Dark Universe Yawning: A Beginner’s Guide to Lovecraftian Horror

In putting together a reading list for Lovecraft, cosmic horror, and the Weird (both Old and New), I have become familiar with several varieties of disappointment. First, at the impossibility of producing a list that covers all the bases: comprehensive, entertaining, lean, unbiased, accessible. Second, at the dearth of online texts for many important works or collections in the genre. And third, at my continued inability to come up with the third item in a list. Still, we’re slowly getting there.

Each entry is followed by at least one link. Where available, I have prioritized well-formatted online texts. Failing that, various PDF options exist, including scanned anthologies on Archive.org—less convenient to read, but you can’t argue with free. In the absence of either online texts or PDFs (and sometimes in their presence) I have provided links to library or retail copies.

Precursors, Progenitors, Alliteration

Before approaching the Cthulhu Mythos itself, why not start with a bit of background? Lovecraft’s particular strain of cosmic horror did not emerge in a vacuum. Fantasy, horror, and gothic fiction had been growing in popularity since the days of Poe, attracting contributions from authors all over the literary map. This strange mixture eventually resulted in the chimera subgenre known as weird fiction. Because I know that you didn’t come here to read about haunted houses and ghostly visitors, I’ve limited this selection to works that anticipate most clearly the concepts and sensibilities of the Lovecraftian weird. Immediate family members, maybe grandparents. No awkward cousins.

Ambrose Bierce, “An Inhabitant of Carcosa” (1886)
A nameless protagonist wrestles with mystery and dread as he searches for the way home to Carcosa. Finds himself in the weird fictional equivalent of an M. Night Shyamalan plot.
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Arthur Machen, The Great God Pan (1890)
Never let a doctor lobotomize you, no matter how many ancient gods he says you’ll see after the surgery. Also, try to avoid relationships with women whose lovers consistently die gruesome deaths. Above all…do not eat that jelly.
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Ambrose Bierce, “Haïta the Shepherd” (1891)
Part parable, part myth, this atmospheric piece follows a shepherd named Haïta who worships a god named Hastur—the deity’s name being the most enduring aspect of this short story.
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Robert Chambers, The King in Yellow (1895)
As seen on HBO’s True Detective! In a bold act of borrowing (read: stealing), Chambers plucked Hastur and Carcosa from Bierce’s stories and incorporated both into several tales of supernatural horror, all loosely connected by a malignant play that drives readers mad. It’s no wonder HPL found inspiration here; there are few things so Lovecraftian as an evil book. The following two entries are the best of the bunch.

Robert Chambers, “The Repairer of Reputations” (1895)
Improbably named protagonist Hildred Castaigne has grown frustrated with the system in a fascistic future America. His proposed solution, while certainly efficacious, leaves much to be desired. But I suppose that’s often the case when your revolution is being planned by a madman.
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Robert Chambers, “In the Court of the Dragon” (1895)
Cosmic dread and religious awe sit side-by-side on the emotional spectrum—a fact one worshiper at the Church of St. Barnabé knows all-too-well. Falling asleep in church has never been so perilous.
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Lord Dunsany, “Idle Days on the Yann” (1910)
As a playwright, a novelist, an expert marksman, and a champion chess player, the eighteenth Lord Dunsany was a true Renaissance man. His work depicted colorful and wondrous worlds ruled by a whole pantheon of fictional gods—fantasy before fantasy existed. This dreamscape travelogue is perhaps his most enduring story. (It seems that Dunsany also understood a thing or two about branding: despite the man’s evident creativity and well-crafted prose, few publishers would have taken a chance on “Mr. Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett.” Thank God—or King Henry VII, as it were—for the barony.)
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The Canon

Lovecraft authored 74 stories in his own name—not a particularly large bibliography, in the scheme of things. But his influence on speculative fiction was monumental. His mythology became a sandbox for later writers to play in, a setting for new stories of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. More importantly, he established the conventions of cosmic horror as a subgenre, which would make an impact on writers and stories entirely disconnected from Mythos tropes and imagery. A wise bibliographer would here reiterate the customary disclaimer regarding HPL’s virulent racism and misogyny, even for his day. Prepare yourself accordingly.

Early and Minor (but not Lesser) Works

The following stories are less often anthologized than the more popular entries which follow. Even so, they are compelling examples of cosmic horror in the Lovecraft canon.

”Dagon” (1917)
No better place to build a creepy obelisk than deep at the bottom of the ocean. Stygian Tidbit: Earliest appearance of the word “cyclopean” in HPL’s fiction.
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“Nyarlathotep” (1920)
An evening of bewildering technology and mind-blasting special effects, hosted by everyone’s favorite pharaonic Outer God.
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“The Festival” (1923)
Christmas services in the seaside town of Kingsport would not be considered orthodox by most clergy.
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“The Colour Out of Space” (1927)
Terrible events befall a New England family, after a more-or-less typical run-in with a meteorite. Humans vs. the truly incomprehensible and hopeless. Good for reading on a family picnic. In my opinion, HPL’s best short story, and the quintessential cosmic horror tale.
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The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1927)
A man braves gugs, ghasts, zoogs, and Elder Gods as he travels in search of a majestic city in Dreamland. I swear—the lengths some people will go to for the perfect Insta pic.
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Major Works

The names, locations, and ideas most closely associated with Lovecraft first began to appear in the late 1910s. That said, it was the 1926 publication of “The Call of Cthulhu” that kicked things into high gear. Of the longer short stories and novellas that followed, several are indispensable, and comprise some of HPL’s strongest writing.

“The Call of Cthulhu” (1926)
A hapless investigator learns that putting the pieces together may be hazardous to one’s sanity. It’s all here—journalistic integrity, occult conspiracies, ridiculous adjectives, casual racism, gigantic monsters, vague hints of maddening horror. Bonus trivia: as popular a character as Cthulhu would become, this is the only Lovecraft story to feature it/him/her/them.
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“The Dunwich Horror” (1928)
The bucolic Massachusetts countryside is ravaged by an invisible menace. Body horror and cross-dimensional abominations aplenty, for the discerning traveler.
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The Whisperer in Darkness (1930)
I would have titled it “Buzzing Lobster-Men from Beyond Pluto,” but whatever. Here, HPL’s myth cycle takes an important turn away from occult horror/fantasy, in the direction of science fiction.
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At the Mountains of Madness (1931)
An Antarctic expedition uncovers an aeons-old secret in the frozen wastes, confirming my belief that humans should just never go there again. Long novella with a big payoff: after dense stretches of exposition and world-building, readers get to meet HPL’s second-most famous monster. Also, giant penguins.
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The Shadow over Innsmouth (1931)
Buses don’t often run to little Innsmouth, which is the residents’ way of saying, “Unless you’re a member of our blasphemous fish-frog cult, please stay away.” One tourist mis-reads the subtext. On the other hand, he does get to see where the locals eat.
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“The Dreams in the Witch-House” (1932)
Another story packed with HPL staples—a cursed house, bizarre manifestations of dream, the sinister Outer Gods. Fan favorite deity Nyarlathotep features heavily, incarnated as an ink-black devil from Christian mythology.
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“The Thing on the Doorstep” (1933)
The mysteries of Innsmouth reach past the borders of that small town to entangle and entrap two friends in nearby Arkham. An evocative (if rather sexist) horror tale.
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The Shadow Out of Time (1934-35)
Another novella in the vein of “At the Mountains of Madness,” with heavy elements of world-building and science-fictional history. The protagonist learns of the Great Race of Yith, a species of body-swapping interstellar researchers whose actions factor heavily into the past and future of earth.
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“The Haunter of the Dark” (1935)
An entertaining Nyarlathotep story set in HPL’s hometown of Providence. Originally conceived as a sequel to Robert Bloch’s “The Shambler from the Stars,” the story serves both to develop the Cthulhu mythos further, and to murder (in fiction) the narrator of a close friend’s short story.
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Collaborations and Ghostwriting

A working writer, Lovecraft was often hired to collaborate on (and sometimes completely revise) stories eventually published in others’ names. From his letters, he typically thought very little of the resulting works, and was happy not to be associated with them. That said, some of these collaborations make for interesting reading, and are worth a look.

“The Curse of Yig” (with Zealia Bishop, 1929)
Arkansans interested in moving to Oklahoma may want to consider another destination—one with less risk of reptilian body horror. Nice perks: this collaboration tones down HPL’s use of adjectives and visceral racism, and allows for the introduction of a rare female protagonist.
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“The Mound” (with Zealia Bishop, 1929-30)
A follow-up to “Yig,” this novella features another Oklahoma setting, with fewer cursed snakes, more 1920s anthropological racism, and many levels of degenerate underground horror. Also the pacing is off, and the characters are gross. And yet, the civilization of K’n-yan will stick with you.
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Poetry and Nonfiction

Fungi from Yuggoth (1943)
A cycle of sonnets dripping with cosmic horror. Just covered in the stuff. I mean, really slathered.
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“Introduction” from Supernatural Horror in Literature
Essential reading if you want a summary of cosmic horror straight from the horse’s mouth. Which, in this case, looks just like HPL’s mouth.
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The Lovecraft Circle

Lovecraft’s pseudomythology captured the imagination of his friends, acquaintances, and admirers in the weird fiction space; and he welcomed their appropriation of his ideas into works ranging from simple allusion, to clever adaptation, to ham-handed pastiche. From his notes and letters, we know that HPL thought of all this “Yog-Sothothery” as more of a theme, a literary connective tissue, intended as atmospheric background rather than a cohesive fantasy universe. His friends and followers saw it as something more. This first generation of writers and collaborators are primarily responsible for the expansion and (semi-)systematization of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Frank Belknap Long, “The Hounds of Tindalos” (1929)
Q: When is a dog not a dog? A: When it is a horrifying entity from another dimension that hides in the angles of your room, of course!
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Robert E. Howard, “Worms of the Earth” (1932)
Historians can tell us little about Pictish society. Who knows? Maybe they were a race of revenge-blinded, Great-Old-One-Worshiping, deal-with-the-devil-making barbarians with rage issues.
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Robert Bloch, “The Shambler from the Stars” (1935)
Are you tired of Southern Gothic and Midwestern horror? Did you enjoy John Carpenter’s The Thing, but always wished it featured more sorcerers from Rhode Island? Buddy, have I got a story for you! A hapless author of weird fiction falls down the rabbit hole of cursed books and the New England occult, leading (perhaps expectedly) to a gruesome finish that would give Carpenter a run for his money. From the author of Psycho.
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Fritz Leiber, “The Terror from the Depths” (1976)
The Mythos goes to Hollywood. This tribute incorporates dozens of references to the wider Mythos, touching on nearly every major work, even incorporating H. P. Lovecraft as a character. But it’s the California setting that really sets it apart.
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The Derleth Heresy

August Derleth, Lovecraft’s friend and literary executor, is a controversial figure among HPL readers. On the one hand, he and Donald Wandrei founded Arkham House Publishers as a posthumous outlet for Lovecraft’s work, making Derleth essential to the preservation of HPL’s literary legacy. On the other hand, Derleth’s own contribution to the Mythos diverges radically from (read: “fundamentally misunderstands”) the source material. A devout Catholic, Derleth conceived of the Mythos as aligning with a more traditional, dualistic morality—good versus evil, Elder Gods versus Great Old Ones. On top of that, he introduced an elemental alignment into the Lovecraftian pantheon, conceiving of Cthulhu as a water elemental, Hastur as an air elemental, etc. Nobody asked for that. Add to this his several “posthumous collaborations” with HPL (where he basically slapped Lovecraft’s name on his own pastiches), and Derleth ends up being quite a turn-off for many fans of the original tales. Despite this, his influence is significant; not only did Derleth coin the term “Cthulhu Mythos” itself, his efforts led directly to the modern understanding of the Mythos as a cohesive fantasy world. If only for context, Derleth is worth looking into.

August Derleth, “The Cthulhu Mythos” (essay) in Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos Vol. 1
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August Derleth, “The Dweller in Darkness” (1944)
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Acolytes and Imitators

“Some definitions of pastiche differentiate it from parody thus: parody pokes fun, good-natured or the opposite, whereas pastiche expresses appreciation, is a homage.” —Anne M. Pillsworth

Neither good nor bad in itself, pastiche is much like plant-based meat. It’s trying to do the same thing meat does. But, since it definitely is not meat, the majority of it just screams “Not as Good as the Original.” That said, the best examples—something from Beyond Meat, say, or a high-end experiment with seitan—might come close. Even better, with a slight shift in perspective, a quality meat replacement can be appreciated and enjoyed on its own merits. So try to think of the following, not as imitation, but homage. Not as Tofurkey, but an Impossible Burger.

Fritz Leiber, “To Arkham and the Stars” (1966)
Casual gab-fest with a cabal of nonagenarians at Miskatonic University. Precursor to Farmer’s “The Freshman.”

Ramsey Campbell, “Cold Print” (1969)
Grimy, psychological urban fantasy with an HPL twist. Sexual predator gets eldritch comeuppance.
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Colin Wilson, ”The Return of the Lloigor“ (1969)
For someone who didn’t think much of HPL, Wilson certainly was thorough in this homage, which calls back constantly to The Call of Cthulhu, but in a Welsh accent. Fun cameo from the Voynich Manuscript (look it up if you haven’t before) as a real-life Necronomicon.

Brian Lumley, “Rising with Surtsey” (1971)
Aside from a very unpleasant narrative voice, the climax of this piece suffers from a bad case of “Why would someone write this way?” Which, actually, is very Lovecraftian.

T. E. D. Klein, “The Events at Poroth Farm” (1972)
Academic thinks retreating to an isolated farm will help with productivity. (Just a heads-up: it really, really doesn’t.)
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Karl Edward Wagner, “Sticks” (1974)
Fun update on the HPL formula that makes use of some of the tropes without imitating the style. Heavily influenced by the art of Lee Brown Coye, elements of this story were later interpolated into Blair Witch Project and True Detective.

Joanna Russ, “My Boat” (1976)
Captivating and strange, this tale borrows from Lovecraft’s dream-cycle, rather than Jo’s horror. The result is a weird tale of wonder and dismay, and well worth reading (though it might be good to have The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath as a background.)

Richard A. Lupoff, “Discovery of the Ghooric Zone—March 15, 2337” (1977)
Sprawling across the solar system, from Earth to Yuggoth, the Mythos has never felt so much like a space opera. Also, the story opens in the middle of a threesome between non-binary cyborg astronauts. So, that’s original.
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Stephen King, “Jerusalem’s Lot” (1978)
A very Stephen King-y interpolation of the tropes. Epistolary discovery tale of a shunned house, a degenerate town, occult doings, and strange things in the walls.

Philip Jose Farmer, “The Freshman” (1979)
An elderly freshman at Miskatonic University wrestles with important decisions. Should I pledge House of Hastur? Is the Occult Arts and History Department right for me? Have I made a huge mistake, or am I about to?

Roger Zelazny, “24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai” (1986)
A widow goes on a pilgrimage in Japan, seeking peace, enlightenment, and her dead husband. Technological advancement as divine ascension. Martial arts and fine art appreciation. Lovecraft meets Lawnmower Man.
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A. A. Attanasio, “The Star Pools” (1980)
A psychedelic Nyarlathotep apocalypse written in sharp, slangy, gory style. Unfortunately, this one incorporates some racist tropes about Caribbean peoples.

Stephen King, “Crouch End” (1980)
Another vacation doomed to failure by dimensional shifts and eldritch horrors. The police do what they can. Which is to say, very little.

Darrell Schweitzer and Jason Van Hollander, “Those of the Air” (1992)
A man tries to help his abominable brother out. While all families come with a certain amount of drama, only rarely does it involve this much body horror.

Harlequins and Clowns

Neil Gaiman, “I, Cthulhu, or What’s a Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing in a Sunken City Like This (Latitude 47° 9’ S, Longitude 126° 43’ W)?” (1987)
The Great Old One dictates his autobiography for posterity.
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Esther M. Friesner, “Love’s Eldritch Ichor” (1990)
Adventures in the world of publishing! This particular drama centers around a new author trying to break into the unlikely subgenre of “batrachian romance.”
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Lawrence Watt-Evans, “Pickman’s Modem” (1992)
A story whose reliance on technology will likely render it increasingly obsolete. Until it does, however, it’s a fun window into the early days when unknowable evil confined itself mainly to your local BBS.

Neil Gaiman, “Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar” (2004)
On stumbling into the English counterpart of HPL’s Innsmouth, an inexperienced American tourist is befriended by a pair of regulars at the local pub. There’s definitely something fishy about these guys. Best experienced in audio format, as Gaiman’s characters intentionally mimic the rhythm and styling of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

John P. McCann, “Dagon and Jill” (2011)
When your client is literally trying to bring about the end of the world, some publishers might hesitate to move forward. Not this one.

The Recent Weird

Laird Barron, “The Hour of the Cyclops” (2000)
Pulpy adventure tale involving an Ancient Apothecary, a damsel in distress, and (spoiler) Hastur. One of Barron’s most blatant homages to the old-school Mythos.
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Laird Barron, “The Imago Sequence” (2005)
One person’s nature photography is another person’s descent into utter madness. A must-read story in a must-read collection.

Laird Barron, “Shiva, Open Your Eye” (2013)
Enter the wicked mind of a protagonist who may or may not be the Crawling Chaos. Keep a dictionary handy, unless you are already familiar with the likes of obliquangular, glaucous, and refulgence. (If HPL’s prose was purple, Barron’s is a hypercolor shirt.)
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Brian Hodge, “The Same Deep Waters as You” (2013)
Trying to communicate with inhuman beings while playing a high-stakes game of psychology and empathy—this story is basically “Arrival goes to Innsmouth.” Unfortunately, all travelers to Innsmouth—even critically acclaimed Denis Villeneuve films—risk being eaten by something squamous.
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Paul Tremblay, “Notes for ‘The Barn in the Wild’” (2014)
Part John Krakauer, part Laird Barron, this short narrative makes a strong case for letting sleeping dogs (or barns, or cultic horrors) lie.

Michael Wehunt, “Beside Me Singing in the Wilderness” (2014)

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Michael Wehunt, “Greener Pastures” (2015)

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Michael Wehunt, “A Discreet Music” (2015)

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Brian Hodge, “This Stagnant Breath of Change” (2015)
You know how some small towns just never seem to evolve with the times? Tanner Falls is like that—stagnating job market, antiquated social mores, apocalyptic blood pact with a goat, no Walmart.
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Caitlín R. Kiernan, Agents of Dreamland (2017)
Adventures at the crossroads of espionage and xenology, religion and mycology. Spies, cults, and the Mi-go. Penned in lyrically disturbing prose by a real-life paleontologist!
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Caitlín R. Kiernan, The Tindalos Asset (2020)
Shady government agents try to save the world from the machinations of Deep Ones, serial killers, Whisperers in Darkness, a dark man who is probably Nyarlathotep—the usual suspects. Third in Kiernan’s intricate series, The Tinfoil Dossier.
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