Lovecraft and Lovecraftian Related Stories and Novels
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alexvss
Me doesn't knows no grammar.
I'm currently crafting a Lovecraftian novelette. From Lovecraft himself, I took inspiration from The Shadow over Innsmouth and Dagon. I really like the dreadful atmosphere and the cultist craziness.Yes , we can talk about Lovecraft and his stories her and also, other the writers who've written stories and novel in that vein .
Which are you favorites and why ?
I've also consumed a lot of Lovecraftian stuff lately. The best thing I can name is the work of Junji Ito, hands down. The ones I recommend the most are:
- Uzumaki: a village becomes obsessed with the concept of spiral. It starts off with an artisan becoming crazy, then it escalates to people turning into snails and being able to control hurricanes.
- Hellstar Remina: an astronomer names a star he discovered with the same name of his daughter. As the star travels towards Earth, people start blaming the girl.
- Travelogue of the Succubus (A.K.A Sensor): Angel Hair is the phenomenon of lava from an erupting volcano cools into thin, hair-like strands. Now imagine that coming from UFOs and making you able to travel through time.
Still in the comics section, Alan Moore’s Neonomicon is a must. It’s great because it has Moore’s storytelling alongside the drawings of his favorite illustrator. The mystery works and keeps you wanting more. The twist on Lovecraft’s prejudices (essential) also works.
I didn’t understand Grant Morrison’s The Nameless very well. It’s too weird so I’d have to read it again.
The Empty Man is pretty cool, it works as a detective story and has a decent movie adaptation, but it fails to be as big as the other ones.
As for movies, The Lighthouse (2019) and The Void (2016) are among my favorites. Although I’d say only The Lighthouse is a must-watch.
I also tried some games... Stay away from those. They're not worth it
I posted a form of this elsewhere, so apologies if you've seen it before:
Until recently, novels were pretty sparse and most weren't very good mainly because the writers were trying too hard to imitate HPL. Over the 20-30 years more writers have incorporated Lovecraftian themes into their own work. Still, anyone who reads Lovecraft can't be allergic to short fiction, so some collections are listed as well as novels.
The Grin of the Dark by Ramsey Campbell. Campbell started publishing as a teen, a slavishly imitative teen, who later found his own voice and themes and concerns and started melding his influences into fiction that was distinctively his own. This book is one of the most frightening books I've read as we watch a film reviewer get to know too much about his subject and the subject take over his life. See Cold Print for a collection of his Lovecraftian short stories.
The Red Tree & The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan. Unreliable narrators take you through two harrowing stories. I think these two might be best read together, one reflecting a bit off the other. Kiernan is an exceptional writer. I've read her collection To Charles Fort, With Love and other some of her other stories, and they are definitely influenced by HPL, but also by Shirley Jackson and others. Excellent writer.
Grimscibe by Thomas Ligotti. Story collection. Ligotti is one of the most original writers of horror/dark fantasy in the last 30-40 years. He melds HPL with his own philosophical bent and produces a distinctive and often disturbing body of work. This book tries to be a novel with connective vignettes, but really isn't. The best stories are powerful, the lesser ones are still damn weird.
The Croning by Laird Barron. Not as intense as his short fiction -- The Imago Sequence has some truly disturbing stories -- but still an effective story about an aging man with holes in his memory trying to understand what he's gotten himself involved in and how it's directed his life.
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. Not as intensely Lovecraftian as the above; a lighter take on HPL. Ruff explores the Outsider, in this case the 1950's African-American, and manages to skewer the Jim Crow era while also having fun with s.f. genre of the time. About to come to HBO from Jordan Peale and J.J. Abrams.
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. Racism is wound into HPL's work, and LaValle is drawn by the imagination and invention, and repelled by the racism. This is his response, working off "The Horror at Red Hook."
Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard. Another lighter work I found entertaining.
House of Windows & The Fisherman by John Langan. Both novels concern thin areas between our dimension and a dimension where vast entities dwell and sometimes reach into our world. The latter is widely known and admired by fans of Lovecraft, and rightly so. The former is, in my opinion, unjustly neglected.
We Are All Completely Fine & Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory. The former is a novella, very quick reading, at times a lighter version of HPL-ish fiction, but Gregory’s Scrimshander, more implied than shown, is one of the more frightening characters I’ve come across in fiction. The latter novel was marketed as a YA novel, accentuating the humor you find a bit of in the novella and still manages to be suspenseful and imaginative.
The Bone Key by Sarah Monette. Monette’s stated intent was to meld Lovecraft with the M. R. James ghost story while dispelling the inherent misogyny. She does a fine job. I wouldn’t call most of the stories especially scary, though “Raising Helena” is effective and introduces the recurring character of Kyle Murchison Booth. She has an underlying sense of humor that rears up in a couple of the stories in enjoyable ways.
