A definitive collection of stories from the unrivaled master of twentieth-century horror in a Penguin Classics Deluxe edition with cover art by Travis LouieFrequently imitated and widely influential, Howard Philips Lovecraft reinvented the horror genre in the 1920s, discarding ghosts and witches and instead envisioning mankind as a tiny outpost of dwindling sanity in a chaotic and malevolent … and malevolent universe. S. T. Joshi, Lovecraft’s preeminent interpreter, presents a selection of the master’s fiction, from the early tales of nightmares and madness such as “The Outsider” to the overpowering cosmic terror of “The Call of Cthulhu.” More than just a collection of terrifying tales, this volume reveals the development of Lovecraft’s mesmerizing narrative style and establishes him as a canonical – and visionary – American writer.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft (1928)
A writer working on a manuscript discovers a cult that worships the Great Old Ones and awaits the return of a monstrous being.
https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2017/11/horror-fiction.html
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
Ancient societies, forgotten monstrous and malevolent gods, unknown species lost to human knowledge, dabbling with the dead. What’s not to love? Lovecraft obsessively preys on humanity’s atavistic dread of barely glimpsed horrors dwelling in the quiet corners on the fringe of civilisation: hiding in mountains and woods, or lurking deep below the earth and the oceans, and of course, hiding amongst the frozen darkness of outer space; and how the acquisition of such despairing knowledge tends to ravage the sanity of the unfortunates who learn of such secrets. If time has proven one thing about his stories it’s that they have potent staying power, with many of his ideas (perhaps unknowingly to some) clinging to the horror and fantasy zeitgeist like so many sticky tentacles.
My only real gripe is the abundance of first-person story telling, but that’s a stylistic choice, and my preference for third-person narratives shouldn’t be held against the work.
I for one love the batshit crazy mythology that he has created, and am very happy I got around to reading this book.
I’m a big fan of Lovecraft, and this book really gets you into his head filled with horror.
H.P. Lovecraft is one of the greatest SciFi authors of all time…
I read this years ago and would read it again. Great horror stories by an author who knows how to scare without the tons of blood and gore that seem to be standard in modern horror.