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H.P. Lovecraft: Great Tales of Horror
H.P. Great Tales of Horror features twenty of horror master H.P. Lovecraft's classic stories, among them some of the greatest works of horror fiction ever written, "The Rats in the Walls," "Pickman's Model," "The Colour out of Space," "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Shadow over Innsmouth," "At the Mountains of Madness," "The Shadow out of Time," and "The Haunter of the Dark."
- GenresHorror
608 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 17, 2013
32 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,124 books19.3k followersHoward 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 16, 2015
Woof, was this one a doozy.
This book, as the title implies, is a collection of some of H.P. Lovecraft's better known works, like The Rats in The Walls, The Colour Out of Space, and how could we forget, The Call of Cthulhu. I was honestly pretty delighted when I first saw this on shelves because let me tell you, this book is big. I'm talking big enough to bruise your leg on your walks due to where it is in your bag, and the hardcover corner won't move no matter how much you fidget with it. But that's besides the point, which is that this is 600 pages of lovcraftian horror.
Most of his work includes some eldritch being of incomprehensible size or ability, but it's how he writes these which is what really makes them good. Lovecraft could easily turn these into kaiju typo stories, giant creature comes out of nowhere and wrecks an innocent town all in a flash. But he drags it out, and has his creations creep up on the characters and readers along the way. Our good friend Cthulhu, for example. An incredibly large demonic priest of The Old Ones, even more beasts that once roamed the earth, killing and running free, all ruled over by a horrific, massive mix of a human, dragon, and octopus, all in one green, gooey hell on legs. Throughout human times, instead of calling the forces of nature upon the world, he sleeps deep beneath the ocean, and he speaks through dreams. Mixes of twisted, ancient tongue and figures, messages sent to a small but special amount of people who will form cults and sacrifices to this God speaking to them in their dreams.
And that's just a summary of the beginning of /one/ of the stories in this collection.
I'd say it's worth the read.
This book, as the title implies, is a collection of some of H.P. Lovecraft's better known works, like The Rats in The Walls, The Colour Out of Space, and how could we forget, The Call of Cthulhu. I was honestly pretty delighted when I first saw this on shelves because let me tell you, this book is big. I'm talking big enough to bruise your leg on your walks due to where it is in your bag, and the hardcover corner won't move no matter how much you fidget with it. But that's besides the point, which is that this is 600 pages of lovcraftian horror.
Most of his work includes some eldritch being of incomprehensible size or ability, but it's how he writes these which is what really makes them good. Lovecraft could easily turn these into kaiju typo stories, giant creature comes out of nowhere and wrecks an innocent town all in a flash. But he drags it out, and has his creations creep up on the characters and readers along the way. Our good friend Cthulhu, for example. An incredibly large demonic priest of The Old Ones, even more beasts that once roamed the earth, killing and running free, all ruled over by a horrific, massive mix of a human, dragon, and octopus, all in one green, gooey hell on legs. Throughout human times, instead of calling the forces of nature upon the world, he sleeps deep beneath the ocean, and he speaks through dreams. Mixes of twisted, ancient tongue and figures, messages sent to a small but special amount of people who will form cults and sacrifices to this God speaking to them in their dreams.
And that's just a summary of the beginning of /one/ of the stories in this collection.
I'd say it's worth the read.
March 15, 2016
Some very creepy and scary stories in this collection, takes a little while to get used to the writing style. Hardly any dialogue, just 99% prose. Some stories are hard to understand, yet overall i did enjoy the collection and my first introduction to H.P.Lovecraft.
January 5, 2026
A collection of short stories, not all of them are 5 stars but overall a great collection
November 19, 2021
This book has a two page introduction by Stefan Dziemianowicz and cover art illustrations by Dana MacKenzie. The 600 pages contain twenty stories. This is a must read for fans of HPL. His stories are classics of the horror genre and it is a creepy, scary, delight to read these stories. One can wallow in Lovecraft’s feverish and florid descriptions of --- the un-describable! Some of his work can also be examined on an allegorical level with psychological interpretations.
November 14, 2019
“Great Tales Of Horror” is a compendium of some of the greatest horror stories written by one of the most influential and thought provoking writers of the genre.
This book brings together 20 of Lovecraft's best tales. From Cthulhu to Dagon, Lovecraft's most iconic characters and chilling tales are portrayed within it.
One of the best things about Lovecraft’s stories is that they’re unique. Rather than just exploring common monsters or fears, Lovecraft explores things like human insignificance, isolation, hopelessness, and the unknown.
Lovecraft’s use of imagery leaves a lasting image in the reader's mind. Whether it’s a desolate church, an old house, or, an evil wizard’s hidden lair, Lovecraft’s imagery always creates an intriguing atmosphere for his tales.
