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The Colour Out of Space
by
It was a monstrous constellation of unnatural light, like a glutted swarm of corpse-fed fireflies dancing hellish sarabands over an accursed marsh.
H.P. Lovecraft was perhaps the greatest twentieth century practitioner of the horror story, introducing to the genre a new evil, monstrous, pervasive and unconquerable. At the heart of these three stories are terrors unthinkabl ...more
H.P. Lovecraft was perhaps the greatest twentieth century practitioner of the horror story, introducing to the genre a new evil, monstrous, pervasive and unconquerable. At the heart of these three stories are terrors unthinkabl ...more
Kindle Edition, 26 pages
Published
February 15th 2011
by ePenguin
(first published September 1st 1927)
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The Colour Out of Space and others, H.P. Lovecraft
The Colour Out of Space is a science fiction/horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in March 1927.
In the tale, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" in the wild hills west of the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts.
The narrator discovers that many years ago a meteorite crashed there, poisoning every living being nearby; vegetation grows large but foul tasti ...more
The Colour Out of Space is a science fiction/horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in March 1927.
In the tale, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" in the wild hills west of the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts.
The narrator discovers that many years ago a meteorite crashed there, poisoning every living being nearby; vegetation grows large but foul tasti ...more
What the actual fuck, Lovecraft. Never sleeping with the lights off again.
I'm not a huge horror buff. I scare easily and the fear stays with me for a long time. I've decided to start reading though some Lovecraft because I want to be able to say I've read Lovecraft. As I was checking out at Barnes & Noble, the cashier told me I was in for a treat. Yeah. Right.
This creepy story about a meteorite and the creature that came along with it is slowly terrifying in a Heart of Darkness way. The lack of ...more
I'm not a huge horror buff. I scare easily and the fear stays with me for a long time. I've decided to start reading though some Lovecraft because I want to be able to say I've read Lovecraft. As I was checking out at Barnes & Noble, the cashier told me I was in for a treat. Yeah. Right.
This creepy story about a meteorite and the creature that came along with it is slowly terrifying in a Heart of Darkness way. The lack of ...more
Please note: This is part of am omnibus, The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft, which can be found on the CthulhuChick website formatted for Nook or Kindle.
My Synopsis: A man tells the story of how a strange, desolate piece of land came to be known as the blasted heath due to the coming of a mysterious meteorite containing a strangely colored globule inside.
My Thoughts: Another masterpiece of creeping horror over the strange and unknown. Some of the descriptions might almost - almost - describe
...more
My Synopsis: A man tells the story of how a strange, desolate piece of land came to be known as the blasted heath due to the coming of a mysterious meteorite containing a strangely colored globule inside.
My Thoughts: Another masterpiece of creeping horror over the strange and unknown. Some of the descriptions might almost - almost - describe
...more
...restlessness was in the air. The entire Gardner family developed the habit of stealthy listening, though not for any sound which they could consciously name. The listening was, indeed, rather a product of moments when consciousness seemed half to slip away.
Why I always end up reading Lovecraft when it's rainy and windy is something I cannot understand. It certainly isn't planned. Nor did I plan to be up past midnight, worried for Canadian neighbours who had to suddenly leave because of the Co ...more
Aug 18, 2013
Michael Fierce
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Michael Fierce by:
Cthulhu
CLASSIC Lovecraft. The Colour Out of Space, The Picture in the House, The Call of Cthulhu, Cool Air, The Whisperer in Darkness, The Terrible Old Man, The Shadow Out of Time. An amazing collection I found at my local library for 10¢. ...more
Very gripping and chilling and so descriptive. Would be interesting to see the movie adaptation that's about to come out.
...more
One of many chilling stories of Lovecraft. Story of strange goings on.
"It was just a colour out of space - a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; from realms whose mere existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the black extra-cosmic gulfs it throws open before our frenzied eyes." ...more
"It was just a colour out of space - a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; from realms whose mere existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the black extra-cosmic gulfs it throws open before our frenzied eyes." ...more
To quote Lovecraft himself:
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”
Lovecraft's horrors were never as unknown and scary as in The Colour out of Space. ...more
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”
Lovecraft's horrors were never as unknown and scary as in The Colour out of Space. ...more
Just when I think I've found my favorite Lovecraft story, I'll read another and my new favorite is born. Ive watched the B-movie adaption from 1987's The Curse. For a small-budget film, that really wasn't too bad. The story was even better. Lovecraft's writing was so vibrant in this tale. It felt like I could picture the meteor hitting the farm, smell the drinking water it tainted, taste the rotten fruits and vegetables that it affected, see the crazy colours in the presence's aura, and feel the
...more
WARNING!Do not read this book at night!I repeat do not read this book at night!May cause insomnia or terrible nightmares!
...more
...more
Great book. Really enjoyed the story.
5/5
5/5
The cover art is reason enough to love this book!
Lovecraft never wrote much more than shorts, of course, and all of us who make a living in the genre owe something to his great brief mind. Fortunately, this was the first book of Lovecraft's that I ever read and I was thoroughly introduced to the man's mind from the varied and astounding tales within.
Lovecraft's weakness was "character" - and these stories are no exception. The characters each have ridiculous dialogue and forced behavior. Never l ...more
Lovecraft never wrote much more than shorts, of course, and all of us who make a living in the genre owe something to his great brief mind. Fortunately, this was the first book of Lovecraft's that I ever read and I was thoroughly introduced to the man's mind from the varied and astounding tales within.
