65 replies to this topic

[Cryptozological Mascot]

The Mountains of Madness

[Taun]

After you've read a good sampling of his stories, try this one...

"Baby's First Mythos"...

Not scarry and not by Lovecraft, but for those that enjoy his work (and have
a sense of humor) it's pretty funny...

It's aimed at kids but can actually help keep some of the 'things' in his
stories straight in your mind...


edit: and I agree... "The Mountains of Madness" is excellent...

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Edited by Taun, 19 May 2011 - 10:48 AM.

[Wookietim]

Soul Kitchen, on 06 May 2011 - 12:08 AM, said:

I've been hearing everywhere about this HP Lovecraft and it really seems like stuff that I would enjoy.
I know it doesn't matter that much, but which book should I start with?

To be honest, just pick up one of the HPL collections. Two stories to keep an eye out for :

"The Colour out of space" - a rather chilling read and a good example of Lovecraftian horror in that nothing specifically happens, but lots of things happen... difficult to explain until you read the story.

"The Call of Cthulhu" - probably his most famous story. Perhaps not his absolute best but probably in the top 5 or at least the top 10 on most people's lists.

But really, any collection of his stories will work as a good introduction. Just be warned - his style is not for everyone. It's not that it is antiquated or anything (Actually, his use of language is relatively modern... for it's time at least). But it's more that that particular style of "Horror" doesn't appeal to everyone - it's all about what happens in your imagination rather than what he explains on the page. The best way to describe it is the difference between "The Blair Witch Project" or "Paranormal Activity" and "Hostel" - the first two are more HPL type horror in that it is all about what your imagination cooks up but not about showing you the stuff and the latter is all about showing you things with no ambiguity. Neither is objectively better than the other of course and it's all about personal taste, but keep in mind that HPL doesn't like to directly show you the things he talks about...

[Wookietim]

Taun, on 19 May 2011 - 10:47 AM, said:

After you've read a good sampling of his stories, try this one...

"Baby's First Mythos"...

Not scarry and not by Lovecraft, but for those that enjoy his work (and have
a sense of humor) it's pretty funny...

It's aimed at kids but can actually help keep some of the 'things' in his
stories straight in your mind...


edit: and I agree... "The Mountains of Madness" is excellent...

"Mountains of madness" is great!

I might also remind the OP that HPL is not the only person to write good Lovecraftian horror - Robert Howard (Of Conan fame) wrote quite a few Cthulhu mythos stories that are pretty darn fun to read as well...

[Agent D. Scully]

Shadow over Innsmouth was a good one, as was the Call of Cthulu. The Cats of Ulthar is awesome, too. I'd recomend you stay miles away from his poetry (most wasn't much good, actually a pretty lousy imitation of Poe,) and go for the short stories forst, and wait to read the longer ones and novels.

Oooh and I have a joke for you Lovecraft fans on this thread! Why was Herbert Wesr such a good barkeeper?


'Cause he knew the way to mix a tonic! Get it?

Because if you say mix a tonic fast it kinda sounds like Miskatonic...!

*dodges flying fruit*

Edited by Agent D. Scully, 19 May 2011 - 09:36 PM.

[Bracket]

Agent D. Scully, on 19 May 2011 - 09:21 PM, said:

Oooh and I have a joke for you Lovecraft fans on this thread! Why was Herbert Wesr such a good barkeeper?


'Cause he knew the way to mix a tonic! Get it?

Because if you say mix a tonic fast it kinda sounds like Miskatonic...!

*dodges flying fruit*

Wow.  

[Oniomancer]

Agent D. Scully, on 19 May 2011 - 09:21 PM, said:

Shadow over Innsmouth was a good one, as was the Call of Cthulu. The Cats of Ulthar is awesome, too. I'd recomend you stay miles away from his poetry (most wasn't much good, actually a pretty lousy imitation of Poe,) and go for the short stories forst, and wait to read the longer ones and novels.

Oooh and I have a joke for you Lovecraft fans on this thread! Why was Herbert Wesr such a good barkeeper?


'Cause he knew the way to mix a tonic! Get it?

Because if you say mix a tonic fast it kinda sounds like Miskatonic...!

*dodges flying fruit*

You're lucky it's not flying polyps.

[Bracket]

Oniomancer, on 21 May 2011 - 03:34 AM, said:

You're lucky it's not flying polyps.

Now THAT'S funny!    

[xlizen]

Soul Kitchen, on 06 May 2011 - 12:08 AM, said:

I've been hearing everywhere about this HP Lovecraft and it really seems like stuff that I would enjoy.
I know it doesn't matter that much, but which book should I start with?

My one friend convinced me how awesome Lovecraft is so I purchased The Best of Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and Macabre. The stories in this collection are easy to read and help ease you into Lovecraft's greater works such as the Cthulhu mythos and Mountains of Madness IMO. After I purchased the Best of Lovecraft, I moved onto The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft: The Road to Madness for this one contains "The Mountains of Madness" and "Reanimator" which was the story that inspired the Re-Animator movie. They're really cheap online and easy to find too. Hope that helps!

[Soul Kitchen]

xlizen, on 21 May 2011 - 03:59 AM, said:

My one friend convinced me how awesome Lovecraft is so I purchased The Best of Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and Macabre. The stories in this collection are easy to read and help ease you into Lovecraft's greater works such as the Cthulhu mythos and Mountains of Madness IMO. After I purchased the Best of Lovecraft, I moved onto The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft: The Road to Madness for this one contains "The Mountains of Madness" and "Reanimator" which was the story that inspired the Re-Animator movie. They're really cheap online and easy to find too. Hope that helps!

I might just go with that one

[Dsm]

Soul Kitchen, on 21 May 2011 - 04:32 AM, said:

I might just go with that one

Story wise I would start with Dagon. Perfect length and a typical Lovecraft ambiguous ending.

[Wyvernkeeper]

Cryptozological Mascot, on 12 May 2011 - 06:13 PM, said:

The Mountains of Madness

I second that...   Call of Cthulu is pretty hard to beat too... The one ghost written for Harry Houdini is quite entertaining but I've forgotton what its called, 'below the pyramids' or something.

[superdarkyoshi]

Pretty sure you could just buy a whole collection of his stories.

[Shrine Builder]

Surprised no one has mentioned "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath."

Or...even "The Dunwich Horror."

Wtf is wrong with you people?  Not even a slight gesture at "The Hound."

[Guest]

The short stories. I think his best work is The Music of Erich Zann. Absolutely awesome.