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丕賱馗賱丕賲 毓賱賶 賲丿賷賳丞 廿賳夭賲丕賵孬
鬲賲 鬲氐賳賷賮 鈥溬勜з佡冐必з佖€� 兀賳賴 兀亘賵 兀丿亘 丕賱乇毓亘 賮賷 丕賱毓丕賱賲, 亘丿兀 賰鬲丕亘丞 賯氐氐 賵乇賵丕賷丕鬲 丕賱乇毓亘 賲亘賰乇丕 噩丿丕 賵賰丕賳 賲賱賴賲丕 賱噩賷賱 賰亘賷乇 賲賳 賰鬲丕亘 丕賱乇毓亘 賮賷 兀賲乇賷賰丕 賵丕賱毓丕賱賲, 鬲賲賷夭鬲 賰鬲丕亘丞 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 亘丕賱睾乇丕亘丞 賵丕賱禺賷丕賱 , 賵鬲毓丿 乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱馗賱丕賲 毓賱賶 丕賳夭賲丕賵孬 賵丕丨丿丞 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲 丕賱賳丕丿乇丞 丕賱鬲賷 賰鬲亘賴丕 賵賱賲 鬲鬲乇噩賲 賵鬲賳鬲卮乇 亘卮賰賱 賵丕爻毓 .. 廿賳 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵丕丨丿丞 賲賳 兀賵丕卅賱 乇賵丕賷丕鬲 丕賱乇毓亘 丕賱賲賱賴賲丞 賵丕賱賴丕賲丞 賵丕賱賲禺鬲賱賮丞.
159 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1936
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About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
5,668听books18.6k听followersHoward Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
鈥�
Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
鈥�
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October 22, 2020
鈥漁ne night I had a frightful dream in which I met my grandmother under the sea. She lived in a phosphorescent palace of many terraces, with gardens of strange leprous corals and grotesque brachiate efflorescences, and welcomed me with a warmth that may have been sardonic. She had changed--as those who take to the water change--and told me she had never died.鈥�
It might have been the uncertain light from the flickering fire casting deceptive shadows across my friend鈥檚 face or maybe it was the way the lush, aromatic smoke from our smoldering cigars circled around his head, but I could swear that I was seeing changes morphing the features of Robert鈥檚 face as he told me his tale.
He showed me a piece of jewelry with grotesque depictions of insidious looking creatures engraved on its surface. I rubbed the engravings vigorously with my thumb as if I could smear the gold and blur their hideous features.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen them.鈥�
I gave him a startled look. 鈥淵ou mean in your nightmares like the fantastical one about your grandmother.鈥�
He sighed and drained his glass of cognac and signaled into the darkness for another. 鈥淛effrey, you are my only hope. The only person I know who could even begin to fathom what I have seen, what I have experienced. Out of all my friends, you are the most likely to be able to set aside what you think are absolutes and allow me the courtesy of objectively considering that what I鈥檓 telling you could possibly be true.鈥�
I nestled back into the oxblood leather of my chair. I considered the set of his face as best I could. His eyes seemed larger suddenly, black as if the pupils had encroached outside of their normal sphere. A waiter appeared, dressed in dark colors, barely distinguishable from the surrounding darkness except for a white napkin tucked in his belt. He dropped off two more cognacs and evaporated back into the midnight recesses of the room. I鈥檇 barely touched the first, but I felt that this might be a fine time to add some fortification, given that I felt an uncontrollable, insane urge to grab one of the decorative shields from the wall of the room so that I would have something between me and the words that were about to be shared.
I flicked a trembling hand in the air. My hand had a pale luminescence as if I were reaching for a torch burning under water. 鈥淚 appreciate your faith in me, dear Robert, please do continue.鈥�
He flicked the piece of jewelry with his finger. 鈥淭hese images are mere stick figures gouged into a cave wall by an ancient man when one compares them to what they actually look like.鈥�
鈥滻 think their predominant colour was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檝e seen them yourself? If anyone else were describing these creatures to me, I鈥檇 think they鈥檇 been reading too many Penny Dreadfuls鈥�
鈥淚 nearly didn鈥檛 escape them.鈥�
He held up a hand to quiet the questions bubbling to my lips.
鈥淚 discovered that this piece came from Innsmouth, Massachusetts. My curiosity was peaked as to the origin of the artwork. Little did I know that I was being pulled by more sinister forces than just my own natural interest in the extraordinary.鈥�
鈥淲hat a peculiar statement, Robert. Are you saying that something was compelling you against your will to go to Innsmouth?鈥�
I watched his hand reach out for his glass. The fingers, as they wrapped around the round curve of the cup, were deformed. It took me a moment to ascertain that the fingers were misshapen by what appeared to be webbing.
I gasped.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 the matter, Jeffrey?鈥�
I looked up at his face and then looked down at the hand again. Robert鈥檚 hand now looked as normal as my own.
I laughed weakly. 鈥淵our tale of fantastical creatures has permeated my brain with disturbing apparitions.鈥�
Robert leaned forward. 鈥淒o I look alright?鈥�
He did, too pale, the standard problem with academics. We all began to look like cave creatures after long bouts of research. Whatever morphing I was seeing was merely my own hallucinations. I was starting to wonder if I鈥檇 ingested something that was unbalancing my vision. 鈥淵ou look fine, Robert.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been seeing things in the mirror. The Innsmouth look as they say. It is as if something has been changing in me. I do wonder about my own sanity. I鈥檝e been researching my family tree and have discovered that I am descended from a prominent Innsmouth family.鈥�
鈥淲hat an odd coincidence that is," I exclaimed.
鈥淚鈥檓 beginning to believe that none of this has been happenstance, but more to do with predestination.鈥�
鈥淢ore like morbid curiosity, my old friend,鈥� I said, but doubt was beginning to hang a heavy stone around my own assurances.
鈥淚鈥檓 going back to Innsmouth. I do think that I will bring my uncle with me. You know the one that has been incarcerated for mental illness. I鈥檝e been having thoughts of liberating him.鈥�
鈥淟iberating the insane? Is that wise?鈥�
鈥淢aybe he is not insane. Maybe he is just not where he is supposed to be.鈥�
鈥淵ou are worrying me, Robert.鈥�
He sighed heavily. 鈥淚t is all so complicated, but only because I keep denying what needs to be done. I鈥檝e been keeping notes of my research and of my dreams. I鈥檓 leaving them with this scholar in Providence, Rhode Island, named H. P. Lovecraft. We鈥檝e been corresponding for some time. A strange young man with a voracious appetite for anything I might know about these creatures.鈥�
After we parted that night, I never saw Robert Olmstead again. After months of hearing nothing from my old friend, I decided to take the train to Providence and see if this Lovecraft fellow had seen or heard anything. I knocked and battered at his door, but he refused to come out to see me. His windows were covered with what looked like sheets of metal. I found a place where a hole had been bored through the window frame. As I peered through the aperture, I was momentarily shocked to find myself looking eyeball to eyeball with him. His eye widened and then fell away from me. I heard this awful clatter followed by what sounded like terror induced moaning.
I heard him scream something odd...something that sounded like Cthulhu. Though he screamed it several times, I鈥檓 still not sure I heard properly what he was calling out. After several more minutes of pounding on the door, extorting him, and menacing him with all forms of retribution for not helping me, I finally gave up.
There was nothing for it. I was going to have to go to Innsmouth.
The man who checked me into the hotel didn鈥檛 look right. 鈥滺e had a queer narrow head with a flat nose and bulgy, stary eyes that never seemed to shut. His skin was rough and scabby and the sides of his neck were shrivelled and creased up.鈥� He had a half drowned, dropped on his head too many times look about him that sent a shiver up my spine.
鈥淗ave you seen my friend, Robert Olmstead?鈥� I gave him a brief description. He looked at me for longer than was necessary and finally shook his head.
鈥淟isten, you degenerate rogue, I can tell you are lying.鈥� I slapped my hand on the counter for emphasis which made him jump back. The first look of mild intelligence crossed his amphibian features.
He walked around the counter, picked up my valise, and started up the stairs. I weighed my options, but decided it was late and probably the best thing for me would be to rest and recuperate from the long hours spent on the train. 鈥滻t would perhaps have been easier to keep my thoughts from disturbing topics had the room not been so gruesomely musty. As it was, the lethal mustiness blended hideously with the town鈥檚 general fishy odour and persistently focussed one鈥檚 fancy on death and decay.鈥� To further discombobulate my already acute discomfort, the bolt for the door was missing. I wedged a rickety chair under the door knob. The chair looked old enough that Captain John Smith may have put the grooves in the seat with his very own buttocks.
I didn鈥檛 feel comfortable enough to undress or even pull my shoes off. I expected at any moment to have some horrendous beast burst through the door intent on my eminent destruction. I tossed and turned. The musty smell of the room and the general stuffiness of the high humidity was driving me to distraction. Finally out of desperation, I decided to leave the uncertain safety of my room for a brisk walk around the town. Few lights offered any help in determining a surefooted way. Luckily, the moon was full and illuminated a choice of paths. I decided that a walk down to the shoreline was probably my only hope of relaxation.
The smell of the salt air did clear my head. I peered out at the water and thought about the stories that Robert had told me. They couldn鈥檛 possibly be true. My fear was that his mind was cracking and that the unfortunate circumstances of his uncle might be one he currently shared. I noticed that the waves were being disturbed, that something, possibly wreckage from some unfortunate vessel, was coming ashore.
鈥滷or a closer glance I saw that the moonlit waters between the reef and the shore were far from empty. They were alive with a teeming horde of shapes swimming inward toward the town; and even at my vast distance and in my single moment of perception I could tell that the bobbing heads and flailing arms were alien and aberrant in a way scarcely to be expressed or consciously formulated.鈥�
Fear gripped my spine. I wanted to scream, but only an inhuman gurgle was able to traverse the constriction of my throat. My legs, fortunately, responded, and soon I was fleeing at a helter skelter pace up the pathway to the hotel. There were several of them waiting for me outside the hotel, but I flailed my way through them, shuddering every time my fist or my boot came in contact with their foul, nauseating flesh. I ran down the road and out of town. After my stamina began to fail, I crawled into a ditch and shivered all night long expecting at any moment for a webbed hand to reach for me.
I must say, I feel no end of guilty torment over my decision, but I gave up on my quest to find Robert. Once back in civilisation, I returned to my books. I occasionally happened upon some mention of trouble at Innsmouth, but my eyes would always blur before I could read more than a few words. My hand refused to continue to hold the newspaper. I pined for my good friend, Olmstead, but I feared that if I ever did see him again, he would be a creature intent on making me immortal in the most grotesque of forms.
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It might have been the uncertain light from the flickering fire casting deceptive shadows across my friend鈥檚 face or maybe it was the way the lush, aromatic smoke from our smoldering cigars circled around his head, but I could swear that I was seeing changes morphing the features of Robert鈥檚 face as he told me his tale.
He showed me a piece of jewelry with grotesque depictions of insidious looking creatures engraved on its surface. I rubbed the engravings vigorously with my thumb as if I could smear the gold and blur their hideous features.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen them.鈥�
I gave him a startled look. 鈥淵ou mean in your nightmares like the fantastical one about your grandmother.鈥�
He sighed and drained his glass of cognac and signaled into the darkness for another. 鈥淛effrey, you are my only hope. The only person I know who could even begin to fathom what I have seen, what I have experienced. Out of all my friends, you are the most likely to be able to set aside what you think are absolutes and allow me the courtesy of objectively considering that what I鈥檓 telling you could possibly be true.鈥�
I nestled back into the oxblood leather of my chair. I considered the set of his face as best I could. His eyes seemed larger suddenly, black as if the pupils had encroached outside of their normal sphere. A waiter appeared, dressed in dark colors, barely distinguishable from the surrounding darkness except for a white napkin tucked in his belt. He dropped off two more cognacs and evaporated back into the midnight recesses of the room. I鈥檇 barely touched the first, but I felt that this might be a fine time to add some fortification, given that I felt an uncontrollable, insane urge to grab one of the decorative shields from the wall of the room so that I would have something between me and the words that were about to be shared.
I flicked a trembling hand in the air. My hand had a pale luminescence as if I were reaching for a torch burning under water. 鈥淚 appreciate your faith in me, dear Robert, please do continue.鈥�
He flicked the piece of jewelry with his finger. 鈥淭hese images are mere stick figures gouged into a cave wall by an ancient man when one compares them to what they actually look like.鈥�
鈥滻 think their predominant colour was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檝e seen them yourself? If anyone else were describing these creatures to me, I鈥檇 think they鈥檇 been reading too many Penny Dreadfuls鈥�
鈥淚 nearly didn鈥檛 escape them.鈥�
He held up a hand to quiet the questions bubbling to my lips.
鈥淚 discovered that this piece came from Innsmouth, Massachusetts. My curiosity was peaked as to the origin of the artwork. Little did I know that I was being pulled by more sinister forces than just my own natural interest in the extraordinary.鈥�
鈥淲hat a peculiar statement, Robert. Are you saying that something was compelling you against your will to go to Innsmouth?鈥�
I watched his hand reach out for his glass. The fingers, as they wrapped around the round curve of the cup, were deformed. It took me a moment to ascertain that the fingers were misshapen by what appeared to be webbing.
I gasped.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 the matter, Jeffrey?鈥�
I looked up at his face and then looked down at the hand again. Robert鈥檚 hand now looked as normal as my own.
I laughed weakly. 鈥淵our tale of fantastical creatures has permeated my brain with disturbing apparitions.鈥�
Robert leaned forward. 鈥淒o I look alright?鈥�
He did, too pale, the standard problem with academics. We all began to look like cave creatures after long bouts of research. Whatever morphing I was seeing was merely my own hallucinations. I was starting to wonder if I鈥檇 ingested something that was unbalancing my vision. 鈥淵ou look fine, Robert.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been seeing things in the mirror. The Innsmouth look as they say. It is as if something has been changing in me. I do wonder about my own sanity. I鈥檝e been researching my family tree and have discovered that I am descended from a prominent Innsmouth family.鈥�
鈥淲hat an odd coincidence that is," I exclaimed.
鈥淚鈥檓 beginning to believe that none of this has been happenstance, but more to do with predestination.鈥�
鈥淢ore like morbid curiosity, my old friend,鈥� I said, but doubt was beginning to hang a heavy stone around my own assurances.
鈥淚鈥檓 going back to Innsmouth. I do think that I will bring my uncle with me. You know the one that has been incarcerated for mental illness. I鈥檝e been having thoughts of liberating him.鈥�
鈥淟iberating the insane? Is that wise?鈥�
鈥淢aybe he is not insane. Maybe he is just not where he is supposed to be.鈥�
鈥淵ou are worrying me, Robert.鈥�
He sighed heavily. 鈥淚t is all so complicated, but only because I keep denying what needs to be done. I鈥檝e been keeping notes of my research and of my dreams. I鈥檓 leaving them with this scholar in Providence, Rhode Island, named H. P. Lovecraft. We鈥檝e been corresponding for some time. A strange young man with a voracious appetite for anything I might know about these creatures.鈥�
After we parted that night, I never saw Robert Olmstead again. After months of hearing nothing from my old friend, I decided to take the train to Providence and see if this Lovecraft fellow had seen or heard anything. I knocked and battered at his door, but he refused to come out to see me. His windows were covered with what looked like sheets of metal. I found a place where a hole had been bored through the window frame. As I peered through the aperture, I was momentarily shocked to find myself looking eyeball to eyeball with him. His eye widened and then fell away from me. I heard this awful clatter followed by what sounded like terror induced moaning.
I heard him scream something odd...something that sounded like Cthulhu. Though he screamed it several times, I鈥檓 still not sure I heard properly what he was calling out. After several more minutes of pounding on the door, extorting him, and menacing him with all forms of retribution for not helping me, I finally gave up.
There was nothing for it. I was going to have to go to Innsmouth.
