# Cthulhu Mythos
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 28, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182 "2013-03-28T15:58:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/1 "2013-03-28T15:58:20Z")
I recently watched _The Call of Cthulhu_ from 2005 and have started reading Lovecraft’s works. I just finished Dagon and am looking forward to getting to the above story and others involving the elder gods. I see that a lot of stories have been written involving the Cthulhu Mythos and am looking for recommendations for particularly good stories or collections.
Thanks.
---
### Author:  [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/2 "2013-03-28T16:12:13Z")
Charles Stross’s [Laundry Series](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheLaundrySeries?from=Main.TheLaundrySeries). Hilarious take on an updated Cthulhu-like Great Britain, spliced with I.T. in-jokes.
The Sherlock Holmes/Cthulhu mash-up story collection “[Shadows Over Baker Street](http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Baker-Street-Michael-Reaves/dp/0345455282)”, isn’t too bad, and has the excellent Gaiman story, “[A Study in Emerald](http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf).”
---
### Author:  [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/3 "2013-03-28T16:19:13Z")
Straight-up mythos stories by other writers - well, there are thousands of them, and most of them are not very good.
I kinda liked Robert Block’s mythos stories: [http://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Worm-Rober-BLOCH/dp/1568820127](http://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Worm-Rober-BLOCH/dp/1568820127)
Block is of course better known as the author of _Psycho_.
However, one of my favorite books for lovers of this genre is a book which is really a satryic “take” on the mythos as a whole, called _Resume with Monsters_:
> **[Resume With Monsters: Spencer, William Browning: 9781579620264: Amazon.com:...](https://www.amazon.com/Resume-Monsters-William-Browning-Spencer/dp/1579620264)**
>
> Resume With Monsters \[Spencer, William Browning\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Resume With Monsters
It is very good and very, very funny. 😃 Must reading for Mythos fans.
---
### Author:  [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/4 "2013-03-28T16:24:12Z")
I cannot recommend “14” by Peter Clines strongly enough.
It is an EXCELLENT example of how the Mythos affects modern people, and how stories can transform from mundane to magical without stretching your disbelief too much.
Its a brilliant, brilliant story.
---
### Author:  [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/5 "2013-03-28T17:25:44Z")
Came in to post _Study in Emerald_, see already done above.
It is also in New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird, a collection of stories written by various authors. All newer stuff. Some falls flat, but some is really good.
---
### Author:  [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/6 "2013-03-28T19:46:05Z")
My favorite story is “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.”
---
### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/7 "2013-03-28T22:12:07Z")
Avoid August Derleth. He had all of Lovecraft’s failings and none of his strengths. Derleth also attempted to introduce good and evil into the mythos.
---
### Author:  [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/8 "2013-03-28T22:30:40Z")
Check out the H.P. Lovecraft podcast: [http://hppodcraft.com](http://hppodcraft.com)
There’s an episode for each story. They discuss some other authors too.
Most of the Mythos stuff I’ve read by other authors ranges from forgettable to rubbish.
---
### Author:  [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/9 "2013-03-28T23:15:35Z")
I liked Derleth’s The Trail of Cthulu.
---
### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/10 "2013-03-28T23:28:01Z")
> [@RikWriter](#):
>
> I liked Derleth’s The Trail of Cthulu.
It was Trail that convinced me Derleth couldn’t write. It’s dry, plodding. All the characters are interchangeable. All the characters speak in the same voice and style.
---
### Author:  [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/11 "2013-03-28T23:32:33Z")
If you say so. I enjoyed it.
---
### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/12 "2013-03-28T23:35:57Z")
Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan The Barbarian, was a friend of Lovecraft’s, & he wrote a few.
Not bad at all.
[Nameless Cults](http://www.amazon.com/Nameless-Cults-Cthulhu-Mythos-Fiction/dp/1568821301/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364513690&sr=1-1&keywords=robert+e.+howard+cthulhu).
---
### Author:  [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/13 "2013-03-28T23:46:07Z")
PS The Call of Cthulhu is arguably Lovecraft’s best story. There’s an excellent free audiobook version of it in the sidebar of the Hppodcraft site I linked above.
---
### Author:  [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/14 "2013-03-29T00:04:30Z")
The place every young one should start is with the [illustrated DrFaustusAU stories](http://drfaustusau.deviantart.com/).
---
### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/15 "2013-03-29T00:56:47Z")
To be honest, Call of Cthulhu is about the best movie adaptation of the stories - most of the mainstream Hollywood ones sort of drift off the actual story a fair amount.
---
### Author:  [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/16 "2013-03-29T04:01:38Z")
Stephen King had one in the collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes titled [Crouch End](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crouch_End_%28short_story%29). I remember being impressed with how he handled the concept of the horror of the unknowable, that idea that there’s secret knowledge that could drive you mad.
---
### Author:  [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/17 "2013-03-29T04:05:29Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#):
>
> The place every young one should start is with the [illustrated DrFaustusAU stories](http://drfaustusau.deviantart.com/).
Yeah, they are fantastic!
I would recommend Brett J. Talley’s “That Which Should Not Be” :
> **[That Which Should Not Be: Talley, Brett J: 9781936564149: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/That-Which-Should-Not-Be/dp/1936564149)**
>
> That Which Should Not Be \[Talley, Brett J\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. That Which Should Not Be
For a critical evaluation of Lovecraftian literature, you might want to consult S. T. Joshi’s "The Rise and Fall of the Cthulhu Mythos :
> **[Amazon.com: The Rise and Fall of the Cthulhu Mythos: 9780978991180: S. T. Joshi,...](https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Cthulhu-Mythos/dp/0978991184)**
>
> Amazon.com: The Rise and Fall of the Cthulhu Mythos: 9780978991180: S. T. Joshi, Jason C. Eckhardt: Books
---
### Author:  [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/18 "2013-03-29T11:48:42Z")
> [@DocCathode](#):
>
> Avoid August Derleth. He had all of Lovecraft’s failings and none of his strengths. Derleth also attempted to introduce good and evil into the mythos.
Agreed.
I reread some of his stuff 2 weeks ago and found it terrible. His characters are all the same, his devices are repetitive (some scenes are identical, almost word for word) and most of all, he dumbed down **Lovecraft** ’s mythos, turning it into a silly good/evil struggle (and don’t get me started on the whole “Cthulhu’s element is water, Hastur’s element is air…” fiasco).
As for my favourite Lovecraft tales, here they are:
_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 Out of Time_
And among his collaborations, I’d recommend:
_The Horror in the Museum
Out of the Aeons_
The latter really scared me when I was 14. It still made me feel uneasy when I reread it in my early 30’s
---
### Author:  [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2013, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cthulhu-mythos/654182/19 "2013-03-29T12:01:34Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#):
>
> As for my favourite Lovecraft tales, here they are:
>
> \ ***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 Out of Time** _
I definitely agree with the bolding I’ve made above of your choices. The Shadow out of Time is my all time favorite (followed closely by At the Mountains of Madness). I also like Pickman’s model and there was one about a cave creature (the cave?). For whatever reason I just don’t really like The Dunwich Horror.
I’d also recommend The Shadow over Innsmouth and Dagon (read Dagon first).
I haven’t read The whisperer in the Darkness or The Dreams in the Witch House. I’ll have to check those out.