Before this year, this month to be exact, I hadn’t read and had barely heard of H.P. Lovecraft. Now I can’t imagine my life without having read these phenomenal stories. It is only a tragedy that he never saw his books gain so much popularity and success.

In honor of the Spooky Short Story Countdown, I wanted to share the stories I read this week by Lovecraft.

The Nameless City

This story was my first taste of Lovecraft’s work and I am hooked. Luckily for me (and you) I have lots of Lovecraft to read this season.

The Nameless City follows an explorer as he moves through the nameless city. It is feared by the neighboring locals, and for good reason!! He continues to explore the dark and creepy corners of the city AT NIGHT and is alarmed at what he sees!

I can’t say much more without giving it away… but this is a great short read with a very spooky atmosphere and a creepy, jolting ending.

The Festival

“… I saw that it was a burying-ground where black gravestones stuck ghoulishly through the snow like the decayed fingernails of a gigantic corpse.”

This line, one of the first of this story, chilled me to the bone. It was beautiful and dark imagery. The Festival (Lovecraft) is a scary story about, you guessed it, a festival. It is twisted and weird and haunting. I loved this story and how Lovecraft unfolded it. It is told from 1st POV and that allows such a genuine emotion to come through.

The Colour out of Space

The Colour Out of Space is the scariest story yet. The way that Lovecraft writes is chalk full of the most profound imagery I think I have ever read. His word choice is so powerful and descriptive. I was enraptured by this story.

The Call of Chtulhu

Lovecraft strikes yet again with a creepy and classic short story. The Call of Cthulhu is written in a epistolatory fashion and centers on the nephew of a professor as he sifts through his Uncle’s numerous documents.

This is a delightfully spooky, slightly longer, and well crafted short story. The imagery allows the history of the people in this story to come alive right away!!

Definitely one for everyone to read!

The Haunter of the Dark

Lovecraft’s story today is about a haunted church. It alludes to mysteries, cults, and old beings that are better left hidden away.

I am seeing that a few of his stories build upon each other. I think this is really interesting and fun to read. I like seeing and making connections between his stories!

The Cats of Ulthar

The Cats of Ulthar is the ultimate revenge story. It was pretty short and right to the punch of the story.

Although it wasn’t very long, Lovecraft was quickly able to create a world full of intrigue and mistrust. I really loved this short story!

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There are so many more Lovecraft stories that I would like to read but think I will stash it away for now and continue reading them throughout the year.

Up next in the countdown is Stephen King! Stay tuned on Instagram and on the blog for all the short story love.