H. P. Lovecraft

by H. P. Lovecraft

  Dagon Dagon and Other Macabre Tales, S. T. Joshi, ed. (Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1986). Corrected ninth printing.

  The Statement of Randolph Carter: Reprinted from Mountains, pp. 299–305, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in The Vagrant 13 (May 1920): 41–48. Written December 1919.

  The Outsider: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 46–52, following the original periodical appearance in Weird Tales 7.4 (April 1926): 449–53. Written between March and August 1921.

  The Music of Erich Zann: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 83–91, following Lovecraft’s typescript in a private collection. First published in National Amateur 44.4 (March 1922): 38–40. Written December 1921.

  Herbert West—Reanimator: Reprinted from Dagon, pp. 133–63, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in six parts in Home Brew 1.1 (February 1922): 19–25; 1.2 (March 1922): 45–50; 1.3 (April 1922): 21–26; 1.4 (May 1922): 53–58; 1.5 (June 1922): 45–50; 1.6 (July 1922): 57–62. Written 1921–22.

  The Lurking Fear: Reprinted from Dagon, pp. 179–99, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in four parts in Home Brew 2.6 (January 1923): 4–10; 3.1 (February 1923): 18–23; 3.2 (March 1923): 31–37, 44, 47; 3.3 (April 1923): 35–42. Written November 1922.

  The Rats in the Walls: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 26–45, following the original periodical appearance in Weird Tales 3.3 (March 1924): 25–31. Written August–September 1923.

  The Shunned House: Reprinted from Mountains, pp. 235–61, following the text in The Shunned House (Athol, Mass.: The Recluse Press, 1928), the first version of the story published in Lovecraft’s lifetime. Written October 1924.

  The Horror at Red Hook: Reprinted from Dagon, pp. 244–65, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in Weird Tales 9.1 (January 1927): 59–73. Written August 1925.

  He: Reprinted from Dagon, pp. 266–76, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in Weird Tales 8.3 (September 1926): 373–80. Written August 1925.

  Cool Air: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 199–207, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in Tales of Magic and Mystery 1.4 (March 1928): 29–34. Written February 1926.

  The Call of Cthulhu: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 125–54, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in Weird Tales 11.2 (February 1928): 159–78, 287. Written summer 1926.

  Pickman’s Model: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 12–25, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in Weird Tales 10.4 (October 1927): 505–14. Written in early September 1926.

  The Case of Charles Dexter Ward: Reprinted from Mountains, pp. 107–234, following Lovecraft’s autograph manuscript. First published posthumously, in two parts, in Weird Tales 35.9 (May 1941): 8–40; 35.10 (July 1941): 84–121. Written January–March 1927.

  The Colour Out of Space: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 53–82, following a typescript incorporating Lovecraft’s autograph revisions. First published in Amazing Stories 2.6 (September 1927): 557–67. Written March 1927.

  The Dunwich Horror: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 155–98, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in Weird Tales 13.4 (April 1929): 481–508. Written summer 1928.

  The Whisperer in Darkness: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 208–271, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published in Weird Tales 18.1 (August 1931): 32–73. Written February–September 1930.

  At the Mountains of Madness: Reprinted from Mountains, pp. 3–106, the text of which is based on Lovecraft’s typescript, autograph manuscript, and a corrected copy of the original periodical appearance in Astounding Stories 16.6 (February 1936): 8–32; 17.1 (March 1936): 125–55; 17.2 (April 1936): 132–50. For further discussion of the textual history of the tale, see S. T. Joshi, “Textual Problems in Lovecraft,” Lovecraft Studies 2 (Spring 1982): 28–31. Written February–March 1931.

  The Shadow Over Innsmouth: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 303–367, following Lovecraft’s typescript. First published, in an edition of 200 copies, as The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Everett, Pennsylvania: Visionary Publishing, 1936). Written November–December 1931.

  The Dreams in the Witch House: Reprinted from Mountains, pp. 262–98, following Lovecraft’s autograph manuscript. First published in Weird Tales 22.1 (July 1933): 86–111. Written January–February 1932.

  The Thing on the Doorstep: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 276–302, following Lovecraft’s autograph manuscript. First published in Weird Tales 29.1 (January 1937): 52–70. Written August 1933.

  The Shadow Out of Time: Reprinted from The Shadow Out of Time, S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, eds. (New York: Hippocampus Press, 2003), following Lovecraft’s autograph manuscript. First published in Astounding Stories 17.4 (June 1936): 110–54. Written November 1934–February 1935.

