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The Dunwich Horror

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 1,660 ratings · 95 reviews

In the degenerate, unliked backwater of Dunwich, Wilbur Whately, a most unusual child, is born. Of unnatural parentage, he grows at an uncanny pace to an unsettling height, but the boy's arrival simply precedes that of a true horror: one of the Old Ones, that forces the people of the town to hole up by night.

This edition is part of the Penguin Gothic Horror series designed...more

Mass Market Paperback, 201 pages

Published October 2nd 2008 by Penguin (first published 1928)

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Community Reviews

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Sep 29, 2011 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cthulhu-worship, audiobook, novellas, weird-and-new-weird, freak-families, science-horror, 1900-1929

Wilbur Whateley is the offspring of an extreme interracial relationship. His mother is a FUGLY, deformed, inbred albino. She’s the more attractive set of chromosomes because "papa" is reeeeeeeeeeally FUBAR and quite a bit “elder.” This unnatural genetic bouillabaisse helps Wilbur sprout into an impressive 15 year old that stands over 8 feet tall, carries a full beard and has a face that can cure constipation.

Yes….Wilbur is awesome.

The Dunwich Horror is among my favorite Lovecraft stories and is...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars

Master of horror writes a story of true forces of evil. The story beats a lot of modern writers in prose, characters and plot. I can see why many screenwriters have taken from pages of Lovecraft's characters. It seems that The Dark Tower series by King has a lot of inspiration from these elements in Dunwich Horror and other stories. A dark malevolent force of evil has taken over Dunwich is there hope?
You are taken through the accounts and findings of this evil, a very good tale.

"Young Wilbur‘s
...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Randolph Carter rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, graphic-novel, horror

There are so many things wrong with this book.

1. It is not "H.P Lovecraft's Dunwich Horror" as the cover states. It is Joe R. Lansdale's sequel to the Dunwich Horror. Ol' Joe is trying to pull a Derleth here.

2. The story is awful. Ol' Joe was just phoning it in. This has to be the worst story Lansdale ever put his name to.

3. The characters do almost nothing except explain what they are going to do next (or eventually) or the back story or the back story from the original Dunwich Horror. I think...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Ruth rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comics, lovecraftian

Art: Some great monster/horror stuff.
Story: Brief and not that engaging.
Typos: Several.
The Hound add-on story: Utterly gorgeous.
One-star subtracted because it's called "H.P. Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror" and it most certainly is NOT the HPL story. The HPL story was for more entertaining.

I think the story might've been more engaging if it'd been fleshed out further with the implied bits. I didn't feel like we got the best part. A couple interesting ideas about the original story.

Definitely read...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Jess Cattanach rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: new-2-u-author-challenge, owned, read-in-2013, tower-teams-team-c

There are six short stories that comprise this edition of The Dunwich Horror. I’ll try to say a little about each.

The Dunwich Horror itself is my first introduction to Lovecraft, being the first in the book. It is presented with a super creepy atmosphere that builds throughout, and even though my edition clocks it in as only 63 pages, that doesn’t lessen the effect. I enjoyed the setting -- and while I’m at it will add that I enjoyed that all these stories took place in a similar sort of locatio...more There are six short stories that comprise this edition of The Dunwich Horror. I’ll try to say a little about each.

The Dunwich Horror itself is my first introduction to Lovecraft, being the first in the book. It is presented with a super creepy atmosphere that builds throughout, and even though my edition clocks it in as only 63 pages, that doesn’t lessen the effect. I enjoyed the setting -- and while I’m at it will add that I enjoyed that all these stories took place in a similar sort of location -- and the contrast between a pleasant university and its scholars to the horrid secrets of Dunwich.

The Dreams in the Witch House was interesting to read, as I’ve seen the Masters of Horror short film adaptation, which I really enjoyed. It’s been a year or two since I’ve seen the film but from my recollection the story was even better and spookier, which is saying a lot since the Masters of Horror films are among the most excellent horror has to offer on the big screen. I really enjoyed the merging of mathematics and magical lore, and how this story played out.

The Lurking Fear was indeed a lurking fear. I found with this, as with a number of the other stories in this collection, that the last few sentences wrapped it up perfectly. The suspense was built all throughout and then right at the end, when you feel you can hardly take it anymore, comes the shocking conclusion.

