Seven H P Lovecraft Stories

by H.P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, better known as H.P. Lovecraft, was an American author of horror, fantasy, poetry and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction and many feel he is the acknowledged master of creepy, weird and unsettling stories. These are seven stories by Lovecraft that literally span his career; some being written when he was barely a teenager and one (The Shunned House) only published after he had died. Each story is unique and strange in it's own way but all of them come from the same mind that gave us the Cult of Cthulhu and other wonderful tales that generations now have enjoyed for their strangeness that resonates with our own inner fears. Some of these stories explore the depths of the human mind others the depths of human degradation and creepiness.

The

1.The Beast in the Cave
2.The White Ship
3.Nyarlathotep
4.The Alchemist
5.The Shunned House
6.Dagon
7.The Tomb

Librivox.com

Genres: Horror, Classics, Audiobook, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy

Unknown Binding

About the author

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 series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.

Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

— Wikipedia

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will give a brief description of each story in the collection, and then give an overall impression:

The Beast in the Cave
A man who becomes lost in the dark in Mammoth cave. He encounters something strange and inhuman in the pitch dark…

The White Ship
A lighthouse keeper joins a bearded man captaining a mystical white ship on a journey to an enchanted chain of isles.

Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep is an Egyptian pharaoh who claims to have been dormant for twenty-seven centuries. He is traveling around showing his supernatural powers, and comes to the narrators city for a demonstration.

The Alchemist
The Alchemist follows the story of a count as he investigates his family curse. The protagonist is the last in his line, and all noble descendants have died by the age of 32.

The Shunned House
The Shunned House is an intriguing read about a house in Providence that historically seems to have cursed those who live in it. It has now become uninhabited and unrentable, and the protagonist seeks to find out why.

Dagon
A morphine-addicted ex-merchant marine officer recollects a tall tale. He escaped captivity aboard a German ship in World War I only to be lost at sea. When he finally finds some sort of land, what he finds there changes his life forever.

The Tomb
The Tomb is a strange tale of a young boy named Jervas who finds a particular fascination with a nearby mausoleum and begins to sleep there.

Seven H.P. Lovecraft Stories is a wonderfully diverse selection of Lovecraft's writings. Several of these stories are not distinctly of the Cthulu mythos, but are all worth a read. A few of these stories were written by a very young Lovecraft (The Beast in the Cave at age 14 and The Alchemist at age 17-18), and the difference between his early works and later adulthood writings can be seen in this collection. The early stories are a bit more predictable, but even these show his skill in description and weaving an engrossing tale. My favorite story from the collection is The Shunned House, which is one the “not distinctly of the Cthulu mythos” stories, but a great short story nonetheless based on a real house that still stands today. It is also the longest by far of the collection. My least favorite was The Tomb, as this story was a bit hard to follow, but still had an interesting end.


I listened to this collection through Librivox as read by Phil Chenevert.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

(I listened to this on LibriVox while riding my bike.) All my preconceived notions about Lovecraft's ability as a writer were true: he's terrible. His style is wordy, passive, full of arcane language, and worse sin of all -- boring. I often found myself zoning out while listening, and since I was listening to this as a distraction while exercising, it pretty much failed for me on all levels. To be fair, these are not his most popular stories in this collection (The Beast in the Cave, The White Ship, Nyarlathotep, The Alchemist, The Shunned House, Dagon, The Tomb), so his more well known works may be better. But I was not impressed enough to explore more of his work.

The reader on LibriVox did a great job, though, and I'm hoping to listen to something a little more well written next time.

[Axslingin · Rating 3 out of 5]

H.P. Lovecraft loves to set the table and then horrify you with an encompassing, if not ghastly ending. Not necessarily building to a crescendo; he might just hit you with a surprise that you were somewhat expecting but utterly unprepared for when it came.

The writing style smacks of more than a little Algernon Blackwood, causing me to surmise that they may have been one in the same. Although they were both alive at a certain point, this is unlikely, although...

This is literary horror, not today's standard fare, the special effects gore horror that requires as much imagination as peeling a banana. Lovecraft doesn't play to the hysterics of imminent peril. He plays on deeply buried fears, and blurs the line between dreams and reality.

[Ganeswaran Dev · Rating 2 out of 5]

HP Lovecraft did extremely well in crafting the ultimate metronome for a singular purpose: to put his readers to sleep.

You wake up from your slumber three-quarter into each story to realise the flicker of climax was somewhat interesting.

Then you hope the rest of your life will be extinguished before the next story starts.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this as a free audio book on Librivox. I listened to a couple of stories on it and found them mildly entertaining. For historical purposes, it was good to learn something of H.P. Lovecraft's style without committing to a whole book. I thought the stories might be terribly scary but they are not.

[Fabricio Correa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not to be cruel to the writer, I can only say it fits those unsophisticated target audiences in their teens who sometimes cannot tell good fiction from bad. Mr. lovecraft does what every MFA criticizes: his writing is flowery, uses unusual words which compromises clarity, and his stories aren't compelling, to say the least. But the ego! Wow!

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to these on Librivox. THese short stories are SHORT (most under 30 minutes) that are interesting and will make you think.

[Joe Archer · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you read too much Lovecraft at once it gets very formulaic and repetitive.

[Zvonimir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, more impressed with him as a writer, than the stories themselves.

[Uva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chilling and creepy.

[Chandra Lafrentz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the IDEA of the stories. Less so the reality of them. I just don't dig his writing style.

[Janice Babb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea.

[Resa · Rating 2 out of 5]

the beast in the cave: 2*
the white ship: 1,5*
nyarlathotep: 1,5*
the alchemist: 3*
the shunned house: 0,5*
dagon: 2*
the tomb: 1,5*

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little sampling of Lovecraft's work. Just enough to whet the appetite for a bit more, maybe in written form next time. Recommended

[Daniel Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to it as an audio book. Of the seven, two were definitely captivating, but the rest were duds.

[Jose Guzman · Rating 1 out of 5]

First thing I read by Lovecraft. Did not care for any of the stories. Boring and predictable.
I have heard of his greatness, but apparently I will read have to read his other books to find it.

[Laila Kazemi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abit boring. All stories had the same format.

[Steve Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The classic tales within this book were well worth the time reading them. The dark and strange settings have set the mood for modern horror writers for generations. The stories selected for this book are excellent. This book is a great primer for all new fans of Lovecraft.

[Roger Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. I really do. However, there is something about it that always bothers me. That is that a lot of his stories are pretty blatantly racist. Oh, I have been told that I am only seeing a reflection of his times and that he should be excused for it. I have a hard time excusing him. What is a reflection of his times is that he could get away with it. The racism itself cannot be excused so easily. This collection is a bit different though. I can't say that any of Lovecraft's racism showed through here. I have no idea if the editor chose these stories especially because of that, but whatever the reason I don't see it. That makes it much easier for me to give the book the four stars that I want to give it.

[Elysha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovecraft. He starts out strong and then you realize he is breaking every single rule they tell writers to avoid. Every.Single.One. I grew tired of the narrative style after a while, and though his stories appeared unique and interesting at the start, they quickly turned predictable and obvious. It is interesting, however, to find where ideas originate and Lovecraft has inspired numerous horror, gothic, and fantasy writers.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes. That's it. I am definitely rereading the lot :-)

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh H.P. Lovecraft, how you do go on!

[◈ ɣεɾɑ ◈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quaint collection, it was to my liking, some more than others.

[Doom Guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oddly enough, I found the Call of Cthulhu to be among the less captivating of the stories. 'The Dunwich Horror' and especially 'The Whisperer in Darkness' were phenomenal.