The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales by H.P. Lovecraft
Book Synopsis:
The Cthulhu Mythos was H.P. Lovecraft's greatest contribution to supernatural literature: a series of stories that evoked cosmic awe and terror through their accounts of incomprehensibly alien monsters and their horrifying incursions into our world.
The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales collects 23 of Lovecraft's greatest weird tales, including "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Colour out of Space," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Shadow over Innsmouth," and "The Shadow out of Time." It also features six collaborative "revisions" through which Lovecraft expanded the scope of his dark mythology, as well as an Introduction by scholar S. T. Joshi, the world's leading authority on H.P. Lovecraft.
Overall Review:
I do want to preface this review that I do not agree with Lovecraft’s problematic history towards Black people, Jews, and others. I think for this reason I’ve had a hard time reading this collection.
Since watching recent Lovecraftian horror films in early 2025, I had wanted to read the stories that inspired so many directors and creatives in their filmography. The aliens, old-gods, and cosmos of these stories is incredible to take in. Many of the characters lacked depth that you often find in the films themselves, if done well.
I don’t know that I have a perfect answer as to whether or not you should read this collection or any of Lovecraft’s other works. As a horror-lover, I’ve come across my fair share of problematic actors, writers, etc. I’ve temporarily placed this book on my “Did Not Finish” shelf, but I’m sure I’ll slowly work through the stories as I go. I think the best way to consume the stories is to understand that these fears, prejudices, hatreds do not shape YOUR understanding and kindness towards the world. Horror has a long history of stories with ill intentions, so keep your heart true to kindness as you devour the scares.
A Taste of the Haunting:
Song pairing: like you’re god by mehro
Movie pairing: The Thing is my best recommendation, as others are very trippy.
To dive further into the mood… I recommend old god and other cultural stories with cryptids and creatures not of this world. Remember to respect other cultures as you learn!
Setting:
Multiple settings, very well described and crafted for the stories. My favorites tended to be isolated locations or fog-soaked landscapes.
Characters:
The characters were not as memorable as the horrors, events, and creatures. I think back on Guillermo del Toro describing monsters as the parts of us that need healing, need expression, etc. While Lovecraft made the monsters the people and cultures he feared, I think moving forward it’s important to note that he needed a reality check and to rewire those assumptions and fears he built hatred upon.
Plot:
Honestly, I have to admit that the endings being open-ended and eerie are typically my favorite types of horror stories. Where you’re given this brief moment in time to experience and savor. Most of the stories followed this format, which made the endings have more to chew on.