The Thing on the Doorstep is interesting in that the opening line tells you the fate of Edward Derby. It would be easy for this to make the story dull, but that is not the case -- Lovecraft can just as easily build the suspense back up from the conclusion than from the beginning.

Hypnos was very short, but with a fantastic ending. I feel like I keep raving on about the endings of these stories but from my little knowledge of Lovecraft that I’ve picked up with this collection, endings are definitely one of his strong points. I’d also like to add while I’m at it that he uses very little dialogue, but you become so engrossed in the descriptions that they don’t feel chunky and endless, but rather beautiful (if that word can be applied to the content he’s writing about) and easily flowing together.

The Outsider was the final in this collection, and once again very short at only 10 pages, but this did not detract from its air. The thing this collection has really told me is that I absolutely need to get a hold of more tales by Lovecraft, and as soon as possible!(less)

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Oct 09, 2012 Sonia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-book

*sigh*

So far this is my favorite of all the Lovecraftian fiction I've read. However, saying this is my favorite of all his works is like saying that the last fart in a series of stinkers is my favorite. It's only my favorite insofar that I didn't dislike it as much as the others.

I think I'm trying to force myself into some appreciation of Lovecraft that I just do not have and will probably never have. While I can appreciate the creativity and some of the characterization, I find his descriptions...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, fiction, teh-weird

This is a cheat review, I didn't actually read this book. I read the story The Dunwich Horror and maybe this edition has only that story in it, or maybe it has some other ones included as well. I don't know. And this unknowing kind of disturbs me, and I think maybe I shouldn't review this as a book, but just tack it on to my review of The Weird. It almost fills with the horror that the citizens of Dunwich feel when they take turns looking up on the hill towards the end of this story. Yeah, it's...more This is a cheat review, I didn't actually read this book. I read the story The Dunwich Horror and maybe this edition has only that story in it, or maybe it has some other ones included as well. I don't know. And this unknowing kind of disturbs me, and I think maybe I shouldn't review this as a book, but just tack it on to my review of The Weird. It almost fills with the horror that the citizens of Dunwich feel when they take turns looking up on the hill towards the end of this story. Yeah, it's that serious and incomprehensible to rational thought.

This is the most bearable of all the Lovecraft I've read. This isn't say too much, since I haven't read too much by him, but I didn't feel like throwing the book across the room at any point while reading it. The book did a decent job of ruining my Sunday though. This was my daily story I had to read from The Weird so I sat down to read it, and told myself that I'd make my way through it and then go on to more productive things, but instead I couldn't keep reading more than a couple of pages at a time before all sorts of banal things would seem more interesting and needing my attention than continuing to read. But I wouldn't let myself do anything actually productive or fun (not that I had any ideas for anything fun to do, but maybe I would have thought of something (No, I wouldn't have)). So I started the story around 10 am and sometime just shy of 4 pm I finished it. In that time I also started to read a Dan Simmons novel, read a chapter or two in The Remainder, watched snippets of Friday night's UFC on FX (which I also blame for my lethargic Sunday, what a bunch of boring fights, I couldn't watch more than about half a round before feeling the need to break the monotony with returning to Lovecraft or to do something else, like pick up pieces of paper on my floor or just sit on my bed and stare, it was a fun Sunday, it's a shame I didn't document it for look at what I do when Karen isn't around to orchestrate AIFAF.

But, as much as the story didn't really hold my interest it didn't actively annoy me (maybe I was just easily distracted yesterday?) and I found the basic story to be pretty interesting. I thought ending (being the immediate build up to and the climax) to be suck but the build up and character development I enjoyed (which seems odd to say since I couldn't sit still long enough to get through much of it at a time). In theory I like the misanthropic qualities of the Old Gods, or Cthulu or whatever you want to call it (were the monsters in this books supposed to be even more baddass than Cthulu? I tried deciphering the passage where octopus face is mentioned but couldn't really make out what Lovecraft meant (am I just stupid? Probably), but every time he brings one of these creatures onto the page the reaction of people and the description (or non-description because they are so horrific that they just cause feinting and insanity among men) is a literary turn off for me.

