Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre: The Best of H. P. Lovecraft [Paperback]

The Rats In The Walls
The Picture In The House
The Outsider
Pickman's Model
In The Vault
The Silver Key
The Music of Erich Zann
The Call of Cthulhu
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer Of Darkness
The Colour Out Of Space
The Haunter Of The Dark
The Thing On The Doorstep
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
The Dreams In The Witch-House
The Shadow Out Of Time

First time readers expecting something contemporary will be in for a shock. Most of Lovecraft's writing style is straightforward narrative, no characters speaking, and it may seem dry and drab. Most of the time, the protagonist is in the first person and is told from the point of view of that person looking back on the story or reporting it from a journalistic point of view. The stories are set in New England, mostly Arkham, Massachusetts which houses Miskatonic University. Most of them fall under unknown horrors, strange beings from another universe (the Great Old Ones), and things that wouldn't be out of place in the Twilight Zone, Ray Bradbury Presents, or Tales From The Crypt.

One of these stories, The Dunwich Horror, about how a human mutates in the course of the story, was made into a movie in 1970, and that has some actual dialogue.

The Colour In Space is actually an interesting one, portraying the devastating effects a meteor has on a valley and the family living in it, could make a good made-for-TV drama. So could The Shadow Of Innsmouth, about a strange-looking group of people and a weird race found in the Pacific. The protagonist learns the bulk of the story from a Zadok Allen, a 96-year old man who has witnessed a lot in the town, and there is dialogue, mostly from Allen.

The weirdest story is The Shadow Out Of Time, which deals astral travels a man may or may not have experienced, and encountering a race that might have existed back in time.

What brought me to buy one of his collections of short stories was the interest in the Old Ones, powerful beings from another universe who exert their evil powers on Earth from afar.

After reading most of these stories, I'll say it'll take me a while to get into Lovecraft, although I find some of the stories imaginative. As for bloodcurdling and macabre, well, maybe for its day, but not today.

The reason I give this book four stars is because Lovecraft's intricate prose can be too murky for some. His writing does take a certain amount of mental engagement, and someone who's looking for shivers without having to think should probably look elsewhere.

Excepting that classic, here are all the rest of the author's best: "The Call of Cthulhu," the inaugural piece of Lovecraft's famous Mythos of the same name, in which artists and psychics around the world suffer precognitions of the apocalypse heralded by the revival of a long-sleeping ancient god; "The Dunwich Horror" - probably one of the most famous supernatural stories in literature - about the deformed, demon-born Wilbur Whateley, and his hellspawn invisible not-quite-twin brother; "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," one of the most influential horror tales ever written (though the author himself strangely didn't think much of it), which depicts an isolated decaying seaside town devolving - or are they "evolving"? - into fish-creatures reminiscent of the ancient undersea demon they worship; "The Colour Out Of Space," an extraterrestrial influence mutating the flora and fauna of Arkham, Massachusetts, into "something other"; "The Haunter of the Dark," a sky-demon summoned by followers who couldn't control it, bringing a baleful influence down upon a cursed church and the town surrounding it; "The Whisperer In Darkness," a clandestine invader from the outer reaches of the solar system which besieges and terrorizes a brilliant scientist on the outskirts of civilization; and "The Shadow Out Of Time," Lovecraft's sci-fi classic about a man who finds himself time-sharing his own body with the time-traveling mind of an ancient extraterrestrial who imparts cosmic wisdom...and terrors.

Making this particular collection all the more commendable is the inclusion of almost all of Lovecraft's best short-shorts (minus only "From Beyond"): "The Rats In the Walls," "The Music of Erich Zann," "The Dreams In the Witch House," "The Outsider" and "Pickman's Model."

This is the best single collection of Lovecraft available. Don't miss out.