# Must-read Lovecraft stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546 "2010-10-18T12:54:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/21 "2010-10-20T19:12:37Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > If you want to go back the way, [William\_Hope\_Hodgson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hope_Hodgson) was a forerunner of Lovecraft and apparently a big influence. His two main books are ‘The Night Land’ and ‘The House on the Borderland’. They’re extremely good - even with a rather dated prose style the creeping horror still makes itself felt. Other acknowledged influences: [Arthur Machen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Machen) and [Robert W. Chambers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Chambers). Have you seen the Yellow Sign? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/22 "2010-10-20T19:48:33Z")
In Robert Zelazny’s _A Night in the Lonesome October_, we see preparations for a Full Moon Halloween, near London, near the end of the 19th century. It seems that, on such nights, certain eldritch & ancient beings might gain access to our world. “Openers” wish to let them in; “Closers” don’t. Both Openers & Closers have animal familiars; our narrator is a dog owned by Jack, who is good with knives. The Count & a Mad Monk are among the players; the Great Detective decides to investigate. One section is a beautiful visit to various Lovecraftian realms. Since it’s October, time to read it again! A lovely little book. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/23 "2010-10-20T20:26:16Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Pretty sure that one is in “Shadows Over Baker Street”, which was a collection of short stories that combined Sherlock with the Mythos. It was a pretty decent read. It’s been reprinted in Gaiman’s short story collection _[Fragile Things](http://www.amazon.com/Fragile-Things-Short-Fictions-Wonders/dp/0060515236/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1287606052&sr=8-14)_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/24 "2010-10-20T22:22:27Z")
One that hasn’t been mentioned, but I think is one of his best, is “The Quest for Iranon.” It’s part of the Dunsanian Dream Cycle, and is very beautiful, IMO. Now, I must go as a horrible three-lobed eye is peering through the window. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/25 "2010-10-21T00:18:56Z")
Dagonbytes bites. Yes, it has all the stories - presented in white on black in a large, clunky, san-serif font that is not at all a pleasure to read. I sometimes copy and paste into a word processor and change the font to something tolerable. Too much work. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/26 "2010-10-21T14:55:38Z")
Another vote for “Dreams in the Witch House.” I also like “The Shunned House.” I guess I like houses. I disagree with **muldoonthief** in that I think “The Haunter of Dark” is one of his best, although the payoff isn’t as good as the buildup. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/27 "2010-10-21T16:25:54Z")
My favorites are “The Call of Cthulhu” and “The Color Out of Space”. I like almost all of his stories! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/28 "2010-10-21T17:18:09Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Dagonbytes bites. > > Yes, it has all the stories - presented in white on black in a large, clunky, san-serif font that is not at all a pleasure to read. I sometimes copy and paste into a word processor and change the font to something tolerable. Too much work. Wimp, eh? 😉 Well, you can read the same stories in black letters on light background at [Gutenberg Australia.](http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600031h.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/29 "2010-10-21T17:43:27Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > I think “The Haunter of Dark” is one of his best, although the payoff isn’t as good as the buildup. It rarely is with Lovecraft. ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/30 "2010-10-21T18:41:58Z")
I’ve read stories through DagonBytes. I like the style through Yankee Classics better. I would recommend the [entries](http://www.yankeeclassic.com/miskatonic/library/catalog/cards-l.htm#L-o) in the Miskatonic Library at Yankee Classics. Check out the rest of the [University](http://www.yankeeclassic.com/miskatonic/guide.htm) as well. While the reveal may be obvious or less than horrific to my jaded senses, it’s the dream he conjures up from hoary spaces and dank fungoid places in the eldritch recesses my mind that pulls me inevitably onward. ---
**Author:** ![Abisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@Abisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abisha)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/31 "2010-10-21T23:01:18Z")
_The Lurker at the Threshold_ the only book that I have read in the last 15 years that gave me nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/32 "2010-10-21T23:08:57Z")
I like _The Festival_. It’s creepy, effective, and short. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546/33 "2010-10-22T02:25:49Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Wimp, eh? 😉 Well, you can read the same stories in black letters on light background at [Gutenberg Australia.](http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600031h.html) Thanks! I’ve just bookmarked it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-read-lovecraft-stories/557546.md?page=1)