This story was commissioned for a magazine and has a slightly different feel from his others. Must be read after “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” or it loses background material. And, of course, it's where one meets Cthulhu and the only story in which Cthulhu is really a character-though he's mentioned elsewhere. Nonetheless, this is one of the classics. There are newspaper clippings and journal entries and interviews. Not as readable as some because it's a tale within a tale within a tale. Spoils what might be on otherwise excellent story. Racist cringe factor with the cat's name. Podcraft audio version.įantastic imagery and a classic Lovecraftian protagonist. I find this one of the eeriest of Lovecraft's stories. One of my favorites, very much works for sci-fi horror inspiration. A meteor arrives and what it contains wreaks havoc on a small area. Short but manages to encapsulate cosmic horror in an ordinary city.Īn excellent instance of cosmic horror. I don't especially like the dream stories, but you can find a list on Wikipedia and attempt them.Ī great introduction to the world of Lovecraft. Together, they encapsulate everything about Lovecraft's universe except his dream stories. They're in a variety of styles and have varying tones. They're not too long (some more than others), if you don't like one you can drop it and move on to another. These are, perhaps, the best to start with. I've also linked to three below which I especially recommend. There are a number of good recordings available at the Lovecraft eZine and some on Librivox. Lovecraft Literary Podcast if you want company (and for the ones not on this list, the podcast really helps get through them and even see fun things in them). I added my thoughts but tried not to give things away.Īs always, I recommend reading these along with the H.P. As with any fiction, this is my entirely subjective take.

Even before I released the Lovecraft eBook, people have asked me where they should start with Lovecraft or what his best stories were.

Memory by hp lovecraft