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The Loved Dead: Collected Short Stories Vol II
Selected and Introduced by M.J.Elliot
'I tried to turn away, but the shadows and the sounds and the stench were everywhere. Then I remembered something I used to do in half-conscious nightmares as a boy, and began to repeat to myself, 'This is a dream! This is a dream!' But it was of no use...'
This collection brings together for the first time some of H P Lovecraft's more obscure works of weird fiction. Within these pages you will find a serial ghost-written for the famous showman Harry Houdini, a rare foray into science fiction and several fantastic tales from the Cthulhu Mythos.
The Loved Dead is a book for every true Lovecraft aficionado.
'I tried to turn away, but the shadows and the sounds and the stench were everywhere. Then I remembered something I used to do in half-conscious nightmares as a boy, and began to repeat to myself, 'This is a dream! This is a dream!' But it was of no use...'
This collection brings together for the first time some of H P Lovecraft's more obscure works of weird fiction. Within these pages you will find a serial ghost-written for the famous showman Harry Houdini, a rare foray into science fiction and several fantastic tales from the Cthulhu Mythos.
The Loved Dead is a book for every true Lovecraft aficionado.
400 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
13 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,109 books19.3k 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
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 23, 2021
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die."
Out of the three volumes of collected stories, this second one had the more stories that I didn't previous know about; to be honest I didn't know any of them.
There was a few stand out ones such as The Thing in the Moonlight, The Loved Dead and my favourite of the bunch - the excellent Two Black Bottles.
I'd say volume one was the better of the two, but I still liked to a certain degree; Lovecraft can be difficult for me to read sometimes - especially when he starts going on about the unknowable, the abhorrent, the nameless, the ghastly - it takes it's toll on me because I prefer details I guess but I've promised myself that I'm going to complete all the books I've got of his.
I do enjoy most of his stories though, or else I wouldn't bother - I guess he's just difficult to read for me sometimes.
Volume 3 next, of which I've read most of the stories anyway; then to finish the rest of the stories in Necronomicon and Eldritch Tales.
Then that's me, I might go back and read certain ones such as Herbert West - Reanimator, From Beyond and The Call of Cthulhu.
Out of the three volumes of collected stories, this second one had the more stories that I didn't previous know about; to be honest I didn't know any of them.
There was a few stand out ones such as The Thing in the Moonlight, The Loved Dead and my favourite of the bunch - the excellent Two Black Bottles.
I'd say volume one was the better of the two, but I still liked to a certain degree; Lovecraft can be difficult for me to read sometimes - especially when he starts going on about the unknowable, the abhorrent, the nameless, the ghastly - it takes it's toll on me because I prefer details I guess but I've promised myself that I'm going to complete all the books I've got of his.
I do enjoy most of his stories though, or else I wouldn't bother - I guess he's just difficult to read for me sometimes.
Volume 3 next, of which I've read most of the stories anyway; then to finish the rest of the stories in Necronomicon and Eldritch Tales.
Then that's me, I might go back and read certain ones such as Herbert West - Reanimator, From Beyond and The Call of Cthulhu.
October 28, 2016
This book is a compilation of horror stories by different authors,Though short and supposed to be a quick read but it took me sometime to reach the last page.....not my thing and I guess am been fair by giving this book 2star.
July 6, 2009
Lovecraft is insane. The short story "The Loved Dead" is the most disturbing thing I have ever read hands down. But while part of me was cringing and ready to throw up, part of me actually liked it... a lot...
February 13, 2008
In some ways, I think Lovecraft does better when he's working with other peoples' writing. It doesn't let him get too out of hand with the “eldritch horror”- this and the “untold aeons” - that. Granted, it was still plentiful, but there were at least a few stories that said something more than that there's a really horrible and not well-described thing from beyond the stars, waiting to terrify us in ways too terrifying to mention.
I liked the one about the evil Goddess-avatar with the snake-hair, and the two at the end, obviously written by a fellow ocean-obsessed bleak existentialist. The story about the mirror that traps people on the other side was neat, too, especially for a fan of Lewis Carroll like myself. In general, this was a good collection of weird tales, and a chance for Lovecraft to expound upon his mythos without wandering too far off track. I'm glad that I got to borrow it, and if I ever find it in a used bookstore, I'm sure that I'll buy it.
I liked the one about the evil Goddess-avatar with the snake-hair, and the two at the end, obviously written by a fellow ocean-obsessed bleak existentialist. The story about the mirror that traps people on the other side was neat, too, especially for a fan of Lewis Carroll like myself. In general, this was a good collection of weird tales, and a chance for Lovecraft to expound upon his mythos without wandering too far off track. I'm glad that I got to borrow it, and if I ever find it in a used bookstore, I'm sure that I'll buy it.
