A review by violetpretty5
Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror by Lovecraft, Chambers, Machen, Poe, and Other Masters of the Weird by Robert W. Chambers, Arthur Machen, Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, H.P. Lovecraft

4.0

A collection of creepy short stories rooted in other worldly elements, the story which most sticks with me is of a domed mansion chained against the sea in which noises magnify and the rooms are mostly burial vaults ("The House of Sounds"). Some stories build intriguingly but afford little payoff (the witchy happenings in "The White People") while others end exactly as one would expect (it's not going to be a good idea to piss off the black cat featured in "The Squaw" and then pose inside an iron maiden-like contraption) but all paint oddly surreal universes full of lush language, quivering trees, and madness. While tempting to lend metaphor or existential dread to some of the stories, they can also just be enjoyed under a blanket in the dark.