That's the one I always recommend to complete newcomers. It's short enough to not seem like a commitment, but it encapsulates what Lovecraft in one story.
Before I watched the video I created a quick list of my own favorites. nThis included: (1) At the Mountains of Madness (2) The Statement of Randolph Carter (3) Rats in the Walls (4) The Shadow over Innsmouth (5) The Call of Cthulhu (6) The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (7) Dreams in the Witch House (8) The Thing on the Doorstep (9) The Haunter of the Dark (10) The Dunwich Horror Fairly good agreement. My list might have looked a bit different on another day or if I had thought about is a bit longer. Keep up the great work!
For anyone in doubt of the penmanship of Lovecraft, this line is from The Outsider (number 10), "And at last I resolved to scale that tower, fall though I might ; since it were better to glimpse the sky and perish, than to live without ever beholding day." Well done and thank you! Your video has nudged me towards finally reading some H.P. Lovecraft - although I wholeheartedly recommend that if anyone intends reading any Lovecraft that they let some dust gather on the collection for added effect!
Here's one bit from Iranon I find uncharacteristically optimistic for Lovecraft and really like: “Wherefore do ye toil; is it not that ye may live and be happy? And if ye toil only that ye may toil more, when shall happiness find you? Ye toil to live, but is not life made of beauty and song? And if ye suffer no singers among you, where shall be the fruits of your toil? Toil without song is like a weary journey without an end. Were not death more pleasing?”
Whenever it comes to rating something so subjective as literature there is no win-win situation really. I'd agree though with COC being in the 1st place since it encapsulates so well his style, has so many of his inventions and has such a memorable antagonistic force.
Love the List! I tried to find other top 10 Lovecraft lists but couldn't find any.... So Thank You! My top 10 Favorite (Not Best): 10. The Crawling Chaos 9. The Rats in the Walls 8. At the Mountain of Madness 7. The Evil Clergyman 6. The Lurking Fear 5. The Dunwich Horror 4. The Haunter in the Dark 3. The Whisper in Darkness 2. The Color Out of Space 1. The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Shadow over innsmouth might be my favorite. It might not be as interesting as the stories about cthulhu or other outer space godlike beings, but this story deserves the term „horror“ it terrified me the most out of the stories i‘ve read yet
I found your channel 2 days ago with your top 20 favorite books video. Decided to go pick up a few of your suggestions yesterday, including Conan :) . Today I picked up a collected works of HP Lovecraft. And now this video. Great few days. Oh. And I am finishing Dracula in a couple days. Wonderful.
What a fantastic video, although I love all your videos! I have yet to read my Lovecraft books but I took notes on your post, and now I’m excited to move him to the top of my TBR list! Thanks for all your posts!
My favorite HPL story is 'The Outsider'. It was the first one I ever read (not counting adaptations), having come across it in junior high school. The timing was perfect, as I felt like an outsider myself in those days, and it felt like it spoke to me on a personal level, capturing the feeling of alienation I had, and in many ways still have to this day. I'm glad The Thing On The Doorstep (great Amazon joke) made your list. That's been one of my favorites since I read it in the Yankee Witches anthology.
Awesome list! Thanks for doing this and for the shoutout! I can't wait to finish reading thru his work and compiling my own list. I suspect we'll have a few stories in common. I also found it weird in the Mountains of Madness, when the narrator was able to easily and quickly decipher an entire history from engravings on the wall, and given the circumstance. Oh, well. The ending was also a tad lackluster but it was still really good overall. Shadow Out of Time is one of the few I need to read yet.
I'm ashamed to admit this, but after the first 2 minutes of this video I thought you might be having a stroke and I didn't think I was going to even finish it. I misjudged you and hope my insolence can be forgiven. Cuz you have a really good grasp on Lovecraftian horror and offered a lot of thought provoking ideas. I especially your analysis on the Colour out of Space, TBH not one of my favorites but you nailed it on that,"hit by a car" analogy 1000% . It really is just a cold, indifferent universe out there and "deserved" has no place in it. I'm going to seek out those mythos Monday videos you were alluding to. 🤘🏼
This is my top ten: 1) The tomb 2) The music of Erich Zann 3) The festival 4) The dreams in the witch house 5) The lurking fear 6) The moon bog 7) The Dunwich horror 8) The alchemist 9) "Dagon" and "In the vault" 10) "The Hound" and "The shadow over Innsmouth"
I have read over thirty stories by Lovecraft, and of those my ten favourites would probably be: 10. "The Rats in the Walls" 09. "The Picture in the House" (I find this to be the most frightening one) 08. "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family" 07. "The Colour Out of Space" 06. "Under the Pyramids" 05. "The Haunter of the Dark" 04. "The Mound" 03. "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" 02. "At the Mountains of Madness" (this one has the best ending) 01. "The Call of Cthulhu" Hon'ble Mentions to "Memory," "The Whisperer in Darknes," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Statement of Randolph Carter," "The Lurking Fear," "Dagon," and "Celephaïs."
I am loving your list! I'm a huge sci-fi fan and for some odd reason (don't shame me, I still like to think I'm a sci-fi fan LOL) I'm just now getting into/exploring H.P. Lovecrafts works after receiving The Book of Azathoth tarot card deck as a gift. I got myself a big book of most... if not all? (I wish I knew for sure but it's a 470 page book) of his works. Short stories atleast. I've read a few already that you mentioned but I'm continuously pausing your video to see if my collection has the story you're talking about :) Thank you!!!
