H.P. Lovecraft's Book of Horror

Collection of stories not BY Lovecraft, but "recommended" by him from his essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature" ( )

Despite the title, there are no Lovecraft stories in this collection; instead, this is a collection based on Lovecraft's history of horror essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature," featuring stories he mentioned in that essay as outstanding as well as a few stories by authors he names. This gives you a great overview of early horror short stories and is a terrific introduction to the genre as well. There were a couple of appalling choices - really, who thought that "Fishhead" or "Lukundoo" were stories that anyone ever needed to read again - but also some outstanding ones. I was thrilled to see "The Great God Pan" included, and de Maupassant's "The Horla" is my new favorite horror story. ( )

The stories contained in the book are from a variety of authors in the genre chosen by Lovecraft. Some of the stories struck me as well written but there were some which I found rather boring. But with the variety provided I am sure that there will be something for every horror fan. ( )

Collection of 21 short stories of horror. Include's H. P. Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature," and interesting study in the genre. My favorite, "The horla," by Guy de Maupassant is included as well. A good read for an October evening by the fire.

Wonderful anthology I would recommend to any fan of weird fiction or Lovecraft in particular. Starts off with the full text of Lovecraft's "Supernatural horror in literature" which gives one of the better histories of the development of the Gothic genre into the weird tale (or horror fiction). The rest of the book is made up of 20 short stories selected from SHiL as exemplars of the genre. There are some good selections from well known authors, such as Poe, Machen, Chambers, Maupassant. There's also some lesser-known gems, such as "Lukundoo" and "Fishhead." Some stories, such as "The House and the Brain," are pretty tame by modern standards, but will still be interesting to someone interested in the field.

My one complaint is that they chose to put Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" in the middle of the collection, even though it's earlier than most of the other stories and served as an influence on them. Otherwise, this is a good introduction to weird fiction, especially of the sort that influenced Lovecraft. ( )