November 29, 2010
This is an excellent collection of stories written (or co-written) by Lovecraft. Standout entries are The Curse of Yig and Within the Walls of Eryx. Worth picking up for those two alone.
This book has been replaced in Wordsworth's catalog by The Horror in the Museum (ISBN 9781840226423) which includes an additional 5 stories, though it omits the title story, The Loved Dead.
This book has been replaced in Wordsworth's catalog by The Horror in the Museum (ISBN 9781840226423) which includes an additional 5 stories, though it omits the title story, The Loved Dead.
July 14, 2007
Worth it for the short story "The Loved Dead". Which is exactly what you think it's about.
April 12, 2010
As with the HORROR IN THE MUSEUM anthology, this is a collection of weird tales that Lovecraft worked on, to a greater or lesser degree. Ultimately, with such a collection there’s going to be a variety of the good and the bad, and the tone is going to be broad, but for the most part this works nicely.
Adolphe de Castro’s THE LAST TEST opens the volume, and it’s a slightly muddled outing. A story about an outbreak of the black death works on its own right, and the addition of Cthuloid elements doesn’t really gel. Pulp fans may get a little fun from it, however. Similarly, Zealia Bishop’s MEDUSA’S COIL left me a little cold, mainly because her other work, THE MOUND, is one of my favourite reads of all time. COIL is terribly clichéd (another ‘traveller spends the night in a haunted mansion’ outing) and dated badly in terms of racist attitudes, but it does have an incredible set-piece to recommend it.
Hazel Heald wrote THE HORROR IN THE MUSEUM which is another favourite, but once again, THE MAN OF STONE is a lesser work. There’s a little atmosphere from the obvious narrative, and the return of the old favourite ‘diary extract’ plot device, but not a lot else. Still, her second contribution, OUT OF THE AEONS, makes up for this: AEONS is superb! This is vintage pulp entertainment at its best, full of Lovecraftian references and an engaging story involving a strange mummy in a museum that is somehow still alive.
THE HORROR AT MARTIN’S BEACH by Sonia H. Greene is another strong contender, a well-described nightmare written on the page, full of creepy squid monsters and vivid action. Then there’s C. M. Eddy Jr.’s ASHES, a short, short mad scientist effort, full of the usual, fun ingredients.
Eddy also contributes THE GHOST-EATER, a very good variant on the classic werewolf story, as well as THE LOVED DEAD, his horrifically disturbing, once-banned story about a ghoul living in dank crypts and filthy hovels. But his DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND is annoyingly wishy-washy and pretty boring, despite a neat concept.
Henry S. Whitehead is one of my favourite pulp authors, but THE TRAP isn’t one of his best: the story of a haunted mirror is fairly interesting, but much of the tale is pretty boring. Duane W. Rimel’s THE TREE ON THE HILL is even worse, a too-subtle outing which needs more Lovecraft and less, well, student-style ponderings. Rimel’s THE DISINTERMENT is a little better, a genuinely macabre retelling of the old story about a guy planning to fake his own death, only everything doesn’t go according to plan.
Finally, there’s a double bill from R. H. Barlow. “TILL A’ THE SEAS” is a bleak science fiction tale, heavily written and apocalyptic, but not too distinctive. THE NIGHT OCEAN is loved by some fans, but I didn’t care for the slow-going narration and unresolved tension; I’m no big fan of abstract writing a la Charles L. Grant and this is just that.
Adolphe de Castro’s THE LAST TEST opens the volume, and it’s a slightly muddled outing. A story about an outbreak of the black death works on its own right, and the addition of Cthuloid elements doesn’t really gel. Pulp fans may get a little fun from it, however. Similarly, Zealia Bishop’s MEDUSA’S COIL left me a little cold, mainly because her other work, THE MOUND, is one of my favourite reads of all time. COIL is terribly clichéd (another ‘traveller spends the night in a haunted mansion’ outing) and dated badly in terms of racist attitudes, but it does have an incredible set-piece to recommend it.
Hazel Heald wrote THE HORROR IN THE MUSEUM which is another favourite, but once again, THE MAN OF STONE is a lesser work. There’s a little atmosphere from the obvious narrative, and the return of the old favourite ‘diary extract’ plot device, but not a lot else. Still, her second contribution, OUT OF THE AEONS, makes up for this: AEONS is superb! This is vintage pulp entertainment at its best, full of Lovecraftian references and an engaging story involving a strange mummy in a museum that is somehow still alive.
