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The Haunter of the Dark: Collected Short Stories Volume 3
Selected and Introduced by M J Elliott. ‘They were removing the stones quietly, one by one, from the centuried wall. And then, as the breach became large enough, they came out into the laboratory in single file; led by a stalking thing with a beautiful head made of wax.’
From the dark, mind-expanding imagination of H P Lovecraft, Wordsworth presents a third volume of tales penned by the greatest horror writer of the 20th Century. Here are some of Lovecraft’s weirdest flesh-creeping masterpieces, including Pickman's Model, The Shunned House, his famous serial Herbert West – Reanimator, and several classic tales from the Cthulhu Mythos, in which mankind is subjected to the unimaginable terrors known only to those who have read from the forbidden Necronomicon. Also included in this compelling collection are the complete Randolph Carter stories, chronicling his adventures in this world and the realm of his dreams, where he faces perils beyond comprehension.
From the dark, mind-expanding imagination of H P Lovecraft, Wordsworth presents a third volume of tales penned by the greatest horror writer of the 20th Century. Here are some of Lovecraft’s weirdest flesh-creeping masterpieces, including Pickman's Model, The Shunned House, his famous serial Herbert West – Reanimator, and several classic tales from the Cthulhu Mythos, in which mankind is subjected to the unimaginable terrors known only to those who have read from the forbidden Necronomicon. Also included in this compelling collection are the complete Randolph Carter stories, chronicling his adventures in this world and the realm of his dreams, where he faces perils beyond comprehension.
591 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2010
75 people are currently reading
521 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,112 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 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 23, 2021
"From even the greatest of horrors irony is seldom absent."
So I'd already read most of the collected stories in Volume 3, as most of them were in the Necronomicon and I've read about 80% of that one - which I'm going back to right now to finish it.
Most of the stories in Volume 3 of the collected stories are very well known ones, such as The Colour Out of Space, Herbert West - Reanimator, The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Statement of Randolph Carter which I'd previously read so I skipped them.
The ones I hadn't read before were The Other Gods, Polaris, The Horror at Red Hook and my favourite of this bunch of unread ones was the brilliant The Shunned House.
Now back to finish Necronomicon - The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, which I bought back in 2014 but haven't finished because it's one of those Barnes and Nobles type books that weigh a ton and make reading awkward BUT I'm going to make this my final attempt to finish it - there's a few stories left.
Then onto finish Eldritch Tales - A Miscellany of the Macabre by H.P. Lovecraft after that and that's me done. 😌
So I'd already read most of the collected stories in Volume 3, as most of them were in the Necronomicon and I've read about 80% of that one - which I'm going back to right now to finish it.
Most of the stories in Volume 3 of the collected stories are very well known ones, such as The Colour Out of Space, Herbert West - Reanimator, The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Statement of Randolph Carter which I'd previously read so I skipped them.
The ones I hadn't read before were The Other Gods, Polaris, The Horror at Red Hook and my favourite of this bunch of unread ones was the brilliant The Shunned House.
Now back to finish Necronomicon - The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft, which I bought back in 2014 but haven't finished because it's one of those Barnes and Nobles type books that weigh a ton and make reading awkward BUT I'm going to make this my final attempt to finish it - there's a few stories left.
Then onto finish Eldritch Tales - A Miscellany of the Macabre by H.P. Lovecraft after that and that's me done. 😌
March 7, 2024
Too much of a good thing…
This is apparently the third volume in a three-book series collecting some of the work of HP Lovecraft. It’s a rather random collection, with no particular theme that I picked up on. There are some of his short Gothic stories, the Herbert West stories, some of his long, rambling Cthulhu Mythos stories, a couple of Randolph Carter stories, a few poems and an essay on Supernatural Horror in Literature. In all, there are 21 stories, plus the poems and the essay, amounting to over 600 pages.
I’m not sure who it would be aimed at, in truth. I feel the newcomer would be somewhat overwhelmed by the variety and the lack of specific focus, while Lovecraft regulars will have read most of the major stories before. I felt one doesn’t really get a feel for the overarching Cthulhu Mythos – there are more stories absent in this volume than present – while there isn’t a big enough sample of his shorter fiction to really get an impression of how he used traditional Gothic horror and advanced it into his own weird style. I also found the variety in lengths makes it an uncomfortable collection to read – a story that can be read in an hour or so would be followed by one that is nearly novel-length, and then back to a shortie. I’ve read various other HPL collections that have been collected in more organised ways and have had introductions that help newcomers to understand the various categories of his writing, and I think they work much better than this. For example, The Gothic Tales of H. P. Lovecraft edited by Xavier Aldana Reyes gives a real picture of how his use of Gothic tropes developed over time, while The Classic Horror Stories edited by Roger Luckhurst gives a great, guided introduction to the Cthulhu stories.
