Review of H. P. Lovecraft

I’ve recently been fascinated by pulp fiction and have read The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre. If you’ve never heard of him here’s a quote from the man himself describing his modus operandi:

"All my tales are based on the fundamental premise that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large."

H. P. Lovecraft is probably the only writer that gives me the creeps. I think it’s primarily due to his ability to make the advancement of knowledge and science a horror. I typically view the quest to understand the universe as one of the noblest undertakings anyone can pursue. In Lovecraft’s fiction there are only two options, ignorance or insanity.

Despite the fantastic nature of his stories many should really be considered Science Fiction. The conceit is that there are super advanced beings that exist in the universe. Fortunately for lowly humans, these beings don’t care about us one way or the other. But sometimes humans get caught up in the affairs of these beings and invariably regret it.

Here’s a list of the short stories found in Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre with my short review and a score out of 10 to show my relative enjoyment.

The Rats in the Walls – This is one of the creepiest stories in the book. A ghost story about a man investigating his distant ancestors only to discover there’s a good reason his more recent relatives abandoned all genealogical endeavors. Imagine, if you will, the sound of thousands of invisible rats crawling in the darkness. Has a rather gory climax. 9/10

The Picture in the House – A trite tale of the macabre. Predictable and short. 1/10

The Outsider – A story that’s great simply for its weirdness. 7/10

Pickman’s Model – Classic Lovecraft. The reader is never made aware of what exactly is going on. That is the only way to write a scary story and I love it! The narrator learns just enough that he doesn’t want to spend any more time in Mr. Pickman’s art studio. 9/10

In the Vault – Similar to “The Picture in the House” in scope. It’s like a mediocre episode of the Twilight Zone. 3/10

The Silver Key – Oddly life affirming and even beautiful. This story is about a man’s search for meaning. This is part of Lovecraft’s “Dream Cycle” of stories and shows his world view had a few bright points in it. 10/10

The Music of Erich Zann – I like the mystery in this one as well. The whole thing is dreamlike. 8/10

The Call of Cthulhu – One of Lovecraft’s most famouse stories and Cthulhu is certainly his most famous monster. Davey Jones, from the Pirates of the Carribean movies, was obviously inspired by the great Cthulhu. The plot is the standard Lovecraft arc: the protagonist tries to understand a certain mystery and is made aware of such eldritch horrors that he longs for ignorance. Among geek circles, Cthulhu is as common as Paris Hilton is in the tabloids, so it’s hard to get into the story. 7/10

The Dunwich Horror – Has more of a plot that a lot of Lovecraft stories do. In Lovecraft’s mythology, the rural Northeastern U. S. is a land of absolute terror. Is one of the best plotted stories in this collection and comes to an exciting and dramatic conclusion. 9/10

The Whisperer in Darkness – Another “attack of the monsters from rural New England” story. Absolutely spooky trying to imagining the buzzing whispers of the various recordings discussed in the story. And the final condition of the narrator’s correspondent is great, in a pulp fiction sort of way. 9/10

The Colour Out of Space – In my opinion this is the most disturbing and scary story in the book. There’s no violence or gore, just a family confronted by inexplicable, abstract horror that manifests as an indescribable color. 10/10

The Haunter of the Dark – A man decides to go snooping around an abandoned church and gains the attention of undesirable entities from beyond space. Great for what is left unsaid. 8/10

The Thing on the Doorstep – The Lovecraft gimmick is starting to wear thin here and is pretty predictable. He makes it a little too obvious what is going on. 5/10

The Shadow Over Innsmouth – Another of Lovecraft’s more famous works. It’s definetly weird and bizarre, but not that scary. The final denouement is what makes this story interesting but feels too much like it comes out of left field. 7/10

The Dreams in the Witch-House – Lovecraft tries to scare us with quantum mechanics. This story is about a man who learns how to teleport himself through time and space. This part of the story fills me more with a sense of wonder than dread. The witch that keeps bugging him seems totally out of place. Gory and disturbing images in the final scenes. 6/10

The Shadow Out of Time – One of the more interesting stories in the book. Again, no gore or violence. Just an incredibly odd premise that, in and of itself, shouldn’t be that scary: aliens that attack through time rather than through space. It’s more an exploration of Lovecraft’s fictional universe. Having said that, the final scenes are creepy. 8/10

In conclusion, Lovecraft tends to refrain from lots of gore and violence, though such things make their appearances at times. Typically the terror comes from creating a sense that there is indescribable horror “out there” that can never be understood. And what’s more frightening than ignorance?

His skill as a writer is debatable. It’s his ideas that are compelling. Primarily for the utter lack of hope to be found, I would not recommend Lovecraft to children.