Fortunately the stories in this collection (that would be The Weird, not the rest of the stories in this Lovecraft book) should be leaving the era and style that Lovecraft is an example of. I have high hopes for most of the rest of this collection, but please no more unspeakable horrors.(less)

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Aug 30, 2011 Kohl rated it 4 of 5 stars

As I have gone through out my life I have occasionally picked up on the many acts of homage paid to Lovecraft by various "greats" in the wide fields of creativity. The latest (for me) is Mike Mignola in the dedication of his first Hellboy book Seeds of Destruction. After all the references and homage, and after Jake he checked it out, I decided to too. In many ways Lovecraft was a 20th century Poe. He never really wrote any novels only short stories, though he considered himself a poet. And also...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Suzanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, free-e-books, kindle, read-in-2012

I'd tried Lovecraft in the past (taken at least two stabs at At the Mountains of Madness), but never managed to get more than a few pages in before my eyes started glazing over. I know he has a hardcore fanbase, but I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. From what I knew of his lore, I thought it should be something I liked, so I was bummed that I didn't. The writing seemed impenetrable.

I recently saw The Dunwich Horror on a list of 21 must-read horror pieces put together by the Horror Wri...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Scott Gates

Recommended to Chris by: Devan

Lovecraft is always entertaining and enthralling with his erudite science-fiction horror, and this classic, the Dunwich Horror, is definitely in the center of Lovecraft's work.

I've reviewed Lovecraft more thoroughly here: Tales: Lovecraft - Library of America, but I'd like to reiterate that Lovecraft always satisfies with his brand of cosmic horror, the horror of the unknown. A very good analysis and discussion of Lovecraft's work is also included in the French author Michel Houellebecq's H.P. L ...more Lovecraft is always entertaining and enthralling with his erudite science-fiction horror, and this classic, the Dunwich Horror, is definitely in the center of Lovecraft's work.

I've reviewed Lovecraft more thoroughly here: Tales: Lovecraft - Library of America, but I'd like to reiterate that Lovecraft always satisfies with his brand of cosmic horror, the horror of the unknown. A very good analysis and discussion of Lovecraft's work is also included in the French author Michel Houellebecq's H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life. However, I would recommend that beginners to Lovecraft start with the Library of America edition

I got this book as it's a bilingual edition, probably the same translation that Houellebecq read. It seems that very little is lost in the translation from the original english to the french, except the colloquial english used by the villagers of Dunwich - the "degraded" Whateleys of Dunwich and their kinfolk. Something may be lost by taking it from the provincial vernacular.


"Bigger'n a barn... all made o'squirmin' ropes... hull thing sort o' shaped like a hen's egge biggern' anything with dozens o'legs like hogsheads that haff shut up when they step... nothin' solid abaout it -all like, jelly, an' made o'sep'rit wrigglin' ropes pushed clost together... great bulgin' eyes all over it... ten or twenty maouths or trunks a-stickin' aout all along the sides, big as stove-pipes, an'all a-tossin' and'open'an'shuttin'... all grey, with kinder blue or purple rings.. a' Gawd in Heaven - that haff face on top!...."

In french, it is rendered thusly:

 
<< Plus gross qu'un'grange... rien qu'des cordes qui s'tortillent... un genre de coque pareille qu'un Oeuf de poule pus gros q'un'importe quoi, aven des douzaines de pattes comme des barriques qui s'plient quand a marchent... rien de solide dans tout ça-pariel que d'la gelée, et c'est qu'des cordes séparées qui s'trémoussent les un'cont'les aut'... des gros yeux bombés tout partout... dis ou vingt bouches ou trompes qui dépassent d'tous les côtes, grosses comme des tuyaux d'poêle, et s'ecouent et s'ouverent et s'ferment... tout gris avec des espéces d'anneax bleus ou violet... et Dieu du ciel - c'te moitié d'figure qu'est au-d'sses!>>

It's unclear whether the sense of the villagers puzzled, pagan and ignorant fear of the unknown can be conveyed in a continental language with its softly rounded romantic tones, instead of the vulgar saxon consonants. I leave that quandry to others more bilingual than myself (I can understand french at the level of a small french kid, or maybe only a french dog).