THE HORROR AT MARTIN’S BEACH by Sonia H. Greene is another strong contender, a well-described nightmare written on the page, full of creepy squid monsters and vivid action. Then there’s C. M. Eddy Jr.’s ASHES, a short, short mad scientist effort, full of the usual, fun ingredients.
Eddy also contributes THE GHOST-EATER, a very good variant on the classic werewolf story, as well as THE LOVED DEAD, his horrifically disturbing, once-banned story about a ghoul living in dank crypts and filthy hovels. But his DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND is annoyingly wishy-washy and pretty boring, despite a neat concept.
Henry S. Whitehead is one of my favourite pulp authors, but THE TRAP isn’t one of his best: the story of a haunted mirror is fairly interesting, but much of the tale is pretty boring. Duane W. Rimel’s THE TREE ON THE HILL is even worse, a too-subtle outing which needs more Lovecraft and less, well, student-style ponderings. Rimel’s THE DISINTERMENT is a little better, a genuinely macabre retelling of the old story about a guy planning to fake his own death, only everything doesn’t go according to plan.
Finally, there’s a double bill from R. H. Barlow. “TILL A’ THE SEAS” is a bleak science fiction tale, heavily written and apocalyptic, but not too distinctive. THE NIGHT OCEAN is loved by some fans, but I didn’t care for the slow-going narration and unresolved tension; I’m no big fan of abstract writing a la Charles L. Grant and this is just that.
July 3, 2016
Until I stumbled upon a copy of The Loved Dead I was really unaware that HP Lovecraft had collaborated with various other authors in the course of his career. (Ghost writing Imprisoned with the Pharaohs for Harry Houdini does not count-though interestingly enough the two men did collaborate on other works.) You learn something new everyday-I learned Lovecraft collaborated to a greater or lesser extent with a variety of his contemporaries, and the resulting tales are collected in The Loved Dead. The editors present these stories without any comment so the only way to judge how much of these tales are and are not Lovecraft is to read them-no insight is provided as to the collaborative process though odds are it all took place via the US Postal Service. Technically these stories do seem to take place in the shared universe Lovecraft created called the Cthulhu Mythos, if name dropping a Necronomicon or Nyarlathotep is the price of admission. But for the most part these stories are genuinely awful, whether they are deemed part of the Mythos or not. I was hoping for a few lost Lovecraftian gems but for the most part I was very disappointed. The only standouts are the last five selections in the book-most people will quit reading before they ever get to them. I speculate that Lovecraft's contributions to these stories were heavier-they have an atmosphere the other stories entirely lack. The Night Ocean is especially moody and suggestive, and The Tree on the Hill is classic Lovecraft. But the remainder of the book-these are some terrible stories and it is really almost painful to talk about. There is one story specifically I feel I need to address: Medusa's Coil. Critics have made a lot over the years of the racism inherent in Lovecraft's work-this is something I have never enjoyed or approved of but for the most part I could ignore it, because it seemed a minor part of the whole tapestry. However there is absolutely no way to turn a blind eye to the racism in Medusa's Coil. None. One of the things Lovecraft was famous for was the twist ending-well the twist in Medusa's Coil is ***SPOILER ALERT*** that the true villain of the piece is not some writhing cosmic horror from the abyss or soul destroying Elder God from beyond time and space, but the fact that a black girl has "passed" and married a white man. That's right folks-the true horror is...miscegenation. ***END SPOILER*** Ugh. Again as we really don't know to what extent Lovecraft collaborated with co-author Zealia Bishop we don't know how much of that to lay at his doorstep versus hers. I also know and acknowledge both people were children of their times. In a way it is like criticizing Margaret Mitchell for Gone with the Wind. But it was really saddening to read.
February 6, 2010
Lovecraft is one of those authors who demands that you focus when reading his work . The prose is dense and you find yourself unable to recall any of the paragraph or page or story you've just read if you lose concentration. Lots of pauses and breaks in the sentence can leave you feeling a little lost, and the fact that so little of his work involves dialogue can sometimes make a story more of a chore than an enjoyment. But in saying that he does tend to hit the mark on a few of the stories in this collection. I love weird writing, but on a few occasions I found myself a slight bit annoyed at the recurrence of 'nameless and unspeakable' horrors, although in pinches it can be wondrous to read. Obviously his Mythos are his legacy, but I found myself liking the stories where repetition didn't seem to be hovering. The eponymous story is amazing, The Thing in The Moonlight is another gem. And the concluding story, The Night Ocean, reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray, in that its entirety overflowed with lyricism and had a very poetic feel to it that was great to read. I thought perhaps Medusa's Coil was the best of the lot.