The man who checked me into the hotel didn鈥檛 look right. 鈥滺e had a queer narrow head with a flat nose and bulgy, stary eyes that never seemed to shut. His skin was rough and scabby and the sides of his neck were shrivelled and creased up.鈥� He had a half drowned, dropped on his head too many times look about him that sent a shiver up my spine.
鈥淗ave you seen my friend, Robert Olmstead?鈥� I gave him a brief description. He looked at me for longer than was necessary and finally shook his head.
鈥淟isten, you degenerate rogue, I can tell you are lying.鈥� I slapped my hand on the counter for emphasis which made him jump back. The first look of mild intelligence crossed his amphibian features.
He walked around the counter, picked up my valise, and started up the stairs. I weighed my options, but decided it was late and probably the best thing for me would be to rest and recuperate from the long hours spent on the train. 鈥滻t would perhaps have been easier to keep my thoughts from disturbing topics had the room not been so gruesomely musty. As it was, the lethal mustiness blended hideously with the town鈥檚 general fishy odour and persistently focussed one鈥檚 fancy on death and decay.鈥� To further discombobulate my already acute discomfort, the bolt for the door was missing. I wedged a rickety chair under the door knob. The chair looked old enough that Captain John Smith may have put the grooves in the seat with his very own buttocks.
I didn鈥檛 feel comfortable enough to undress or even pull my shoes off. I expected at any moment to have some horrendous beast burst through the door intent on my eminent destruction. I tossed and turned. The musty smell of the room and the general stuffiness of the high humidity was driving me to distraction. Finally out of desperation, I decided to leave the uncertain safety of my room for a brisk walk around the town. Few lights offered any help in determining a surefooted way. Luckily, the moon was full and illuminated a choice of paths. I decided that a walk down to the shoreline was probably my only hope of relaxation.
The smell of the salt air did clear my head. I peered out at the water and thought about the stories that Robert had told me. They couldn鈥檛 possibly be true. My fear was that his mind was cracking and that the unfortunate circumstances of his uncle might be one he currently shared. I noticed that the waves were being disturbed, that something, possibly wreckage from some unfortunate vessel, was coming ashore.
鈥滷or a closer glance I saw that the moonlit waters between the reef and the shore were far from empty. They were alive with a teeming horde of shapes swimming inward toward the town; and even at my vast distance and in my single moment of perception I could tell that the bobbing heads and flailing arms were alien and aberrant in a way scarcely to be expressed or consciously formulated.鈥�
Fear gripped my spine. I wanted to scream, but only an inhuman gurgle was able to traverse the constriction of my throat. My legs, fortunately, responded, and soon I was fleeing at a helter skelter pace up the pathway to the hotel. There were several of them waiting for me outside the hotel, but I flailed my way through them, shuddering every time my fist or my boot came in contact with their foul, nauseating flesh. I ran down the road and out of town. After my stamina began to fail, I crawled into a ditch and shivered all night long expecting at any moment for a webbed hand to reach for me.
I must say, I feel no end of guilty torment over my decision, but I gave up on my quest to find Robert. Once back in civilisation, I returned to my books. I occasionally happened upon some mention of trouble at Innsmouth, but my eyes would always blur before I could read more than a few words. My hand refused to continue to hold the newspaper. I pined for my good friend, Olmstead, but I feared that if I ever did see him again, he would be a creature intent on making me immortal in the most grotesque of forms.
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September 8, 2020
After one false start, in the final months of 1931, Lovecraft completed it: the novella which embodies his two greatest fears. The most obvious of the two, the fear of immigration and miscegenation, was derived from his narrow cultural focus and his xenophobia, but the second鈥攁 microcosm of the first鈥攖he fear of individual mental and moral degeneration, resulted from a disturbing chapter of his family history. Both Lovecraft鈥檚 mother and father died confined to institutions for the insane, and he feared his parent鈥檚 genetic destiny would inevitably be his own.
The greatness of Innsmouth lies in the fact that for once (unlike in such regrettable works as 鈥淗e鈥� and 鈥淭he Horror at Red Hook鈥�) Lovecraft was able to fashion a parable of these two fears that transcends the racism and eugenics of his day by deepening and darkening them until they become one universal nightmare, one quintessential human horror: the fear our humanity itself may contain the seed of its own devolution.
The plot is interesting from the start. Our young narrator, celebrating his recent coming of age by an antiquarian and genealogical tour of New England (what a classic H.P. protagonist!) is intrigued by what the ticket agent at the Newburyport train station tells him about the port city of Innsmouth. It can only be reached by bus, and its inhabitants are shunned by the people of the surrounding villages and towns principally because of their appearance鈥攑articularly the older ones. They look like frogs, and a little bit like fish too:
There certainly is a strange kind of streak in the Innsmouth folks today鈥擨 don鈥檛 know how to explain it, but it sort of makes you crawl...Some of 鈥檈m have queer narrow heads with flat noses and bulgy, stary eyes that never seem to shut, and their skin ain鈥檛 quite right. Rough and scabby, and the sides of their necks are all shrivelled or creased up. Get bald, too, very young. The older fellows look the worst鈥攆act is, I don鈥檛 believe I鈥檝e ever seen a very old chap of that kind. Guess they must die of looking in the glass!....Nobody around here or in Arkham or Ipswich will have anything to do with 鈥檈m, and they act kind of offish themselves when they come to town or when anyone tries to fish on their grounds....Yes, there鈥檚 a hotel in Innsmouth鈥攃alled the Gilman House鈥�.Our hero engages in a little research at the local library, where a mention of the unique gold jewelry acquired by the sailors of Innsmouth soon leads him to the Newburyport Historical Society, where a single tiara is available for viewing:
It was tall in front, and with a very large and curiously irregular periphery, as if designed for a head of almost freakishly elliptical outline. The material seemed to be predominantly gold, though a weird lighter lustrousness hinted at some strange alloy鈥�.It clearly belonged to some settled technique of infinite maturity and perfection, yet that technique was utterly remote from any鈥擡astern or Western, ancient or modern鈥攚hich I had ever heard of or seen exemplified. It was as if the workmanship were that of another planet鈥�.Even creepier, though, are the pictorial relief that decorate the tiara鈥檚 surface.:
The patterns all hinted of remote secrets and unimaginable abysses in time and space, and the monotonously aquatic nature of the reliefs became almost sinister. Among these reliefs were fabulous monsters of abhorrent grotesqueness and malignity鈥攈alf ichthyic and half batrachian in suggestion鈥攚hich one could not dissociate from a certain haunting and uncomfortable sense of pseudo-memory, as if they called up some image from deep cells and tissues whose retentive functions are wholly primal and awesomely ancestral. At times I fancied that every contour of these blasphemous fish-frogs was overflowing with the ultimate quintessence of unknown and inhuman evil.Our hero鈥攐f course鈥攖akes the Innsmouth bus the next day.
Some other remarkable things about Innsmouth are 1) the monologue in dialect by the ancient derelict Zadok Allen, the finest thing of this kind Lovecraft ever produced, 2) the climax, which contains the only extensive action sequence in the Lovecraft canon, involving a carefully planned escape from the Gilman House, a chase through the abandoned buildings and streets of Innsmouth and the surrounding countryside, and 3) a d茅nouement, of which I will only say that it brings our young hero's genealogical researches to a very unsettling conclusion.
The Shadow Over Innsmouth is, in my opinion, the most important of Lovecraft's longer works. its themes are central to his concerns, its execution is close to flawless, and it continues to terrify readers--at least this reader--after more than a century.
July 16, 2019
One of the quintessential Lovecraft novellas! A first person narrator comes to visit a decayed fishing town named Innsmouth and is having an nightmarish time there. You'll hear about the cosmic horror, read about 'The Order of Dagon', meet Zadoc Allen and his gruesome tale what actually befell the town. Who are the queer people of Innsmouth? How are the 'fish devils' described? Our narrator flees the town by night chased by strange looking humans (are they still humans?). On his research of family history he discovers a relationsship to a Mrs Marsh who was married to the most influential man in Innsmouth. This is one of the eeriest stories I know. Here you get insight what the Old Ones really plan. Very elaborate, very detailey and very scary. This certainly is one of my favourite Lovecraft stories. Absolutely recommended! What a shocker.
October 19, 2024
鈥�Where does madness leave off and reality begin?鈥�
The eeriness of a small seaside town becomes a tale of cosmic horror in H.P. Lovecraft鈥檚 The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The only book of Lovecraft鈥檚 distributed during his lifetime, Innsmouth figures into Lovecraft鈥檚 Cthulhu Mythos and offers a frightening deep dive into humans caught in the sinister plans of a mysterious species with aims of conquest. Chosen by my book club for our November read, this is a quick and rather fun book. It does get off to a rocky start, but once the plot kicks in this dives into some truly creepy territory (and, alas, fairly xenophobic and problematic territory as well). There is also a deep fear present of hereditary fate, something Lovecraft himself felt in his own family history. The Shadow over Innsmouth looks at the fragility of humankind amidst the cosmos, ideas of madness versus reality, our growing reliance on technology and explores issues of fate in a story that will have you looking to the sea with trepidation.
鈥�The mere telling helps me to restore confidence in my own faculties; to reassure myself that I was not simply the first to succumb to a contagious nightmare hallucination.鈥�
If nothing else, I am glad I have finally read a Lovecraft story, which has been an aspect I really enjoy about being in a book club because it shakes up my reading list with choices by friend鈥檚 who I respect. Personally I hadn鈥檛 much interest in Lovecraft due to his name being most known for him having been鈥ell, , which unfortunately is evident in this story itself. While ole H.P. certainly didn鈥檛 put the Love in Lovecraft, we have to recognize that he was an influential American writer that still can turn sales to this day (unfortunately for him this wasn鈥檛 the case in his lifetime. Moral of the story is don鈥檛 be a racist dick). Lovecraft developed the literary theory of , which is that 鈥�there is no recognizable divine presence, such as a god, in the universe, and that humans are particularly insignificant in the larger scheme of intergalactic existence,鈥� something you see quite plainly in Innsmouth. Cosmic horror often shows how quickly the human race could vanish, such as how the Deep Ones that lurk off the coast could overcome humanity someday. Lovecraft, who drew influences from authors like , was also a major influence for . 鈥�[Lovecraft] opened the way for me,鈥� King has said, 鈥�it is his shadow, so long and gaunt, and his eyes, so dark and puritanical, which overlie almost all of the important horror fiction that has come since.鈥� I noticed a similarity in the mood setting of the town here with King鈥檚 鈥橲alem鈥檚 Lot, and King鈥檚 鈥榮equel鈥� short story to the novel, published in , actually contains references implying there is a Cthulhu Mythos connection. While King's novel is, according to him, inspired by the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, Pennywise as an alien coming to prey on humans while lurking in the deep feels very akin to Lovecraft's mythos and ideas of cosmicism.
On the topic of mood setting, I have to admit the beginning of this was a slog. Lovecraft establishes a creepy vibe to the town and its citizens who distrust outsiders, focusing on the 鈥�Innsmouth look鈥� of 鈥�bulging, unblinking, watery eyes,鈥� greyish skin, a unique walk and a strange attraction to the sea. While effective, the prose is a bit rough and Lovecraft will never use just one adjective when a pair or triple is available, making it feel a bit overwritten. A bookclub friend鈥攕houtout to Carl鈥攎entioned the style does give a whole 鈥渁ncient text鈥� vibe to the endeavour, which I will concede does add to the overall horror vibes Lovecraft is honing in on. Add a mysterious epidemic that killed half the population and all the churches being replaced by the Esoteric Order of Dagon and you鈥檝e got palpable unease for days. Also shoutout to Greg whole collected some of the best word matchups because he really goes off with 鈥�bestial Babel鈥� and I love how the phrase 鈥�raucous clamor鈥� trips off the tongue sounding exactly like the noise it describes.
There is an acute loneliness felt in the town, while it is described as small it seems sprawling as well, and the difficulty grasping the scope makes it all the more menacing. While everyone is excited for technological advances such as the train, Innsmouth is more disconnected because of it as it does not run near enough to them. This probes at a fear of technology as something menacing and scientific advances that can override our societal norms or, like the Deep Ones, eventually rise up to rule us.
The secrets of this town are slowly revealed and the narrator, who had previously felt himself better than the locals, finds a personal connection that could mean inescapable doom. The hereditary connections fears draw from Lovecraft鈥檚 own life as both his parents were institutionalized (his father when Lovecraft was only 3 years old), and as a child he suffered from extreme nightmares as well as frequent illness. There is a sense of inevitable, horrible fate rumbling forward in this book, a horror we can see but can only embrace as it gets closer. The narrator, in fact, goes from fearful to accepting by the end. And, honestly, the ending to this tale of cosmic woe slaps. It really does go out on a high note.
However, on the topic of genetics, Lovecraft has some troubling beliefs that are represented in this book. Reading as an allegory, the idea of an alien race coming to conquer and breed out the population is the root of of white supremacist rhetoric, something that was accused of basically any non-white group immigrating to the US and is grossly still prevalent today. Lovecraft despised anyone who was not Anglo-Saxon (and disparages anyone who is not in his fictions), praised Hitler (there are debates over if he did withdraw from support, and he did have a Jewish wife, though only because he said she was 鈥�well assimilated鈥�), and held a strong classism belief that Anglo-Saxon intellectual elites should rule all populations. So鈥ot awesome. Though from this world-view, you can get a sense how his fiction is laden in fear of the unknown with narrators who perceive the world around them as threatening.
鈥�One night I had a frightful dream in which I met my grandmother under the sea. She lived in a phosphorescent palace of many terraces, with gardens of strange leprous corals and grotesque brachiate efflorescences, and welcomed me with a warmth that may have been sardonic. She had changed鈥攁s those who take to the water change鈥攁nd told me she had never died.鈥�
Problematic issues aside, the story is quite fun and the Deep Ones are interesting. There is, of course, the issue that the military decimated an entire town on the word of a person with a history of mental illness claiming sea monsters have corrupted everyone, but just go with it. It is cool as well to see all the fictional towns Lovecraft would revisit throughout his tales, and it was interesting to realize that Arkham Asylum from the Batman universe takes its name from Lovecraft鈥檚 Arkham. All in all, I鈥檓 glad I read this. It is a bit like for me where the story and ideas override the relatively clunky writing, but once the train of plot kicks into high gear, wow does this get creepy and intense. The Shadow Over Innsmouth is an eerie, worthwhile read and makes for a great introduction into the world of Lovecraft.
3/5
The eeriness of a small seaside town becomes a tale of cosmic horror in H.P. Lovecraft鈥檚 The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The only book of Lovecraft鈥檚 distributed during his lifetime, Innsmouth figures into Lovecraft鈥檚 Cthulhu Mythos and offers a frightening deep dive into humans caught in the sinister plans of a mysterious species with aims of conquest. Chosen by my book club for our November read, this is a quick and rather fun book. It does get off to a rocky start, but once the plot kicks in this dives into some truly creepy territory (and, alas, fairly xenophobic and problematic territory as well). There is also a deep fear present of hereditary fate, something Lovecraft himself felt in his own family history. The Shadow over Innsmouth looks at the fragility of humankind amidst the cosmos, ideas of madness versus reality, our growing reliance on technology and explores issues of fate in a story that will have you looking to the sea with trepidation.
