Help me out: H.P. Lovecraft

[GarlicGuy]

I played a board game today called Elder Signs. One guy kept going on and on about the Cthulu ( sp? ) world, and how amazing H.P. Lovecraft was as a writer. I have never read a single thing by him..... Where would you tell me to start?

[Rixis]

Something I've had bookmarked for if I ever get around to reading it:

http://www.teemingbrain.com/2013/06/...ginners-guide/

Because it's so old it's out of copyright so you should be able to just pick it up online somewhere for free I think.

[Skulltaker]

I played a board game today called Elder Signs. One guy kept going on and on about the Cthulu ( sp? ) world, and how amazing H.P. Lovecraft was as a writer. I have never read a single thing by him..... Where would you tell me to start?

Good thing about Lovecraft is that he mostly wrote short stories. I'd actually recommend "The Call of C'thulhu" as a starter. It's not his best work but will show you very well what you are getting into.

[cmflame]

I like "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". I don't know if it is a good place to start but it's one of my favorite Lovecraft works.

[zephid]

"At the Mountains of Madness" is really good, a bit longer than most of his other stuff though.

[Stormcall]

"At the Mountains of Madness" is really good, a bit longer than most of his other stuff though.

Yeah. If you like At the Mountains of Madness, you'll like Lovecraft. If you hate it, you may as well look for another author, cause he almost certainly won't appeal to you.

[Shadowferal]

I played a board game today called Elder Signs. One guy kept going on and on about the Cthulu ( sp? ) world, and how amazing H.P. Lovecraft was as a writer. I have never read a single thing by him..... Where would you tell me to start?

The "Cthulhu Mythos" as it came to be called is sometimes seen as a sub-genre of horror. (ie "Lovecraftian")

It has a very particular atmosphere to me. I want to say it's "fun.." but...it revolves around these deities that come from the stars, in some weird occult like way.
However the best humanity can hope from these beings is indifference. Just trying to deal with anything remotely related to them was insanity inducing.

Spoiler: 

There had been aeons when other Things ruled on the earth, and They had had great cities. Remains of Them, he said the deathless Chinamen had told him, were still be found as Cyclopean stones on islands in the Pacific. They all died vast epochs of time before men came, but there were arts which could revive Them when the stars had come round again to the right positions in the cycle of eternity. They had, indeed, come themselves from the stars, and brought Their images with Them.
These Great Old Ones, Castro continued, were not composed altogether of flesh and blood. They had shape — for did not this star-fashioned image prove it? — but that shape was not made of matter. When the stars were right, They could plunge from world to world through the sky; but when the stars were wrong, They could not live. But although They no longer lived, They would never really die...

Later on other authors freely contributed, and it was encouraged that other authors borrow material for other stories. (Bloch, Derleth, Lovecraft, even Robert Howard used material for his Conan stories. Lot of free-love here.)

It was Derleth that introduced the idea of Good vs. Evil in the mythos.

Really strange stuff;

That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die..

[thewallofsleep]

Something I've had bookmarked for if I ever get around to reading it:

http://www.teemingbrain.com/2013/06/...ginners-guide/

Because it's so old it's out of copyright so you should be able to just pick it up online somewhere for free I think.

This is a very good primer article and is recommended.

Lovecraft's writing is extremely antiquated and dense. It certainly isn't for everyone. Most of his tales are somewhat short, but the intense vocabulary can be too much for some people. That's not me trying to criticize people, because I understand why some people don't like his writing. It can seem kind of inaccessible. Even for his time, Lovecraft's writing was antiquated, and he went for an Edgar Allan Poe level of descriptive detail. If you find yourself liking the atmosphere and the bleakness of his work, just force yourself to keep reading, as his subject matter and settings are very unique and unlike much else. He is a true original.

You can read all of the Cthulhu Mythos here for free:
http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/sources/ccmt.aspx

Lovecraft was primarily published in magazines, especially pulp ones, so the copyright on his work is gone, making it public domain. At least that is my understanding, I could be wrong.

By the way, how is Elder Sign? I've never tried any of the Lovecraft tabletop games. I've heard some are really good.

[GarlicGuy]

Thank you all.... on my way to the library today, so I will see what is available.

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Thank you all.... on my way to the library today, so I will see what is available.

And, I went to the library.... a decent sized one, and not a single Lovecraft book in the building.

[CthulhuFhtagn]

Thank you all.... on my way to the library today, so I will see what is available.

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And, I went to the library.... a decent sized one, and not a single Lovecraft book in the building.

I ended up buying his books online because they were difficult to find anywhere else. Or if you're into audiobooks, you can find his stories online pretty easily and for free.

These are the stories I would consider must-reads (all from the latter half of his writing career when he really hit his stride), since they capture the essence of Lovecraftian horror:

The Call of Cthulhu
The Colour Out of Space
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
The Dreams in the Witch House
The Thing on the Doorstep
The Shadow Out of Time
The Haunter of the Dark
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
At the Mountains of Madness

And if you end up craving more, there are some good stories in his earlier work as well:

The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Picture in the House
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
Herbert West–Reanimator
The Lurking Fear
The Rats in the Walls
The Shunned House