August 6, 2017
This seems to have more of the obscure Lovecraft stories. When I read Whisperer in the Darkness/Collected Short Stories #1, I remember recognizing almost all of them from other collections; not this book. The volume contains good mix of “Mythos” stories and more conventional horror and weird science tales. There is actually one story with a straightforward happy ending (probably the only HPL one I’ve read). Also one “regular” science fiction tale – which, among other things, demonstrates that Lovecraft is just as capable of being racist towards hypothetical aliens (Venusian “aborigines”) as he is towards Earth ethnicities. I’d actually give this a 3.5.
July 25, 2014
The Loved Dead is the only story in this that isn't bad.
January 21, 2022
The Last Test (Adolphe de Castro) - 3 Stars
Medusa’s Coil (with Zealia Bishop) - 5 Stars
The Man of Stone (Hazel Heald) - 3.5 Stars
Out of the Aeons (Hazel Heald) - 4 Stars
The Horror at Martin’s Beach - 4 Stars
Ashes (C.M. Eddy Jr.) - 2.5 Stars
The Ghost-Eater (C.M. Eddy Jr.) - 4 Stars
The Loved Dead (C.M. Eddy Jr.) - 5 Stars
Deaf, Dumb, and Blind (C.M. Eddy Jr.) 2.5 Stars
The Trap (Henry S. Whitehead) - 4 Stars
The Tree on the Hill (Duane W. Rimel) - 4 Stars
The Disinterment (Duane W. Rimel) - 5 Stars
‘Till A’ The Seas’ (with R. H. Barlow) -3.5 Stars
The Night Ocean (with R. H. Barlow) - 2 Stars
Medusa’s Coil (with Zealia Bishop) - 5 Stars
The Man of Stone (Hazel Heald) - 3.5 Stars
Out of the Aeons (Hazel Heald) - 4 Stars
The Horror at Martin’s Beach - 4 Stars
Ashes (C.M. Eddy Jr.) - 2.5 Stars
The Ghost-Eater (C.M. Eddy Jr.) - 4 Stars
The Loved Dead (C.M. Eddy Jr.) - 5 Stars
Deaf, Dumb, and Blind (C.M. Eddy Jr.) 2.5 Stars
The Trap (Henry S. Whitehead) - 4 Stars
The Tree on the Hill (Duane W. Rimel) - 4 Stars
The Disinterment (Duane W. Rimel) - 5 Stars
‘Till A’ The Seas’ (with R. H. Barlow) -3.5 Stars
The Night Ocean (with R. H. Barlow) - 2 Stars
January 24, 2020
Am I the only one that is questioning this book? This book has HP Lovecraft at the very top. Did he author any of these stories? Let’s open it and see... Well, it shows 14 stories and none of them are written by HP Lovecraft! I’m gonna go out on a limb and say this book is a scam! You can’t put his name on front if he didn’t write a single story in it!
March 6, 2023
A mixed bag of short stories that Lovecraft wrote with other authors.
Honestly, the two standouts are the ones that stray from Lovecraft's very distinct style - "Within the Walls of Eryx", a pulpy, sci-fi; and, "The Night Ocean", a melancholic reflection and rumination on creativity, isolation, purpose, set against the backdrop of an oceanside town with hints of lurking horror.
Honestly, the two standouts are the ones that stray from Lovecraft's very distinct style - "Within the Walls of Eryx", a pulpy, sci-fi; and, "The Night Ocean", a melancholic reflection and rumination on creativity, isolation, purpose, set against the backdrop of an oceanside town with hints of lurking horror.
June 18, 2024
Über die Zeit teilweise gelesen - teils in dieser Ausgabe, teils in anderen, im Original oder übersetzt. Zugunsten von mehr Regalplatz darf diese Ausgabe weiterziehen.
February 11, 2021
The Loved Dead is a Loveraft collaboration that actually worked! It's all to plausible scenerio got it banned in Indiana.
November 4, 2008
I enjoyed all of the stories, but the title story, The Loved Dead, is truly horrifying. Who knew serial killers could narrate? Brilliant!
January 2, 2018
This book was my introduction to Lovecraft. I didn't quit "get" these tales at first but they inspired me to read The Dunwitch Horror which I did enjoy.
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