Alright, enough with the literary criticism and puzzling about the fidelity of translation. This is Lovecraft, and we should keep his readership in the parking lot with the stoners and deadbeats, in the basement with the Dungeons & Dragons dorks, or in the graveyard with the goth weirdos smoking cloves and being morose. For them, it seems appropriate to end a review by linking To This.(less)

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Nov 12, 2012 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Part of The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft, which can be found free at the CthulhuChick website for your e-reader.

Synopsis: In the degenerate, unliked backwater of Dunwich, Wilbur Whately, a most unusual child, is born. Of unnatural parentage, he grows at an uncanny pace to an unsettling height, but the boy's arrival simply precedes that of a true horror: one of the Old Ones, that forces the people of the town to hole up by night.

My Thoughts: Another masterpiece of creeping horror by Lovecraft...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Sophia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Lovecraft is such an interesting writer. All his stories seem to follow the same message: the universe is completely full of terrifying, hostile, maddening creatures, that if you could conceive of them for but one second, you would go instantly mad (or faint). Comprehension of these forces would kill you through sheer insanity.

Ignorance is survival in Lovecraft country.

My copy of The Dunwich Horror had a share of other stories, but I think the best one in the set is The Dreams in the Witch House...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Tim rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the classic horror stories by Lovecraft where the full horror is hidden in the final paragraph. (not going to tell it because then it would be a spoiler :)

One thing which made it more difficult for me to correctly follow, and be sucked into, the story was the fact that Lovecraft makes his backwater people speak dialect. For someone that is not natively english speaking, this sometimes threw me out of the rythme of the story.

But it doesn't stop the story from being built up in tension from...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Nadyne rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, fiction, horror, short-story, read-in-2011, 1900-s, kindle, american

First sentence: "Gorgons and Hydras, and Chimaeras - dire stories of Celaeno and the Harpies - may reproduce themselves in the brain of superstition - but they were there before."

Last sentence: "It was his twin brother, but it looked more like the father than he did."

Horror is a genre that I usually avoid, because I know I almost never find a horror book creepy or scary; in stead, most of the time I find the so-called scary things rather ridiculous. But sometimes one has to step out of one's com...more First sentence: "Gorgons and Hydras, and Chimaeras - dire stories of Celaeno and the Harpies - may reproduce themselves in the brain of superstition - but they were there before."

Last sentence: "It was his twin brother, but it looked more like the father than he did."

Horror is a genre that I usually avoid, because I know I almost never find a horror book creepy or scary; in stead, most of the time I find the so-called scary things rather ridiculous. But sometimes one has to step out of one's comfort zone and try something else. So that's why, for the last two days of 2011, I decided to try some stories by H.P. Lovecraft, as he is seen now as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century.

The first story I read, The Dunwich Horror, confirmed my opinion that horror just isn't for me... The creature that brought chaos, destruction and death to the little village of Dunwich, just seemed to unreal for me to provoke any effect.

Summary Taken from Wikipedia:

Wilbur Whateley is the son of a deformed albino mother and an unknown father (alluded to in passing by the mad Old Whateley as "Yog-Sothoth"), and strange events surround his birth and precocious development. Wilbur matures at an abnormal rate, reaching manhood within a decade. All the while, his sorcerer grandfather indoctrinates him into certain dark rituals and the study of witchcraft.

The plot revolves around the desire of Wilbur to acquire an unabridged Latin version of the Necronomicon — his imperfect English copy is ill-suited for his dark purpose — so that he may open the way for the return of the mysterious "Old Ones", whose forerunner is the Outer God Yog-Sothoth. Thus, Wilbur and his grandfather have sequestered an unseen presence at their farmhouse; this being is connected somehow to Yog-Sothoth. Year by year, this unseen entity grows to monstrous proportions, requiring Wilbur and his patriarch to make frequent modifications to their residence. People begin to notice a trend of cattle mysteriously disappearing. Eventually, Wilbur's mother also disappears. By the time Wilbur's grandfather dies, the colossal entity occupies the whole interior of the farmhouse.

