A wonderful thread for those who wish to discuss the classic horror writing of HP Lovecraft, master of the bizarre and terrifying.
Personally, my favorite story by him is Cool Air. It has the most awesome ending.
How about you guys?

I really like The Rats in the Walls and The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
They both induce absolute horror in me, and I love how they turn out in the end, in a ironic way.
He is a master.

Admittedly, I haven't read any Lovecraft, but I've seen Necronomicon, a low-budget film based off his work.

One time, I visited Lovecraft's grave. It's not far from where I live.

Is it true that he was part of the Illuminati?

I read most of his work last year some time and really enjoyed it. My favourite stories by him are probably Whisperer in Darkness, Shadow out of time and the Colour out of Space.

I admire H.P. Lovecraft and his work. Last night I couldn't fall asleep so I actually ended up reading one of my favorite tales from him which is The Statement of Randolph Carter. The ending is amazingly spooky, and I still try to imagine what Warren's murderer looked like, inside the grave. I just started reading The Whisper in Darkness, and it has brought me great inspiration to write and finish some songs.

The best in his field, bar none. My main literary inspiration. My favorite stories are pretty much all the "well known" ones. I don't think his Dream Cycle stories get enough credit, neither does his poetry.

I second "The Colour Out of Space"--that story is friggin' crazy.

I've never read any Lovecraft but always wanted to, is there a preferred starting point for a newbie like me or should I just dive in?

I say dive in. There are many, MANY published collections of his stories, so you'll probably end up having one story in more than one book. Just make sure you do yourself a favor and pick up books containing his Dream Cycle stories, as well as the Cthuhlu Mythos.

This is an excellent resource for deciding which collections of his stories to buy; it was written for libraries, but it works great for private collectors, too.

http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/Lovecra ... nguide.htm

Well that should help! Now I've just gotta get money

I only started getting into Lovecraft's short stories and novellas about 2-3 months back. I've read TCotC, Hypnos and The Other Gods, and have found his depth in detail to be awe-inspiring. But I must say, his writing is pretty grandiose.

Here's a link to his ebooks, i think it's a legitimate archive of some of his work.

http://manybooks.net/authors/lovecrafth.html

My favourites are The Dunwich Horror, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow out of time and The case of Charles Dexter Ward, this last one was the only one piece of literature that managed to really freak me out when I read it.
What was the one about a magician who traded his body with her daughter? The Whisperer in the Darkness? I also love that one.

I absolutely love Lovecraf, I've got his entire work.
Anybody here likes William Hope Hodgson? It is less famous than Lovecraft but I find him even better.

That one beats Call Of Cthulhu, mostly because Call Of Cthulhu had a stupid ending.

Lovecraft = my favourite author of all time. I will buy, watch, read or listen to pretty much anything even faintly connected to him, including all the mythos stuff that's not even written by him or any good (stand up August Derleth and Brian Lumley).

I'd love to read HP Lovecraft's work but the truth is that his books aren't available here in ANY bookstore .

But some of the horror authors whose work I like, Ramsey Campbell, is heavily influenced by HP Lovecraft (according to the foreward in his Cold Print book).

What can I expect from HP Lovecraft? I mean, what's his writing style like?

I can send you a big collection of his famous stories; have them online.

Lovecraft was a master. I don't think a single fantasy or horror writer can claim not to have been influenced by him.

I'd say that only Edgar Allan Poe has more influence than Lovecraft in those genres.

Heh, never tried reading books online. I prefer the real thing. I can give it a shot, though.

I haven't read any of his books, but they do seem very fascinating. I have a very cool gamecube game which is inspired by Lovecraft though, Eternal Darkness, it's fucking amazing! It's a bit rare, but if you live near any stores that sell used gamecube games, look for it!

i think HP Lovecraft's original stories might be out of copyright. in any case, you can find them for free download easily enough

eta i was beaten to it some time ago.

Yeah, I don't like it either, but it beats paying for it when I'm short on cash, you know the deal.

do not forget this site:
http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/

nice Cthulhu-comics.

He is definatly one of my favorites. My neighbor and former band mate who works at a bookstore got me into the stories and i fell in love. Can't say what one is my favorite, though.

What a genius. I recently obtained a collection of his stories called the Necronomicon. So far, My favorite stories are the Doom That Came To Sarnath, The Music of Eric Zann, and the Reanimator. Also, the Lurking Fear is best read at midnight, by candlelight, to inspire the most fear.


It was fucking sweet.

I like Lovercraft. I don't really find his work "scary" (apart from "Rats in the Walls", brrrrr), but they're extremely interesting to read. I too don't think his Dreamland tales get enough love: "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is one of my favourite weird tales. The cats are brilliant, especially if you've read Howard's essay on the blighters.



Suddenly all your posts make sense

Do you get Robert E. Howard? Please tell me you get Robert E. Howard in Pakistan.

The movie version of Dreams in the Witch House is fucking great, has anyone seen it?

Damn, that would kill my eyes.

I think Lovecraft appreciation pretty much goes without saying around here . Seriously though, he is a masterful writer. Very good at constructing obscure, inhuman atmospheres that evoke a very strong kind of fear; akin to the fear of the unknown but slightly different. More ominous and generally evil, I'd say.

[quote="alexanderthegreat"]I like Lovercraft. I don't really find his work "scary" (apart from "Rats in the Walls", brrrrr), but they're extremely interesting to read. I too don't think his Dreamland tales get enough love: "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is one of my favourite weird tales. The cats are brilliant, especially if you've read Howard's essay on the blighters.
I don't find it scary either; it's the completely bizarre aspect of it that hooks me in. Take "The Music Of Erik Zahn" for example. It is WEIRD.

My girlfriend is obsessed with his books. Shes reading the Demonata Series (i think its called that?). I just bought her the 3rd book for Christmas. I might start reading them as well.

I wouldn't.

No.
Lovecraft was Atheist and not related in any way to any kind of esoteric cult.

Or at least thats what they want us to think...

Lovecraft is poe tripled in intensity and weirdness.
All of Lovecrafts influence can essentially be added to Poe's influence, since Poe was more-or-less Lovecraft's only influence on hsi writing style.

I love Lovecraft. He is easily the biggest influence in my own (feeble) writings.

My favorite stories by him are "The Hound" and "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadeth"

Well keep in mind that Lovecraft did admire Poe's works, including his poetry, and was truely inspired by him, but Lovecraft twisted the genre by adding more the science fiction horror and haunting imagery to each of his stories. Of course both authors did this, but Poe was known more for his eloquence, while Lovecraft was known for his chilling, visual style of writing. Whether it be the isolated tales coming from Poe or the short yet suspenseful writing technique of Lovecraft, both influences go hand in hand.

Yeah, I'd heard from a source (a possibly unreliable one) that he was part of it, but I kind of doubted it too. Then again, members of the Illuminati deny that they are in it or that it even exists, so who knows...

Would you like to help another brother out?