鈥�The mere telling helps me to restore confidence in my own faculties; to reassure myself that I was not simply the first to succumb to a contagious nightmare hallucination.鈥�
If nothing else, I am glad I have finally read a Lovecraft story, which has been an aspect I really enjoy about being in a book club because it shakes up my reading list with choices by friend鈥檚 who I respect. Personally I hadn鈥檛 much interest in Lovecraft due to his name being most known for him having been鈥ell, , which unfortunately is evident in this story itself. While ole H.P. certainly didn鈥檛 put the Love in Lovecraft, we have to recognize that he was an influential American writer that still can turn sales to this day (unfortunately for him this wasn鈥檛 the case in his lifetime. Moral of the story is don鈥檛 be a racist dick). Lovecraft developed the literary theory of , which is that 鈥�there is no recognizable divine presence, such as a god, in the universe, and that humans are particularly insignificant in the larger scheme of intergalactic existence,鈥� something you see quite plainly in Innsmouth. Cosmic horror often shows how quickly the human race could vanish, such as how the Deep Ones that lurk off the coast could overcome humanity someday. Lovecraft, who drew influences from authors like , was also a major influence for . 鈥�[Lovecraft] opened the way for me,鈥� King has said, 鈥�it is his shadow, so long and gaunt, and his eyes, so dark and puritanical, which overlie almost all of the important horror fiction that has come since.鈥� I noticed a similarity in the mood setting of the town here with King鈥檚 鈥橲alem鈥檚 Lot, and King鈥檚 鈥榮equel鈥� short story to the novel, published in , actually contains references implying there is a Cthulhu Mythos connection. While King's novel is, according to him, inspired by the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, Pennywise as an alien coming to prey on humans while lurking in the deep feels very akin to Lovecraft's mythos and ideas of cosmicism.
On the topic of mood setting, I have to admit the beginning of this was a slog. Lovecraft establishes a creepy vibe to the town and its citizens who distrust outsiders, focusing on the 鈥�Innsmouth look鈥� of 鈥�bulging, unblinking, watery eyes,鈥� greyish skin, a unique walk and a strange attraction to the sea. While effective, the prose is a bit rough and Lovecraft will never use just one adjective when a pair or triple is available, making it feel a bit overwritten. A bookclub friend鈥攕houtout to Carl鈥攎entioned the style does give a whole 鈥渁ncient text鈥� vibe to the endeavour, which I will concede does add to the overall horror vibes Lovecraft is honing in on. Add a mysterious epidemic that killed half the population and all the churches being replaced by the Esoteric Order of Dagon and you鈥檝e got palpable unease for days. Also shoutout to Greg whole collected some of the best word matchups because he really goes off with 鈥�bestial Babel鈥� and I love how the phrase 鈥�raucous clamor鈥� trips off the tongue sounding exactly like the noise it describes.
鈥�Certainly, the terror of a deserted house swells in geometrical rather than arithmetical progression as houses multiply to form a city of stark desolation. The sight of such endless avenues of fishy-eyed vacancy and death, and the thought of such linked infinities of black, brooding compartments given over to cob-webs and memories and the conqueror worm, start up vestigial fears and aversions that not even the stoutest philosophy can disperse.鈥�
There is an acute loneliness felt in the town, while it is described as small it seems sprawling as well, and the difficulty grasping the scope makes it all the more menacing. While everyone is excited for technological advances such as the train, Innsmouth is more disconnected because of it as it does not run near enough to them. This probes at a fear of technology as something menacing and scientific advances that can override our societal norms or, like the Deep Ones, eventually rise up to rule us.
The secrets of this town are slowly revealed and the narrator, who had previously felt himself better than the locals, finds a personal connection that could mean inescapable doom. The hereditary connections fears draw from Lovecraft鈥檚 own life as both his parents were institutionalized (his father when Lovecraft was only 3 years old), and as a child he suffered from extreme nightmares as well as frequent illness. There is a sense of inevitable, horrible fate rumbling forward in this book, a horror we can see but can only embrace as it gets closer. The narrator, in fact, goes from fearful to accepting by the end. And, honestly, the ending to this tale of cosmic woe slaps. It really does go out on a high note.
However, on the topic of genetics, Lovecraft has some troubling beliefs that are represented in this book. Reading as an allegory, the idea of an alien race coming to conquer and breed out the population is the root of of white supremacist rhetoric, something that was accused of basically any non-white group immigrating to the US and is grossly still prevalent today. Lovecraft despised anyone who was not Anglo-Saxon (and disparages anyone who is not in his fictions), praised Hitler (there are debates over if he did withdraw from support, and he did have a Jewish wife, though only because he said she was 鈥�well assimilated鈥�), and held a strong classism belief that Anglo-Saxon intellectual elites should rule all populations. So鈥ot awesome. Though from this world-view, you can get a sense how his fiction is laden in fear of the unknown with narrators who perceive the world around them as threatening.
鈥�One night I had a frightful dream in which I met my grandmother under the sea. She lived in a phosphorescent palace of many terraces, with gardens of strange leprous corals and grotesque brachiate efflorescences, and welcomed me with a warmth that may have been sardonic. She had changed鈥攁s those who take to the water change鈥攁nd told me she had never died.鈥�
Problematic issues aside, the story is quite fun and the Deep Ones are interesting. There is, of course, the issue that the military decimated an entire town on the word of a person with a history of mental illness claiming sea monsters have corrupted everyone, but just go with it. It is cool as well to see all the fictional towns Lovecraft would revisit throughout his tales, and it was interesting to realize that Arkham Asylum from the Batman universe takes its name from Lovecraft鈥檚 Arkham. All in all, I鈥檓 glad I read this. It is a bit like for me where the story and ideas override the relatively clunky writing, but once the train of plot kicks into high gear, wow does this get creepy and intense. The Shadow Over Innsmouth is an eerie, worthwhile read and makes for a great introduction into the world of Lovecraft.
3/5
October 30, 2017
Aleister Crowley, 鈥淭he Mad Arab鈥� Abdul Alhazred, Asmodeus, Ozzy Osbourne and John Denver sit in a pub in London, discussing HP Lovecraft鈥檚 Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Aleister: This was one of Lovecraft鈥檚 later works, first published in 1931, and I think, in my humble opinion, one of his finest.
Abdul: When were you ever humble, my friend?
Ozzy: Thoos twr, Alztr, wy njed dis stwi vry moos twu
John: Um, I think what Ozzy is trying to say is that he liked it too, what about you Asmodeus, um, or should I use your title, I鈥檓 not really sure how this works.
Asmodeus: Prince is usually preferred in a more formal setting, Majesty among my own, you know it鈥檚 really a very interesting story, I was known as a daemon for most of recorded and prehistoric time, but the producers of Dungeons and Dragons made me a greater devil and so the kids these days see me as a lawful evil deity; but John we鈥檙e all here enjoying ourselves, why not let me hair down, call my Odie.
Ozzy: Ve Prnz u FREEKG DOGNZ!!
Asmodeus: Hahaha, yes, Ozzy thank you very much.
Aleister: Yes, and of course this is one of the Cthulhu mythos, though not one of the more recognizable entries in this canon.
Abdul: I think Dagon is mentioned Aleister.
Aleister: Yes, and as is Cthulhu himself and R鈥檒yeh as well as more than a passing notice of the Deep Ones, hail their Evil mention.
Ozzy: HYLA!
John: But isn鈥檛 this about a forgotten town full of fish people?
[all laugh]
Abdul: John, that is succinctly spoken, but this wonderful novella is that and so much more.
Asmodeus: Indeed, Lovecraft establishes a setting, set up by a foundation of theatrical foreshadowing, whereby a young man of destiny discovers a town inhabited by a hybrid race that has been blessed with the royal blood of the Deep Ones, though somewhat diluted with the human stain.
Ozzy: Ths ryt, yer hynezz, lb de bludi fiz ppl
[all stare]
Abdul: Maybe it鈥檚 me but I cannot understand what Ozzy is saying
[all agree]
Ozzy: SHARON!
Aleister: Well, all that said, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is one of Lovecraft鈥檚 best and is highly recommended.
Aleister: This was one of Lovecraft鈥檚 later works, first published in 1931, and I think, in my humble opinion, one of his finest.
Abdul: When were you ever humble, my friend?
Ozzy: Thoos twr, Alztr, wy njed dis stwi vry moos twu
John: Um, I think what Ozzy is trying to say is that he liked it too, what about you Asmodeus, um, or should I use your title, I鈥檓 not really sure how this works.
Asmodeus: Prince is usually preferred in a more formal setting, Majesty among my own, you know it鈥檚 really a very interesting story, I was known as a daemon for most of recorded and prehistoric time, but the producers of Dungeons and Dragons made me a greater devil and so the kids these days see me as a lawful evil deity; but John we鈥檙e all here enjoying ourselves, why not let me hair down, call my Odie.
Ozzy: Ve Prnz u FREEKG DOGNZ!!
Asmodeus: Hahaha, yes, Ozzy thank you very much.
Aleister: Yes, and of course this is one of the Cthulhu mythos, though not one of the more recognizable entries in this canon.
Abdul: I think Dagon is mentioned Aleister.
Aleister: Yes, and as is Cthulhu himself and R鈥檒yeh as well as more than a passing notice of the Deep Ones, hail their Evil mention.
Ozzy: HYLA!
John: But isn鈥檛 this about a forgotten town full of fish people?
[all laugh]
Abdul: John, that is succinctly spoken, but this wonderful novella is that and so much more.
Asmodeus: Indeed, Lovecraft establishes a setting, set up by a foundation of theatrical foreshadowing, whereby a young man of destiny discovers a town inhabited by a hybrid race that has been blessed with the royal blood of the Deep Ones, though somewhat diluted with the human stain.
Ozzy: Ths ryt, yer hynezz, lb de bludi fiz ppl
[all stare]
Abdul: Maybe it鈥檚 me but I cannot understand what Ozzy is saying
[all agree]
Ozzy: SHARON!
Aleister: Well, all that said, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is one of Lovecraft鈥檚 best and is highly recommended.
April 16, 2023
鉂炋� 賱爻賵賮 賳乇賶 賲丕 賷噩毓賱 丕賱賰賱亘 賷賳亘丨 賮賷 丕賱馗賱丕賲 貙 賵 賲丕 丕賱匕賷 賷噩毓賱 丕賱賯胤胤 鬲丨賰 丌匕丕賳賴丕 亘毓丿 賲賳鬲氐賮 丕賱賱賷賱 .. 賱爻賵賮 賳亘氐乇 賴匕賴 丕賱兀卮賷丕亍 賵 兀卮賷丕亍 兀禺乇賶 賱賲 賷乇賴丕 賲禺賱賵賯 賷鬲賳賮爻 賲賳 賯亘賱 .. 爻賳禺鬲乇賯 丕賱夭賲賳 賵 丕賱兀亘毓丕丿 賵 賳賯鬲乇亘 賲賳 丕賱爻乇听 鉂澨� .
賰丕賳 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 賷毓賷卮 賲毓賳丕 亘噩爻丿賴 貙 兀賲丕 毓賳 賵毓賷賴 賵 賯賱亘賴 賮賯丿 賰丕賳 賮賷 毓丕賱賲 丌禺乇 丨賷孬 丕賱兀爻丕胤賷乇 丨賯賷賯丞 賲孬亘鬲丞 貙 賵 賲丕 賷賰鬲亘賴 賱賳丕 賴賵 賲丕 乇丌賴 賵 卮丕賴锟斤拷賴 賴賳丕賰.
賮賰賷賮 賱賴 亘賰賱 賴匕賴 丕賱鬲賮丕氐賷賱 丕賱賲賰孬賮丞責
賱賲丕匕丕 賰丕賳 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賱丕 賷丨亘 丕賱禺乇賵噩 賲賳 亘賷鬲賴 廿賱丕 賮賷 丕賱賱賷賱責
賱賲丕匕丕 賰丕賳 賷賰乇賴 丕賱鬲噩賲毓丕鬲 賵 賷毓卮賯 丕賱毓夭賱丞責
兀賵賱 賲賳 噩賲毓 亘賷賳 丕賱毓賱賲 丕賱丨丿賷孬 賵 丕賱兀爻胤賵乇丞 丕賱賲乇毓亘丞 貙 亘賷賳 丕賱賲賵賱丿丕鬲 丕賱賰賴乇亘賷丞 賵 丕賱賯乇丕亘賷賳 丕賱卮賷胤丕賳賷丞听 貙 賱賷賰賵賳 賲賳 兀賰孬乇 丕賱賲丐孬乇賷賳 毓賱賷 丕賱兀丿亘 丕賱睾乇亘賷 丕賱丨丿賷孬 .
賰賱 賲乇丞 兀賯乇兀 賱賴 賷丿賴卮賳賶 睾乇丕亘丞 卮禺氐賷鬲賴 貙 毓亘賯乇賷丞 毓賯賱賴 貙 賵 賯賵丞 兀爻賱賵亘賴听 貙 賵 賳丿乇丞 賯氐氐賴 丕賱賲乇毓亘丞.
賲噩賲賵毓丞 賯氐氐賷丞 亘鬲乇噩賲丞 丕賱乇丕卅毓 丿. 兀丨賲丿 乇丨賲賴 丕賱賱賴 :
佟-馗賱 賮賵賯 廿賷賳夭賲丕賵孬 :
賱丕 賷丨亘 兀丨丿 賲丿賷賳丞 廿賷賳夭賲丕賵孬 貙 賱丕 賷丨亘賵賳 兀賳 賷鬲賰賱賲賵丕 毓賳賴丕 貙 賱丕 賷丨亘賵賳 兀賳 賷乇賵丕 兀丨丿丕 賲賳賴丕 貙 賱丕 賷丨亘賵賳 兀賳 賷禺胤賵 賮賷賴丕 賯丿賲丕賸.
賵 賱賰賳 賲丕 鬲賮爻賷乇 賴噩賵賲 丕賱噩賷卮 亘卮賰賱 賲賮丕噩卅 毓賱賷 賴匕賴 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 丕賱氐睾賷乇丞責
氐丿賷賯賳丕 丕賱乇丕賵賷 賷卮乇丨 賱賳丕 賯氐鬲賴 丕賱賲卮卅賵賲丞 貙 賰賷賮 賵氐賱 亘丕賱氐丿賮丞 賱賴匕賴 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 丕賱睾丕賲囟丞責 貙 賰賷賮 賳噩賷 亘兀毓噩賵亘丞 賲賳賴丕責 貙 賵 賱賲丕匕丕 兀亘賱睾 丕賱丨賰賵賲丞 毓賳 賲禺賱賵賯丕鬲 賲乇毓亘丞 锟斤拷乇賷亘丞 (賲丕 亘賷賳 丕賱亘卮乇 賵 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰) 鬲毓賷卮 賴賳丕賰 責
丕賱賯氐丞 兀爻賱賵亘賴丕 賯賵賷 賲賲鬲毓 賯丕胤毓 賱賱兀賳賮丕爻.
佗-賲丕 賵乇丕亍 丕賱毓丕賱賲 :
鬲噩乇亘丞 賮賷夭賷丕卅賷丞 賯丕賲 亘賴丕 (賰乇賵賮賵乇丿) 賵 匕賱賰 賱賷賰爻亘賳丕 丨賵丕爻丕賸 噩丿賷丿丞 賮賴賵 賷乇賶 兀賳 丨賵丕爻賳丕 丕賱禺賲爻丞 賱賷爻鬲 賰丕賮賷丞 賱賳乇賶 賲丕 賵乇丕亍 賴匕丕 丕賱毓丕賱賲. 馃拃.
伲-丕賱賵丨卮 賮賷 丕賱賰賴賮 :
毓賳丿賲丕 鬲囟賷毓 賮賷 乇丨賱丞 爻賷丕丨賷丞 亘廿丨丿賷 丕賱賰賴賵賮 丕賱匕賷 賷丨賵賷 賲鬲丕賴丕鬲 氐禺乇賷丞 賯丿 鬲賮賯丿 丕賱兀賲賱 賮賷 丕賱廿賳賯丕匕 貙 賵 賱賰賳 氐丿賷賯賳丕 賱賲 賷賮賯丿 丕賱兀賲賱 禺丕氐丞 毓賳丿賲丕 爻賲毓 禺胤賵丕鬲 兀賯丿丕賲 鬲賯鬲乇亘 賲賳賴 兀禺賷乇丕 貙 賵 賱賰賳 丕賳鬲馗乇 賱丨馗丞 賴賱 賴匕賴 丕賱兀氐賵丕鬲 賯丿 鬲氐丿乇 毓賳 丌丿賲賷 丨賯丕賸 責 馃懞
伽-賵氐賷丞 乇丕賳丿賵賱賮 賰丕乇鬲乇 :
賰丕乇鬲乇 丕賱賲爻賰賷賳 丕氐胤丨亘賴 氐丿賷賯賴 匕丕鬲 賲乇丞 廿賱賷 賲賯亘乇丞 賲賳爻賷丞 貙 賵 賯胤毓丕 氐賲鬲丕賸 丿丕賲 賱賯乇賵賳 亘賴丕 貙 賵 賱賰賳 賱賲丕匕丕 賷賮鬲丨 丕賱爻乇丕丿賷亘 丕賱賲睾賱賯丞 責 賵 賷賳夭賱 氐丿賷賯賴 賲賮夭賵毓丕賸 亘賲賮乇丿賴 孬賲 賱丕 賷乇丕賴 亘毓丿賴丕 兀亘丿丕賸.