Wilbur ventures to Miskatonic University in Arkham to procure a copy of the dreaded Necronomicon – Miskatonic's library is one of only a handful in the world to stock an original print of the frightful tome. The Necronomicon has certain spells that Wilbur can use to summon the Old Ones for dark purposes unfathomable to men. When the librarian, Dr. Henry Armitage, refuses to release the university's copy to him, Wilbur breaks into the library at night to steal the loathsome book. A guard dog attacks Wilbur with unusual ferocity, killing him. When Dr. Armitage and two other professors arrive on the scene and see Wilbur Whateley's partly non-human corpse, before it melts completely to leave no evidence, they realize that the youth was not wholly of this earth.

The story culminates with the actual Dunwich horror: With Wilbur Whateley now dead, no one can attend to the mysterious presence growing in the Whateley farmhouse. Early one morning, the Whateley farmhouse explodes as the thing, an invisible monster, rampages across Dunwich, cutting a path through fields, trees, and ravines, leaving huge "prints" the size of tree trunks. The monster eventually makes forays into inhabited areas. Part of the cattle of at least two farms, and two entire families (the Fryes and the Bishops), are attacked and devoured. The frightened town is terrorized by the invisible creature for several days, until Dr. Armitage, Professor Warren Rice, and Dr. Francis Morgan, all of Miskatonic University, arrive with the knowledge and weapons needed to kill it. In the end, its nature is revealed: it is the twin brother of Wilbur Whateley, though it "looked more like the father than Wilbur did."(less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Francisco Clemente rated it 5 of 5 stars

Impresionante, a día de hoy lo mejor que he leído de Lovecraft. No sobra ni un solo párrafo del libro. Un relato sobre el miedo a lo desconocido y al horror en su forma más grotesca. Muchos autores de este tipo de narrativa quizá deberían leer más a este señor y aprender a como meter miedo a partir de la anticipación y de las expectativas creadas. Lovecraft no necesita enseñar al "monstruo" desde la página 1 y no tiene la necesidad de explicar cada uno de los acontecimientos, dejando al lector e...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Julie Rylie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I bought this book in spanish for €0,50 at a fleamarket but i have to say it was kinda hard at some point. I could read it and understand mostly everything but since i'm not completely fluent in spanish, you cannot actually fell the "horror" of this book coz you're more concerned about understanding what this or that mean.

Or maybe, i'm just being dishonest with myself, and the problem is that i find spanish such a funny language that i cannot fell terrified when i think the words are funnier th...more

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Aug 06, 2012 David Sven rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

I find a common mistake (as far as I'm concerned) with a lot of horror is the tendency to reveal the "monster" too early. As Professor Dumbledore tells Harry Potter "Its not the dark we fear but the unknown" (or words to that effect). Once the monster or creature is unveiled it loses its mystery and the suspense dies off. H.P. Lovecraft, on the other hand, knows how to play on our fear of the unknown to create a sense of foreboding in his well known classic "The Dunwich Horror."

I like Lovecraft...more

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May 11, 2012 Barry rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow... that was lame.

Unfortunately, even with the weight of a popular author's name (Joe R. Lansdale) attached to the "adaptation" (*cough*sequel*cough*) of the eponymous short story by Lovecraft, this was a weak, weak comic. It's hardly even a mindless picturefest of flat characters - there's nothing engaging, suspemseful, action-packed, or otherwise entertaining about it. It's a mess of gory images and blurry glimpses of tentacles and headless cattle (and occasional people), with a lot of inte...more

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May 12, 2012 Roy Hudson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having not read Lovecraft's original "Dunwich Horror" story, I went into this graphic novel with only the memory of the lame film version, and it wasn't enough. Truth is, this comic version is a sequel that takes place in the 21st century, and that was distracting. Lovecraft was a 20th century author, and trying to move the Old Ones' mythology into a modern time frame, complete with text messages, library scanners, flash drives, and the internet just makes it a bit ridiculous. Had it been a B mo...more

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May 02, 2012 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-bitten

I am truly a terrible horror fan because I've never read any of HP Lovecraft's works. Not a one. I know OF them. Just haven't indulged. So a visual of THE DUNWICH HORROR? Yes, please.

