The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Great short story. An unnamed narrator uncovers the story of a meteorite crash near the fictional town of Arkham many years before. The meteorite affected plants, animals, and people around the crash site. Sightings were reported of a strange organic thing of some, previously unknown, colour. I also watched a movie adaptation, in German with subtitles, which I found faithful to the original. I liked that it was in black and white, except for "the colour out of space." Recommend 👍🏽 I've been reading this ginormous tome with H.P. Lovecraft's Complete Fiction since 2018. I'm reading it in order. Slowly. No pressure. I'm a bit over 50% now. And getting to Lovecraft's most famous work.

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft.

Enjoyable and dark. It delves into Lovecraft's insane world of monstrous things. It starts with Charles Ward's disappearance from a mental asylum and then back a few months with his family physician starting an investigation on Ward's secret activities.

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft

Unlike the previous short story in this book, which I read in one sitting, this one took me several days. Not only because of its length, 80 pages, but because I found it hard to read. But I persisted.

The story follows a man called Randolph Carter who goes on an epic journey to find Sunset city which he has seen in his dreams. He doesn't know how to get there so he needs to get to Kadath to ask the gods of earth for help. In his journey he goes to multiple places, like the cat city of Ulthar. Meets strange people and weird creatures. He is captured and released. He walks, climbs and flies on top of scary flying monsters. And he keeps going... In enjoyed the premise of the story but got tired of the too many mentions of name of cities, of creatures, of gods, of hideous people....

The highlight of this story for me was the presence of Crawling Chaos Nyarlathotep, and Azathot. Deities in the Cthulhu mythos. Outer gods, from outerspace.

The Strange High House in the Mist by H.P. Lovecraft

Only 8 pages long. Perfect for a quick read before trick or treating!

A super atmospheric story. A visitor in a strange town who, intrigued by an inaccessible house on the top of cliff, decides to climb and visit it inhabitants.

Pickman's Model by H.P. Lovecraft

😱😱😱😰 One of the most well known short stories by Lovecraft. This is story number 48 for me. I'm reading the stories in order (H.P. Lovecraft Complete Fiction). Although I have enjoyed most of them, I remember only a few of them, maybe 10? (The Outsider, The Music of Eric Zann, Under the Pyramids, The Call of Cthulhu...) I'm happy Pickman's Model made a good impression on me and I think the story will stay with me for a while... or should I say the Model? 😱

The Call of Cthulhu - H.P. Lovecraft

This is a classic of horror short story. It follows a man who is investigating a secret cult. The Cthulhu cult whose followers are waiting for the Coming back of an ancient god. Having read some strange notes left by his late uncle the man then goes around the world looking for the places and people mentioned. The things he learns are scarier than hell. Loved the writing buy got shocked by those nasty remarks Lovecraft is well known for. However I guess those remarks contributed to the already dark and hideous atmosphere set throughout the story. 

So far I've read 47 stories in the B&N Volume and out of those The Call of Cthulhu is one of my favourites, with the Transition of Juan Romero, The Outsider, Herbert West - Reanimator and maybe Under the Pyramids.

The Horror at Red Hook and He by H.P. Lovecraft.

Two stories set in New York and with overt racist references. 🧐

Apparently Lovecraft didn't like New York. He lived there for a short period of time. In both of these tales Lovecraft depicts the repulsive face of the big apple, including the people (immigrants) he disliked. The two stories are ok, not great and I doubt I will remember them in the future. Hmm perhaps the detective, Malone, in the first story will stick for a bit .

So far I have read 1/3 of this mammoth of a book. Still to read his most reputable work. Looking forward.

The Shunned House by H.P. Lovecraft.

A creepy read perfect to send off this hideous year. MWAHAHAHA

Under the Pyramids by H.P. Lovecraft

Houdini + Pyramids. An excellent, dark combination.

H.P. Lovecraft The Complete Fiction (work in progress)

Do you want to read Lovecraft? Get this edition: Leatherbound Classics by Barnes and Noble. 1098 pages of great horror. Beautiful book, swen bound and comfortable to read typeset.