乇丨賱丞 賲賲鬲毓丞 賲毓 賲賱賰 丕賱乇毓亘 丕賱兀丿亘賶 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲鉁�.
賰丕賳 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 賷毓賷卮 賲毓賳丕 亘噩爻丿賴 貙 兀賲丕 毓賳 賵毓賷賴 賵 賯賱亘賴 賮賯丿 賰丕賳 賮賷 毓丕賱賲 丌禺乇 丨賷孬 丕賱兀爻丕胤賷乇 丨賯賷賯丞 賲孬亘鬲丞 貙 賵 賲丕 賷賰鬲亘賴 賱賳丕 賴賵 賲丕 乇丌賴 賵 卮丕賴锟斤拷賴 賴賳丕賰.
賮賰賷賮 賱賴 亘賰賱 賴匕賴 丕賱鬲賮丕氐賷賱 丕賱賲賰孬賮丞責
賱賲丕匕丕 賰丕賳 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賱丕 賷丨亘 丕賱禺乇賵噩 賲賳 亘賷鬲賴 廿賱丕 賮賷 丕賱賱賷賱責
賱賲丕匕丕 賰丕賳 賷賰乇賴 丕賱鬲噩賲毓丕鬲 賵 賷毓卮賯 丕賱毓夭賱丞責
兀賵賱 賲賳 噩賲毓 亘賷賳 丕賱毓賱賲 丕賱丨丿賷孬 賵 丕賱兀爻胤賵乇丞 丕賱賲乇毓亘丞 貙 亘賷賳 丕賱賲賵賱丿丕鬲 丕賱賰賴乇亘賷丞 賵 丕賱賯乇丕亘賷賳 丕賱卮賷胤丕賳賷丞听 貙 賱賷賰賵賳 賲賳 兀賰孬乇 丕賱賲丐孬乇賷賳 毓賱賷 丕賱兀丿亘 丕賱睾乇亘賷 丕賱丨丿賷孬 .
賰賱 賲乇丞 兀賯乇兀 賱賴 賷丿賴卮賳賶 睾乇丕亘丞 卮禺氐賷鬲賴 貙 毓亘賯乇賷丞 毓賯賱賴 貙 賵 賯賵丞 兀爻賱賵亘賴听 貙 賵 賳丿乇丞 賯氐氐賴 丕賱賲乇毓亘丞.
賲噩賲賵毓丞 賯氐氐賷丞 亘鬲乇噩賲丞 丕賱乇丕卅毓 丿. 兀丨賲丿 乇丨賲賴 丕賱賱賴 :
佟-馗賱 賮賵賯 廿賷賳夭賲丕賵孬 :
賱丕 賷丨亘 兀丨丿 賲丿賷賳丞 廿賷賳夭賲丕賵孬 貙 賱丕 賷丨亘賵賳 兀賳 賷鬲賰賱賲賵丕 毓賳賴丕 貙 賱丕 賷丨亘賵賳 兀賳 賷乇賵丕 兀丨丿丕 賲賳賴丕 貙 賱丕 賷丨亘賵賳 兀賳 賷禺胤賵 賮賷賴丕 賯丿賲丕賸.
賵 賱賰賳 賲丕 鬲賮爻賷乇 賴噩賵賲 丕賱噩賷卮 亘卮賰賱 賲賮丕噩卅 毓賱賷 賴匕賴 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 丕賱氐睾賷乇丞責
氐丿賷賯賳丕 丕賱乇丕賵賷 賷卮乇丨 賱賳丕 賯氐鬲賴 丕賱賲卮卅賵賲丞 貙 賰賷賮 賵氐賱 亘丕賱氐丿賮丞 賱賴匕賴 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 丕賱睾丕賲囟丞責 貙 賰賷賮 賳噩賷 亘兀毓噩賵亘丞 賲賳賴丕責 貙 賵 賱賲丕匕丕 兀亘賱睾 丕賱丨賰賵賲丞 毓賳 賲禺賱賵賯丕鬲 賲乇毓亘丞 锟斤拷乇賷亘丞 (賲丕 亘賷賳 丕賱亘卮乇 賵 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰) 鬲毓賷卮 賴賳丕賰 責
丕賱賯氐丞 兀爻賱賵亘賴丕 賯賵賷 賲賲鬲毓 賯丕胤毓 賱賱兀賳賮丕爻.
佗-賲丕 賵乇丕亍 丕賱毓丕賱賲 :
鬲噩乇亘丞 賮賷夭賷丕卅賷丞 賯丕賲 亘賴丕 (賰乇賵賮賵乇丿) 賵 匕賱賰 賱賷賰爻亘賳丕 丨賵丕爻丕賸 噩丿賷丿丞 賮賴賵 賷乇賶 兀賳 丨賵丕爻賳丕 丕賱禺賲爻丞 賱賷爻鬲 賰丕賮賷丞 賱賳乇賶 賲丕 賵乇丕亍 賴匕丕 丕賱毓丕賱賲. 馃拃.
伲-丕賱賵丨卮 賮賷 丕賱賰賴賮 :
毓賳丿賲丕 鬲囟賷毓 賮賷 乇丨賱丞 爻賷丕丨賷丞 亘廿丨丿賷 丕賱賰賴賵賮 丕賱匕賷 賷丨賵賷 賲鬲丕賴丕鬲 氐禺乇賷丞 賯丿 鬲賮賯丿 丕賱兀賲賱 賮賷 丕賱廿賳賯丕匕 貙 賵 賱賰賳 氐丿賷賯賳丕 賱賲 賷賮賯丿 丕賱兀賲賱 禺丕氐丞 毓賳丿賲丕 爻賲毓 禺胤賵丕鬲 兀賯丿丕賲 鬲賯鬲乇亘 賲賳賴 兀禺賷乇丕 貙 賵 賱賰賳 丕賳鬲馗乇 賱丨馗丞 賴賱 賴匕賴 丕賱兀氐賵丕鬲 賯丿 鬲氐丿乇 毓賳 丌丿賲賷 丨賯丕賸 責 馃懞
伽-賵氐賷丞 乇丕賳丿賵賱賮 賰丕乇鬲乇 :
賰丕乇鬲乇 丕賱賲爻賰賷賳 丕氐胤丨亘賴 氐丿賷賯賴 匕丕鬲 賲乇丞 廿賱賷 賲賯亘乇丞 賲賳爻賷丞 貙 賵 賯胤毓丕 氐賲鬲丕賸 丿丕賲 賱賯乇賵賳 亘賴丕 貙 賵 賱賰賳 賱賲丕匕丕 賷賮鬲丨 丕賱爻乇丕丿賷亘 丕賱賲睾賱賯丞 責 賵 賷賳夭賱 氐丿賷賯賴 賲賮夭賵毓丕賸 亘賲賮乇丿賴 孬賲 賱丕 賷乇丕賴 亘毓丿賴丕 兀亘丿丕賸.
乇丨賱丞 賲賲鬲毓丞 賲毓 賲賱賰 丕賱乇毓亘 丕賱兀丿亘賶 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲鉁�.
July 22, 2020
After At the Mountain of Madness, HPL is back in New England with this novelette. Once more, as in or , the protagonist investigates the strange events that have been taking place in a deserted town, seemingly afflicted with a curse. In the end, he discovers some unspeakable horror, once more related to the Cthulhu and other malign divinities from space and out of the underworld.
As in many other HLP stories, the descriptions of old architecture abound. However, The Shadow Over Innsmouth shows a couple of distinctive features. One is the use of direct accounts by some of the villagers the protagonist interviews during his investigation: in chap. 3, the tale of old Zadok Allen is entirely told in the words of the informant, and I guess Lovecraft had some fun writing the whole thing with a sort of New Hampshire dialect 鈥� it makes it a bit rough to read, to be honest.
Some disturbing teratology is present in this story, as usual. Still, unlike other texts, it is now related to the water world and the undersea instead of the earth, the pits, the underground: characteristically, the pervasive stench is no longer compared to the smell of decaying fungi, like in previous novels, but to the reek of rotten fish. As if Lovecraft was now linking his Cthulhu mythos to the legends of the mermaids, the ondines, the nixe, the hippocampus.
The last part of this story is a hunt in the night, in part echoing Edgar Poe鈥檚 , and, towards the end, foreshadowing the zombie chases of film and TV, from the to and other nail-biting zombie apocalypse fictions.
As in many other HLP stories, the descriptions of old architecture abound. However, The Shadow Over Innsmouth shows a couple of distinctive features. One is the use of direct accounts by some of the villagers the protagonist interviews during his investigation: in chap. 3, the tale of old Zadok Allen is entirely told in the words of the informant, and I guess Lovecraft had some fun writing the whole thing with a sort of New Hampshire dialect 鈥� it makes it a bit rough to read, to be honest.
Some disturbing teratology is present in this story, as usual. Still, unlike other texts, it is now related to the water world and the undersea instead of the earth, the pits, the underground: characteristically, the pervasive stench is no longer compared to the smell of decaying fungi, like in previous novels, but to the reek of rotten fish. As if Lovecraft was now linking his Cthulhu mythos to the legends of the mermaids, the ondines, the nixe, the hippocampus.
The last part of this story is a hunt in the night, in part echoing Edgar Poe鈥檚 , and, towards the end, foreshadowing the zombie chases of film and TV, from the to and other nail-biting zombie apocalypse fictions.
April 3, 2018
This is the dark heart of Lovecraft fiction at its finest: secret cults, secret cities under the sea and strange mutated people- what鈥檚 not to love?
The Shadow of Innsmouth depicts a fear, a fear of the unknown and a fear of the watering down of the human race. In the isolated town of Insmouth the people are degenerating into a sub-species of man. Their features are changing and their skin is becoming grey and watery: they are beginning to resemble the creatures of the deep.
鈥淥ne night I had a frightful dream in which I met my grandmother under the sea. She lived in a phosphorescent palace of many terraces, with gardens of strange leprous corals and grotesque brachiate efflorescences, and welcomed me with a warmth that may have been sardonic. She had changed - as those who take to the water change - and told me she had never died.
The narrator who stumbles upon them is stuck with horror and uncomfortableness at this strange town. Much to his dismay he is forced to spend the night there when his travel arrangements go awry. The fear in his voice as he told his narrative was palpable and intense. The strongest aspect of Lovecraft鈥檚 prose is his ability to create a dark murky atmosphere. I could see the stuffy and oppressive town in my mind鈥檚 eye as I envisioned the hybrid race that walked it streets.
This is the only story of Lovecraft鈥檚 to have been bound and printed in book format in his lifetime. And isn鈥檛 that just truly sad? I guess his readers weren鈥檛 ready for him: the world wasn鈥檛 ready for him. I do wish he could have known how influential his work would eventually go on to be in the horror genre.
The Shadow of Innsmouth depicts a fear, a fear of the unknown and a fear of the watering down of the human race. In the isolated town of Insmouth the people are degenerating into a sub-species of man. Their features are changing and their skin is becoming grey and watery: they are beginning to resemble the creatures of the deep.
鈥淥ne night I had a frightful dream in which I met my grandmother under the sea. She lived in a phosphorescent palace of many terraces, with gardens of strange leprous corals and grotesque brachiate efflorescences, and welcomed me with a warmth that may have been sardonic. She had changed - as those who take to the water change - and told me she had never died.
The narrator who stumbles upon them is stuck with horror and uncomfortableness at this strange town. Much to his dismay he is forced to spend the night there when his travel arrangements go awry. The fear in his voice as he told his narrative was palpable and intense. The strongest aspect of Lovecraft鈥檚 prose is his ability to create a dark murky atmosphere. I could see the stuffy and oppressive town in my mind鈥檚 eye as I envisioned the hybrid race that walked it streets.
This is the only story of Lovecraft鈥檚 to have been bound and printed in book format in his lifetime. And isn鈥檛 that just truly sad? I guess his readers weren鈥檛 ready for him: the world wasn鈥檛 ready for him. I do wish he could have known how influential his work would eventually go on to be in the horror genre.
October 31, 2018
Not what I was expecting
QUITE POPULAR BUT...
This novella is one of the most popular between H.P. Lovecraft's fans, however sadly I must say that I wasn't able to enjoy the reading experience as I'd expected initially.
This is part of the Cthulhu Mythos,...
...set in the fictional town of Innsmouth.
A man who is doing a personal research about the lore and architecture of New England鈥檚 towns ending at Innsmouth,...
...feeling it as a kind of calling to go there.
Soon enough he founds that the town is strangely too deserted...
...and those few inhabitants look just not right.
It's a fair premise, but I felt that narrative development was too slow and sparse to my taste, especially taking in account that instead of a short story, it's a novella, therefore, longer to read it.
QUITE POPULAR BUT...
This novella is one of the most popular between H.P. Lovecraft's fans, however sadly I must say that I wasn't able to enjoy the reading experience as I'd expected initially.
This is part of the Cthulhu Mythos,...
...set in the fictional town of Innsmouth.
A man who is doing a personal research about the lore and architecture of New England鈥檚 towns ending at Innsmouth,...
...feeling it as a kind of calling to go there.
Soon enough he founds that the town is strangely too deserted...
...and those few inhabitants look just not right.
It's a fair premise, but I felt that narrative development was too slow and sparse to my taste, especially taking in account that instead of a short story, it's a novella, therefore, longer to read it.
December 8, 2023
I, for one, welcome our fish-headed overlords. Totally gonna mispronounce all of their names, though.
October 26, 2015
The Shadow Over Innsmouth is one H.P. Lovecraft's later works - written in 1936 and published in 1936, the only of his works of fiction to be published during his lifetime - he died in 1937. Lovecraft himself disliked the story, thinking it poorly written and not suitable for publication. The first and only print run consisted of only 200 copies, filled with typographical errors, most of which were not sold.
If you'd judge the book by the ineptitude of its publisher and the unrelenting negativity of its own author, you might be convinced that Shadow Over Insmouth rightly belong in the dustbin of literary failures. However, I would argue that this slim novella is very far from a failure - beside expanding on Lovecraft's Cthulu Mythos, it stands very well on its own and can be enjoyed even by readers who are not familiar with his fiction at all. In fact, I'd say that this is probably one of Lovecraft's most readable and accessible stories, if not the most.
Like much of Lovecraft's fiction, The Shadow Over Innsmouth consists of a first person narration of a protagonist relaying his experience after it has actually happened. In this case, the unnamed narrator tells the story of his short sojourn to a reclusive town of Innsmouth. What has happened there was so horrific that he barely escaped with his life, and alerted the government to pursue a secret investigation - which ended with destruction of a large part of the decaying, crumbling city. The whole thing was quickly brushed under the rug, and many questions were left unanswered; since the narrator is the only person who can adequately describe his own experience, his story is the only record of what actually happened during his short, forced stay at Innsmouth.
