I read H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" some time ago and found I(As posted on my blog, Pneumatised!, under "Book Blog and Some Short Stories".)
I read H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" some time ago and found I liked his writing style. I've had The Best of H.P. Lovecraft sitting around for a while, and finally got around to reading it. I've read the first six stories as of this blog.
"The Rats in the Walls" was interesting. It felt a little like an adventure story, sort of like Indiana Jones. The ending is horrific (sort of like Raiders of the Lost Ark). I would label this story as psychological horror. In psychological horror, it seems to me that it's the protagonist's state of mind that leads to his/her tragedy.
"The Picture in the House" is not my favourite so far. The horrifying picture suggests the fate of the character once having stepped inside the house. However, the ending is left unclear. We don't really know what happens to the protagonist. Because of this, I'm unsure as to whether or not Lovecraft actually finished this story or intended to write more. It reads like it's only one scene in a much larger story.
I rather enjoyed reading "The Outsider". For me, it quickly became clear who is the protagonist. I'm also a sucker for stories about the "underdog" or characters who have to struggle against the majority. That aside, the interesting aspect of this story is that it puts the reader inside the mind of the monster.
"Pickman's Model" is a story to make you shudder. I really hope I never meet anyone like Pickman. Pickman is a brilliant artist or so one would think. His paintings with monsters in them look real. Perhaps you can guess why? This story is similar to the story of the brilliant doctor. He's admirable, at least until you discover his studying methods.
"In the Vault" is a short tale about revenge beyond the grave. This story didn't quite scare me, but rather made me laugh. Okay, I have a morbid sense of humour. Seriously though, the undertaker had it coming.
"The Silver Key" reads more like fantasy than horror. In this story, we are introduced to Randolph Carter, although this is not the first Lovecraft story featuring Randolph Carter. I confess I'm not quite sure what the point of this story is, except that I understand why Randolph Carter is considered to be Lovecraft's alter ego. In this story, you get the sense that in writing about Carter's doubts, fears, and insecurities, Lovecraft was writing about his. I will probably return to this story at a later date since Randolph Carter seems to be loosely tied to the Cthulhu mythos....more