This is the first time I am reading the author and so far I am satisfied.  I have read 18 stories and although I didn't like some of them the overall balance is positive.  Here I will keep record of the stories I am reading. I will be adding to the list as I read more.

1. The Beast in the Cave - a man gets lost inside a cave/labyrinth without any source of light. He is resigned to die there, until he hears some horrific sounds. - liked it
2. The Alchemist - a man relates the story of how an ancestor of his killed a black wizard.  The wizard's son curses him and his descendants to die at the age of 32. Now the man's 32 birthday  is approaching. What can he do? - liked it
3. The Tomb - loved it
4. Dagon- liked it
5. A Reminiscence of Dr Samuel Johnson - forgettable
6. Polaris - meh
7. Beyond the Wall of Sleep - loved it
8. Memory - liked it
9. Old Bugs - liked it
10. The Transition of Juan Romero - liked it
11. The White Ship - so so
12. The Street - didn't like it
13. The Doom that came to Sarnath - meh
14. The Statement of Randolph Carter - loved it
15. The Terrible Old Man- loved it
16. The Tree - liked it
17. The Cats of Ulthar - loved it
18. The Temple - loved it

Note: Lovecraft's prose is dense, full of difficult old fashioned words, some of them invented, some of them taken from old Greek texts and others. It can be hard to get into the stories. Because of that, I think, I enjoyed stories realistic elements more than the fantastical ones.

19. Facts concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family - loved it
20. Celephaïs - so so
21. From Beyond - loved it
22. Nyarlathotep - Nyarlathotep is a strange being, maybe a God.  He travels the world recruiting people and as they go mad the world starts to collapse.  I liked it.
23. The Picture in the House - liked it
24. Ex Oblivione - so so
25. Sweet Ermrngarde - it was fun
26. The Nameless City - OK
27. The Question of Iranon - a young musician travels the world looking for his home town - entertaining fantasy
28. The Moon-bog - the owner of a castle in Ireland wants to drain a  marsh located in his property but then he has to fight against the protests of his superstitious neighbours - I liked it
29. The Outsider - A man who has spent all his life in a castle manages to escape.  Liked it
30. The Other God's - an old man and a priest climb the mountains of Ulthar in search of the gods. So so hmm maybe liked it
31. The Music of Erich Zzan - a viol player plays his music every night from the creepy old room on the top of an old house - Liked it
32. Herbert West - Reanimator - a doctor experiments with corpses looking for a way to bring them back to life. - loved it!

October 2019
33. Hypnos - a young man befriends another man and takes him to his house to become his only friend. The two of them spend the nights exploring the realms of dreams and the unknown. - it was OK.
34. What he moon brings - a prose poem about the sea and the moon, a man's fears, death and a monster. - so so
35. Azathoth - a man who lives in an ugly city and who watches the stars every night comes to know about the secrets of the sky. He leaves his body to travel beyond the stars. - so so
36. The Hound - a man and his friend St John rob a hound-shaped amulet from a tomb in Holland.  Back in England strange things start happening to them including a hound baying in the distance.  - it was OK
37. The Lurking Fear - a monster hunter searches a mountain after a reports of several attacks by an unidentified creature. His investigations take him to the Martense's devastated mansion were two of his companions disappear. Continuing his investigations with a reporter he starts to believe that the deaths have something to do with the history of the Martense family. - it liked it.
38. The rats in the walls - a man called Delapoer moves to England after losing his son during WWI. He sets his mind to restore an old building, Exham Priory, belonging to his family. Yet when he moves in, he starts to hear the sounds of thousands of rats moving across the house. He brings experts to investigate the basement and foundations of the priory only to lose his sanity to the horror he sees underneath his house.
39. The Unnamable - two men sitting on a tomb talk about super natural creatures. - so so
40. The Festival - a man returns to the town of his ancestors and is invited to attend a secret ritual called Yuletide - I liked it.