As you can tell – with this column’s title swiped from the fine folks at the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society – I figured it was time to revisit an author from my youth. Plus, the 70th anniversary of his death is coming up in March, so what the hell.
Lovecraft’s books are a tricky thing sometimes – not the writing, mind you, but the sheer amount of his collections. Del Rey has put out countless anthologies of his short stories, with tales being used more than once. But I’m here to clean up the mess and just suggest the following three books, since they have all of the Lovecraft you’ll ever need, minus his poetry.
I’m talking about the exhaustive Penguin Classics editions. Not only are these the final say on the texts, but all the stories are annotated by Lovecraft expert S.T. Joshi. I actually met Joshi at the 50th celebration of Lovecraft’s death, when there was a get-together at his gravesite in Providence, R.I. (It helps I lived all of a 10-minute walk away.)
THE CALL OF CTHULHU AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES by H.P. Lovecraft – From 1999, this is the first of the Penguin reissues, with all the bells and whistles. Think of these as the Criterion Collections of Lovecraft books – they are that detailed. They each start out with the lesser-known short stories and build to the longer, better-know tales. (I know I may catch grief for that statement, but most people who are not familiar with the man will recognize a few titles.)
Probably one of the nicest surprises in this collection is to finally have “Herbert West: Reanimator” in a book. Also included is what could be considered a cautionary tale: “The Picture in the House” – the moral being, don’t go into strange houses if you are not familiar with them.
There is also “Cool Air,” a bizarre tale of air conditioning, to say the least; we get a helping of the Cthulhu mythos in this one. In “Dagon,” a sailor witnesses a ceremony he wishes he hadn’t. “The Call of Cthulhu,” the biggest of them all, is a tale of the Cthulhu cult and what becomes of people in it.
Then there is one of my favorites: “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” being the real selling point of the collection. If you’re ever in Massachusetts and most of the townspeople smell of fish, I have one word for you: run. You also get “The Colour out of Space,” a story about a meteorite of some sort that crashes into a farm, causing the all kinds of problems, like animals dying off, the water being changed and the family slowly going mad.
Not everything in this collection is a home run; there are a few clunkers. If you’re really only looking for the best bet for your money, may I present you the second collection…
THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES by H.P. Lovecraft – For me, this 2001 reissue is the best of the three. It has some of my favorite stories and only one true miss: a story ghostwritten for Harry Houdini about a trip to Egypt that does nothing for me. But pretty much every other story here is just pitch-perfect Lovecraft.
“The Music of Erich Zahn” is a tale of a boarder in Paris with a musician neighbor who is playing for the elder ones. (Think avant garde violin music played by a speed freak.) “Pickman’s Model” is a story of an artist who knows how to really capture the moment, even if his art is not for everyone with depictions of monsters that no mere man could fathom in acts of brutality. But all artists have a price to pay for their art, and Pickman is no exception; this was one of the few stories done justice by Rod Serling on NIGHT GALLERY.
“The Case of Charles Dexter Ward” is the story of an overanxious student who finds out that some things should best be left undisturbed, when it comes to family history. This one holds a special place in my heart since it’s based all around Providence and I know all the locations that he writes about.
Then there is the best Lovecraft story, bar none: “At the Mountains of Madness,” about an Antarctic expedition that ends in the discovery of an ancient city of the Old Ones. The story is part Indiana Jones adventure, part horror film. Hopefully one day, someone can do justice to this story cinematically, because it would kick so much ass on the big screen. (Yes, I know Guillermo del Toro is working on it.)
Sandwiched in between those two great stories is “The Dunwich Horror,” a no-slouch account of a family that lives on the outskirts of town, with a daddy who is not human. If you’ve only seen the cheesy film version of this story, you’re in for a shock since there is no love interest in the story. It’s just about the brothers and their quest to get their hands on a certain book.
THE DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES by H.P. Lovecraft – From 2004, the third and final volume of the Penguin editions is a big mixed bag, especially since I never really cared for the “dreamland”-type stories Lovecraft wrote: “The Silver Key,” “The Doom That Came Saranth,” “Polaris” and the list goes on. These were stories mainly influenced by Lord Dunsany’s writings.
The longest piece in the book is “The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath,” just another in the long line of Lovecraft’s dreamscapes, featuring Randolph Carter, who dreams of a fantastical city called Kadath. It’s a place no one has ever been to or really has seen, but home to the gods. To me, it goes on too long.
If you’re asking, “Where, oh, where is the horror?,” don’t worry – you get some, with “The Nameless City” being a huge standout. You can tell Lovecraft would incorporate ideas from this story to his much longer “At the Mountains of Madness,” since it’s the story of a man finding a now-forgotten city in the desert. Then there is the great little story of “The Terrible Old Man,” which shows that not all senior citizens are feeble and weak.
Then we finally get the corrected text to another of Lovecraft’s space fantasies: “The Shadow out of Time,” which tells the story of an alien race called the Yith. These aliens can posses anyone or anything; they do so to find out about other species in the galaxy. The story revolves around a man who was possessed by these creatures and his work to find out more about them.
With this collection, just be forewarned: There are some diamonds, but they are just stuck in the rough. However, the notes that follow the stories are so thorough and informative, you won’t feel like you’ve been cheated.
Next time, we’ll cast an eye on Lovecraft’s best pal. –Bruce Grossman
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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• BOOKS 2 FILM: The Call of Cthulhu
• THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE: TALES OF COSMIC HORROR edited by D. Thin
• DON’T OPEN THIS BOOK! edited by Marvin Kaye
• INTO THE MUMMY’S TOMB edited by John Richard Stephens
• THE 13 BEST HORROR STORIES OF ALL TIME edited by Leslie Pockell
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