What I’ve learned subjectively is that, on the whole, I prefer his shorter, more traditional-style Gothic horror stories to the longer weird/fantasy style of the Cthulhu stories. It’s in the Cthulhu stories that his endless descriptions of place and overblown use of repeated adjectives is most in play, and while that can be fun once or twice, eventually the stories become tediously repetitive and they are grossly overlong. When he sticks to more traditional horror, his writing style is also much more restrained, and that works better for me. I also found that by the time I got to the end of this very long collection, despite skipping many of the stories I’d read before, I felt as if I’d had a glut of Lovecraft and will probably leave him alone now, for a time at least. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
This is apparently the third volume in a three-book series collecting some of the work of HP Lovecraft. It’s a rather random collection, with no particular theme that I picked up on. There are some of his short Gothic stories, the Herbert West stories, some of his long, rambling Cthulhu Mythos stories, a couple of Randolph Carter stories, a few poems and an essay on Supernatural Horror in Literature. In all, there are 21 stories, plus the poems and the essay, amounting to over 600 pages.
I’m not sure who it would be aimed at, in truth. I feel the newcomer would be somewhat overwhelmed by the variety and the lack of specific focus, while Lovecraft regulars will have read most of the major stories before. I felt one doesn’t really get a feel for the overarching Cthulhu Mythos – there are more stories absent in this volume than present – while there isn’t a big enough sample of his shorter fiction to really get an impression of how he used traditional Gothic horror and advanced it into his own weird style. I also found the variety in lengths makes it an uncomfortable collection to read – a story that can be read in an hour or so would be followed by one that is nearly novel-length, and then back to a shortie. I’ve read various other HPL collections that have been collected in more organised ways and have had introductions that help newcomers to understand the various categories of his writing, and I think they work much better than this. For example, The Gothic Tales of H. P. Lovecraft edited by Xavier Aldana Reyes gives a real picture of how his use of Gothic tropes developed over time, while The Classic Horror Stories edited by Roger Luckhurst gives a great, guided introduction to the Cthulhu stories.
What I’ve learned subjectively is that, on the whole, I prefer his shorter, more traditional-style Gothic horror stories to the longer weird/fantasy style of the Cthulhu stories. It’s in the Cthulhu stories that his endless descriptions of place and overblown use of repeated adjectives is most in play, and while that can be fun once or twice, eventually the stories become tediously repetitive and they are grossly overlong. When he sticks to more traditional horror, his writing style is also much more restrained, and that works better for me. I also found that by the time I got to the end of this very long collection, despite skipping many of the stories I’d read before, I felt as if I’d had a glut of Lovecraft and will probably leave him alone now, for a time at least. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
February 8, 2017
7/10
*Review for 'The Haunter of the Dark & Other Stories' by Wordsworth Editions
After reading a few of Clark Ashton Smith's stories, which were part of the Cthulhu mythos, I had but to read the author who created it all: the one and only H.P. Lovecraft!
This volume includes:
The Haunter of the Dark
Polaris
The Doom That Came to Sarnath
The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Cats of Ulthar
Celephaïs
The Other Gods
Herbert West – Reanimator
The Unnamable
The Shunned House
The Horror at Red Hook
Pickman’s Model
The Silver Key
The Strange High House in the Mist
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
The Colour Out of Space
The History of the Necronomicon
Fungi from Yuggoth
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
The Dreams in the Witch House
The Thing on the Doorstep
The Shadow out of Time
Supernatural Horror in Literature
It is, really, the first time I’m reading anything from Lovecraft but I must say that this book, even though it is the third -and largest- volume from the collection Wordsworth releashed, it left me, somewhat, with some very mixed feelings.
I wouldn't say that the stories were bad, or entirely boring, but just that this volume focuses mostly on Lovecraft’s "Dream Cycle" stories which, personally, most of them didn’t really impress me as much as I would have wanted.
However, it is definitely a collection that is worth reading, even if it is only for Lovecraft's, truly, wonderful ideas - which, in the end, is all that matters.
My favorite picks from this collection are : "The Thing on the Doorstep", "The Shadow out of Time", "The Colour Out of Space", "The Statement of Randolph Carter" and of course the story of the title, "The Haunter of the Dark".
