The Dunwich Horror / The Thing on the Doorstep

by H.P. Lovecraft, Phil Reynolds (Narrator)

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories, Audiobook, Classics, Fantasy

Audio CD

First published October 2, 2009

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

[Carrie]

Nope, DNFing this book at 60%...it's not the story. The narrator for this is really really not holding my attention. I can't even tell you much about the book because he's not good. I'll just have to find a copy of the story and read it myself.

[Leilani · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first taste of lovecraft, and it did not disappoint

[Amy Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not terribly impressed with the Dunwich Horror. The Thing on the Doorstep, however, was eerie in the best of ways.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My partner and I found this on Spotify during a road trip, and it was a perfect way to pass the time! It was my first introduction to Lovecraft, and I really enjoyed the narrator of these two stories. Lovecraft's writing is superbly crafted and I love how the supernatural encounters are told from secondhand characters rather than first person; it creates a slow tension and limited perspective that's easy to digest with a weird aftertaste. I'd definitely recommend giving this audiobook a chance if you're in the mood for some slowly creeping horror!

[Benjamin Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just take out my brain and jack it into the world of HPL immediately. I am so into the audio books of HP Lovecraft - Cthulhu is in my veins.

I think The Dunwich Horror is one of HPL's better novellas, the narrative is wonderfully dark, as we all like it to be. This is up there with The Shadow Over Innsmouth for sure.

[Latoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first HP Lovecraft! Had to sleep with the light on last night. :)

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovecraft has such a unique style. There isn't the extensive characterization you get with King or the active vengeful horrors of Clive Barker or Peter Straub. It's more like a story you'd find within Silent Hill or something you'd hear if you got stuck in an elevator with Dan Simmons while he was brainstorming short form cosmic horror for an anthology series... The tales are well written and unsettling and sharpened with an almost historic lens that gives them just a modicum of believability despite the premise. They aren't keep-you-up-at-night horror, but rather the type of stories that carve out a little space in your head and take up a quiet and persistent residence. I'm looking forward to starting my next Lovecraft.

[Lisa Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see the appeal, but I could not get into either of these two stories.

Please keep in mind I listened to the audiobook, so it’s possible the narrator chosen didn’t do the book justice.

Maybe I was expecting more, I’m not sure. The suspense seemed to carry on for too long. Every sentence seemed purposely elongated.

The first story wasn’t even that scary. I didn’t get through the second one.

I hate to say it, but I don’t think Lovecraft is for me.

[The Angry Lawn Gnome · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Lovecraft's creepier tales, superbly narrated.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories, glad I found this!

[Riley Rabuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one book is actually three short stories. Unfortunately, the best one here was also in the necronomicon by H.P. Lovecraft as well so I did not enjoy this read through as much as I might have.

[Fuzzball Baggins · Rating 2 out of 5]

The immersion was not very good - someone really needed to tell Lovecraft 'show don't tell'. But the visual descriptions of the monsters were really cool.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good versions. Narrator was good for me. I even enjoyed the Thing at the Doorstep. I listened for the Dunwich Horror as I just read it.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really yall?
This boring ass dude has a choke hold on horror? This was ick.

[Binh Dang · Rating 4 out of 5]

sometimes your dad is a cosmic deity who exists outside of time and you just gotta accept your daddy issues mean your fraternal twin's gotta eat

[Nick Van Alfen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories, pleasantly creepy, well done. Not much to say, but if you like the eldritch angle, you’ll like this.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find Lovecraft's continuing popularity fascinating. He's not significantly more entertaining or readable than many other authors of the early 20th century, and there's considerably less humor and character depth than many other Important Authors. Many smart folks have written oodles on his influence and importance, but here are a couple factors to his popularity:

- The consistency of atmosphere in his stories creates a cohesive world (and mythology) that lends itself very well to filling in the gaps and drawing connections. While many authors have dedicated cottage industries of fan fiction surrounding their work (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, anyone?), the consistency of tone but variety of different stories makes the Cthulhu Mythos into an early extended universe that is easily expanded upon by anyone with spooky ambitions.

- The ambiguity of Lovecraft's monsters mean that their "meaning" can shift with the culture. Over the years they remain unknown, and their timelessness within the fiction and undefined horror means that they can fit just as well in the unknown spaces of any culture. So they fit as well in the stuffy stacks of Miskatonic University as they do in the redacted files of the 1960's intelligence community, or any other setting.

- His influence on other creators means that the tone and tropes have been copied many times, so seem familiar even to a new reader.

Onto the book itself. The Dunwich Horror is a bit pulpier than his average story, with the heroes actually coming out victorious. The Thing on the Doorstep is a classic horror tale, where the narrator tells us the terrible act immediately, and then we have to decide which is the source of the horror... the "thing", or the narrator himself. Both are solid reads, but I think I preferred The Thing on the Doorstep.

The narrator was great, which was a nice surprise since this and many other Lovecraft stories performed by him are free on Spotify.

If you've never given Lovecraft a chance, you could do worse than this collection as an introduction.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic horror tales.