Many of Lovecraft's narrators are bland and forgettable, barely described; this is true to his vision of humanity as particularly insignificant in the greater picture of cosmic existence; usually, he spends much more effort (and space) at attempting to describe the cosmic and alien creatures which lurk at the edges of our world and beyond it, and the horror that they evoke. In this regard, The Shadow Over Innsmouth stands out with Lovecraft's perhaps most realized and relatable narrator; an unnamed character Lovecraft most possibly modeled after himself, with many small details he borrowed from his own life: a thorough researcher who spent hours at the libraries and other places gathering information about the history of his destination, and a traveler who always picked the cheapest route - usually via bus - and who preferred to eat food from the grocery store rather than dine at a restaurant. In this vision, the narrator's journey can parallel Lovecraft's own experience of perception of the outside world as a place filled with hostile otherness - travel to Innsmouth is a sort of an initiation ritual, with the weird-looking repulsive inhabitants of the town representing Lovecraft's deep fear of miscegenation.
The narrator's character makes Innsmouth very enjoyable. At 21, he intended to take a cheap tour across New England - "sightseeing, antiquarian, and genealogical", planning to travel from Newburyport to Arkham, where his mother's family was located. Both now firmly established in Lovecraft Country, the first real and the other imagined. Since the narrator judges the train to Arkham to be too costly, he has to travel via bus - and the only bus travels via Innsmouth, and is operated by a local driver.The travel agent who told the narrator about the bus also relays some gossip that people have been whispering about Innsmouth; that the inhabitants of the half-deserted city keep very much to themselves, and look different; they have a distinct "Innsmouth Look", with bulging, seemingly unwinking eyes being most noticeable.
The bus eventually arrives, and our narrator is the only passenger; he feels immediate revulsion towards the driver, although he does not understand why. Lovecraft its at his best when he describes Innsmouth itself - a decaying, crumbling town, seemingly almost entirely deserted; the narrator notices grand mansions which were once beautiful but are not boarded up and abandoned, and so are rows of houses which stretch along unpaved streets, the unnatural angles of their empty, broken windows filling him with fear.
The downsides of the novella are the same ones which plague most of Lovecraft's writing - his love for dumping information on the reader and emphasizing every single emotion that his character goes through. Basically, the narrator is told the story of Innsmouth and its inhabitants by other people - the travel agent, a clerk at the chain grocery store in Innsmouth, and most importantly Zadok Allen - the town drunk. Lovecraft does not let his narrator discover these facts, as he has other nondescript characters essentially dump all the information on his head - in long soliloquies. The narrator also does not let the reader figure out what he feels for himself - the story is ripe with description which features every aspect of his unimaginable fear.
Interestingly, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is one of the few Lovecraft stories which can be said to contain an actual plot, and I believe the only one which contains what can be described as an action sequence. In most cases Lovecraft focused on building his mythos, not bothering to construct any engaging plot; his characters would find themselves in a situation and elaborate on the horror of the Old Ones, the Shoggoths and the like. The Shadow Over Innsmouth features as a self-contained story - the narrator's arrival in the town, his exploration and interaction with the locals, and his dramatic escape - dramatic for Lovecraft's standard's, at least. The ending, in which the narrator is still haunted by his experience at Innsmouth and chooses to continue his research into the town and its inhabitants, is also typical of Lovecraft's stories - but very satisfying and memorable.
The novella has served as the inspiration for , a game released for PC and the original Xbox in 2005. The game is a reimagining of The Shadow Over Innsmouth with a different protagonist, further developing on the plot of the novella and taking the story even further. It's probably the only video game which truly attempts to convey Lovecraftian horror, and does it well enough for me to recommend it.
To sum up, if you haven't read any Lovecraft before The Shadow Over Innsmouth might be a good way to begin - although the story takes place firmly in Lovecraft country, and many of the elements which connect his stories together - such as the town Arkham or the Miskatonic University - are present, they are not an obstacle for new readers who are just beginning to read his works. The best part about reading Lovecraft is that all of his stories are freely and legally available on the internet - you can either read it online , or download for a copy for for your reader from . If you enjoy listening to audiobooks, you might want to try the reading done for BBC Radio 4 a couple of years ago, available on . Pick your option, and enjoy!
If you'd judge the book by the ineptitude of its publisher and the unrelenting negativity of its own author, you might be convinced that Shadow Over Insmouth rightly belong in the dustbin of literary failures. However, I would argue that this slim novella is very far from a failure - beside expanding on Lovecraft's Cthulu Mythos, it stands very well on its own and can be enjoyed even by readers who are not familiar with his fiction at all. In fact, I'd say that this is probably one of Lovecraft's most readable and accessible stories, if not the most.
Like much of Lovecraft's fiction, The Shadow Over Innsmouth consists of a first person narration of a protagonist relaying his experience after it has actually happened. In this case, the unnamed narrator tells the story of his short sojourn to a reclusive town of Innsmouth. What has happened there was so horrific that he barely escaped with his life, and alerted the government to pursue a secret investigation - which ended with destruction of a large part of the decaying, crumbling city. The whole thing was quickly brushed under the rug, and many questions were left unanswered; since the narrator is the only person who can adequately describe his own experience, his story is the only record of what actually happened during his short, forced stay at Innsmouth.
Many of Lovecraft's narrators are bland and forgettable, barely described; this is true to his vision of humanity as particularly insignificant in the greater picture of cosmic existence; usually, he spends much more effort (and space) at attempting to describe the cosmic and alien creatures which lurk at the edges of our world and beyond it, and the horror that they evoke. In this regard, The Shadow Over Innsmouth stands out with Lovecraft's perhaps most realized and relatable narrator; an unnamed character Lovecraft most possibly modeled after himself, with many small details he borrowed from his own life: a thorough researcher who spent hours at the libraries and other places gathering information about the history of his destination, and a traveler who always picked the cheapest route - usually via bus - and who preferred to eat food from the grocery store rather than dine at a restaurant. In this vision, the narrator's journey can parallel Lovecraft's own experience of perception of the outside world as a place filled with hostile otherness - travel to Innsmouth is a sort of an initiation ritual, with the weird-looking repulsive inhabitants of the town representing Lovecraft's deep fear of miscegenation.
The narrator's character makes Innsmouth very enjoyable. At 21, he intended to take a cheap tour across New England - "sightseeing, antiquarian, and genealogical", planning to travel from Newburyport to Arkham, where his mother's family was located. Both now firmly established in Lovecraft Country, the first real and the other imagined. Since the narrator judges the train to Arkham to be too costly, he has to travel via bus - and the only bus travels via Innsmouth, and is operated by a local driver.The travel agent who told the narrator about the bus also relays some gossip that people have been whispering about Innsmouth; that the inhabitants of the half-deserted city keep very much to themselves, and look different; they have a distinct "Innsmouth Look", with bulging, seemingly unwinking eyes being most noticeable.
The bus eventually arrives, and our narrator is the only passenger; he feels immediate revulsion towards the driver, although he does not understand why. Lovecraft its at his best when he describes Innsmouth itself - a decaying, crumbling town, seemingly almost entirely deserted; the narrator notices grand mansions which were once beautiful but are not boarded up and abandoned, and so are rows of houses which stretch along unpaved streets, the unnatural angles of their empty, broken windows filling him with fear.
The downsides of the novella are the same ones which plague most of Lovecraft's writing - his love for dumping information on the reader and emphasizing every single emotion that his character goes through. Basically, the narrator is told the story of Innsmouth and its inhabitants by other people - the travel agent, a clerk at the chain grocery store in Innsmouth, and most importantly Zadok Allen - the town drunk. Lovecraft does not let his narrator discover these facts, as he has other nondescript characters essentially dump all the information on his head - in long soliloquies. The narrator also does not let the reader figure out what he feels for himself - the story is ripe with description which features every aspect of his unimaginable fear.
Interestingly, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is one of the few Lovecraft stories which can be said to contain an actual plot, and I believe the only one which contains what can be described as an action sequence. In most cases Lovecraft focused on building his mythos, not bothering to construct any engaging plot; his characters would find themselves in a situation and elaborate on the horror of the Old Ones, the Shoggoths and the like. The Shadow Over Innsmouth features as a self-contained story - the narrator's arrival in the town, his exploration and interaction with the locals, and his dramatic escape - dramatic for Lovecraft's standard's, at least. The ending, in which the narrator is still haunted by his experience at Innsmouth and chooses to continue his research into the town and its inhabitants, is also typical of Lovecraft's stories - but very satisfying and memorable.
The novella has served as the inspiration for , a game released for PC and the original Xbox in 2005. The game is a reimagining of The Shadow Over Innsmouth with a different protagonist, further developing on the plot of the novella and taking the story even further. It's probably the only video game which truly attempts to convey Lovecraftian horror, and does it well enough for me to recommend it.
To sum up, if you haven't read any Lovecraft before The Shadow Over Innsmouth might be a good way to begin - although the story takes place firmly in Lovecraft country, and many of the elements which connect his stories together - such as the town Arkham or the Miskatonic University - are present, they are not an obstacle for new readers who are just beginning to read his works. The best part about reading Lovecraft is that all of his stories are freely and legally available on the internet - you can either read it online , or download for a copy for for your reader from . If you enjoy listening to audiobooks, you might want to try the reading done for BBC Radio 4 a couple of years ago, available on . Pick your option, and enjoy!
March 1, 2025
2.5 stars, rounded up mainly for that ending twist.
There were a few times last year when I had to rest in bed a lot due to health reasons. My husband, who is a Lovecraft fan, read this book to me on some of those days. And every time he managed to put me to sleep within five minutes. So... That should tell you how boring I thought it was (although the fact that someone was reading it for me was sweet, which may have also contributed to the rounded-up rating).
Apparently, The Shadow over Innsmouth is a fan favorite, so don't take my layman's opinion too seriously. Lovecraft just isn't quite my thing. I love his worldbuilding, the cosmic grandness of Mythos, and the occasional cool quotes, but I'm not that into his writing style. It's a bit too dry and filled with rambling monologues (both in the sense of inner thoughts and one-sided dialogues... his main characters must all be mute). This story is much more stylized compared to, say, The Call of Cthulhu, so maybe that's what makes Lovecraftian fans like it more and non-fans such as me like it less.
That said... The ending was pretty cool!
PS. I didn't take off any stars for the xenophobia/racism oozing from the pages, because that's unfortunately the way Lovecraft was, given his time limitations. But for anyone who might disagree and/or will absolutely not tolerate such undertones, don't read this. The issue is much more obvious here than in many of his other books.
There were a few times last year when I had to rest in bed a lot due to health reasons. My husband, who is a Lovecraft fan, read this book to me on some of those days. And every time he managed to put me to sleep within five minutes. So... That should tell you how boring I thought it was (although the fact that someone was reading it for me was sweet, which may have also contributed to the rounded-up rating).
Apparently, The Shadow over Innsmouth is a fan favorite, so don't take my layman's opinion too seriously. Lovecraft just isn't quite my thing. I love his worldbuilding, the cosmic grandness of Mythos, and the occasional cool quotes, but I'm not that into his writing style. It's a bit too dry and filled with rambling monologues (both in the sense of inner thoughts and one-sided dialogues... his main characters must all be mute). This story is much more stylized compared to, say, The Call of Cthulhu, so maybe that's what makes Lovecraftian fans like it more and non-fans such as me like it less.
That said... The ending was pretty cool!
PS. I didn't take off any stars for the xenophobia/racism oozing from the pages, because that's unfortunately the way Lovecraft was, given his time limitations. But for anyone who might disagree and/or will absolutely not tolerate such undertones, don't read this. The issue is much more obvious here than in many of his other books.
January 26, 2025
廿賳 丕賱馗賱丕賲 賯丿 丕賲鬲丿 賲賳 丨賵丕賮 廿賳夭賲丕賵孬 廿賱賶 丿丕禺賱 睾購乇賮鬲賷. 廿賳 鬲賱賰 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲賳卮乇 丕賱爻賵丕丿 賵丕賱馗賱丕賲 賮賷 賰購賱 卮亘乇 丨賵賱賰貙 賮賰購賳 丨匕乇丕賸.
鬲丨賰賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 毓賳 兀丨丿 賲購丨亘賷 丕賱毓賲丕乇丞責 賲購丨亘賷 丕賱鬲噩賵賱責 丕賱賲禺丕胤乇責 賱丕 卮賷亍 賮賷 匕賱賰 賲購賴賲.
兀賳鬲 鬲毓賱賲 噩賷丿丕賸 兀賳賴 爻賷匕賴亘 亘賯丿賲賷賴 廿賱賶 匕賱賰 丕賱噩丨賷賲 丕賱賲購爻賲賶 廿賳夭賲丕賵孬.. 卮丕卅毓丕鬲 賰孬賷乇丞 賵兀爻丕胤賷乇 丨賵賱賴丕 賮賲丕 丕賱丨賯賷賯丞責 賴賱 丨賯丕賸 賴購賳丕賰 丿禺丕賳 亘賱丕 賳丕乇責
賮賷 丕賱丨賯賷賯丞貙 胤賵丕賱 兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賰丕賳 賱丿賷 賴丕噩爻 兀賵 鬲氐賵乇 賱亘胤賱 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 兀賳賴 賷賴夭賷 兀賵 賰購賱 匕賱賰 賲購噩乇丿 禺賷丕賱 賵兀賳賴 賮賯胤 賲購噩乇丿 賲乇賷囟 賳賮爻賷.. 賵賳賴丕賷丞 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賰丕賳鬲 鬲鬲賵賷噩丕賸 賱鬲禺賷賱賷 匕賱賰.. 賵賱賰賳賴丕 賲購噩乇丿 賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 賯丿 賱丕 兀賰賵賳 毓賱賶 氐賵丕亘 丨賵賱賴丕.
賲賳 賲購賲賷夭丕鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 兀賳 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賳噩丨 賮賷 鬲爻乇賷亘 丕賱賯賱賯 賵丕賱鬲賵鬲乇 丕賱匕賷 賰丕賳 賷卮毓乇 亘賴 亘胤賱賳丕 亘丿丕禺賱賰.. 賴購賳丕賰 爻乇丿 鬲賮氐賷賱賷 賱丨丿孬 賲賳 兀賴賲 兀丨丿丕孬 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 卮毓乇鬲 兀賳賳賷 丿丕禺賱 賰購賱 禺胤賵丞 亘賴.
賴購賳丕賰 賲購亘丕賱睾丕鬲 賮賷 丕賱賵氐賮 賮賷 兀賵賯丕鬲 睾賷乇 氐丕卅亘丞.. 賵賱賰賳 毓賱賶 丕賱噩丕賳亘 丕賱賱睾賵賷 賰丕賳鬲 賲購賮賷丿丞 -賱鬲賲賷夭 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞- 亘丕賱胤亘毓.
賲賳 毓賷賵亘 兀賵 爻賱亘賷丕鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 兀賳 乇睾賲 賰賲賷丞 丕賱鬲賮丕氐賷賱 丕賱乇賴賷亘丞 賱賲 賷賰賵賳 賴購賳丕賰 禺賱賮賷丕鬲 賱賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 噩賷丿丞 兀賵 賲乇爻賵賲丞 亘卮賰賱 鬲噩毓賱賰 鬲鬲毓丕胤賮 兀賵 鬲賰乇賴.. 兀賳鬲 賮賯胤 鬲賰乇賴 賱兀賳 匕賱賰 丕賱賰丕卅賳 丕賱爻賲賰賷 賷購乇賷丿 兀賳 賷賯鬲賱 亘胤賱賳丕.. 賮賯胤 賱匕賱賰 賱賷爻 廿賱丕.
賵賮賷 丕賱賲購噩賲賱 丕賱毓丕賲 賰丕賳鬲 鬲噩乇亘丞 噩賷丿丞 賵兀丨亘亘鬲 毓丕賱賲 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 丕賱匕賷 賱賳 賷鬲賵賯賮 鬲賵睾賱賷 賮賷賴 毓賳丿 鬲賱賰 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞.
