H.P.Lovecraft: A Look Behind Cthulhu Mythos

by Lin Carter

  ***

  1* Shiel was an old friend of Derleth’s and had especially revised his story, Xelucha, for publication; it was to appear as the title story in an Arkham House collection of his macabre tales; the book has yet to be published.

  2* He does not seem to be related to Lovecraft’s one-time revision client, William Lumley, whose only Mythos story, Diary of Alonzo Typer, appeared in 1938.

  Appendix: A Complete Bibliography of the Mythos

  There have been numerous attempts by various Lovecraftian scholars to list “all” the stories in the Cthulhu Mythos; generally I have found that such lists agree only in disagreeing with each other. The most authoritative known to me are those assembled by Robert E. Briney in 1955 and Jack L. Chalker in 1966 —those being the dates of the final definitive versions. There is also a pamphlet guide to the stories in the Mythos only, ignoring Lovecraft’s other work, produced by Robert Weinberg in 1969.

  While it is not my intention to denigrate the valuable work of these gentlemen, I must confess that in writing this book I have discovered their bibliographical studies almost completely unreliable. Chalker, for instance, fails to recognize Howard’s The Fires of Asshurbanipal and Bloch’s Fane of the Black Pharaoh as Mythos stories, and seems unaware that Derleth’s The Seal of R’lyeh had a magazine appearance prior to its publication in book form. He is one month off in dating the first Weird Tales printing of The Nameless City, makes an error of twenty years in dating the magazine printing of Derleth’s House in the Valley, and, incredibly, somehow manages to ignore the existence of The Thing on the Doorstep in his list of Lovecraft’s published stories.

  Briney’s list is about the same as far as accuracy goes. He is two years off in dating the first Weird Tales printing of H.P.L.’s The Temple, fails to recognize Bloch’s The Mannikin and Howard’s The Children of the Night as Mythos stories, is wildly inaccurate in dating the appearance of H.P.L.’s At the Mountains of Madness (which was a three-part serial in Astounding’s issues of February, March and April, 1936—Briney says it appeared in May, 1935!), makes an error of four years on the first appearance of The Dunwich Horror, and, incredibly, overlooks the existence of The Dreams in the Witch-House in his list of Lovecraft’s professional fiction.

  If anything, the Weinberg list is even more haphazard. He makes absurd errors, such as ignoring The Curse of Yig in his list of Mythos stories by various authors; he lists erroneous dates for the first magazine appearances of Medusa’s Coil and The Mound; he overlooks such Mythos stories as the Derleth/Schorer collaboration, The Horror from the Depths, Derleth’s Ithaqua, three Mythos stories by Kuttner and six by Smith. His date for the magazine serialization of At The Mountains of Madness omits the issue which included Part I, and so on.

  I do not single out these mistakes, omissions, and errors for the purpose of ridiculing my predecessors, but to explain why I found it absolutely necessary to compile my own Lovecraftian bibliography, which has been checked and double-checked for accuracy and completeness. I might also point out that my list, compiled three years after publication of the Weinberg pamphlet, is therefore more complete, including mention of those tales and poems in the Mythos which have been published subsequently. I must admit that no one is perfect, least of all the present writer, and that by the time this list leaves my desk and passes through the hands of copyeditor, typesetter, proofreader and printer, an error or two will undoubtedly have crept in. For this I apologize in advance.

  Earlier in this book I have detailed my personal criteria for judging this or that story to be an integral part of the Mythos. I cannot realistically expect every Lovecraft scholar to agree with my opinions; many will not. However rigorously I have applied my standards to Lovecraft’s own stories, excluding The Colour Out of Space and Charles Dexter Ward from the canon, and including The Hound (these being the items on which I am chiefly at variance with my predecessors), it should be noted that I have somewhat relaxed my criteria when considering the stories by the other contributors to the Mythos. I have, at times with reluctance, admitted to the fold such borderline cases as The Challenge from Beyond and Henry Hasse’s The Guardian of the Book. And I have, at times ruthlessly, eliminated from my list those tales generally considered as “influenced” by Lovecraft, when it does not seem to me that they present a valid case for their inclusion here.

  I have personally read every item here listed, with the sole exception of certain tales yet unpublished (such as the forthcoming Lovecraft/Derleth collaborative novel, The Watchers Out of Time). In certain cases, such as the recently-discovered Howard manuscript, The House in the Oaks, I have examined these tales in galley proof or in manuscript in advance of publication.