  The Haunter of the Dark: Reprinted from Dunwich, pp. 92–115, following the original periodical appearance in Weird Tales 28.5 (December 1936): 538–53. Written November 1935.

  “The Statement of Randolph Carter,” “Herbert West—Reanimator,” “The Lurking Fear,” “The Shunned House,” “The Horror at Red Hook,” “He,” “At the Mountains of Madness,” “The Dreams in the Witch House”: copyright © 1939, 1943, by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei; “The Outsider”: copyright © 1926; “The Music of Erich Zann”: copyright © 1925; “The Rats in the Walls”: copyright © 1924 by Rural Publishing Corporation, for Weird Tales, copyright © 1939, 1945 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei; “Cool Air,” copyright © 1928 by the Personal Arts Company, copyright © 1939 by Weird Tales, copyright © 1939, 1945 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei; “The Call of Cthulhu”: copyright © 1928; “Pickman’s Model”: copyright © 1927; “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”: copyright © 1945 by Weird Tales, copyright © 1943 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei; “The Colour Out of Space”: copyright © 1927 by Experimenter Publishing Company, Inc., for Amazing Stories, copyright © 1939, 1945 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei; “The Dunwich Horror”: copyright © 1929; “The Whisperer in Darkness”: copyright © 1935; “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”: copyright © 1936 by Visionary Publishing Company, copyright © 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei; “The Thing on the Doorstep,” copyright © 1936 by the Popular Fiction Publishing Company, for Weird Tales, copyright © 1939, 1945 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei; The Shadow Out of Time”: copyright © 2003 by Brown University; “The Haunter of the Dark”: copyright © 1936.

  This volume presents the texts of the printings chosen for inclusion here, but it does not attempt to reproduce features of their typographic design, such as display capitalization. The texts are reprinted without change, except for the correction of typographical errors. Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are often expressive features, and they are not altered, even when inconsistent or irregular. A number of corrections to the Joshi Arkham House collections have been supplied by their editor for the present volume and are cited by page and line number of the print edition in: 22.11, of anything; 29.13, had; 66.40, head; 208.21, beats; 225.9, Zetsner’s; 232.10, Hacher’s; 236.4, Hacher’s; 237.7, scow; 256.41, Almonsin-Metraton; 275.8, God, Almonsin; 285.6, waylaying; 293.12, Lover; 299.24, Almonsin-Metraton; 321.6, Almonsin; 398.33, Vigénère; 433.36, the heard; 488.18, linguiellae; 488.34, Daniels; 494.4, Douglas their; 509.7, as, 509.23, dizzingly; 514.31, frightened; 521.34, tough; 539.30, snapshots; 586.3, of echoing; 654.17, fainter, noises; 655.34, May-Eve, and. Errors corrected third printing: 24.32, become; 85.32, that; 113.27, superstitions; 118.21, vial; 170.34, then; 267.15, metal; 322.1, spring; 346.4, If; 365.37, though; 392.22, Cory; 462.28, despositing; 462.28 desire; 693.19, Baudelarian; 693.38, seculsion; 694.32, Adbul; 707.27, Crowinshield; 708.19, Crowinshield; 729.14, afficting; 732.39, and and; 748.25, much as; 797.36, filed; 801.17, and of; 803.32, Sprito. Errors corrected fourth printing: 3.30, most; 317.29, on its; 401.6, elder of. Errors corrected sixth printing: 696.13, one; 735.13, bought.

  Notes

  In the notes below, the reference numbers denote page and line of the print edition (the line count include
s headings). No note is made for material included in the eleventh edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Biblical quotations are keyed to the King James Version. Quotations from Shakespeare are keyed to The Riverside Shakespeare, ed. G. Blakemore Evans (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974). For further biographical background, more detailed notes, and references to other studies, see S. T. Joshi, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (West Warwick, Rhode Island: Necronomicon Press, 1996); H. P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, edited by S. T. Joshi (New York: Penguin Books, 1999); H. P. Lovecraft, The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories, edited by S. T. Joshi (New York: Penguin Books, 2001); H. P. Lovecraft, The Shadow Out of Time, edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz (New York: Hippocampus Press, 2003); H. P. Lovecraft: Selected Letters, volumes 1–3 edited by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei (Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1965–71), volumes 4–5 edited by August Derleth and James Turner (Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1976).

  The editor wishes to thank S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz for their generous assistance in the preparation of this volume.