Lovecraft's weakness was "character" - and these stories are no exception. The characters each have ridiculous dialogue and forced behavior. Never l ...more
Mar 10, 2012
Laura
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Laura by:
Alan Moore, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Metallica, Joss Whedon
Seven clustered stories including the canonical The Call of Cthulhu. The stories don't do so much for me, but the scenes - the scenes are epic. Viz:
"I shall never sleep calmly again when I think of the horrors that lurk ceaselessly behind life in time and in space, and of those unhallowed blasphemies from elder stars which dream beneath the sea, known and favored by a nightmare cult ready and eager to loose them on the world whenever another earthquake shall hear their monstrous stone city again ...more
"I shall never sleep calmly again when I think of the horrors that lurk ceaselessly behind life in time and in space, and of those unhallowed blasphemies from elder stars which dream beneath the sea, known and favored by a nightmare cult ready and eager to loose them on the world whenever another earthquake shall hear their monstrous stone city again ...more
One of H. P. Lovecrafts most brilliant of stories, The Colour of Space, may ultimately be his best. He certainly considered it his best. Influential--the title story has inspired such other tales as Die, Mosters, Die, The Blob and Invasion of the body snatchers. This is the true must read of his entire work.
Dec 22, 2019
Rita
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
gorefest,
science-fiction
There are strong parallels between Annihilation and this book. Having read the former first, and not knowing what to expect, I ended up liking it a lot. I'm a big fan of good old sci-fi alien cosmic horror and this book has been a throughly satisfying read.
...more
I love horror. I've read much horror as a kid, book after book after book of delicious scary stories. Truth is, horror for the most part isn't scary at all. In literary form that is. When it comes to horror movies, I always chicken out or look away. It's just not my thing. Too gory, too explicit, too... obvious. Plus, adaptations are nearly always pretty meagre compared to their originals. But I'm not here to talk about movies vs books, the classic argument. I'm here to talk about my obsession w
...more
Cute little story. Reminded me of little house on the prairie. Eίχε κι ένα ελαφάκι στο πηγάδι. Τι διαβάζετε ρε τρελοκομεία;
This was an extremely scary, freaky, and well done story about a family whose land turns against them after a meteor which gives off strange properties and colors falls onto their property.
Had to read this as part of an assignment and it was my first interaction with Lovecraft.
I still have mixed feelings about his writing. I enjoyed some of the stories but most of them had a tone that I didn't find suitable for my taste. One reason may be that I like a specific kind of horror and this wasn't it. As a side note, now I find it difficult to look at a slime and be okey with it. Ha.
I did enjoy the writing. His characters had enough essence to be likeable and I enjoyed following them ...more
I still have mixed feelings about his writing. I enjoyed some of the stories but most of them had a tone that I didn't find suitable for my taste. One reason may be that I like a specific kind of horror and this wasn't it. As a side note, now I find it difficult to look at a slime and be okey with it. Ha.
I did enjoy the writing. His characters had enough essence to be likeable and I enjoyed following them ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Read from The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft Barnes and Nobles Hardcover edition. Currently using this as a placeholder for my thoughts before I finish the entire edition and record that there.
The Color Out of Space is perhaps one of the more fascinating pieces of horror literature I've engaged. It may be the most difficult to really understand and take apart its themes, not least of which is the short page count. It has little to do with the mere concept (an unknown, otherworldly color is s ...more
The Color Out of Space is perhaps one of the more fascinating pieces of horror literature I've engaged. It may be the most difficult to really understand and take apart its themes, not least of which is the short page count. It has little to do with the mere concept (an unknown, otherworldly color is s ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Apr 12, 2008
Erik Graff
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
adolescent boys
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
sf
When still in junior high, I was reading in the living room one night while babysitting my five-year-old brother. As usual, the parents were later than expected. I was pretty much past the stage of immediately assuming they had perished in a flaming automobile wreck, but, still, it being late, I stayed downstairs on the couch, resolved to wait for them.
This collection wasn't the first thing I'd read that night--or at least "The Colour Out of Space" wasn't. Maybe I'd started with the shorter stor ...more
This collection wasn't the first thing I'd read that night--or at least "The Colour Out of Space" wasn't. Maybe I'd started with the shorter stor ...more
A quick one, mainly picked up as an introduction to H.P. Lovecraft (can you believe I have never read any Lovecraft? – Shocking, I know).
This little book has 3 stories: The Colour Out of Space, The Outsider and The Hound. Very short, very easy to read and very good! The Colour Out of Space was his favourite – and I found it compelling and creepy – the story of a meteorite and how it destroys a family. I liked the way it combined science fiction and good old fashioned horror – and partly what sca ...more
This little book has 3 stories: The Colour Out of Space, The Outsider and The Hound. Very short, very easy to read and very good! The Colour Out of Space was his favourite – and I found it compelling and creepy – the story of a meteorite and how it destroys a family. I liked the way it combined science fiction and good old fashioned horror – and partly what sca ...more
A lovely novella that shouldn't be read alone at night. Lovecraft is a true master of horror.
...more
I loved it. Poor farmers meet an evil outer space entity and it slowly devours the spirit of a family and....
well read it and find out
well read it and find out
Savory, as most stories authored by Lovecraft, but this one especially lingers on the mental tongue. :)
Good little story about a strange alien blob that radiates super-spectral colours of infectious decay.
This is the first book I really enjoyed by Lovecraft
What kind of horror could be worse than the one that we can't understand because it comes from the unknown? "The Colour out of Space", by H.P. Lovecraft, is a story that takes this idea and tell us about the tragic events in which a small town is involved after the impact of a meteorite, which later results to be a threat. The enigmatic terror is not caused by human or earthly causes, but by a baffling object that comes from the blackness of space. A place that we don't comprehend completely, an
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Horror Lo...: The Color out of Space by HP Lovecraft *Spoilers* | 4 | 31 | Oct 31, 2012 11:22AM |
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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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“It was just a colour out of space—a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; from realms whose mere existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the black extra-cosmic gulfs it throws open before our frenzied eyes.”
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