*Review for 'The Haunter of the Dark & Other Stories' by Wordsworth Editions
After reading a few of Clark Ashton Smith's stories, which were part of the Cthulhu mythos, I had but to read the author who created it all: the one and only H.P. Lovecraft!
This volume includes:
The Haunter of the Dark
Polaris
The Doom That Came to Sarnath
The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Cats of Ulthar
Celephaïs
The Other Gods
Herbert West – Reanimator
The Unnamable
The Shunned House
The Horror at Red Hook
Pickman’s Model
The Silver Key
The Strange High House in the Mist
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
The Colour Out of Space
The History of the Necronomicon
Fungi from Yuggoth
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
The Dreams in the Witch House
The Thing on the Doorstep
The Shadow out of Time
Supernatural Horror in Literature
It is, really, the first time I’m reading anything from Lovecraft but I must say that this book, even though it is the third -and largest- volume from the collection Wordsworth releashed, it left me, somewhat, with some very mixed feelings.
I wouldn't say that the stories were bad, or entirely boring, but just that this volume focuses mostly on Lovecraft’s "Dream Cycle" stories which, personally, most of them didn’t really impress me as much as I would have wanted.
However, it is definitely a collection that is worth reading, even if it is only for Lovecraft's, truly, wonderful ideas - which, in the end, is all that matters.
My favorite picks from this collection are : "The Thing on the Doorstep", "The Shadow out of Time", "The Colour Out of Space", "The Statement of Randolph Carter" and of course the story of the title, "The Haunter of the Dark".
March 16, 2025
normal ca nu am pus-o de o parte dar sa citesc descrieri lovecraftiene in engleza este ft big brain sincer si nu doream sa devin prea repetitiva
incheiem o era ,dar donul rasist stiu ca se va intoarce!!
incheiem o era ,dar donul rasist stiu ca se va intoarce!!
March 24, 2016
'Stern and terrible shone that face that the sunset lit with fire. How vast it was no mind can ever measure, but Carter knew at once that man could never have fashioned it. It was a god chiselled by the hands of the gods, and it looked down haughty and majestic upon the seeker. Rumour had said it was strange and not to be mistaken, and Carter saw that it was indeed so; for those long narrow eyes and long-lobed ears, and that thin nose and pointed chin, all spoke of a race that is not of men but of gods.'
-- 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath' (1927); H.P. Lovecraft
-- 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath' (1927); H.P. Lovecraft
June 15, 2020
3.5 Stars.
While it is a lot longer in pages than the first two collections it did overall had better and more interesting stories. Some lacked compared to others but they were interesting and even some reocurring protagonists. The title story was decent but the real gem of this book is ,,The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and ,,The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath". If every short story was as good as those two this would have been an easy 5 stars. This is by far the best compared to the first two short story collections and excited to end it well with the fourth book!
While it is a lot longer in pages than the first two collections it did overall had better and more interesting stories. Some lacked compared to others but they were interesting and even some reocurring protagonists. The title story was decent but the real gem of this book is ,,The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and ,,The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath". If every short story was as good as those two this would have been an easy 5 stars. This is by far the best compared to the first two short story collections and excited to end it well with the fourth book!
October 31, 2020
I think I've found my second favorite writer!
Lovecraft is able to immerse you completely into his own nightmares and once he's caught you he's never letting go.
Lovecraft is able to immerse you completely into his own nightmares and once he's caught you he's never letting go.
January 1, 2022
Wat is de overeenkomst tussen Shakespeare en H.P. Lovecraft? Beiden hebben veel betekend voor het genre waarin ze schreven, zijn van grote invloed op andere auteurs en verdienen het om meer gelezen te worden. ‘The Haunter of the Dark’ is hier het bewijs van.
‘Haunter of the Dark’ bevat de verhalen waarin Randolph Carter een rol speelt. Lovecraft heeft dit personage gebaseerd op hemzelf. Carter is een aangenaam personage, omdat hij een dromer is. De vier verhalen waarin hij een rol speelt zijn meesterlijke horror en een ideale kennismaking met het werk van de Amerikaanse horrorgrootmeester.
En het titelverhaal is na lezen een persoonlijke favoriet geworden. Angstaanjagend, beklemmend en zo gruwelijk, dat het een mustread is voor horrorfans. Het verhaal gaat over de jonge schrijver Robert Blake, die een bezoek brengt aan een verlaten kerk, waarin een oud kwaad huist. De combinatie van atmosfeer, angstsymboliek en de sympathieke Blake maakt dat dit verhaal de lezer kippenvel bezorgt en het donker nooit meer hetzelfde is.