February 2, 2019
I am more or less a Lovecraft-come-lately and read Ruthanna Emrys' excellent without reading this first. Although I was familiar in a general way with the mythos, I had assumed that the backstory about the Innsmouth folk being interned by the US government was Emrys' interpolation -- but no, HPL says they were taken to "concentration camps," which surprised me a bit for 1927. <--not a spoiler. 1st paragraph
Here is a sorta-spoiler, though; it's a question for my friends who read a lot of Mythos fiction:
I really liked this one, despite the rampant xenophobia. I especially appreciated the complex backstory. Read it and then read Emrys.
Here is a sorta-spoiler, though; it's a question for my friends who read a lot of Mythos fiction:
I really liked this one, despite the rampant xenophobia. I especially appreciated the complex backstory. Read it and then read Emrys.
April 5, 2022
THE AMERICAN GOTHIC
I am glad to have discovered Lovecraft by reading this story during an university course on the American Gothic, although I am not used to reading this literary genre.
In any case, the fact that I am not a fan of the genre did not prevent me from acknowledging a well written story and appreciating the author's limitless and somewhat perverse imagination in describing these invented life forms that serve the famous Chtulhu.
Everything was so vivid, as if I were living the same experiences of the narrator: this is, I believe, one of the most exceptional qualities of Lovecraft.
Cthulhu fhtagn ph'nglui mglw'nafh cthulhu r'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
I am glad to have discovered Lovecraft by reading this story during an university course on the American Gothic, although I am not used to reading this literary genre.
In any case, the fact that I am not a fan of the genre did not prevent me from acknowledging a well written story and appreciating the author's limitless and somewhat perverse imagination in describing these invented life forms that serve the famous Chtulhu.
Everything was so vivid, as if I were living the same experiences of the narrator: this is, I believe, one of the most exceptional qualities of Lovecraft.
Cthulhu fhtagn ph'nglui mglw'nafh cthulhu r'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
February 3, 2025
My review for the manga adaptation by Gou Tanabe: /review/show...
Warning: When you read H P. Lovecraft's stories, be alerted that Lovecraft can be such a racist sometime in such a manner:
You are ugly-looking then you must be EVIL!
You are old then you must be EVIL!
You are deformed then you must be EVIL!
You have mixed blood in you then you must be EVIL!
You worship pagan gods then you must be EVIL!
You befriend Indians, black people or other people of colors, then you must be EVIL!
These might sound like a joke, but all of these things I mentioned above really ain't so funny after all.
Therefore it is hardly a surprise that The Shadow Over Innsmouth, one of Lovecraft's grandest horror short stories about a trip to an New England decaying town, sea monsters, unfriendly townies, family secrets and Lovecraft's own seafood phobia, also bears the marks of its author's barely veiled racist attitude toward 'suspicious outsiders/strangers'.
However, the racism issues aside, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is still able to capture its readers by the creation of this ominous seaside town (written in a realistic, fine manner and with great details), the well described gloomy atmosphere and the overpowering sense of dread, which haunts the entire story.
Following the footsteps of Gothic horror authors such as Poe, Lovecraft took us to an ill-fated trip to explore Innsmouth, we see strange, scary things through the lone narrator's eyes, we learn the hidden history of the town, we escape, in the narrator's first person POV, from the shadowy streets of Innsmouth in the dead of the night; and at the very end, we experience (with the narrator) the horror of inescapable fate.
The great atmosphere and suspense aside, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is one of the few Lovecraft's stories with smooth dialogues and finely written, exciting action scenes; it probably is one of the reasons this story is superb even among Lovecraft's other tales.
By the way, you can always watch the movie version of The Shadow Over Innsmouth on Youtube...but in this movie version the story is renamed 'Dagon'. LOL
For beginner: Cthulhu Mythos 101
On a happier note: The Adventures of Lil Cthulhu
What the hell did I just watch?
Warning: When you read H P. Lovecraft's stories, be alerted that Lovecraft can be such a racist sometime in such a manner:
You are ugly-looking then you must be EVIL!
You are old then you must be EVIL!
You are deformed then you must be EVIL!
You have mixed blood in you then you must be EVIL!
You worship pagan gods then you must be EVIL!
You befriend Indians, black people or other people of colors, then you must be EVIL!
These might sound like a joke, but all of these things I mentioned above really ain't so funny after all.
Therefore it is hardly a surprise that The Shadow Over Innsmouth, one of Lovecraft's grandest horror short stories about a trip to an New England decaying town, sea monsters, unfriendly townies, family secrets and Lovecraft's own seafood phobia, also bears the marks of its author's barely veiled racist attitude toward 'suspicious outsiders/strangers'.
However, the racism issues aside, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is still able to capture its readers by the creation of this ominous seaside town (written in a realistic, fine manner and with great details), the well described gloomy atmosphere and the overpowering sense of dread, which haunts the entire story.
Following the footsteps of Gothic horror authors such as Poe, Lovecraft took us to an ill-fated trip to explore Innsmouth, we see strange, scary things through the lone narrator's eyes, we learn the hidden history of the town, we escape, in the narrator's first person POV, from the shadowy streets of Innsmouth in the dead of the night; and at the very end, we experience (with the narrator) the horror of inescapable fate.
The great atmosphere and suspense aside, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is one of the few Lovecraft's stories with smooth dialogues and finely written, exciting action scenes; it probably is one of the reasons this story is superb even among Lovecraft's other tales.
By the way, you can always watch the movie version of The Shadow Over Innsmouth on Youtube...but in this movie version the story is renamed 'Dagon'. LOL
For beginner: Cthulhu Mythos 101
On a happier note: The Adventures of Lil Cthulhu
What the hell did I just watch?
April 2, 2023
Esta novela corta de Lovecraft me gust贸 m谩s que "La llamada de Cthulhu". Tiene m谩s acci贸n y di谩logos, lo que ayuda a hacer m谩s din谩mica la historia. Asimismo, su extensi贸n ayuda a darle un mayor desarrollo al argumento. Un protagonista innominado viaja a un extra帽o y decadente pueblo cuyos habitantes han dado pie a muchos rumores... no dir茅 nada m谩s. S铆 voy a mencionar-y si quieren entrar a leer esta historia sin saber absolutamente nada, dejen de leer-que Lovecraft plasma dos grandes temas, uno que se ha vuelto anacr贸nico y otro que sigue muy vigente: el primero es el temor a que el mestizaje pueda llevar a la degeneraci贸n. El segundo, es tambi茅n un temor: el de estar maldecido por la herencia que nos dejan nuestros antepasados, en particular, por su herencia gen茅tica. Aunque en la novela no se menciona, es imposible no pensar en los historiales familiares de enfermedades, ya sea f铆sicas o mentales. 驴C贸mo escapar de un terror que est谩 en nuestro interior?
August 3, 2023
賱賲 丕賰賳 丕毓乇賮 丕賷 卮賷卅 毓賳 鬲賱賰 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賯亘賱 賯乇丕卅鬲賴丕 丕賱丕 兀賳賴丕 賱賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲...
賲毓 丕賰鬲卮丕賮賷 丕賳賴丕 鬲鬲賰賱賲 毓賳 賰丕卅賳丕鬲 亘丨乇賷丞 丕爻胤賵乇賷丞 鬲爻丕卅賱鬲 賱賲丕匕丕 賲毓馗賲 乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賴匕丕 丕賱乇噩賱 賲丨賵乇賴丕 賰丕卅賳丕鬲 亘丨乇賷丞 亘丨孬鬲听 孬賲 賵噩丿鬲 丕賳賴 賲賳 賲賵丕賱賷丿 賵賱丕賷丞 rhode island 丕賱鬲賷 鬲胤賱 毓賱賶 丕賱賲丨賷胤 丕賱丕胤賱爻賷 賵賯囟賶 賲毓馗賲 丨賷丕鬲賴 賮 new england 丕賱賵賱丕賷丞 丕賱爻丕丨賱賷丞 丕賷囟丕 賷亘丿賵 丕賳 匕賱賰 丕孬乇 毓賱賶 禺賷丕賱 賰鬲丕亘鬲賴 貙
賰鬲丕亘丕鬲 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 賱賲 丕噩丿賴丕 賲乇毓亘丞 亘丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕賱丨乇賮賷貙 賱賰賳賴丕 賲賳 丕賱賳賵毓 丕賱賰丕亘賵爻賷 鬲賴賷丐丕鬲 賲乇毓亘丞听賲乇賷囟丞 貙 丕鬲禺賷賱 賲孬賱丕 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 噩丕賱爻 毓賱賶 卮賵丕胤卅 賳賷賵 丕賳噩賱丕賳丿 賲爻丕亍賸 賳丕馗乇丕 賱賱丕賮賯 丕賱爻丨賷賯 賱賱亘丨乇 賵馗賱丕賲賴 丕賱賲禺賷賮 孬賲 賷匕賴亘 賱賱賳賵賲 賷兀鬲賷賴 賰丕亘賵爻 亘賴 賰丕卅賳 賰亘賷乇 毓賱賶 賴賷卅丞 丕禺胤亘賵胤 賷胤丕乇丿賴. 賷爻鬲賷賯馗 孬賲 賷賰鬲亘 丨賱賲賴 毓賱賶 丕賱賵乇賯 賷毓丕賱噩賴 孬賲 賷賳卮乇賴...
賮 丕賱賲噩賲賱 鬲噩乇亘丞 噩賷丿丞 賵賱賳 鬲賰賵賳 丕賱兀禺賷乇丞 賱禺賷丕賱 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 丕賱賵丕爻毓...
賲毓 丕賰鬲卮丕賮賷 丕賳賴丕 鬲鬲賰賱賲 毓賳 賰丕卅賳丕鬲 亘丨乇賷丞 丕爻胤賵乇賷丞 鬲爻丕卅賱鬲 賱賲丕匕丕 賲毓馗賲 乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賴匕丕 丕賱乇噩賱 賲丨賵乇賴丕 賰丕卅賳丕鬲 亘丨乇賷丞 亘丨孬鬲听 孬賲 賵噩丿鬲 丕賳賴 賲賳 賲賵丕賱賷丿 賵賱丕賷丞 rhode island 丕賱鬲賷 鬲胤賱 毓賱賶 丕賱賲丨賷胤 丕賱丕胤賱爻賷 賵賯囟賶 賲毓馗賲 丨賷丕鬲賴 賮 new england 丕賱賵賱丕賷丞 丕賱爻丕丨賱賷丞 丕賷囟丕 賷亘丿賵 丕賳 匕賱賰 丕孬乇 毓賱賶 禺賷丕賱 賰鬲丕亘鬲賴 貙
賰鬲丕亘丕鬲 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 賱賲 丕噩丿賴丕 賲乇毓亘丞 亘丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕賱丨乇賮賷貙 賱賰賳賴丕 賲賳 丕賱賳賵毓 丕賱賰丕亘賵爻賷 鬲賴賷丐丕鬲 賲乇毓亘丞听賲乇賷囟丞 貙 丕鬲禺賷賱 賲孬賱丕 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 噩丕賱爻 毓賱賶 卮賵丕胤卅 賳賷賵 丕賳噩賱丕賳丿 賲爻丕亍賸 賳丕馗乇丕 賱賱丕賮賯 丕賱爻丨賷賯 賱賱亘丨乇 賵馗賱丕賲賴 丕賱賲禺賷賮 孬賲 賷匕賴亘 賱賱賳賵賲 賷兀鬲賷賴 賰丕亘賵爻 亘賴 賰丕卅賳 賰亘賷乇 毓賱賶 賴賷卅丞 丕禺胤亘賵胤 賷胤丕乇丿賴. 賷爻鬲賷賯馗 孬賲 賷賰鬲亘 丨賱賲賴 毓賱賶 丕賱賵乇賯 賷毓丕賱噩賴 孬賲 賷賳卮乇賴...
賮 丕賱賲噩賲賱 鬲噩乇亘丞 噩賷丿丞 賵賱賳 鬲賰賵賳 丕賱兀禺賷乇丞 賱禺賷丕賱 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 丕賱賵丕爻毓...
April 15, 2020
Schatten 眉ber Innsmouth war bislang die beste Geschichte, die ich von HPL gelesen habe. Wenn man sich mal an den etwas eint枚nigen Schreibstil bei der Erzeugung von Grusel gew枚hnt hat, dann kann man sich mehr auf die Handlung als solches konzentrieren. Diese wurde geschickt eingeleitet und aufgebaut, mit einem langen, erkl盲renden Monolog 眉ber die schattenhafte Stadt Innsmouth im Mittelteil 眉berbr眉ckt, und dann mit einem rasanten und 眉berraschende Ende versehen. Gute Unterhaltung f眉r eine fast 90j盲hrige Horrorgeschichte.
Der eint枚nige Schreibstil bezieht sich auf die Tatsache, dass f眉r Lovecraft der Horror immer unerkl盲rbar erscheint, nicht in Worte zu fassen ist oder namenlos daherkommt. Dies sind nur drei der Phrasen, die einfach zu h盲ufig vorkommen und aus heutiger Sicht der Erz盲hlung etwas antiquiert-am眉santes mitgeben. Was mir dabei aber auffiel: Bei Lovecraft wird nie Gewalt erzeugt, auch bei den anderen beiden Geschichten, die ich bislang las, war dies der Fall. Die Hauptperson wird immer nur Zeuge einer Ungew枚hnlichkeit, die ihn in Schrecken versetzt. Dies ist immer so schrecklich, dass der Person die Worte fehlen, um es genauer zu beschreiben. Positiv k枚nnte man sagen, dass die Protagonisten immer traumatisiert aus dem Erlebten zur眉ck bleiben. Und weil alles so namenlos schrecklich ist, hat die Phantasie des Lesers auch genug Freir盲ume, sich bei dem eigenen Kopfkino auszutoben. Hier in dieser Geschichte ziehen gegen Ende die schrecklichen Wesen am Protagonisten vorbei, w盲hrend er im Graben liegt, die Prozession beobachtet und anschlie脽end in Ohnmacht f盲llt. Wie gesagt, bei taumelnden Bewusstsein kann man sich schlecht auf die wortreiche Beschreibung des Schreckensszenario konzentrieren. Daher: Namenloses Entsetzen 盲u脽ern und dann ab ins Reich der Tr盲ume.
Was aber wirklich 盲rgerlich ist, ist der unverhohlene Rassismus Lovecrafts, der an mehreren Stellen zum Ausdruck kommt. Diesmal ist es ja nicht eine einzelne Kreatur, die Schrecken verbreitet, sondern gleich eine gr枚脽ere Gemeinschaft in Form des gesamten Dorfes Innsmouth, welches durch Abkehr von christlichen Glauben und Anbetung eines okkulten Wesens massenhaft degeneriert. Diese Rasse von Menschen mit dem sogenannten Innsmouth-Look sind schon nach Ansicht des Erz盲hlers widerw盲rtig. Aber selbst dunkle Hautfarbe und andersgeformte Augen werden abgelehnt. Lovecraft war ein Rassist. Bedauerlich, wenn das so klar in einer Geschichte hervortritt. Aufgrund des 眉berraschenden Endes der Geschichte und des guten Unterhaltungswertes w眉rde ich dieses Buch trotzdem Einsteigern in Lovecrafts Welt empfehlen.
Der eint枚nige Schreibstil bezieht sich auf die Tatsache, dass f眉r Lovecraft der Horror immer unerkl盲rbar erscheint, nicht in Worte zu fassen ist oder namenlos daherkommt. Dies sind nur drei der Phrasen, die einfach zu h盲ufig vorkommen und aus heutiger Sicht der Erz盲hlung etwas antiquiert-am眉santes mitgeben. Was mir dabei aber auffiel: Bei Lovecraft wird nie Gewalt erzeugt, auch bei den anderen beiden Geschichten, die ich bislang las, war dies der Fall. Die Hauptperson wird immer nur Zeuge einer Ungew枚hnlichkeit, die ihn in Schrecken versetzt. Dies ist immer so schrecklich, dass der Person die Worte fehlen, um es genauer zu beschreiben. Positiv k枚nnte man sagen, dass die Protagonisten immer traumatisiert aus dem Erlebten zur眉ck bleiben. Und weil alles so namenlos schrecklich ist, hat die Phantasie des Lesers auch genug Freir盲ume, sich bei dem eigenen Kopfkino auszutoben. Hier in dieser Geschichte ziehen gegen Ende die schrecklichen Wesen am Protagonisten vorbei, w盲hrend er im Graben liegt, die Prozession beobachtet und anschlie脽end in Ohnmacht f盲llt. Wie gesagt, bei taumelnden Bewusstsein kann man sich schlecht auf die wortreiche Beschreibung des Schreckensszenario konzentrieren. Daher: Namenloses Entsetzen 盲u脽ern und dann ab ins Reich der Tr盲ume.
Was aber wirklich 盲rgerlich ist, ist der unverhohlene Rassismus Lovecrafts, der an mehreren Stellen zum Ausdruck kommt. Diesmal ist es ja nicht eine einzelne Kreatur, die Schrecken verbreitet, sondern gleich eine gr枚脽ere Gemeinschaft in Form des gesamten Dorfes Innsmouth, welches durch Abkehr von christlichen Glauben und Anbetung eines okkulten Wesens massenhaft degeneriert. Diese Rasse von Menschen mit dem sogenannten Innsmouth-Look sind schon nach Ansicht des Erz盲hlers widerw盲rtig. Aber selbst dunkle Hautfarbe und andersgeformte Augen werden abgelehnt. Lovecraft war ein Rassist. Bedauerlich, wenn das so klar in einer Geschichte hervortritt. Aufgrund des 眉berraschenden Endes der Geschichte und des guten Unterhaltungswertes w眉rde ich dieses Buch trotzdem Einsteigern in Lovecrafts Welt empfehlen.
Want to read
February 21, 2018Lovecraft Illustrated Volume 5
Contents:
ix - Introduction by S. T. Joshi
xiii - Foreword by Brian Yuzna
003 - "The Shadow over Innsmouth" by H. P. Lovecraft
091 - "The Shadow over the Shadow" by Pete Von Sholly
093 - "The Harbor-Master" by Robert W. Chambers
123 - "Fishhead" by Irvin S. Cobb
135 - "Fish Schticks" by Robert M. Price
Contents:
ix - Introduction by S. T. Joshi
xiii - Foreword by Brian Yuzna
003 - "The Shadow over Innsmouth" by H. P. Lovecraft
091 - "The Shadow over the Shadow" by Pete Von Sholly
093 - "The Harbor-Master" by Robert W. Chambers
123 - "Fishhead" by Irvin S. Cobb
135 - "Fish Schticks" by Robert M. Price
December 25, 2014
I remember a survival horror game Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth a couple of years ago. Only a part of the game is similar to The Shadow Over Innsmouth and it is a combination of more Lovecraft's stories, so it's not exactly the same, but I still remember how the arrival of the main character to Innsmouth, that filthy old hotel, and what happens later made me feel.
Needless to say, I loved this story. I think it is one of those you could recommend to anyone who wants to try Lovecraft for the first time. It is weird, it is horrifying, it is scary. It has everything I love about Lovecraft.
Trying to save some money, a young student ends up riding in a decrepit bus after learning of Innsmouth, a strange coastal town everyone around tries to avoid. His plan is to spend a day in that derelict and almost empty place, to do a bit of sightseeing, to see the architecture of the town, and if possible to find someone to tell him of the history of that area. Well, the plan works, but not exactly the way he expects.
The first thing he notices is the appearance of the townspeople: they don't seem to close their eyes at all and they walk in a weird way, to say nothing of the general hostility towards any newcomer.
As for the town stories, the narrator finds an old drunk who tells him the horrible truth about Innsmouth, about the supposed plague that wiped out almost half of them, the reason behind their appearance and so on. The narrator ends up learning more than he had ever hoped, expected or wanted to know.
The ending is outstanding and makes the story even better.
Needless to say, I loved this story. I think it is one of those you could recommend to anyone who wants to try Lovecraft for the first time. It is weird, it is horrifying, it is scary. It has everything I love about Lovecraft.
Trying to save some money, a young student ends up riding in a decrepit bus after learning of Innsmouth, a strange coastal town everyone around tries to avoid. His plan is to spend a day in that derelict and almost empty place, to do a bit of sightseeing, to see the architecture of the town, and if possible to find someone to tell him of the history of that area. Well, the plan works, but not exactly the way he expects.
The first thing he notices is the appearance of the townspeople: they don't seem to close their eyes at all and they walk in a weird way, to say nothing of the general hostility towards any newcomer.
As for the town stories, the narrator finds an old drunk who tells him the horrible truth about Innsmouth, about the supposed plague that wiped out almost half of them, the reason behind their appearance and so on. The narrator ends up learning more than he had ever hoped, expected or wanted to know.
The ending is outstanding and makes the story even better.
April 9, 2020
Quarantine Reads gets terrifying..
賯乇丕卅鬲賷 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賱賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 丕賱賰丕亘賵爻賷.. 賵賮賷 噩賵 丕賱丨馗乇 丕賱氐丨賷 爻鬲卮毓乇 兀賳賰 丨亘賷爻丕 賮賷 賲丿賷賳丞 廿賳夭賲丕賵孬 丕賱爻丕丨賱賷丞 丕賱賰卅賷亘丞 亘乇丕卅丨丞 丕賱爻賲賰 丕賱毓胤賳丞 賵丕賱賲賱丕賲丨 丕賱睾乇賷亘丞 賱兀賴賱賴丕 賰兀賳賴賲 賷毓丕賳賵賳 賲乇囟丕 噩賱丿賷丕 睾乇賷亘丕
賵氐賮 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 丿賯賷賯 亘賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 丕賱乇丕賵賷 丕賱賮囟賵賱賷 丕賱匕賷 賷氐賮 卮賰賱 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 賵賲毓賲丕乇賴丕 賵胤乇賯賴丕 賵爻賷賲 丕賴賱賴丕 爻賷噩毓賱賰 賰兀賳賰 鬲鬲噩賵賱 亘賴丕 亘賱 賵鬲禺鬲賳賯 賲賳 乇丕卅丨鬲賴丕 賰兀賳賰 賯乇亘 丨賱賯丞 丕賱爻賲賰 亘丕賱兀賳賮賵卮賷
孬賲 賷丕鬲賷 毓噩賵夭丕 爻賰賷乇丕 賱賷丨賰賷 賱賰 鬲丕乇賷禺 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 丕賱賲乇毓亘 賵丕賱賲夭毓噩 賱兀賰孬乇 賲賳 賯乇賳 鬲亘丿賱鬲 賮賷賴 丕賱兀丨賵丕賱
賱賷丕鬲賷 丕賱賮氐賱 賯亘賱 丕賱丕禺賷乇 亘賲胤丕乇丿丞 賲乇毓亘丞 孬賲 賲賮丕噩兀丞 亘丕賱賮氐賱 丕賱兀禺賷乇 丨賯賷賯賷丞
賵賰賵孬賵賱賵 賯丕丿賲
賯乇丕卅鬲賷 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賱賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 丕賱賰丕亘賵爻賷.. 賵賮賷 噩賵 丕賱丨馗乇 丕賱氐丨賷 爻鬲卮毓乇 兀賳賰 丨亘賷爻丕 賮賷 賲丿賷賳丞 廿賳夭賲丕賵孬 丕賱爻丕丨賱賷丞 丕賱賰卅賷亘丞 亘乇丕卅丨丞 丕賱爻賲賰 丕賱毓胤賳丞 賵丕賱賲賱丕賲丨 丕賱睾乇賷亘丞 賱兀賴賱賴丕 賰兀賳賴賲 賷毓丕賳賵賳 賲乇囟丕 噩賱丿賷丕 睾乇賷亘丕
賵氐賮 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 丿賯賷賯 亘賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 丕賱乇丕賵賷 丕賱賮囟賵賱賷 丕賱匕賷 賷氐賮 卮賰賱 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 賵賲毓賲丕乇賴丕 賵胤乇賯賴丕 賵爻賷賲 丕賴賱賴丕 爻賷噩毓賱賰 賰兀賳賰 鬲鬲噩賵賱 亘賴丕 亘賱 賵鬲禺鬲賳賯 賲賳 乇丕卅丨鬲賴丕 賰兀賳賰 賯乇亘 丨賱賯丞 丕賱爻賲賰 亘丕賱兀賳賮賵卮賷
孬賲 賷丕鬲賷 毓噩賵夭丕 爻賰賷乇丕 賱賷丨賰賷 賱賰 鬲丕乇賷禺 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 丕賱賲乇毓亘 賵丕賱賲夭毓噩 賱兀賰孬乇 賲賳 賯乇賳 鬲亘丿賱鬲 賮賷賴 丕賱兀丨賵丕賱
賱賷丕鬲賷 丕賱賮氐賱 賯亘賱 丕賱丕禺賷乇 亘賲胤丕乇丿丞 賲乇毓亘丞 孬賲 賲賮丕噩兀丞 亘丕賱賮氐賱 丕賱兀禺賷乇 丨賯賷賯賷丞
賵賰賵孬賵賱賵 賯丕丿賲
March 31, 2025
4.5 Ichthyological Stars rounded up to 5 Undulating Stars by virtue of the marvelously ageless and timeless nature of this Cthulhuian canard.
Thank you, Joy, for posting in your review the following link to listen to the story for free:
The above narration was my first scamper with The Shadows Over Innsmouth.
I just finished listening to the story(26 min narration), the narrator, "Nature's Temper", has a wonderfully deep, mellow voice; so wonderful that it lulled me to sleep about half way through the tale! Nature's Temper narrates all sorts of horror stories, I will be checking out the contents of his site, especially when insomnia pushes me oob(nursing vernacular for out of bed, it just makes me smile). You can listen to a wide selection of various sorts of horror stories narrated by Nature's Temper here:
As much as I enjoyed listening to, and being lulled to sleep by, the mellow voiced narration of Nature's Temper my reading comprehension far exceeds my listening comprehension, allowing so much more to be had from a hardback book read than from listening to even the most enjoyable narration.
Having now read the text version in GREAT TALES OF HORROR where THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH is 51pgs long (p195-246) my review is as follows:
Miskatonic University Press Alumna Interview
March 2025 by Karen Marie Larsen, class of 2027
Marina Koi, current Innsmouth resident, PhD Ichthyology 1985
Fish Collection Technician (1985-2024) Miskatonic Museum of Natural History, Arkham, MA
Karen: How did you become interested in ichthyology?
Marina: 鈥淧ut simply: fishes have always held my interest both in their mysterious origins and in their incredible adaptability.鈥�
In the middle of prohibition, during the summer of 1927 a college lad embarked from Toledo, Ohio for the northeast coast, 鈥淚 was celebrating my coming of age by a tour of New England---sightseeing, antiquarian, and genealogical---and had planned to go directly from ancient Newburyport to Arkham, whence my mother's family derived.鈥�
Having arrived in Newburyport, his student budget precluded taking the fancy steam train to Arkham so he instead opted for the cut-rate rattletrap of an old bus: leaving Newburyport in the morning with a layover of several hours at Innsmouth, departing for Arkham at 7pm. Being the ever inquisitive student, he spent the layover time on a walking tour of Innsmouth; checking out the old fishing town and attempting to chat up a few of the locals only to discover that the town, barring a few houses of worship, a grocer, and the Gilman Hotel, was pretty well deserted and the locals, with the exception of a nonagenarian tippler and the grocer who's from out of town, are disquietingly constrained. Then he is informed that the rattletrap bus is having mechanical difficulties and won't be departing until the next morning.
Reproachfully he took a room at the Gilman Hotel for $1usd:
鈥淎fter a time I seemed to hear the stairs and corridors creak at intervals as if with footsteps, and wondered if the other rooms were beginning to fill up. There were no voices, however, and it struck me that there was something subtly furtive about the creaking. I did not like it, and debated whether I had better try to sleep at all. This town had some queer people, and there had undoubtedly been several disappearances. Was this one of those inns where travelers were slain for their money? Surely I had no look of expensive prosperity. Or were the townsfolk really so resentful about curious visitors? Had my obvious sightseeing, with its frequent map consultations, aroused unfavourable notice?
At length, feeling a fatigue that had nothing of drowsiness in it, I bolted the hall door, turned off the light, and threw myself down on the hard, uneven bed 鈥� coat, collar, shoes, and all. In the darkness every faint noise of the night seemed magnified, and a flood of doubly unpleasant thoughts swept over me.[] Then after a long, dreary interval, and prefaced by a fresh creaking of stairs and corridor, there came that soft, damnably unmistakable sound which seemed like a malign fulfillment of all my apprehensions. Without the least shadow of a doubt, the lock on my hall door was being tried-- cautiously, furtively, and tentatively鈥攚ith a key.鈥�
Leave it to Lovecraft, a little while later, to introduce 鉀� (undulate, a word found in a vast majority of novels regardless of author, genre, or era, described in a literary lexicon):
鈥淲hat I saw鈥攐r fancied I saw鈥攚as a disturbing suggestion of UNDULANT motion []. [] It UNDULATED too much, and glistened too brightly in the rays of the now westering moon.鈥�
Sightseeing, antiquarian, and genealogical adventures with Cthulhuian Cthic! 5猸愶笍
Highly recommend馃鈥嶁檧锔忦煓嬸煆�!
Thank you, Joy, for posting in your review the following link to listen to the story for free:
The above narration was my first scamper with The Shadows Over Innsmouth.
I just finished listening to the story(26 min narration), the narrator, "Nature's Temper", has a wonderfully deep, mellow voice; so wonderful that it lulled me to sleep about half way through the tale! Nature's Temper narrates all sorts of horror stories, I will be checking out the contents of his site, especially when insomnia pushes me oob(nursing vernacular for out of bed, it just makes me smile). You can listen to a wide selection of various sorts of horror stories narrated by Nature's Temper here:
As much as I enjoyed listening to, and being lulled to sleep by, the mellow voiced narration of Nature's Temper my reading comprehension far exceeds my listening comprehension, allowing so much more to be had from a hardback book read than from listening to even the most enjoyable narration.
Having now read the text version in GREAT TALES OF HORROR where THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH is 51pgs long (p195-246) my review is as follows:
Miskatonic University Press Alumna Interview
March 2025 by Karen Marie Larsen, class of 2027
Marina Koi, current Innsmouth resident, PhD Ichthyology 1985
Fish Collection Technician (1985-2024) Miskatonic Museum of Natural History, Arkham, MA
Karen: How did you become interested in ichthyology?
Marina: 鈥淧ut simply: fishes have always held my interest both in their mysterious origins and in their incredible adaptability.鈥�
In the middle of prohibition, during the summer of 1927 a college lad embarked from Toledo, Ohio for the northeast coast, 鈥淚 was celebrating my coming of age by a tour of New England---sightseeing, antiquarian, and genealogical---and had planned to go directly from ancient Newburyport to Arkham, whence my mother's family derived.鈥�
Having arrived in Newburyport, his student budget precluded taking the fancy steam train to Arkham so he instead opted for the cut-rate rattletrap of an old bus: leaving Newburyport in the morning with a layover of several hours at Innsmouth, departing for Arkham at 7pm. Being the ever inquisitive student, he spent the layover time on a walking tour of Innsmouth; checking out the old fishing town and attempting to chat up a few of the locals only to discover that the town, barring a few houses of worship, a grocer, and the Gilman Hotel, was pretty well deserted and the locals, with the exception of a nonagenarian tippler and the grocer who's from out of town, are disquietingly constrained. Then he is informed that the rattletrap bus is having mechanical difficulties and won't be departing until the next morning.
Reproachfully he took a room at the Gilman Hotel for $1usd:
鈥淎fter a time I seemed to hear the stairs and corridors creak at intervals as if with footsteps, and wondered if the other rooms were beginning to fill up. There were no voices, however, and it struck me that there was something subtly furtive about the creaking. I did not like it, and debated whether I had better try to sleep at all. This town had some queer people, and there had undoubtedly been several disappearances. Was this one of those inns where travelers were slain for their money? Surely I had no look of expensive prosperity. Or were the townsfolk really so resentful about curious visitors? Had my obvious sightseeing, with its frequent map consultations, aroused unfavourable notice?
At length, feeling a fatigue that had nothing of drowsiness in it, I bolted the hall door, turned off the light, and threw myself down on the hard, uneven bed 鈥� coat, collar, shoes, and all. In the darkness every faint noise of the night seemed magnified, and a flood of doubly unpleasant thoughts swept over me.[] Then after a long, dreary interval, and prefaced by a fresh creaking of stairs and corridor, there came that soft, damnably unmistakable sound which seemed like a malign fulfillment of all my apprehensions. Without the least shadow of a doubt, the lock on my hall door was being tried-- cautiously, furtively, and tentatively鈥攚ith a key.鈥�
Leave it to Lovecraft, a little while later, to introduce 鉀� (undulate, a word found in a vast majority of novels regardless of author, genre, or era, described in a literary lexicon):
鈥淲hat I saw鈥攐r fancied I saw鈥攚as a disturbing suggestion of UNDULANT motion []. [] It UNDULATED too much, and glistened too brightly in the rays of the now westering moon.鈥�
Sightseeing, antiquarian, and genealogical adventures with Cthulhuian Cthic! 5猸愶笍
Highly recommend馃鈥嶁檧锔忦煓嬸煆�!
![Profile Image for [ J o ].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1673171874i%2F4639825._UY200_CR4%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
December 3, 2017
It was bound to happen at some point. An intense, life-long dislike for short stories and first person narrative meant that the intrigue of Lovecraft couldn't quite get me to enjoy this one.
We follow an intrepid traveller, standard Lovecraft, who seemingly at random falls head first in to a weird and wonderful world full of eldritch cults, esoteric goings on and horrors (literally) too horrific to put in to writing (convenient much). He visits a town that is shunned full of weird people etc etc
The imagination is there and the Lovecraftianess is there but this was really pitiful. It was too long to start with and without much happening. It wasn't particularly intriguing either, and the suspense and flow of the piece was terribly lacklustre.
The dialogue was also just the worst. From what I've read so far of Lovecraft's work, he couldn't do dialogue even when it was written in proper English and not the backward idiot dialect we have here. It didn't add anything to it, instead it created a droll experience that turned a very interesting back story into tedium.
I'm kind of glad I read this and didn't enjoy it. I prefer loving something that I can happily pick apart and sometime dislike. If you haven't read any Lovecraft I would personally recommend you don't begin with this one, but then I'm sure someone much more qualified than me will tell you you should. Hey, make up your own mind.
We follow an intrepid traveller, standard Lovecraft, who seemingly at random falls head first in to a weird and wonderful world full of eldritch cults, esoteric goings on and horrors (literally) too horrific to put in to writing (convenient much). He visits a town that is shunned full of weird people etc etc
The imagination is there and the Lovecraftianess is there but this was really pitiful. It was too long to start with and without much happening. It wasn't particularly intriguing either, and the suspense and flow of the piece was terribly lacklustre.
The dialogue was also just the worst. From what I've read so far of Lovecraft's work, he couldn't do dialogue even when it was written in proper English and not the backward idiot dialect we have here. It didn't add anything to it, instead it created a droll experience that turned a very interesting back story into tedium.
I'm kind of glad I read this and didn't enjoy it. I prefer loving something that I can happily pick apart and sometime dislike. If you haven't read any Lovecraft I would personally recommend you don't begin with this one, but then I'm sure someone much more qualified than me will tell you you should. Hey, make up your own mind.
February 9, 2015
賰賲丕 噩乇鬲 丕賱毓丕丿丞 賲毓 賳氐賵氐 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲貙 鬲賯賱亘 丕賱氐賮丨丕鬲 賲鬲爻丕卅賱丕: 賲丕賱匕賷 賷禺賷賮 賮賷 丕賱兀賲乇. 賵賲丕 廿賳 鬲賮乇睾 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賵鬲囟毓賴 噩丕賳亘丕 丨鬲賶 賷噩鬲丕丨賰 卮毓賵乇 亘丕賱鬲賵噩爻 賵鬲賲賱兀 兀匕賳賷賰 賴賲爻丕鬲 丕賱賵爻丕賵爻. 丕賱爻亘亘 賮賷 匕賱賰 賴賵 兀賳 賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 賷毓賲賱 亘亘胤亍 賵丿兀亘 賱賷禺賱賯 賲丨賷胤丕 爻賵丿丕賵賷丕 睾丕賲囟丕 賱丕 賷爻毓賶 兀賳 賷氐丿賲賰 亘賱 兀賳 賷鬲爻賱賱 廿賱賶 丿禺賷賱丞 賳賮爻賰 鬲丕乇賰丕 亘氐賲丞 乇毓亘 賮賷 丕賱賱丕賵毓賷.
鬲丨賰賷 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱賯氐賷乇丞 毓賳 乇丨賱丞 賮鬲賶 廿賱賶 賲丿賷賳丞 廿賳夭賲丕賵孬 丕賱賲賱毓賵賳丞貙 亘兀賴賱賴丕 丕賱匕賷賳 賱丕賷禺鬲賱胤賵賳 賲毓 丕賱毓丕賱賲 丕賱禺丕乇噩賷 賵賱丕 賷鬲賯亘賱賵賳 兀丨丿丕. 賵亘賲丕 兀賳賳丕 賳賯乇兀 賱賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 賮賱丕亘丿 賲賳 賵噩賵丿 亘丨乇貙 賵丿賷丕賳丞 賵孬賳賷丞貙 賵賰賲 賰亘賷乇 賲賳 丕賱毓鬲賲丞 賵丕賳毓丿丕賲 丕賱亘賴噩丞. 乇賵丕賷丞 賱丕 亘兀爻 亘賴丕 賷毓賷亘賴丕 丕賱噩夭亍 丕賱兀禺賷乇 丕賱匕賷 兀賮丕囟 賮賷 賵氐賮 賲爻丕乇 亘胤賱 丕賱賯氐丞 賮賷 卮賵丕乇毓 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞. 賱賷爻 賴賳丕賰 毓賲賯 賮賷 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵賱丕 鬲賯賳賷丕鬲 爻乇丿 毓丕賱賷丞 丕賱賰賮丕亍丞. 丕毓鬲賯丿 兀賳 噩賵 丕賱賯氐丞 賴賵 丕賱亘胤賱 丕賱丨賯賷賯賷 賱賴匕丕 丕賱毓賲賱. 賴賳丕賰 鬲賷賲丞 噩賷丿丞 賳賵毓丕 賵賴賷 賲睾夭賶 丕鬲亘丕毓 丿賷賳 賲毓賷賳 廿賳 賱賲 賷賱賲爻 丕鬲亘丕毓賴 兀孬乇賴 毓賱賶 丨賷丕鬲賴賲 丕賱賲丕丿賷丞 賵禺丿賲丞 賲氐丕賱丨賴賲 丕賱丌賳賷丞.
亘丕賱賲賳丕爻亘丞貙 鬲賲 賲毓丕賱噩丞 賴匕丕 丕賱毓賲賱 爻賷賳賲丕卅賷丕 賮賷 賮賱賲 丿丕睾賵賳 (2001). 賲爻鬲賵賶 丕賱賮賱賲 噩賷丿貙 賵鬲毓賰爻 丕賱鬲毓丿賷賱丕鬲 丕賱賲噩乇丕丞 毓賱賶 丕賱丨亘賰丞 鬲胤賵乇 賮賳賷丕鬲 丕賱爻乇丿 丕賱賲毓丕氐乇丞. 賵亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 兀賳 賲噩乇賷丕鬲 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賮賷 丕賱賮賱賲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賰鬲賷乇丕 毓賳 丕賱賳氐貙 廿賱丕 兀賳 丕賱賮賱賲 -亘乇兀賷賷- 賳噩丨 賮賷 丕賱丨賮丕馗 毓賱賶 噩賵賴乇 丕賱賯氐丞 賵毓賱賶 -賵賴賵 丕賱兀賴賲- 丕賱噩賵 丕賱爻賷乇賷丕賱賷 丕賱賲賯亘囟. 爻賲賳賷 睾乇賷亘丕 賱賰賳賳賷 兀毓卮賯 賴匕賴 丕賱兀噩賵丕亍 賮毓賱丕.
鬲丨賰賷 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱賯氐賷乇丞 毓賳 乇丨賱丞 賮鬲賶 廿賱賶 賲丿賷賳丞 廿賳夭賲丕賵孬 丕賱賲賱毓賵賳丞貙 亘兀賴賱賴丕 丕賱匕賷賳 賱丕賷禺鬲賱胤賵賳 賲毓 丕賱毓丕賱賲 丕賱禺丕乇噩賷 賵賱丕 賷鬲賯亘賱賵賳 兀丨丿丕. 賵亘賲丕 兀賳賳丕 賳賯乇兀 賱賱丕賮賰乇丕賮鬲 賮賱丕亘丿 賲賳 賵噩賵丿 亘丨乇貙 賵丿賷丕賳丞 賵孬賳賷丞貙 賵賰賲 賰亘賷乇 賲賳 丕賱毓鬲賲丞 賵丕賳毓丿丕賲 丕賱亘賴噩丞. 乇賵丕賷丞 賱丕 亘兀爻 亘賴丕 賷毓賷亘賴丕 丕賱噩夭亍 丕賱兀禺賷乇 丕賱匕賷 兀賮丕囟 賮賷 賵氐賮 賲爻丕乇 亘胤賱 丕賱賯氐丞 賮賷 卮賵丕乇毓 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞. 賱賷爻 賴賳丕賰 毓賲賯 賮賷 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵賱丕 鬲賯賳賷丕鬲 爻乇丿 毓丕賱賷丞 丕賱賰賮丕亍丞. 丕毓鬲賯丿 兀賳 噩賵 丕賱賯氐丞 賴賵 丕賱亘胤賱 丕賱丨賯賷賯賷 賱賴匕丕 丕賱毓賲賱. 賴賳丕賰 鬲賷賲丞 噩賷丿丞 賳賵毓丕 賵賴賷 賲睾夭賶 丕鬲亘丕毓 丿賷賳 賲毓賷賳 廿賳 賱賲 賷賱賲爻 丕鬲亘丕毓賴 兀孬乇賴 毓賱賶 丨賷丕鬲賴賲 丕賱賲丕丿賷丞 賵禺丿賲丞 賲氐丕賱丨賴賲 丕賱丌賳賷丞.
亘丕賱賲賳丕爻亘丞貙 鬲賲 賲毓丕賱噩丞 賴匕丕 丕賱毓賲賱 爻賷賳賲丕卅賷丕 賮賷 賮賱賲 丿丕睾賵賳 (2001). 賲爻鬲賵賶 丕賱賮賱賲 噩賷丿貙 賵鬲毓賰爻 丕賱鬲毓丿賷賱丕鬲 丕賱賲噩乇丕丞 毓賱賶 丕賱丨亘賰丞 鬲胤賵乇 賮賳賷丕鬲 丕賱爻乇丿 丕賱賲毓丕氐乇丞. 賵亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 兀賳 賲噩乇賷丕鬲 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賮賷 丕賱賮賱賲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賰鬲賷乇丕 毓賳 丕賱賳氐貙 廿賱丕 兀賳 丕賱賮賱賲 -亘乇兀賷賷- 賳噩丨 賮賷 丕賱丨賮丕馗 毓賱賶 噩賵賴乇 丕賱賯氐丞 賵毓賱賶 -賵賴賵 丕賱兀賴賲- 丕賱噩賵 丕賱爻賷乇賷丕賱賷 丕賱賲賯亘囟. 爻賲賳賷 睾乇賷亘丕 賱賰賳賳賷 兀毓卮賯 賴匕賴 丕賱兀噩賵丕亍 賮毓賱丕.
December 27, 2024
Sin duda, mi historia favorita de H.P. Lovecraft. En este relato, un joven viaja a la enigm谩tica ciudad de Innsmouth por motivos culturales, solo para descubrir que sus habitantes mantienen un perturbador pacto con criaturas anfibias capaces de alterar la biolog铆a de sus adoradores.
Para m铆, este es el mejor relato de Lovecraft. Posee un ritmo impecable y un argumento cautivador. A diferencia de otras de sus historias, no se siente pesada ni repetitiva; todo fluye de manera magistral. La sensaci贸n de peligro es constante y est谩 muy bien lograda, culminando en una emocionante persecuci贸n hacia el final.
Una obra maestra del horror c贸smico que, sin duda, merece su reputaci贸n.
隆Me ha encantado!
Para m铆, este es el mejor relato de Lovecraft. Posee un ritmo impecable y un argumento cautivador. A diferencia de otras de sus historias, no se siente pesada ni repetitiva; todo fluye de manera magistral. La sensaci贸n de peligro es constante y est谩 muy bien lograda, culminando en una emocionante persecuci贸n hacia el final.
Una obra maestra del horror c贸smico que, sin duda, merece su reputaci贸n.
隆Me ha encantado!
September 23, 2021
I listened to this on Spotify. It is quite an interesting story. The twist at the end was unexpected.
April 9, 2017
Classic Lovecraft horror, perhaps the classic Lovecraft horror.
Despite reading many pastiches of his work this is actually my first Lovecraft. He seems like a distasteful enough character that I haven't been rushing to read his stuff. However, I'm just about the read which is a sequel of sorts to this one so I thought I'd knock it off quickly.
Our narrator comes to the town of Innsmouth to investigate a town in decay as well as the strange stories that he's heard about it from neighboring towns. He finds an unsettling place with strange people and gets the full story of the place from an old man there, but soon finds himself running for his life from the strange people of Innsmouth. But the true horror of the place isn't revealed until we find out more about our narrator.
You've got to look past the contempt that Lovecraft has to anything not purely white American of protestant background to appreciate this. (I know he was an atheist, but he's respectful of Christian beliefs in ways that he's not of others). If you do, you find a masterpiece of creepy scene-setting and purple prose strewn campside horror story. Well worth the effort and you can see how influential his writing must have been to the nascent field.
Despite reading many pastiches of his work this is actually my first Lovecraft. He seems like a distasteful enough character that I haven't been rushing to read his stuff. However, I'm just about the read which is a sequel of sorts to this one so I thought I'd knock it off quickly.
Our narrator comes to the town of Innsmouth to investigate a town in decay as well as the strange stories that he's heard about it from neighboring towns. He finds an unsettling place with strange people and gets the full story of the place from an old man there, but soon finds himself running for his life from the strange people of Innsmouth. But the true horror of the place isn't revealed until we find out more about our narrator.
You've got to look past the contempt that Lovecraft has to anything not purely white American of protestant background to appreciate this. (I know he was an atheist, but he's respectful of Christian beliefs in ways that he's not of others). If you do, you find a masterpiece of creepy scene-setting and purple prose strewn campside horror story. Well worth the effort and you can see how influential his writing must have been to the nascent field.
December 25, 2019
This is a remarkable, brilliant horror story. It鈥檚 the first thing I鈥檝e ever read by H. P. Lovecraft but I鈥檝e already promised myself that it won鈥檛 be the last. I cannot understand why he never became more well-known. Or maybe he did and I was just ignorant of it!
May 23, 2025
I don鈥檛 write reviews.
鈥淭hey were the blasphemous fish frogs of the nameless design, living and horrible.鈥�
This is one of the creepiest stories ever written. There鈥檚 something so grotesque, so malevolent, so鈥�. smelly about the whole sordid affair.
鈥淭hey were the blasphemous fish frogs of the nameless design, living and horrible.鈥�
This is one of the creepiest stories ever written. There鈥檚 something so grotesque, so malevolent, so鈥�. smelly about the whole sordid affair.
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