You don’t need to dip more than a toe into the pond of horror literature before you come across the name H.P. Lovecraft, the guy who practically created the modern horror genre.
For decades, his particular blend of weird fiction, dark fantasy, and gothic horror brought about the fear of things unknown and the nightmares that lurk within them. His stories embodied his own literary philosophy of Cosmicism—the view that humanity is insignificant in the large scheme of the cosmos.
Best H.P. Lovecraft Books
Lovecraft mainly wrote short fiction and novellas, with a chunk of his work published in anthologies. We’ve assembled a list of the best books, novellas, and stories that he’s written. Check them out below!
1. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
This collection includes Cthulhu, Lovecraft’s central figure and cover boy in his mythos. The tentacle-bearded cosmic entity is humanity’s original and most basic nightmare, preserved through racial memory. The Call of Cthulhu concerns Francis Wayland Thurston’s discovery of the Great Old One, its cult, and the horrifying journey of a group of sailors who discover the city of R’lyeh and mistakenly release Cthulhu.
Included in this anthology are seventeen other tales of the mystical and macabre, each taking different approaches to horror. If you’re just starting out with Lovecraft’s stories, then this is your go-to book for everything you need to know.
2. The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Robert Olmstead is a student on a tour around New England when he hears about the secluded town of Innsmouth. Journeying to the town, he finds it dilapidated, and the townsfolk have strange, narrow heads and “bulgy, stary eyes” who walk with a shambling gait.
He manages to gain information from a local and learns about the town’s horrifying truth: the inhabitants have devoted themselves to the “Deep Ones,” fish-like humanoids who have forced the humans to interbreed with them—and Robert could be next.
A hallmark in Lovecraft’s writings, this novella has everything that defines Lovecraftian horror: haunted dreams, fear of the unknown, and a strong possibility that the main character is going insane.
3. The Dunwich Horror
Wilbur Whateley is a child who matures freakishly fast, becoming a full-grown man in just a decade. With his father mysteriously absent and his mother unstable, he is taken in by his grandfather, who teaches him the dark arts.
But Wilbur’s just the forerunner to something more strange and terrifying: his brother, who took after their absentee father far more than Wilbur ever did.
A precursor to The Shadow Over Innsmouth, this novella introduces Lovecraft’s themes of human-monster hybrids that haunt the secluded, half-forgotten corners of the world.
4. At the Mountains of Madness
Professor William Dyer leads an expedition into the deepest parts of Antartica, where they discover ancient, non-human ruins, preserved prehistoric life-forms previously unknown to man, and hieroglyphs depicting an ancient culture. The discovery of the century goes awry when the life-forms prove to be less dead than they explorers previously believed.
Considered one of his best stories, At the Mountains of Madness does an excellent job of tying up Lovecraft’s mythos on the Old Ones, exploring the horrific elements that frequently populate his stories.
5. The Whisperer in Darkness
Albert Wilmarth is a literature professor and a man of logic who gets involved in a controversy concerning seemingly strange and extraterrestrial sightings, which he blames on old monster legends with no factual basis. When another scholar claims to have undeniable proof that these things exist, he realizes that there’s more to the sightings than hust hearsay.
This particular story marks a shift in Lovecraft’s writings, incorporating more science fiction elements and providing one of the very first depictions of the brain in a jar trope.
6. The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
Randolph Carter has recurring dreams about a majestic city he can’t approach, no matter what he does. Undaunted, he plans to find the dreams gods in Kadath, their residence, to ask for their help, but no one knows where it is. To find it, he must traverse the Dreamlands, a place only accessible through dreams.
This particular novel is an essential read to Lovecraft’s “Dream Cycle”. where he explores the supernatural by studying dreams and the subconsciousness.
7. Herbert West–Reanimator
Herbert West has invented a special solution that can re-animate the dead. Intensely narcissistic and amoral, he and the narrator conduct daring tests that keep failing. Still intent on succeeding, West does increasingly reprehensible experiments. When they finally do succeed, the result is far from what they imagined.
Made as a satire to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this story is one of the first to present zombies as scientifically re-animated corpses.
8. The Shadow Out of Time
The Great Race of Yith is an extraterrestrial species that can travel through space and time. They accomplish this by switching bodies with hosts from their intended destinations. Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee is one such possessed host, experiencing Yithian culture while the Yithian that possessed him was experiencing humanity.
One of Lovecraft’s few stories where the monster is not portrayed as outright malevolent, The Shadow Out of Time explores a species whose purpose is to study all forms of civilization through space and time.
A Controversial Legacy
It’s undeniable that “Howie,” as fans lovingly call him, was a brilliant writer who greatly shaped horror literature. The man was simply brilliant in manifesting nightmares that haunt humanity’s imagination even to this today.
But it’s also undeniable that Lovecraft had, unfortunately, a closed mind and very racist beliefs. Much of this may be due to the climate of his time, where the majority held inaccurate, preconceived beliefs about other people.
However, Howie’s beliefs bled into his writings, including some that were very offensive and explicitly derogatory. This is one of the things you’ll need to know before checking out his works. If you can momentarily put aside his disdainful views, you might just be able to find why and how he was able to push horror to new heights.
Reading H.P. Lovecraft Stories
If you’re tired of horror stories that rely on visceral elements, then it might be time to try works that deal more with existential terrors, such as the fear of the unknowable, the incomprehensible, and whatever darkness lurks behind them.
If that appeals to you, then Lovecraft’s your man! Though he mainly wrote short works, they’re guaranteed to give you the spine-chilling moments you’re looking for in a work of horror.
Did we miss anything? Share them in the comment section below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