  Knowledgeable students of Lovecraft will notice certain curious lacunae in this list, for example in the sequence of the posthumous Lovecraft/Derleth collaborations. I have discovered that not all of the collaborative stories Derleth has published relate to the Mythos: this is true, for instance, of Wentworth’s Day, The Ancestor, and The Dark Brotherhood. I can find in these tales no evidence to connect them to the Mythos, other than the occasional reference to “Arkham” and so on. (And the mere mention of a Mythos name does not make a Mythos tale.) I have also not listed The Peabody Heritage and The Shadow in the Attic; these tales seem to me merely on the periphery of the Mythos and not integral to it. They also are related to each other in that they list in common a number of imaginary books otherwise not mentioned in Mythos stories. I note this simply so that my reader will not think I have overlooked or forgotten about these posthumous collaborations.

  You will notice that I have numbered each item consecutively. The Lovecraft stories are numbered in the order in which they were written; all other stories are numbered in the order in which they were published (with the exception of my own contributions to the Mythos, which are given in the order they were written).

  In the light of my criticisms of Briney, Chalker and Weinberg at the beginning of this appendix, it might initially seem a trifle hypocritical that I here pay tribute to their pioneering work, but I am in fact very grateful to them. Their research has spared me many, many hours of work, and for this I am most appreciative. Factual errors can never be justified or forgiven in scholarly work, but we are all fallible. And on this note, let me add one final word: it is quite possible that genuine Mythos stories exist which I have not included on the list which follows. In order to be absolutely certain of this, one way or another, I suppose one would have to read carefully every single story in every one of the two hundred and seventy-nine issues of Weird Tales, to say nothing of every issue of Strange Tales, Strange Stories, Black Cat, Tales of Magic and Mystery, and all of the other fantasy or horror magazines ever published in America and England and all of the other countries in the world. Let me confess that I have not done this; I doubt if anyone has ever done this, or will, or even could.

  I have, however, done as much research in compiling the following list as was possible. I have carefully sought out every single story listed by each of my predecessors and perused it. Many of these tales were not easily available to me, and to obtain copies of them I had frequently to call upon the kindness of others. Robert A. W. Lowndes and August Derleth and Frank Belknap Long and Roy A. Squires were most helpful in procuring and/or lending me copies of such stories to read. You may rest assured than none of the stories below is here listed merely because it appears on other, earlier lists.

  The bibliography would have been more complete than it is, had Derleth not passed away so abruptly during my writing of this book. He had announced for publication several stories and a couple of new books which may or may not be legitimate stories in the canon of the Mythos, and he had promised to send me i galleys of these; but died before that promise could be I kept. So the list below can only be considered as complete as of the date of its compilation (August, 1971), and may soon be out of date.

  One final note concerning my own stories listed below. At this time, only the first three of them h
ave actually been published. I have, however, listed them all, since most of them have already been accepted for publication by Arkham House, and all of them will eventually find their way into print. You will also notice that I have included two Lovecraft/Derleth stories on my list which have yet to appear in print; I refer to the short story, Innsmouth Clay, and the new novel, The Watchers Out of Time. Both are included here (although I have not read them) because they have already been announced for publication by Arkham House. I assume Derleth completed his work on them, but at the time of the writing of this manuscript, and its delivery to my publishers, I do not know for certain.

  A Complete Bibliography of the Mythos

  by H. P. Lovecraft:

  1. “The Nameless City,” Weird Tales, November, 1938.

  2. “The Hound,” Weird Tales, February, 1924.

  3. “The Festival,” Weird Tales, January, 1925.

  4.“The Call of Cthulhu,” Weird Tales, February, 1928.

  5. “The Dunwich Horror,” Weird Tales, April, 1929.

  6. “The Whisperer in Darkness,” Weird Tales, August,1931.

  7. The Shadow Over lnnsmouth, Visionary Press, Pa.,1936.

  8. “At the Mountains of Madness” (3 part serial), Astounding Stories, February, March, April, 1936.

  9. “The Dreams in the Witch-House,” Weird Tales, July, 1933.

  10. “The Thing on the Doorstep,” Weird Tales, January, 1937.

  11. “The Shadow Out of Time,” Astounding Stories, June, 1936.

  12. “The Haunter of the Dark,” Weird Tales, December, 1936.

