Anyone here read H.P. Lovecraft?

[Spike Spiegel]

I bought a book of his stories, and so far he's pretty wordy. It's funny how large the words are back during the 20s and so on. The line, "incongruous in its diminutiveness" would be said as, "smaller than the rest" today. When I read Moby Dick I noticed something similar (again, about same time period).

And so, I read "the call of cthulhu" and found it sorta bland. The main reason for by musing the book, to be honest. Just started "shadows over innsmouth," and that's actually much better.

Anyone else read his insane stories? If so, which was your favorite?

 

[fake]

I just started. I got the Barnes & Noble compilation of all of his fiction. I've been reading it chronologically, so at the moment he's coming off as an angsty teenage Poe wannabe, which I guess is what he was. But at least he was a good angsty teenage Poe wannabe. I'd like to go down to Providence and check out the Lovecraft sites sometime.

I don't recommend getting that Barnes & Noble compilation - or any other for that matter. The pages are gilded. So after I read it, my hands (and my face if I've scratched an itch) are full of glitter. I look like I've manhandled Tinkerbell.

 

[norton9478]

Yeah, books written before WWI (or sometimes even WWII) have a totally different writing style.

 

[GutsDozer]

I tried to get into Lovecraft but i find his writing kind of full of itself and droning.

 

[Jibbajaba]

"the call of cthulhu"

Somebody was gonna do it...

 

[herb]

Shadow over Innsmouth is excellent. I also really enjoyed At The Mountains of Madness.

 

[DNSDies]

Colour out of Space and The Thing on the Doorstep are good.
I love Shoggoths.

 

[rarehero]

Look up pickman's model. Short story by lovecraft, but pretty good.

 

[StaticX]

Should really start reading his stories. I've been watching things connected to his work. Re-Animator and another Jefferey Combs movie as well as that episode based on Cthulu from The Real Ghostubsters, I think the episode is called "the collect call of Cthulu.

Shame, sounds like his stuff is meh from you guys.

 

[NeuroticMoose]

Should really start reading his stories. I've been watching things connected to his work. Re-Animator and another Jefferey Combs movie as well as that episode based on Cthulu from The Real Ghostubsters, I think the episode is called "the collect call of Cthulu.

Shame, sounds like his stuff is meh from you guys.

Was the other Combs film From Beyond? Love that movie

 

[StaticX]

Was the other Combs film From Beyond? Love that movie

Bingo!!!! It was pretty awesome! Just saw it last week.

 

[MattBlah]

I've got this collection of his work that I've had for quite a few years. I've read quite a few, but not all of them. I find, because of the writing style, if I am tired it will just make me fall asleep reading it. I love it when I'm awake enough to take it all in though. I loved In the Mountains of Madness.

 

[nug]

Lovecraft is great! The house on the high hill is a good one. I also really enjoy the stories that are focused on going to different lands through dream

 

[BeefJerky]

Read, "The Outsider". Short and sweet.

 

[Newsdee]

I have the complete works but haven't read them all. I should re-read some of them sometime.

 

[NeoSneth]

No to the books.

I do play modern boardgames, so I'm quite familiar with the Mythos. Arkham Horror universe is heavily influenced by lovecraftian lore.

 

[cat]

Big lovecraft fan here, my favourites are the later mythos stories, he really hit his straps with those.
It's cool how the stories share some common link's with regards to the area they're set in, the creatures/deity's/aliens involved and the necronomicon.
Check out.
The colour out of space,
The horror at red hook,
Dagon,
The case of charles dexter ward,
The haunter of the dark,
The shadow out of time,
Dreams in the witch house,
The whisperer in darkness.
The dunwich horror,
Cool air.

 

[pulstar]

I've not read all his work, but my favourites of what I have read are probably Dagon, Shadow Over Innsmouth, Whisperer In the Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, From Beyond. He is definitely a product of his time though; the prose is very dense compared to modern day fiction but it is worth working through this because there are some gems there.

 

[BLEAGH]

They are great. You have to kinda step back and remember when they were written though. If you've only read modern Sci fi and fantasy it will take a little getting used to.

Remember that many stories were written around the time of Pluto's discovery.

 

[@M]

I've read an anthology or two of his stuff years ago. His work is all right and he came up with some interesting critters and concepts, but I don't think he's the end-all, be-all that some people do. I much prefer the work of his contemporaries Robert E. Howard (Conan!) and Clark Ashton Smith. Lovecraft's real life is more interesting to read about than his prose is in my opinion.

 

[cat]

I don't think he's actually a very good writer TBH, he can't half ramble on sometimes and he uses words like cyclopean, gibbous, eldrich, stygian far to much lol.
But his stories didn't half get under my skin 25 odd years ago when i first found out about him, and read them.
2 films worth checking out are cast a deadly spell with fred ward as detective harry phillip lovecraft.
And Dagon, same guy who did from beyond (stuart gordon) and loosely based on the shadow out of innsmouth.
Talking of which this is good fun.

 

[norton9478]

Read, "The Outsider". Short and sweet.

Does Ponyboy die?

 

[pepelegit]

seconding innsmouth and mountains of madness. I like most of his stuff, but I know some people have a rougher time getting into it. a friend of mine loves the mythos but can't get into the books at all.
shadow over innsmouth is probably one of the fastest moving ones, which is one of the reasons i usually recommend it to people first.

 

[BerryTogart]

Yes, of course. Read Lovecraft, played the rpg and also can recommend the Boom! Comic series "Fall of Cthulhu" it is really well done.
Edit: Almost forgot the "Arkham Horror" game by FFG. Buy it.

 

[KalessinDB]

Huge Lovecraft fan. The terror of the unknown, for whatever reason, speaks strongly to me.

Bit surprised no one's mentioned any of my favorites - The Music of Erich Zann for a short story, The Rats in the Walls for a bit longer, and longer still (and probably my overall favorite) The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath