Some Creepy, Some Silly
Perhaps my youth is responsible for remembering Lovecraft as having an almost supernatural ability to creep me out via the written word. In this collection, some of Lovecraft’s short stories leave my skin crawling. Such stories include “The Challenge from Beyond” as read by Simon Prebble, “The Alchemist” as read by Simon Vance, and my favorite in this miscellany “The Horror at Martin’s Beach” as masterfully brought to life by Bronson Pinchot who always brings out the creepiest aspects of a work via his narration. The bulk of the stories, though, feel like the same “and then something spooky\creepy happened” tale repeated throughout with different monsters and ghouls. I’m sure that at the time they were originally published, the tales freaked out readers. Nowadays, most of the stories, especially their endings are downright hokey and silly. That said, this miscellany is a must read for any fan of Lovecraft or the horror and sci-fi genre in general. It serves as an excellent launching point into these genres. Not only that, but they stand as a historical work that highlights the influence Lovecraft had within these genres, as well as the worlds of comic books, video games, and pop culture at large.