  1.1 The Statement of Randolph Carter] In a letter of December 27, 1919, to his friend and fellow amateur journalist Rheinhart Kleiner (1892–1949), Lovecraft wrote: “I have just finished a ghastly tale entitled The Statement of Randolph Carter, based on an actual dream of mine, in which the amateur Samuel Loveman was the central figure. Loveman and I have been discussing literary horrors at length, and he has been kind enough to recommend to me several volumes of weird and bizarre prose and verse; so that it is hardly remarkable I should dream of him in this way.” Loveman (1887–1976) was a poet and amateur journalist whom Lovecraft had corresponded with since 1917.

  8.2–5 That night . . . be-nightmared] From “The Eve of St. Agnes” (1820), stanza 42, ll. 372–75.

  14.8–9 Nephren-Ka . . . Hadoth] Nephren-Ka and Hadoth were both invented by Lovecraft.

  14.11 Nitokris] In The Histories, II.100, Herodotus tells the story of Nitocris, an Egyptian queen who was forced to succeed her brother after his murder. She invited those she held responsible for his death to a banquet in an underground chamber and then opened a hidden pipe to flood the room with water from the Nile.

  24.1 Herbert West—Reanimator] In a letter of October 3, 1921, to the amateur journalist Anne Tillery Renshaw, Lovecraft wrote that he had agreed to contribute “a series of six gruesome tales, all with the same central character, at the munificent price of $5.00 each” to Home Brew, a new magazine edited by George Houtain. Lovecraft continued: “I . . . have embarked upon a most hideous succession of yarns and narratives bearing the generic caption Herbert West—Re-Animator. Houtain said, ‘You can’t make them too morbid,’ and I have taken him at his word!” The six installments appeared between February and July 1922.

  29.16 afrite from the halls of Eblis] In Arabic mythology, an afrite is an evil demon or jinn, and Eblis, a jinn cast out of heaven for disobedience, is the ruler of demons.

  46.30 Baudelaire . . . Elagabalus] French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) was prosecuted for obscenity after the publication of Les Fleurs du mal in 1857. Varius Avitus Bassianus, known as Elagabalus after the Syrian sun god he served as a priest, was proclaimed emperor by the eastern army in A.D. 218. Elagabalus became notorious for introducing his sun god cult to Rome, for his effeminate dress, and for his alleged sexual relations with charioteers and athletes. He was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard in 222.

  55.1 The Lurking Fear] The story appeared in Home Brew between January and April 1923. Lovecraft wrote to the artist and poet Clark Ashton Smith (1893–1961) on December 2, 1922, that George Houtain, the magazine’s editor, had demanded “that each section be of 2000 words & possess an horrific & suspenseful climax.”

  63.34 Abaddon-eyes] Abaddon is the angel of the bottomless pit in Revelation 9:11.

  67.20–21 the Albany Convention] At the outbreak of the French and Indian War, representatives from seven colonies met in Albany from June 19 to July 10, 1754, to negotiate a treaty with the Iroquois and to plan for the defense of the frontier.

  71.11 chasm of Nis] Cf. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Valley Nis” (1831); the poem was later revised and published as “The Valley of Unrest” (1845).

  75.8 polypous] Polyp-like.

  80.16 Magna Mater] Great Mother.

  81.5–6 Gilles de Retz] Gilles de Rais (1404–1440), a wealthy French nobleman, served with Joan of Arc, 1429–30, and was made marshal of France by Charles VII. In 1440 he was accused of the torture, rape, and murder of more than 100 children, mostly boys. Rais confessed before the ecclesiastical and secular authorities at Nantes and was hanged on October 26, 1440.

  88.1–2 Atys . . . Catullus] In poem 63 of Gaius Valerius Catullus, Attis castrates himself as an act of devotion to the goddess Cybele.

  91.8 the unexpected death of the President] President Warren G. Harding died in San Francisco on August 2, 1923.

  91.18 Trimalchio] A lavish banquet given by the wealthy freedman Trimalchio is depicted by Petronius (d. A.D. 65) in his novel Satyricon.

  93.23–24 Hoffmann or Huysmans] E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822), German writer whose tales of the grotesque and supernatural include Fantasiestücke (1814–15) and Die Elixire des Teufels (1815–16); Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848–1907), French novelist whose works include Là-bas (1891), in which a 19th-century biographer of Gilles de Rais (see note 81.5–6) becomes involved in satanism.