  13. History and Chronology of the ‘Necronomicon,’ (brochure), The Rebel Press, Ala., 1936.

  14. Fungi from Yuggoth (brochure), F.A.P.A., Cal., 1941.

  by H. P. Lovecraft, A. Merritt, C. L. Moore, Robert E. Howard and Frank Belknap Long:

  15. “The Challenge from Beyond,” Fantasy Magazine, September, 1935.

  by H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth:

  16. The Lurker at the Threshold, Arkham House, Wisc., 1945.

  17. “The Survivor,” Weird Tales, July, 1954.

  18. “The Gable Window,” Saturn, May, 1957.

  19. “The Lamp of Alhazred,” The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October, 1957.

  20. “The Shadow Out of Space,” in The Survivor and Others, Arkham House, Wisc., 1957.

  21. “The Shuttered Room,” in The Shuttered Room and Other Pieces, Arkham House, Wisc., 1959.

  22. “The Fisherman of Falcon Point,” in The Shuttered Room and Other Pieces, Arkham House, Wisc., 1959.

  23. “Witches’ Hollow,” in Dark Mind, Dark Heart, Arkham House, Wisc., 1962.

  24. “The Horror from the Middle Span,” in Travellers by Night, Arkham House, Wisc., 1967.

  25. “The Watchers Out of Time,” in The Watchers Out of Time and Others, Arkham House, Wisc., (scheduled for winter 1971/spring 1972).

  26. “Innsmouth Clay,” in The Watchers Out of Time and Others, Arkham House, Wisc., (scheduled for winter 1971/spring 1972).

  by Zealia Bishop (revised by H. P. Lovecraft):

  27.“The Curse of Yig,” Weird Tales, November, 1929.

  28. “Medusa’s Coil,” Weird Tales, January, 1939.

  29. “The Mound,” Weird Tales, November, 1940.

  by Hazel Heald (revised by H. P. Lovecraft):

  30. “The Man of Stone,” Wonder Stories, October, 1932.

  31. “The Horror in the Museum,” Weird Tales, July, 1933.

  32. “Out of the Eons,” Weird Tales, April, 1935.

  by William Lumley (revised by H. P. Lovecraft):

  33. “The Diary of Alonzo Typer,” Weird Tales, February, 1938.

  by Frank Belknap Long:

  34. “The Space Eaters,” Weird Tales, July, 1928.

  35. “The Hounds of Tindalos,” Weird Tales, March, 1929.

  36. “The Horror from the Hills,” (2 part serial), Weird Tales, January and February-March, 1931.

  37. “When Chaugnar Wakes” (poem), Weird Tales, September, 1932.

  by Robert E. Howard:

  38. “The Shadow Kingdom,” Weird Tales, August, 1929.

  39. “The Children of the Night,” Weird Tales, April- May, 1931.

  40. “The Black Stone,” Weird Tales, November, 1931.

  41. “The Thing on the Roof,” Weird Tales, February, 1932.

  42. “Arkham” (poem), Weird Tales, August, 1932.

  43. “The Fire of Asshurbanipal,” Weird Tales, December, 1936.

  44. “Dig Me No Grave,” Weird Tales, February, 1937.

  45. “The House in the Oaks,” in Dark Things, Arkham House, Wisc., 1971.

  by Clark Ashton Smith:

  46. “The Return of the Sorcerer,” Strange Tales, September, 1931.

  47. “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros,” Weird Tales, November, 1931.

  48. “The Door to Saturn,” Strange Stories, January, 1932.

  49. “The Nameless Offspring,” Strange Tales, June, 1932.

  50. “Ubbo-Sathla,” Weird Tales, July, 1933.

  51. “The Holiness of Azederac,” Weird Tales, November, 1933.

  52. “The Seven Geases,” Weird Tales, October, 1934.

  53. “The Coming of the White Worm,” Stirring Science Stories, April, 1941.

  by August Derleth and Mark Schorer:

  54. “Lair of the Star-Spawn,” Weird Tales, August, 1932.

  55. “Spawn of the Maelstrom,” Weird Tales, September, 1939.

  56. “The Horror from the Depths,” Strange Stories, October, 1940.

  by August Derleth:

  57. “The Thing that Walked on the Wind,” Strange Tales, January, 1933.

  58. “The Return of Hastur,” Weird Tales, March, 1939.

  59. “The Sandwin Compact,” Weird Tales, November, 1940.

  60. “Ithaqua,” Strange Stories, February, 1941.

  61. “Beyond the Threshold,” Weird Tales, September, 1941.

  62. “The Trail of Cthulhu,” Weird Tales, March, 1944.

  63. “The Dweller in Darkness,” Weird Tales, November, 1944.

  64. “The Watcher from the Sky,” Weird Tales, July, 1945.

  65. “Something in Wood,” Weird Tales, March, 1948.

  66. “The Whippoorwills in the Hills,” Weird Tales, September, 1948.

  67. “The Testament of Claiborne Boyd,” Weird Tales, March, 1949.

  68. “Something from Out There,” Weird Tales, January, 1951.

  69. “The Keeper of the Key,” Weird Tales, May, 1951.

  70. “The Black Island,” Weird Tales, January, 1952.

  71. “The House in the Valley,” Weird Tales, July, 1953.

  72. “The Seal of R’lyeh,” Fantastic Universe, July, 1957.

  by Robert Blocb:

  73. “The Secret in the Tomb,” Weird Tales, May, 1935.

  74. “The Suicide in the Study,” Weird Tales, June, 1935.

  75. “The Shambler from the Stars,” Weird Tales, September, 1935.

  76. “The Mannikin,” Weird Tales, April, 1936.

  77. “The Faceless God,” Weird Tales, May, 1936.

  78. “The Grinning Ghoul,” Weird Tales, June, 1936.

  79. “The Dark Demon,” Weird Tales, November, 1936.

  80. “The Secret of Sebek,” Weird Tales, November, 1937.

  81. “Fane of the Black Pharaoh,” Weird Tales, December, 1937.

  82. “The Shadow from the Steeple,” Weird Tales, September, 1950.

  83. “Notebook Found in a Deserted House,” Weird Tales, May, 1951.

  by Henry Hasse:

  84. “The Guardian of the Book,” Weird Tales, March, 1937.

  by Henry Kuttner

  85. “The Salem Horror,” Weird Tales, May, 1937.

  86. “The Invaders,” Strange Stories, February, 1939.

  87. “Hydra,” Weird Tales, April, 1939.

  88. “The Hunt,” Strange Tales, June, 1939.

  by J. Ramsey Campbell:

  89. “The Church in High Street,” in
Dark Mind, Dark Heart, Arkham House, Wisc., 1962.

  90. “The Room in the Castle,” in The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants, Arkham House, Wisc., 1964.

  91. “The Horror from the Bridge,” in The Inhabitant of the Lake, Arkham House, Wisc., 1964.

  92. “The Insects from Shaggai,” in The Inhabitant of the Lake, Arkham House, Wisc., 1964.

  93. “The Render of the Veils,” in The Inhabitant of the Lake, Arkham House, Wisc., 1964

  94. “The Inhabitant of the Lake,” in The Inhabitant of the Lake, Arkham House, Wise., 1964.

  95. “The Plain of Sound,” in The Inhabitant of the Lake, Arkham House, Wisc., 1964.

  96. “The Mine on Yuggoth,” in The Inhabitant of the Lake, Arkham House, Wisc., 1964.

  97. “The Moon-Lens,” in The Inhabitant of the Lake, Arkham House, Wisc., 1964.

  98. “The Stone on the Island,” in Over the Edge, Arkham House, Wisc., 1964.

  99. “Cold Print,” in Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, Arkham House, Wisc., 1969.

  by J. Vernon Shea:

  100. “The Haunter of the Graveyard,” in Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, Arkham House, Wisc., 1969.

  by Brian Lumley:

  101. “The Sister City,” in Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, Arkham House, Wisc., 1969.

  102. “Cement Surroundings,” in Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, Arkham House, Wisc., 1969.

  103. “Billy’s Oak,” The Arkham Collector, #6, Winter, 1970.

  104. “An Item of Supporting Evidence,” The Arkham Collector, #7, Summer, 1970.

  by James Wade:

  105. “The Deep Ones,” in Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, Arkham House, Wisc., 1969.

  by Colin Wilson:

  106. “The Return of the Lloigor,” in Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, Arkham House, Wisc., 1969.

  107. The Philosopher's Stone, (book) Crown Publishers, N. Y., 1971.

  by Gary Myers:

  108. “The House of the Worm,” The Arkham Collector, #7, Summer, 1970.