While Lovecraft might not be for everyone, anyone who is a fan of horror should definitely read his tales. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes questioning and thinking deeper into things after reading them.
This book brings together 20 of Lovecraft's best tales. From Cthulhu to Dagon, Lovecraft's most iconic characters and chilling tales are portrayed within it.
One of the best things about Lovecraft’s stories is that they’re unique. Rather than just exploring common monsters or fears, Lovecraft explores things like human insignificance, isolation, hopelessness, and the unknown.
Lovecraft’s use of imagery leaves a lasting image in the reader's mind. Whether it’s a desolate church, an old house, or, an evil wizard’s hidden lair, Lovecraft’s imagery always creates an intriguing atmosphere for his tales.
While Lovecraft might not be for everyone, anyone who is a fan of horror should definitely read his tales. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes questioning and thinking deeper into things after reading them.
December 3, 2021
Not only did many of these stories intrigue and spook me, they also gave me a lot of ideas for Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. Definitely worth a read.
November 25, 2019
I kept on running across his name as a major influence on modern horror writers, but had trouble finding any of Lovecraft's work in my area libraries. Turns out that book publishers at the time were not interested in his work. All of his short stories were published in magazines and gained little attention during the 1920's and 30's.
He was incredibly inventive, but the racist comments hold me back in offering him excessive praise.
His preferred style was first person narrative in which the protagonist is looking back on some strange occurrence. As such, there is little dialogue. His prose is not what one would call "lucid."
His best:
"The Call of Cthulbu" - Eons ago an alien race ruled the planet. A giant octopus-man-dragon being lies asleep waiting for the stars to line up to awaken him and his city to reemerge from the ocean. In the meantime, his thoughts lead to nightmares among the sensitive and a cult of worshipers protecting this secret. Three stories reveal the secret.
"The Rats in the Walls" - A man returns to the ruins of his ancestors castle in England. A terrible secret about his father has been hidden from him. Every generation gave a letter to the eldest son of the next upon the death of the father. However, the letter was burned during the American Civil War. He rebuilds the castle. Turns out it is on the ruins of an earlier religious site. When he hears rats in the walls he investigates, goes beneath the castle to discover a vast network of bodies which had been sacrificed over the years and the rats lived off of. His ancestors continued the ancient ritual. At the close of the story we find that he was writing from a madhouse. They blame him for the murder of another man investigating the caverns. He claims that it was the rats.
"Pickman's Model" - Captures one side of a conversation in which the protagonist describes why he no longer hangs out with the artist, Pickman. Pickman's paintings of terrible monsters look so life-like because he uses models - real monsters that live in tunnels below Boston. This is revealed when the artist claims that he has a camera to take pictures of backgrounds he wishes to use. The teller of the tale ends up grabbing one of the photos and finds the monster models. The title gave away the ending.
"At the Mountains of Madness" - An expedition to the Antartic uncovers the remains of an ancient race - "the old ones" who first inhabited Earth and created other life forms to serve them. Turns out that they are still around.
He was incredibly inventive, but the racist comments hold me back in offering him excessive praise.
His preferred style was first person narrative in which the protagonist is looking back on some strange occurrence. As such, there is little dialogue. His prose is not what one would call "lucid."
His best:
"The Call of Cthulbu" - Eons ago an alien race ruled the planet. A giant octopus-man-dragon being lies asleep waiting for the stars to line up to awaken him and his city to reemerge from the ocean. In the meantime, his thoughts lead to nightmares among the sensitive and a cult of worshipers protecting this secret. Three stories reveal the secret.
"The Rats in the Walls" - A man returns to the ruins of his ancestors castle in England. A terrible secret about his father has been hidden from him. Every generation gave a letter to the eldest son of the next upon the death of the father. However, the letter was burned during the American Civil War. He rebuilds the castle. Turns out it is on the ruins of an earlier religious site. When he hears rats in the walls he investigates, goes beneath the castle to discover a vast network of bodies which had been sacrificed over the years and the rats lived off of. His ancestors continued the ancient ritual. At the close of the story we find that he was writing from a madhouse. They blame him for the murder of another man investigating the caverns. He claims that it was the rats.
"Pickman's Model" - Captures one side of a conversation in which the protagonist describes why he no longer hangs out with the artist, Pickman. Pickman's paintings of terrible monsters look so life-like because he uses models - real monsters that live in tunnels below Boston. This is revealed when the artist claims that he has a camera to take pictures of backgrounds he wishes to use. The teller of the tale ends up grabbing one of the photos and finds the monster models. The title gave away the ending.
"At the Mountains of Madness" - An expedition to the Antartic uncovers the remains of an ancient race - "the old ones" who first inhabited Earth and created other life forms to serve them. Turns out that they are still around.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2016
A collection of excellent classic stories.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews