The Classic Horror Stories

H. P. Lovecraft
Edited by Roger Luckhurst

A new selection of Lovecraft's core 'classic' fictions, bringing together in one volume his most representative and influential tales.
The first collection to provide a full contextual introduction which explores the meaning of 'weird fiction' and offers a balanced assessment of the place of the author in relation to the Gothic tradition and American fiction in the 1920s and 1930s.
Includes an extract from Lovecraft's important critical essay, 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'.
Includes a chronology, bibliography, and notes to provide additional contextual interest.
Lovecraft's influence extends from Jorge Luis Borges to Stephen King, the films of the Alien series and the fantasy cinema of Guillermo del Toro.

The Classic Horror Stories

H. P. Lovecraft
Edited by Roger Luckhurst

Description

'Loathsomeness waits and dreams in the deep, and decay spreads over the tottering cities of men. A time will come - but I must not and cannot think!'

H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a reclusive scribbler of horror stories for the American pulp magazines that specialized in Gothic and science fiction in the interwar years. He often published in Weird Tales and has since become the key figure in the slippery genre of 'weird fiction'. Lovecraft developed an extraordinary vision of feeble men driven to the edge of sanity by glimpses of malign beings that have survived from human prehistory or by malevolent extra-terrestrial visitations. The ornate language of his stories builds towards grotesque moments of revelation, quite unlike any other writer.

This new selection brings together nine of his classic tales, focusing on the 'Cthulhu Mythos', a cycle of stories that develops the mythology of the Old Ones, the monstrous creatures who predate human life on earth. It includes the Introduction from Lovecraft's critical essay, 'Supernatural Horror in Literature', in which he gave his own important definition of 'weird fiction'. In a fascinating contextual introduction, Roger Luckhurst gives Lovecraft the attention he deserves as a writer who used pulp fiction to explore a remarkable philosophy that shockingly dethrones the mastery of man.

The Classic Horror Stories

H. P. Lovecraft
Edited by Roger Luckhurst

Introduction
Select Bibliography
A Chronology of H. P. Lovecraft
The Horror at Red Hook
The Call of Cthulhu
The Colour out of Space
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
At the Mountains of Madness
The Dreams in the Witch House
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Shadow out of Time
Appendix: from 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'
Explanatory Notes

The Classic Horror Stories

H. P. Lovecraft
Edited by Roger Luckhurst

Author Information

H. P. Lovecraft

Edited by Roger Luckhurst, Professor of Modern Literature, Birkbeck College, University of London

H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, known as 'weird fiction'. He published primarily in the pulp magazine Weird Tales and attracted a cult following. He wrote in the Gothic tradition, creating a profound sense of dread, and of contact with unknown spheres and powers. He created the Cthulhu Mythos, a series of interconnected fictions featuring creatures from human prehistory, and the Necronomicon, a fictional textbook of magical rites and forbidden lore. He has influenced writers such as Robert Bloch and Stephen King, and film-makers such as David Lynch.

Roger Luckhurst is the author of The Invention of Telepathy (OUP, 2002), Science Fiction (Polity Press, 2005), The Trauma Question (Routledge, 2008), and The Mummy's Curse: The True History of a Dark Fantasy (OUP, 2012). He is an expert on science fiction and Gothic literature, publishing widely and broadcasting regularly on these topics. For Oxford World's Classics he has edited Late Victorian Gothic Tales, Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, James's Portrait of a Lady, and Stoker's Dracula.

The Classic Horror Stories

H. P. Lovecraft
Edited by Roger Luckhurst

Reviews and Awards

"[Luckhurst] furnishes a satisfyingly wide-ranging introduction that situates Lovecraft's work in relation to his scientific materialist views and his rather chilly stance of "cosmic indifferentism"." - Julian White, Times Literary Supplement

"For those interested in Lovecraft but unsure of where to start, this book rolls out the welcome mat. Highly recommended for both new readers and seasoned veterans with an eye toward literary curatorship." - Booklist

The Classic Horror Stories

H. P. Lovecraft
Edited by Roger Luckhurst

From Our Blog

H. P. Lovecraft and the Northern Gothic Tongue

By Roger Luckhurst There is a very specific language of Gothic and horror literature that has its roots buried deep in the history of English: doom has been around since Old English; dread carries over from Middle English; eerie, that sense of vague superstitious uneasiness, enters Middle English through Scottish. The adjectives are harsh and guttural: moons are always gibbous, the trees eldritch.

Posted on May 11, 2013

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