Een aangename verassing in deze pageturner is ‘Fungi from Yuggoth’, een gedicht waarmee Lovecraft zijn taalbeheersing laat zien en dat beeldend erg sterk is.
Dus voor alle lezers is deze meesterlijke doch gruwelijke verhalenbundel een aanrader en een ideale eerste kennismaking met het werk van de Shakespeare van de horror. #haunterofthedark #hplovecraft
‘Haunter of the Dark’ bevat de verhalen waarin Randolph Carter een rol speelt. Lovecraft heeft dit personage gebaseerd op hemzelf. Carter is een aangenaam personage, omdat hij een dromer is. De vier verhalen waarin hij een rol speelt zijn meesterlijke horror en een ideale kennismaking met het werk van de Amerikaanse horrorgrootmeester.
En het titelverhaal is na lezen een persoonlijke favoriet geworden. Angstaanjagend, beklemmend en zo gruwelijk, dat het een mustread is voor horrorfans. Het verhaal gaat over de jonge schrijver Robert Blake, die een bezoek brengt aan een verlaten kerk, waarin een oud kwaad huist. De combinatie van atmosfeer, angstsymboliek en de sympathieke Blake maakt dat dit verhaal de lezer kippenvel bezorgt en het donker nooit meer hetzelfde is.
Een aangename verassing in deze pageturner is ‘Fungi from Yuggoth’, een gedicht waarmee Lovecraft zijn taalbeheersing laat zien en dat beeldend erg sterk is.
Dus voor alle lezers is deze meesterlijke doch gruwelijke verhalenbundel een aanrader en een ideale eerste kennismaking met het werk van de Shakespeare van de horror. #haunterofthedark #hplovecraft
August 24, 2022
Volume 3 of this collected series is my favourite. Similarly to my review of the first Volume, I appreciate Lovecraft's shorts for the atmosphere they create when sitting alone in your room late at night.
The Lovecraft stories are about horror, not about strong characters or intelligent plots. However, Volume 3 has the strongest stories of the series in my opinion. Polaris and Pickman's Model have very amusing and horrible twists/endings, and The Colour Out of Space and The Shadow Over Innsmouth have a great pace and setting. At some point, having read the other volumes, some stories started to refer back to earlier events and characters from different stories. These references were never important plot devices, but did succeed in enhancing the atmosphere by creating the feeling of a joined universe in which these different stories took place.
Would advise this book as company on rainy nights. Dim the lights, grab a cup of tea, and have a good time reading some Lovecraftian horror.
The Lovecraft stories are about horror, not about strong characters or intelligent plots. However, Volume 3 has the strongest stories of the series in my opinion. Polaris and Pickman's Model have very amusing and horrible twists/endings, and The Colour Out of Space and The Shadow Over Innsmouth have a great pace and setting. At some point, having read the other volumes, some stories started to refer back to earlier events and characters from different stories. These references were never important plot devices, but did succeed in enhancing the atmosphere by creating the feeling of a joined universe in which these different stories took place.
Would advise this book as company on rainy nights. Dim the lights, grab a cup of tea, and have a good time reading some Lovecraftian horror.
February 7, 2023
I am really not sure how to feel about this - my first (and possibly last) venture into the world of Lovecraft. I certainly don't think I'm a fan unfortunately. 'The dream-quest of unknown Kadath' felt like it was dull and never-ending. Other stories were enough to keep me engaged throughout but didn't blow my mind. The author seems to have the annoying habit of latching on to a particular 'big' word that he really likes and then over-using it to the point of absolute irritation ('hippocephalic', 'gambrel' and 'Cyclopean' are three examples that spring easily to mind). I did quite enjoy 'The colour out of space' but overall I just found it all a bit wordy, repetitive and lacking in depth or human interest.
