The Dunwich Horror and Others

Ah, good old H. P. Lovecraft. I have just finished the anthology The Dunwich Horror and Other Stories Typical HPL grandiloquent prose, half seen horrors in the dark which came aeons ago from the outer reaches of the galaxy to lurk about in the bowels of the earth. Or learned gentleman who studied esoteric magic from ancient terrible books like the Necronomicon, and have cause to regret it when the creatures they summoned forth drag themselves up the stairs to the garret to devour them. Or young men are possessed by evil demons, and have to be dispatched by their friends who then end up in mental homes. Or strange creatures from the subterranean depths, or beneath the sea mate with humans to produce horrid deformed offspring. Then there are the description of ancient houses, echoing underground passages where monsters lurk. Yes, standard HPL, terror at its finest, or awesome with overarching tales of timescales beyond human understanding. The tales are often leisurely in pace, slowly ratcheting up unease and tension till the final awful end for the protagonist either leads to his death, or a lifetime of fear and nightmares. Good stuff!

Many of Love craft's most iconic tales are here, including "The Call of Cthulu" which started off the whole Cthulu mythos, "The Color out of Space" with its creepy alien stuff that spreads disease madness and death, "The Shadow over Innsmouth" with its strange ihabitants, hybrids of humans and creatures from the depths of the ocean, and of course, "The Dunwich Horror" with its horrible creature growing ever bigger and more hungry! Perfect for a winter's evening before a cozy fire.