Related and of interest,
Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith. It’s the end of the world and necromancers have mostly taken charge. A series of short stories that grow weirder as they proceed, and more involving for all that. Probably a hard book to find now, but worth it if you trip over. Smith was a contemporary, friend and correspondent of Lovecraft’s; his weird work may well be weirder than HPL’s. All of Smith’s short work has been collected and published courtesy of NightShade (now part of Skyhorse Publishing).
The Throne of Bones Brian MacNaughton. MacNaughton’s story collection springs off of Smith’s work, much of it dedicated to the doings of ghouls. Macabre stories girded at times by a graveyard humor.
Experimental Film by Gemma Files. Not exactly Lovecraft, but again an example of cosmic horror in the vein he was exploring.
Honorable mentions,
The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson. Pre-Lovecraft, Hodgson touches on the kind of cosmic horror that HPL was striving for. A very odd book, one I didn’t find entirely satisfactory, but which stays with me all the same.
Midnight Sun by Ramsey Campbell. Forgot to mention this one yesterday. Critics say it’s more like Arthur Machen, and I’m willing to believe that. To me, it also feels like one of the best Stephen King novels not written by King, and again has the kind of cosmic horror HPL strove for.
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. A tale in which fictional characters like Count Dracula and Sherlock Holmes fight for or against the coming of the ancient gods (read, Lovecraft’s entities). This sounds slight when summarized, but is immensely fun in the reading, especially around Halloween.
Until recently, novels were pretty sparse and most weren't very good mainly because the writers were trying too hard to imitate HPL. Over the 20-30 years more writers have incorporated Lovecraftian themes into their own work. Still, anyone who reads Lovecraft can't be allergic to short fiction, so some collections are listed as well as novels.
The Grin of the Dark by Ramsey Campbell. Campbell started publishing as a teen, a slavishly imitative teen, who later found his own voice and themes and concerns and started melding his influences into fiction that was distinctively his own. This book is one of the most frightening books I've read as we watch a film reviewer get to know too much about his subject and the subject take over his life. See Cold Print for a collection of his Lovecraftian short stories.
The Red Tree & The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan. Unreliable narrators take you through two harrowing stories. I think these two might be best read together, one reflecting a bit off the other. Kiernan is an exceptional writer. I've read her collection To Charles Fort, With Love and other some of her other stories, and they are definitely influenced by HPL, but also by Shirley Jackson and others. Excellent writer.
Grimscibe by Thomas Ligotti. Story collection. Ligotti is one of the most original writers of horror/dark fantasy in the last 30-40 years. He melds HPL with his own philosophical bent and produces a distinctive and often disturbing body of work. This book tries to be a novel with connective vignettes, but really isn't. The best stories are powerful, the lesser ones are still damn weird.
The Croning by Laird Barron. Not as intense as his short fiction -- The Imago Sequence has some truly disturbing stories -- but still an effective story about an aging man with holes in his memory trying to understand what he's gotten himself involved in and how it's directed his life.
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. Not as intensely Lovecraftian as the above; a lighter take on HPL. Ruff explores the Outsider, in this case the 1950's African-American, and manages to skewer the Jim Crow era while also having fun with s.f. genre of the time. About to come to HBO from Jordan Peale and J.J. Abrams.
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. Racism is wound into HPL's work, and LaValle is drawn by the imagination and invention, and repelled by the racism. This is his response, working off "The Horror at Red Hook."
Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard. Another lighter work I found entertaining.
House of Windows & The Fisherman by John Langan. Both novels concern thin areas between our dimension and a dimension where vast entities dwell and sometimes reach into our world. The latter is widely known and admired by fans of Lovecraft, and rightly so. The former is, in my opinion, unjustly neglected.
We Are All Completely Fine & Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory. The former is a novella, very quick reading, at times a lighter version of HPL-ish fiction, but Gregory’s Scrimshander, more implied than shown, is one of the more frightening characters I’ve come across in fiction. The latter novel was marketed as a YA novel, accentuating the humor you find a bit of in the novella and still manages to be suspenseful and imaginative.
The Bone Key by Sarah Monette. Monette’s stated intent was to meld Lovecraft with the M. R. James ghost story while dispelling the inherent misogyny. She does a fine job. I wouldn’t call most of the stories especially scary, though “Raising Helena” is effective and introduces the recurring character of Kyle Murchison Booth. She has an underlying sense of humor that rears up in a couple of the stories in enjoyable ways.
Related and of interest,
Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith. It’s the end of the world and necromancers have mostly taken charge. A series of short stories that grow weirder as they proceed, and more involving for all that. Probably a hard book to find now, but worth it if you trip over. Smith was a contemporary, friend and correspondent of Lovecraft’s; his weird work may well be weirder than HPL’s. All of Smith’s short work has been collected and published courtesy of NightShade (now part of Skyhorse Publishing).
