So last week and even during the Christmas break it was rather boring at work or during travel so I read some of HP Lovecraft's works:
Dagon:
Someone suggested I read this first as not only is it rather short, but gives you a glimpse into the Cthulhu mythos. The story is about a freight sailor during WW1 that gets captured by a German sub. Somehow the character is able to steal a large amount of equipment and food without being noticed on a cramped Great War submarine. He then escapes without being noticed somehow and tried his luck on the ocean in a lifeboat. After a few days he wakes up on a shore of an island made up of dead rotting fish. He then climbs a mountain, sees large inscribed stone depicting fish people, then gets scared away by a cyclopean fishman coming up for air. He makes it back to his boat and goes to sleep only to somehow wake up in a San Francisco hospital the next day. After asking some “experts” about the occult, he decides to end his life.
This was a good way to start if you asked me. It was both literally and literarily a glimpse into the Cthulhu mythos. Of all the stories I read this week, it was by far my favorite.
Call of Cthulhu:
This story seemed to me like the best place to continue after “Dagon.” It was rather interesting to have 4 simultaneous stories happening all at the same time. It follows a researcher that is looking into 3 events that all happened at the same time. The first incident was of an artist who spontaneously fell into a coma. While comatose, he had dreams about a statue of Cthulhu which he then made and gave to the researcher. The second story is about a cop with a similar statue he found after raiding a cult that was kidnapping townsfolk for sacrifices. The third story followed a ship captain that fought off pirates and abandoned their sinking vessel for the pirate’s. They then stumble on a lost city from the bottom of the ocean that was brought to the surface. There they wake up Cthulhu which kills most of the surviving crew. The captain rams the ship into Cthulhu but it has little effect. He manages to out run Cthulhu, who then disappears for some reason. He is then murdered by a cult after returning from his voyage after some time. The researcher then realizes that he is next on the cult’s hit list since he knows too much (and so are you as the reader).
This story was rather hard to get into. The researcher’s story is more or less the story telling device for everything. I think that part was well executed. I found the artist’s story to be very boring and the police raid story to be cut short before it got anywhere. The Ship’s story on the other hand was amazing. It brought up memories of the old black and white King Kong movie. It had me on the edge of my seat compared to the other stories. There was a clear begging middle and end complete with a build up to a climax. Something I would later find lacking in Lovecraft’s other works. My main complaint was this tale’s ending could have been handled a bit better.
Shadow over Innsmoth:
This tale follows a man who is just curious about the New England town of Innsmouth. Most neighboring towns and cities distrust or are repulsed by that town and its inhabitants. Not knowing much, the curious man takes a trip there. He notices something fishy about the locals but doesn’t pay it much mind. He finds an out-of-towner, like himself, running a grocery store. He doesn’t go much into detail but gives a low down on the town and that it’s just a very weird place. The curious man then runs into a drunk that used to be associated with the local cult. He liquors up the man who then tells him everything he knows. The town is run by a cult that gets free fish and gold from their deity out by the reef in exchange for having the locals breed with the deities’ people. This inbreeding causes people to be born looking human but as they grow old they take on the look of fish people and swim out to sea. It is essentially a better told genestealer cult story from Warhammer 40k. The drunk freaks out and tells the curious man to run as he knows too much and they will be after him. The townsfolk and fish cult chase him through the streets. He sneaks out of the town and tells the G-men whats up. After a few days the curious man read the newspaper and finds out the government raided the town. Later he discovers he has a grandmother who was from Innsmouth and that he will turn into a fish person.
This story was very interesting, but like with the rest of Lovecraft, I feel like he can set up a good atmosphere and have great concepts, but poor story telling. I feel it would have been better to experience the raid/siege of Innsmouth or give us a better reason for the trip. I feel like perhaps I was spoiled from watching the “Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth” game which had a tighter story than the book it’s based on (I’ll explain later).
At the Mountain of Madness
A bunch of Scientists go to the Antarctic to do research. The team splits up. Team 1 finds frozen aliens which thaw overnight and kill the team. Team 2 finds the destroyed camp and dead bodies. 2 people fly a plane and find a frozen city. While exploring the city, they find the unfrozen aliens dead as some other creature killed them and then they get chased out of the city. One of them goes crazy while the other tries to warn and prevent further expeditions.
Again, great concepts and atmosphere, but a poor story. Too much time spent on how to do archeology and reading hieroglyphics. No real excitement or horror until the new creature shows up and chases them away. If the story sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because it’s been adapted into movies like “The Thing.” Reading these stories is starting to inspire me to write better version of them.
The Dunwich Horror
A woman from a Podunk town has sex with an evil deity, giving birth to a goatman. Goatman wants to steal a magic book to let in evil but are stopped by scientist who then goes to Dunwhich to stop the goatman’s evil fraternal twin. The townsfolk don’t know what to do and sit and watch the 3 scientists kick eldritch ass.
This was better than the last two stories I read. The first half is a mysterious character study of Wilbur Whateley and the strange things going on at the Dunwich Township. The second half introduces the scientist and remind me of the old black and white monster movies where the monster terrorizes a small town. I also liked that the educated old men were the only ones that could save the simple farming folk. Showcasing a “knowledge is power” kind of story.
Extra Credit:
Cryaotic’s Lets Play of “Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.” If you’ve read Shadow over Innsmoth (or are just as curious about Cthulhu myths as I am) you should check out this 13 episode video series. You can try and play the game if you want but it’s extremely buggy (played for laughs by Cry). His voiceover may be a bit unusual at first but the story, intrigue, and mystery is well worth your time. It is a better and more complete version of Shadow over Innsmouth IMHO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvbfzs-FjaI&list=PLeqwXTaiY-Oxj4EvTtjJ09ZAdDGSEeV08