There wasn't anything about this comic that I didn't like, really. It's a first in a series and it sets up the story really nicely. The Dunwich Horror itself is a killer inter-dimensional being (another thing I know about Lovecraft, he was all about other dimensions) that's invisible in our world. And it definitely...more

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Apr 13, 2010 Tee Jay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, classic

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a great edition of Lovecraft's classic tales.
It didn’t take long for me to finish reading Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror, the story being under 70 pages long. Nonetheless, those pages, I must say, were very interesting to read indeed. This is the first text of Lovecraft’s that I read, and I can now see why Lovecraft is considered to be such an influential writer, especially in the horror genre. I found the myth inherent in the text and the current running along in the background of the b...more

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Nov 25, 2009 Scott rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1920s, horror

Lovecraft makes me feel like a greasy kid, huddling alone over battered copies of Creepy or Eerie in the tree house, too curious to stop reading and too scared to go home. Flat, lifeless characters that pop up out of nowhere and disappear just as mysteriously ... no matter. Implausible, repetitive plots heavily derivative of the work of previous horror masters ... who cares? Fourteen adjectives in one sentence, and still no real suspense ... bring it on! So what if Lovecraft's stories are not ma...more

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Aug 07, 2011 Oscar rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: antología-recopilación, literatura-fantástica, ciencia-ficción, míos, terror, weird-fiction, clásicos, 5-estrellas, mis-obras-maestras, favorites

En mi afán por revisar la obra completa de H.P. Lovecraft, ahora toca 'El horror de Dunwich', que incluye cuatro narraciones: 'El horror de Dunwich', que da nombre a la antología, 'El modelo de Pickman', 'El susurrador en la oscuridad' y 'El extraño'. En mi opinión, estos cuentos son de lo mejor que escribió el Maestro de Providence. En ellos se conjugan a la perfección los llamados Mitos de Cthulhu y los relatos del ciclo de Nueva Inglaterra, llegando a unas cotas de horror y suspense extraordi...more En mi afán por revisar la obra completa de H.P. Lovecraft, ahora toca 'El horror de Dunwich', que incluye cuatro narraciones: 'El horror de Dunwich', que da nombre a la antología, 'El modelo de Pickman', 'El susurrador en la oscuridad' y 'El extraño'. En mi opinión, estos cuentos son de lo mejor que escribió el Maestro de Providence. En ellos se conjugan a la perfección los llamados Mitos de Cthulhu y los relatos del ciclo de Nueva Inglaterra, llegando a unas cotas de horror y suspense extraordinarias, sin dejar de lado la gran calidad literaria (a pesar de la opinión de algunos críticos pedantes de la época, como bien comenta August Derleth en el prólogo sobre la vida y obra de Lovecraft).

Dunwich

Cito a Lovecraft: "La literatura de terror debe ser realista y ambiental, limitando su desviación de la naturaleza al canal sobrenatural elegido, y recordando que el escenario, el tono y los acontecimientos son más importantes a la hora de comunicar lo que se pretende que los personajes y la acción misma." Y esto es lo que mejor sabía hacer Lovecraft, crear atmósferas asfixiantes y sobrecogedoras, donde lo macabro y sobrenatural "eran" posibles. Cuando lees uno de estos relatos, casi parecen artículos periodísticos dada su erudición y documentación sobre los hechos que se suceden, donde los personajes son lo de menos, aunque estén narrados en primera persona; lo importante es la sensación que transmite al lector, casi de simbiosis con el narrador, arrastrándolos a ambos por los incríbles cauces de lo sobrenatural.

Estos son los cuentos que incluye el volumen:

- El horror de Dunwich (The Dunwich Horror). La granja Whatheley, situada en el municipio de Dunwich, tiene muy mala fama entre sus vecinos; su nombre está asociado a la brujería y a elementos extraños. Y desde el nacimiento de Wilbur Whateley, aquélla se ha acrecentado. Esta es la historia de un horror, un horror asociado al apellido Whateley en general, y a Wilbur en particular; un horror que asolará la región, y que tendrá como testigo de primera fila al doctor Henry Armitage, gran erudito y bibliotecario en Miskatonic. Este es un relato imprescindible, construido magistralmente, que te envuelve en el misterio y el horror hasta su terrible final.