The Throne of Bones Brian MacNaughton. MacNaughton’s story collection springs off of Smith’s work, much of it dedicated to the doings of ghouls. Macabre stories girded at times by a graveyard humor.
Experimental Film by Gemma Files. Not exactly Lovecraft, but again an example of cosmic horror in the vein he was exploring.
Honorable mentions,
The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson. Pre-Lovecraft, Hodgson touches on the kind of cosmic horror that HPL was striving for. A very odd book, one I didn’t find entirely satisfactory, but which stays with me all the same.
Midnight Sun by Ramsey Campbell. Forgot to mention this one yesterday. Critics say it’s more like Arthur Machen, and I’m willing to believe that. To me, it also feels like one of the best Stephen King novels not written by King, and again has the kind of cosmic horror HPL strove for.
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. A tale in which fictional characters like Count Dracula and Sherlock Holmes fight for or against the coming of the ancient gods (read, Lovecraft’s entities). This sounds slight when summarized, but is immensely fun in the reading, especially around Halloween.
The Hungry Moon by Ramsey Campbell A town name Moonwell with an unspeakable ancient evil entity not off this earth trapped in the well of that Town . Then comes an American Evangelist , who goes into the well to do battle .
The Great White Space by Basil Copper The lone survivor of an ill FATED expedition to underground Elder Earth City. In term story Concept it somewhat along the line of At the Mountains Madness and The Shadow out of time , only much much better and with Shades of Quatermass. This is terrific Lovcratian novel and a first rate horror story.
The Manitou by Graham Masterton about ancient Indian Medicine Man named Misqumacus who hacome back to avenge what happened to his people . This one is definitely Lovecratian in that the primary entity is being called The Great Old One .
The Great White Space by Basil Copper The lone survivor of an ill FATED expedition to underground Elder Earth City. In term story Concept it somewhat along the line of At the Mountains Madness and The Shadow out of time , only much much better and with Shades of Quatermass. This is terrific Lovcratian novel and a first rate horror story.
The Manitou by Graham Masterton about ancient Indian Medicine Man named Misqumacus who hacome back to avenge what happened to his people . This one is definitely Lovecratian in that the primary entity is being called The Great Old One .
Two novels I have not read but sound interesting
Shadows Bend : A Novel of The Fantastic and Unspeakable by David Barbour and Richard Raleigh In this novel Robert E Howard and H P Lovecraft team up to battle an ancient evil .
Strange Eons by Robert Bloch Its one vein of Lovecraft and hard book to find .
Shadows Bend : A Novel of The Fantastic and Unspeakable by David Barbour and Richard Raleigh In this novel Robert E Howard and H P Lovecraft team up to battle an ancient evil .
Strange Eons by Robert Bloch Its one vein of Lovecraft and hard book to find .
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Horror of Fang Rock feels very Lovecraft-ian.
alexvss
Me doesn't knows no grammar.
The episode "In Vaulted Halls Entombed" from Love, Death + Robots Vol 3. It's based in a short-story of the same name published in the Anthology SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest. You can read it for free.
Sounds quite interesting.
You might find the short story The Night Wire by H F Arnold to be of interest. It was written in 1926 It can found online iid its entirety .
Also Fishhead by Irving Cobb written iid 1912 , I suspect the tale influenced Lovecraft.
alexvss
Me doesn't knows no grammar.
Thanx.Sounds quite interesting.
You might find the short story The Night Wire by H F Arnold to be of interest. It was written in 1926 It can found online iid its entirety .
Also Fishhead by Irving Cobb written iid 1912 , I suspect the tale influenced Lovecraft.
A quick search revealed that The Night Wire is one of the most famous stories ever published in Weird Tales, but its author is a mystery, and he simply vanished after publishing two more stories. Saved for later.
I found it quite by accident . Its terrific. Ive not read the other two satires he wrote
Based this one story by him. I wish h continued writing these kinds of stories.
Guttersnipe
mortal ally
I think Love, Death and Robots did a good job with making "In Vaulted Halls Entombed" pretty Lovecraftian, as it includes a giant eldritch abomination. Actually, stuff like that is pretty par for the show.
Yes it does and o does Image of the Fendahl with a little Quaterass and the Pit thrown in for good measure.
Reanimnators by Peter Rawlik It deals with Herbert West and the consequences of his Discovery It los references and its tother other stores in by Lovecraft
The Weird Company by Peter Rawlick is sequel to At Mountains of Madness and it involves other protagonists from Lovecrats other Mythos stories .
The Weird Company by Peter Rawlick is sequel to At Mountains of Madness and it involves other protagonists from Lovecrats other Mythos stories .
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