.

Genre: Horror
Trigger Warnings: death, gore, suicide

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mountains of Madness took me way too long to get through, it was OK by the end but it was a rougher read, that one on it's own I'd give maybe 2 starts.
The next 2 stories were better, The Shadow over Innsmouth was 3 stars for me and I'd give the Thing at the Doorstep 4.
Had everything been written like Mountains of Madness this would have been a DNF for me I think, I'm glad I didn't quit after that one though.

[Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is highly descriptive using scientific jargon extensively to the point it all kind of blurs together.
By chapter 7, I was wondering if anything was ever going to happen. It also doesn't help that it's all written in past tense, taking a lot of the potential danger out of the story.
However! I did like this at certain times. Laker's camp, the other side of the mountain, the mosaics, penguins, etc. These moments pulled me in. So, 3 outta 5, for me.

[Matthew Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the latter two stories in this collection more than mountains of madness.

I found mountains of madness to be a slow read given the narrator’s language, however I do think that it set the tone well for that particular story. The other two stories used language that was more easily digested.

Overall I found the method of all three stories to be quite enjoyable.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are people who love the creatures in HP Lovecraft mythology, then there are the few that actually read the works. Much different from what I was expecting, but enjoyed the story overall. Definitely wish Del Toro adapted this novel into a movie.

“It’s Way Better Than Fast Food. It’s Wendy’s.”

[Jason DeLangie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny that the book is called At the Mountain of Madness and other stories... I found The Thing on the Doorstep and The Shadow Over Innsmouth both to be much more enjoyable and maybe more deserving to be the headline in the title.

[Petra Wallenmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sample of quintessential Lovecraft.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riveting story that grips your attention.

[Kadi Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - I especially loved The Shadow Over Innsmouth!

[James Dickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story is the best out of all three

[Nimalan V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing stories from Horror Master HP Lovecraft.
It is a must read.

[Kelsey Webster · Rating 3 out of 5]

They are a bit dense and written in such a rambling way, but an enjoyable read!

[Kelsey Webster · Rating 3 out of 5]

They are a bit dense and written in such a rambling way, but an enjoyable read!

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three tales of unspeakable terror (although HPL does love writing description and setting). If you’re new to his work, a good primer of the hits. If you like it, lots more to explore.