Lovecraft fans

Ruthven · August 27th, 2007, 11:23 PM

Any other HPL fans here?

Chai · August 28th, 2007, 12:02 AM

<--- I'm not quite as well-read as I'd like. I've read the essential couple of stories (call of cthulhu, etc), but definitely need to broaden my horizons. Any recommendations?

Pellaz · August 28th, 2007, 02:10 AM

I'm a casual fan, so I'm interested in hearing some reading recommendations as well. I know a fair amount about HPL's stuff and have seen several adaptations of various stories, but I can't swear to reading anything in its entirety. (!)

Cheiron · August 28th, 2007, 04:16 AM

I do love HP Lovecraft.... here's what Raggi told me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheiron View Post
evlgt85: Just go to the library and buy any compilation book. Read which stories come with it, and see which you'd prefer to have. But its hard to say that one is better than another. Perhaps some reviews might help... sure you can get those at Amazon or something... whatever you prefer. I have a small one of about 12 stories. I might buy some more later. Which is annoying, since inevitably you end up paying for some stories twice. I bet some of his stories never made it into books, they might only be in mags like Weird Fiction.

And now from Jim Raggi...

http://www.arkhamhouse.com/

The hardcover collections The Dunwich Horror and Others, At the Mountains of Madness, and Dagon and Other Macabre Tales are as complete a collection of Lovecraft's originals as you'll find with no duplication between them. I have these. Pricey, but excellent. I don't have The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions though.

http://www.nightshadebooks.com and others sell Lovecraft and other Weird-Tales related authors as well.

Look up Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature essay. It's an excellent buying guide and much of that stuff can be found on Amazon. Be prepared for some intense reading as everything there is 75+ years old.
__________________

Entrerie · August 28th, 2007, 09:08 AM

I'm familiar with HPL but have not read much, however I have been exposed to his works in various mediums. The last thing I saw was the 2005 B&W Call of Cthulu movie that was styled to be like a silent film and before that the other numerous movies like Dagon, Necronomicon, Re-animator, etc. Also the various games.

I think Dagon is my favorite out of all of them.

Jim LotFP · August 28th, 2007, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheiron

Look up Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature essay. It's an excellent buying guide and much of that stuff can be found on Amazon. Be prepared for some intense reading as everything there is 75+ years old.

Yeah, this should be emphasized. It's good for generating a reading list and learning about what Lovecraft is all about as well - his attitudes are on parade throughout the essay.

The essay:

http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/superhor.htm

Yippee38 · August 28th, 2007, 04:12 PM

I got lucky and picked up the At the Mountains of Madness compilation from the bookstore as my first exposure to HPL. It is still my favorite from him. I read it and thought it was scary, but I couldn't figure out why. Some of his other stuff is excellent too, but some was just so-so. I can't think of any titles that really stand out, but I remember the stories I liked.

AngraRULES · August 28th, 2007, 10:22 PM

Lovecraft RULES.

Pellaz · August 29th, 2007, 01:59 AM

Hmmm, this reminds me to check out what Lovecraft adaptations are available from the Atlanta Radio Theater Company.
For years, it was their tradition to adapt an HPL story for the stage as a live audio play perfomed at Dragon*Con, and they did an excellent job considering it was an all-volunteer effort.

EDIT: from www.artc.org :

Quote:

At the Mountains of Madness / Hour of the Wolf
An old man consents to a radio interview in which a number of terrible truths come out...

The Dunwich Horror
Have you seen the mad fires blazing from the ancient stone circles atop Sentinel Mountain...?

The Rats in the Walls
Beware, England. The last Delapore has come home.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth
How'd yew like to hear the howlin' night after night from the Esoteric Order o' Dagon hall an' know what unholy things is doin' part of the howlin?

Cheiron · August 29th, 2007, 12:10 PM

Very interesting essay. Can be a hard read, and I skipped over a lot because I wanted to read some of the stories mentioned without already knowing how they end hehe. Heh. I wonder if I could get a PhD in Horror Fiction.

And Paul I'm sure you also have the Lovecraft & Witch Stories album =d

Pellaz · August 29th, 2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheiron

And Paul I'm sure you also have the Lovecraft & Witch Stories album =d

Lovecraft and Witchhearts. And yep, I have it. The first disc is a tidy 'best of' collection. An analysis of WREKage playlists would show that I pull that CD out a lot.

metalprof · August 29th, 2007, 11:43 PM

I assume everyone has seen Re-Animator and From Beyond? If not, what are you waiting for???

Also, has anyone else read Thomas Ligotti? I only ever saw three books of his, but I'm pretty sure there are more on smaller presses. He's one of those, "If you like Lovecraft, you should try ... " authors. One of his story collections, Noctuary, contains several short stories that are only 2-3 pages in length and some of them gave me more heebie jeebies than many of Lovecraft's longer tales.

Ken

Ruthven · August 30th, 2007, 12:01 AM

I like what I have read by Ligotti. He wrote one horror story that was structured as a "how to write a horror story" piece.

Cheiron · August 30th, 2007, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metalprof

I assume everyone has seen Re-Animator and From Beyond? If not, what are you waiting for???

Also, has anyone else read Thomas Ligotti? I only ever saw three books of his, but I'm pretty sure there are more on smaller presses. He's one of those, "If you like Lovecraft, you should try ... " authors. One of his story collections, Noctuary, contains several short stories that are only 2-3 pages in length and some of them gave me more heebie jeebies than many of Lovecraft's longer tales.

Ken

No on all accounts =p

spag · August 30th, 2007, 09:19 PM

The first exposure to HPL was in a couple of issues of this old underground comic book called "Slow Death". I still have them in a box somewhere. Really cool, demented pen and ink artwork. After those, I started buying what I could in used book stores. Then when I had the cash, some of the Arkham House hardbacks.

That was of course before my whole "no more books" attitude that I have now. I love reading, but I don't purchase them anymore, as I'm sick of moving them around. In fact, I still have 10-boxes of them to donate...

Cheiron · September 2nd, 2007, 01:35 PM

Just watched the movie - "Beyond the wall of sleep"

It isn't horrible, but it wasn't very well done. Could have been done a lot better. The acting was poor, and the attempt to channel the older style of film and especially sci-fi film was an interesting choice but I don't think worked all that well. Its only remotely close to the story, though with its modifications it does try to channel Lovecraft. Just needed to be done better.

BTW.

www.eponymous.org/lovecraft/

personally I have a hard time reading online... would have to print these out.

spag · September 3rd, 2007, 02:36 AM

Yeah, there have been some pretty bad Lovecraft derived movies. Some people are mixed on them too. For example, I thought "Dagon" was pretty good, but a friend of mine hated it. "The Resurrected" was pretty good as well.

August 27th, 2007, 11:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ruthven Vampires don't sparkle Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,086	Lovecraft fans Any other HPL fans here? __________________ Derek Dragon*Con Dark Fantasy, Track Director -- Horror, Urban Fantasy, and Vampires

August 28th, 2007, 02:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
Pellaz Tigron of Immanion Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 8,734	I'm a casual fan, so I'm interested in hearing some reading recommendations as well. I know a fair amount about HPL's stuff and have seen several adaptations of various stories, but I can't swear to reading anything in its entirety. (!) __________________ http://www.paulcashman.com pellaz1@comcast.net Proud sponsor of Solution .45 (and kinda Primordial), Therion (again!), Tyr, Orphaned Land, Amorphis, Sonata Arctica, Mercenary, Therion, PoS, Nightwish and Devin Townsend Band, PPUSA III-present WREKage, 11:59pm Fri nights http://www.wrekage.org 91.1 FM Atlanta -- Atlanta radio's home of metal for more than 20 years, also streamed live and archived for a week! WINNER: Best of Atl. non-commercial radio show, 2012

August 28th, 2007, 04:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
Yippee38 Living the dream! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Somewhere at 37,000' Posts: 2,289	I got lucky and picked up the At the Mountains of Madness compilation from the bookstore as my first exposure to HPL. It is still my favorite from him. I read it and thought it was scary, but I couldn't figure out why. Some of his other stuff is excellent too, but some was just so-so. I can't think of any titles that really stand out, but I remember the stories I liked. __________________ "Step out of line And I'll teach you how to fly Then away we'll go"

August 29th, 2007, 12:10 PM	#10 (permalink)
Cheiron Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 5,605	Very interesting essay. Can be a hard read, and I skipped over a lot because I wanted to read some of the stories mentioned without already knowing how they end hehe. Heh. I wonder if I could get a PhD in Horror Fiction. And Paul I'm sure you also have the Lovecraft & Witch Stories album =d __________________ Cheiron

August 29th, 2007, 11:43 PM	#12 (permalink)
metalprof Ken Luther Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Valparaiso, IN Posts: 1,300	I assume everyone has seen Re-Animator and From Beyond? If not, what are you waiting for??? Also, has anyone else read Thomas Ligotti? I only ever saw three books of his, but I'm pretty sure there are more on smaller presses. He's one of those, "If you like Lovecraft, you should try ... " authors. One of his story collections, Noctuary, contains several short stories that are only 2-3 pages in length and some of them gave me more heebie jeebies than many of Lovecraft's longer tales. Ken __________________ ----------------------------------------------------- Ken Luther // Professor of Math & Metal // Valparaiso University https://sites.google.com/site/valpokluther1/home -----------------------------------------------------

August 28th, 2007, 12:02 AM	#2 (permalink)
Chai Marching with Mephisto Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 102	<--- I'm not quite as well-read as I'd like. I've read the essential couple of stories (call of cthulhu, etc), but definitely need to broaden my horizons. Any recommendations?

August 28th, 2007, 09:08 AM	#5 (permalink)
Entrerie Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 544	I'm familiar with HPL but have not read much, however I have been exposed to his works in various mediums. The last thing I saw was the 2005 B&W Call of Cthulu movie that was styled to be like a silent film and before that the other numerous movies like Dagon, Necronomicon, Re-animator, etc. Also the various games. I think Dagon is my favorite out of all of them.

August 28th, 2007, 10:22 PM	#8 (permalink)
AngraRULES Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 12,128	Lovecraft RULES.

August 30th, 2007, 12:01 AM	#13 (permalink)
Ruthven Vampires don't sparkle Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,086	I like what I have read by Ligotti. He wrote one horror story that was structured as a "how to write a horror story" piece. __________________ Derek Dragon*Con Dark Fantasy, Track Director -- Horror, Urban Fantasy, and Vampires

August 30th, 2007, 09:19 PM	#15 (permalink)
spag I am a leaf on the wind Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Everywhere and nowhere Posts: 1,004	The first exposure to HPL was in a couple of issues of this old underground comic book called "Slow Death". I still have them in a box somewhere. Really cool, demented pen and ink artwork. After those, I started buying what I could in used book stores. Then when I had the cash, some of the Arkham House hardbacks. That was of course before my whole "no more books" attitude that I have now. I love reading, but I don't purchase them anymore, as I'm sick of moving them around. In fact, I still have 10-boxes of them to donate...

September 2nd, 2007, 01:35 PM	#16 (permalink)
Cheiron Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 5,605	Just watched the movie - "Beyond the wall of sleep" It isn't horrible, but it wasn't very well done. Could have been done a lot better. The acting was poor, and the attempt to channel the older style of film and especially sci-fi film was an interesting choice but I don't think worked all that well. Its only remotely close to the story, though with its modifications it does try to channel Lovecraft. Just needed to be done better. BTW. www.eponymous.org/lovecraft/ personally I have a hard time reading online... would have to print these out. __________________ Cheiron Last edited by Cheiron : September 2nd, 2007 at 04:48 PM.

September 3rd, 2007, 02:36 AM	#17 (permalink)
spag I am a leaf on the wind Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Everywhere and nowhere Posts: 1,004	Yeah, there have been some pretty bad Lovecraft derived movies. Some people are mixed on them too. For example, I thought "Dagon" was pretty good, but a friend of mine hated it. "The Resurrected" was pretty good as well.