October 6, 2025
god this took me forever to read
overall i'd say i enjoyed this but the problem with short story collections is that some stories are amazing (the color out of space, the thing on the doorstep), others are good and just drag a little (the shadow out of time). and others again, tho they have a great concept and i love the thought behind it, are just miserable to read (the dream-quest of unknown kaddath)
so even tho i could appreciate almost every story i really had to force myself to keep going so many times. but i really dont regret it and i really want to revisit some of these stories because its really fascinating
overall i'd say i enjoyed this but the problem with short story collections is that some stories are amazing (the color out of space, the thing on the doorstep), others are good and just drag a little (the shadow out of time). and others again, tho they have a great concept and i love the thought behind it, are just miserable to read (the dream-quest of unknown kaddath)
so even tho i could appreciate almost every story i really had to force myself to keep going so many times. but i really dont regret it and i really want to revisit some of these stories because its really fascinating
August 9, 2020
Lovecraft never disappoints, except when he does. This one has the better selection over the two previous collections, with Cthulhu-mythos staples like The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Pickman’s Model. That said, I found his earlier works of “dreamland” rather lacking and rambling, being more of One Damn Thing After Another that too much old fantasy-scifi falls into.
These collections thus far seem to me the most comfortable, affordable and among the best looking (ever the vain one) options for catching up on lovecraft’s work.
These collections thus far seem to me the most comfortable, affordable and among the best looking (ever the vain one) options for catching up on lovecraft’s work.
April 19, 2022
I liked the idea of reading Lovecraft as a Halloween read, so I began reading it halfway through October. It's now April and I've decided to pull the plug. I did not finish quite some of the stories, and I struggled to make my way through the last one so much that I just gave up on it.
That doesn't mean all stories were rubbish: some were quite enjoyable. There's a lot of attention to detail, and the stories are quite slow and reflective, which is nice if you're into that sort of thing. None of the stories really resonated with me, though.
That doesn't mean all stories were rubbish: some were quite enjoyable. There's a lot of attention to detail, and the stories are quite slow and reflective, which is nice if you're into that sort of thing. None of the stories really resonated with me, though.
March 17, 2022
2.5 stars
beautiful, gorgeous, admirable writing. the rest wasn't for me.
beautiful, gorgeous, admirable writing. the rest wasn't for me.
Read
June 15, 2024I always finish the books I’m reading. This one, I couldn’t. Would have given -one stars if possible
November 26, 2024
One star subtracted due to the essay
December 25, 2024
The short story format doesn’t work quite as well as the novella for Lovecraft’s style. Reading 10 of these back to back quickly becomes repetitive.
January 1, 2025
Folio World’s Classics, ISBN 978-617-551-172-5
3 short stories: The Haunter of the Dark, The Shadow out of Time, Winged Death
3 short stories: The Haunter of the Dark, The Shadow out of Time, Winged Death
September 30, 2025
Possibly the best of Lovecraft's stories. The reading by HPPodcraft is phenomenal.
December 21, 2019
Epitome of weird horror. Not all the short stories were equally memorable ('The Shadow over Innsmouth' and 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath' were some of my favourites) and some of the horror is somewhat downplayed by Lovecraft's refusal to describe what it looks like (lot's of "unspeakable horrors" and such), but nevertheless a superb collection of short weird horror stories. Lovecraft's monsters are not your run-of-the-mill scary creatures with fangs, claws and blood-red eyes. Just like some of the environments his protagonists are thrusts into (notably the dreamscapes of Kadath), his monsters can only accurately be described as weird, almost unimaginably so (and yet at times eerily familiar). In this way, Lovecraft exploits both the human fascination and fear of the unknown, of both his protagonists (who pay for it dearly) and readers.
November 25, 2016
This collection has several of my favorite Lovecraft stories such as "The Color Out of Space," "The Cats of Ulthar," "Herbert West - Reanimator," and my most favorite story "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." I was really pleased that it contains Lovecraft's essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature," as I have been interested in reading that for some time and have not previously seen it in a collection of Lovecraft's work.
December 19, 2024
Letterlijk het saaiste boek dat ik ooit heb gelezen. Ik heb er bijna een jaar over gedaan het uit te lezen maar ik wou me er echt doorsleuren. De verhalen hielden geen steek, was niet fijn geschreven, teveel beeldspraak waardoor ik snel was afgeleid, ook moeilijke woorden werden vaak gebruikt, en ik kon me er helemaal niet in inleven. Ik denk dat je in hogere sferen moet zijn om deze verhalen te schrijven dus als nuchter mens heb ik hier niet van genoten.
October 18, 2015
Some good, some not so good (scifi), some classics. And an absolutely delightful surprise at the end of the book: Lovecraft's wonderful essay on Supernatural Horror in Literature, packed with Gothic and other goodies :-)
February 5, 2013
A mixed bag this one but what is good is really, really good even excellent and I can see why they are considered classics.
May 3, 2018
Very Lovecraftian, and that's fine by me!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews