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A review by shane_tiernan
Best Supernatural Stories by August Derleth, H.P. Lovecraft
4.0
The Whisperer in Darkness (Kind of long for what you get. I read it before but didn't realize. Mi Go trick main character into coming to a farm in the hils. Then he finds face and hands of friend in chair.)
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In the Vault (Creepy - great last line ending, similar to Statement of Randolph Carter.)
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The Call of Cthulhu (Awesome writing. Great famous lines, "Only poetry or madness could describe...", "Then the Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel … and all the earth would flame with a halocaust of exstacy and freedom.")
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The Colour Out of Space (Can't remember)
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The Dunwich Horror (Very cool and Lovecraftian, the good guys actually win though. A bit too long, but scary and the first real description of one of the creatures.)
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The Haunter of the Dark (Pretty standard Lovecraft. Like the fact that this thing lived in a really old building right in the middle of town.)
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The Music of Erich Zann (Awesome. Playing keeps the monsters away and his window looks into incalculable depths.)
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The Picture in the House (Would have been better but the accent was annoying.)
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The Terrible Old Man (Good but too short, not scary enough)
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The Thing on the Doorstep (Started out sounding contrived, and the writing wasn't as good as usual. But then it got creepy at the end. Was also pretty original.)
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Cool Air (Guy's body is dead, to preserve it he keeps his room cold and soaks himself in chemical baths. He's living through force of will. Then his body starts to deteriorate.)
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Pickman's Model (Cool, more easy going style than most Lovecraft. Scary and dark.)
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The Outsider (Not sure when I originally read this story but I never forgot it. This is the one where the narrator has lived all his life in a closed off castle and doesn't realize he's a monster until he sees a mirror. Kind of silly though because he could have seen his arms and legs.)
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The Rats in the Walls (Man rebuilds the ancient residence of his family and finds a subterranean world where humans were bred for food and his family was part of it. Creepy but hard to understand while you're reading it.)
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In the Vault (Creepy - great last line ending, similar to Statement of Randolph Carter.)
-
The Call of Cthulhu (Awesome writing. Great famous lines, "Only poetry or madness could describe...", "Then the Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel … and all the earth would flame with a halocaust of exstacy and freedom.")
-
The Colour Out of Space (Can't remember)
-
The Dunwich Horror (Very cool and Lovecraftian, the good guys actually win though. A bit too long, but scary and the first real description of one of the creatures.)
-
The Haunter of the Dark (Pretty standard Lovecraft. Like the fact that this thing lived in a really old building right in the middle of town.)
-
The Music of Erich Zann (Awesome. Playing keeps the monsters away and his window looks into incalculable depths.)
-
The Picture in the House (Would have been better but the accent was annoying.)
-
The Terrible Old Man (Good but too short, not scary enough)
-
The Thing on the Doorstep (Started out sounding contrived, and the writing wasn't as good as usual. But then it got creepy at the end. Was also pretty original.)
-
Cool Air (Guy's body is dead, to preserve it he keeps his room cold and soaks himself in chemical baths. He's living through force of will. Then his body starts to deteriorate.)
-
Pickman's Model (Cool, more easy going style than most Lovecraft. Scary and dark.)
-
The Outsider (Not sure when I originally read this story but I never forgot it. This is the one where the narrator has lived all his life in a closed off castle and doesn't realize he's a monster until he sees a mirror. Kind of silly though because he could have seen his arms and legs.)
-
The Rats in the Walls (Man rebuilds the ancient residence of his family and finds a subterranean world where humans were bred for food and his family was part of it. Creepy but hard to understand while you're reading it.)