  95.8 pithecanthropoid] Possessing the characteristics of Pithecanthropus erectus (“Erect ape-man”), a fossil hominid discovered in Java by Eugene Dubois in 1891. (Pithecanthropus erectus has subsequently been reclassified as Homo erectus.)

  95.25 Nyarlathotep] Lovecraft wrote to Rheinhart Kleiner on December 14, 1920, that the name “Nyarlathotep” had come to him in a dream. His short story “Nyarlathotep” appeared in United Amateur in 1921.

  96.6–8 Dia ad aghaidh’s . . . agus leat-sa!] Lovecraft took these Gaelic phrases from the story “The Sin-Eater” (1895) by Fiona Macleod (pseudonym of William Sharp), where they are translated as: “God against thee and in thy face . . . and may a death of woe be yours . . . Evil and sorrow to thee and thine!”

  97.1 The Shunned House] The story was inspired by the house at 135 Benefit Street, Providence, built in 1764, where Lovecraft’s aunt Lillian Clark lived in 1919–20.

  97.7–9 Edgar Allan Poe . . . Mrs. Whitman.] Poe made four visits to Providence between September and December 1848 to see the poet Sarah Helen Whitman (1803–1878) at her home at 76 Benefit Street. At the end of 1848 Whitman broke off their engagement because of Poe’s drinking.

  101.21 Sidney S. Rider and Thomas W. Bicknell.] Rider (1833–1917), a Providence bookseller, antiquarian, and document collector, was the author of numerous monographs on Rhode Island history, including The Lands of Rhode Island (1904). Bicknell (1834–1925), an educator who served as commissioner of Rhode Island public schools, 1869–75, was the author of several historical works, including A History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (5 volumes, 1920).

  101.26–27 Capt. Whipple . . . Gaspee] Abraham Whipple (1733–1819), a successful privateer during the French and Indian War, led the party that burned the revenue schooner Gaspée on June 9, 1772, after it had run aground off Providence while chasing an American ship suspected of smuggling tea.

  104.37–38 Army of Observation under General Greene] The Rhode Island assembly voted on April 25, 1775, to raise a 1,500-man “Army of Observation” and appointed Nathanael Greene (1742–1786) as its commander on May 8 with the rank of brigadier general. In June 1775 the Rhode Island troops joined other New England forces in the siege of Boston.

  104.40 Colonel Angell] Colonel Israel Angell (1740–1832) commanded the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental army from January 13, 1777, to January 1, 1781.

  110.21–22 revocation of the Edict of Nantes] The Edict of Nantes, signed by Henry IV in 1598, granted religious and civil rights to French Protestant
s. It was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685.

  111.13–16 Jacques Roulet . . . in a madhouse.] After he was apprehended, Roulet, a vagabond beggar, confessed to using an ointment to turn himself into a wolf and to having killed numerous men, women, and children; he also claimed that the two wolves seen leaving the boy’s body were his brother Jean and cousin Julien. Roulet was condemned to death by the court in Angers, but the Parlement of Paris (appeals court) found him to be mentally impaired and committed him to an asylum for two years.

  115.7 Crookes tube] An early cathode-ray tube invented by the chemist and physicist Sir William Crookes (1832–1919).

  117.22 Revue des Deux Mondes] A French periodical founded in 1829.

  125.2–7 “There are sacraments . . . not yet dead.”] From “The Red Hand” (1906) by the Welsh writer Arthur Machen (1863–1947).

  127.22–24 Poe’s German authority . . . to be read.”] Cf. the first sentence of “The Man of the Crowd” (1840): “It was well said of a certain German book that ‘er lasst sich nicht leseri’—it does not permit itself to be read.”

  130.3–4 Miss Murray’s Witch-Cult in Western Europe] The Witch-Cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology (1921) by Margaret A. Murray (1863–1963). Murray, a British Egyptologist, argued that an ancient pre-Christian pagan cult had survived in Europe through the 17th century.

  131.22 “Sephiroth”, “Ashmodai”, and “Samaël”] In the Kabbalah, the Sephiroth are emanations of infinite light. Ashmodai, or Asmodeus, is a demon in Hebrew mythology. Samaël is a demon often identified with Leviathan, the seducer of Eve.

  133.4 Yezidis] The Yezidis, or Yazidis, are a Kurdish sect who worship Malek Taus, a fallen angel who was reconciled with God and now rules over the world with six other angels.

  137.13–16 “HEL . . . ESCHEREHEYE.”] Lovecraft copied this incantation from the article on “Magic” in the ninth (1875–89) edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.