- El modelo de Pickman (Pickman's Model). El protagonista le está contando a su amigo Eliot su obsesión por la obra del pintor Richard Upton Pickman, un artista tan genial como provocador, cuyos cuadros sólo aprecian unos pocos, dado su cariz morboso. Y es que Pickman pinta el horror, cuadros donde late lo siniestro y espectral. Será esta obsesión la que haga que acepte una invitación de Pickman para visitar su casa privada, donde guarda algunas de sus "mejores" obras...

- El susurrador en la oscuridad (The Whisperer in Darkness). Wilmarth, profesor de literatura en la Universidad de Miskatonic en Arkham, nos relata cómo se vio envuelto en unos asombrosos hechos a raíz de relacionarse con Akeley. Todo empezó cuando unas inundaciones sacaron a la luz unos extraños seres. Esto provoca que las gentes del lugar rememoren antiguas leyendas relacionadas con las montañas de Vermont. Wilmarth, experto en folklore, tiene algo que decir sobre el tema. Es entonces cuando Akeley, que vive en estas montañas en su granja, escribe al profesor comunicándole que estas leyendas podrían guardar más verdades de lo que parece... De nuevo la maestría de Lovecraft sale a relucir en esta historia fascinante de principio a fin.

- El extraño (The Outsider). El protagonista, que vive en un castillo, no recuerda nada de su pasado. Recorre el castillo y alrededores lleno de temor y tristeza, y su único deseo es poder vislumbrar el sol. Un cuento, corto, pero espeluznante.(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Kean Soo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Of all the Lovecraft that I've read, The Dunwich Horror is by far my favourite. I think it has everything to do with Lovecraft's switch to the third person in this story that really gives a greater sense of immediacy to the proceedings that I've always found his first person stories kind of lacked.

Loved the greater contrasts here as well: the differences between the upper and lower classes, and of course, the men of science attempting to understand the things that exist outside of it.

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Feb 26, 2012 Cataline rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a lover of H.P. Lovecraft any review on my part would be biased. I will say that this story does give you an in-depth look into the famous/infamous Necronomicon, and with famous places invented by Lovecraft such as, Arkham and Miskatonic University. Anyone searching for the legend of the whippoorwills will find it throughout this story. I do hope that if a reader chooses they do find some thing to at least like in this particular story. (re-read)

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Oct 02, 2012 Julie Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Read this for an upcoming A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast discussion. I found the first half of the story fairly dull since it was all written in historical book style. However, I was gradually drawn in to the point that when action began taking place in current time, I was riveted. It turned out to be a great story with a twist that I had completely forgotten ... and which colored my dreams last night. A great story overall.

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Mar 19, 2013 Nan Silvernail rated it 3 of 5 stars

Old Man Whateley has a grandson, but this is no cause for celebration. The child is growing unnaturally fast, both mentally and physically. His mother is a lunatic albino. His father is unknown. Mysterious building projects increase the size of the farm buildings and more and more cattle are bought, but nothing prospers on the Whateley farm. What horrible sorcery has been going on in the secluded countryside with the ominous stone-crowned hills?

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Aug 12, 2012 Dagny rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror-sf-thriller, lovecraft-howard-p

This was a reread for me at a short story group. I had read it two or three times before. One thing I especially noticed was how much I enjoyed the descriptions of the area and Lovecraft's writing style. On the first and maybe the second reading, I was too involved with the story, what was going on and how it would end. I felt the need to rush onward frantically to the end instead of taking as much time as needed to just enjoy reading it.

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Aug 25, 2012 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars

This short story didn't earn a place amongst my favorites of Lovecraft's work. Two aged professors and a librarian make for a delightful band of protagonists, but with so much of the story not steeped in tension,
immediate danger, or even the questioning of one's own sanity... I don't see why this has floated to the top of so many people's Lovecraft lists.

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Apr 24, 2013 Daniela C. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mi primera experiencia con este autor y... le doy un sobresaliente.

Me ha resultado una historia muy entretenida y fácil de leer (más que nada porque era bastante cortita). En algunos momentos llegó a darme miedo, sobre todo porque me dediqué a leerla dos noches seguidas y parece que esa atmósfera siniestra y aterradora de Dunwich se traspasaba a mi habitación.

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About H.P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a...more

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