"The Thing on the Doorstep" was my first Lovecraft read - I was only 11 and (appropriately) recall a feeling of maddening suffocation. The odd names, Kamog, Azathoth,, etc.went right over my head of course. But my world changed perceptibly that day.
New viewer, new subscriber. Agree with you 100% on The Colour Out of Space, a phenomenally effective story. Dagon was my first HPL, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I recently read The White Ship (directly from an original issue of Weird Tales, no less), obviously not the best HPL but it had an ethereal quality. Remember Pickman’s Model, which eventually became a Night Gallery episode?
Man, I got Sunday off, and I saw this video at just the right time. Think I'll read some more Lovecraft, see what he can teach me about building suspense for my story.
I’m still disappointed I didn’t win when you raffled off that great Lovecraft collection! 😆 Excellent list! I’ll have to work my way through them all and see if we agree.
It would be interesting to have a video on Nyarlohtep (I can't remember the actual name). It's an early poem he did. Some people say it's a bit prophetic.
1. At The Mountains of Madness 2. Beyond the Wall of Sleep 3. The Strange High House In The Mist 4. The Call of Cthulhu 5. The Rats in the Walls 6. The Picture in the House 7. The Temple 8. The Colour Out Of Space 9. The White Ship 10. The Randolph Carter Cycle Those. Those are my choices.
Really fun and enjoyable list of these stories! As you say, quibbles about rankings will ensue, but that's always the way. Having been a fan, since the far away dark of the 60s, of stuff like sci-fi and fantasy books, comics, Star Trek, James Bond, Dr. Who and a host of others, to be a fan is almost defined by having disagreements with other fans. After all, who else would care? 😀 But this was an awesome list.
Great list! Has pumped me up for reading some Lovecraft! Was the Shadow of Innsmouth made into a movie? I watched one years ago that sounds very similar to what you were describing.
Great list! I've read most if not all of these stories and would have to agree with their placement. Have you ever done an Edgar Allan Poe Top 10? That would be cool.
I think color out of space is one of the best cosmic horror stories ever writen. My personal taste but lots of the listed ones are nicer reads then cthulhu. Besidest this the list is on point... I just miss a story i really loved "the horror in the museum" but CooS is simply the best in my opinion.
The Francois Baranger illustrated editions of At The Mountains Of Madness are excellent. Made me appreciate the story a lot more. Shadow Over Innsmouth is probably my number 2, with Call of Cthulhu the obvious top choice. Dagon and Dunwich Horror in the top 10 as well.
I put At The Mountains of Madness at 1. It's My most reread story. I don't quibble over that part . We don't see the pictures....they maybe easy 2 figure out, and read.🤷♂️ The Shadow Over Innsmouth. I put at 2. 3. The Call of Cthulhu. Our list is close. Just shows how different stories effect different people. Great Video Michael 👍😁👍
And to be fair, Lovecraft mentioned that a lot of the work of piecing together the whole story from ATMOM took place after the fact, from the photos and sketches.
TCoC is my favorite as well. Many of Lovecraft's stories feature protagonists that do some unholy research because they just can't stop themselves. But for me this is the only one where you really feel that due to it's nested, fragmented structure. I think it's a lot more effectfull than his later work.
Haven't read a WHOLE lot of Lovecraft, maybe eight so far. I loved the ending of The Dunwich Horror, the townspeople looking up at the three lads through the telescope, that was super scary to me. Also just finished Whisperer in Darkness, brilliant story, the last sentence sent chills down my spine. I don't see enough love The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, I absolutely adored that one Oh and The Hound was great too, considering how short it was
Shadow over Innsmouth reminds me of my home town; strange ritualistic arm waving by bunches of old ladies on the beach...Qigong? Don't believe it. Sure looks like they're summoning Dagon to me!! Whisperer in Darkness too is my favourite.
Very belatedly coming to this one. You definitely rate Thing on the Doorstep higher than me, I think it's probably the weakest of his post-Cthulhu stories. Dunwich Horror is one of his most "pulp" stories, I love it (and I love how he tacitly acknowledges basically taking the plot from Arthur Machen) but it is kind of conventionally "pulpy" in a way most of his other stories aren't. Have you seen the film of Whisperer in Darkness? If not, it's well worth hunting out. Takes some liberties (adds a third act not in the original that's more like Brian Lumley than Lovecraft), but I suppose it had to for it to work as a film. Shadow Over Innsmouth is a story I took a long time to come around to, I was never a fan of it when I first read it but in more recent times I've appreciated it more. I've always rated Colour Out of Space VERY highly. The "abnormally chromatic entity" basically remains the gold standard for sheer alienness, there's almost nothing else in any SF or horror I've read that's as out there. And yes, Cthulhu for the win at #1. I reread that a few years ago and realised anew just how well done it is.
Color Out of Space is at or near the top for me as well. I’d argue it’s low key been one of Lovecraft’s most influential stories even as cancel culture has come for him. The film Annihilation was undoubtedly rooted in COoS. The concept was so original and the telling so grounded I still remember reading it for the first time and it gripping me.
A lot of these sound really good! Definitely going to read the Rats in the Walls! At the Mountains of Madness sounds really good, too. I loved Shadow Over Innsmouth! I really should read Call of Cthulu. I love Cthulu but I've never read any of their mythos. Have you ever heard the South Park song "You and the Dark Lord Cthulu?"
Robert E Howard also loved Rats in the Walls. I think its the story robert e Howard first read from HP Lovecraft but i could be wrong. Its mention in a letter between the two i read.
I'm jumping on board the Horror Mayhem train and I need a Lovecraft story for the cosmic horror selection. What Lovecraft story best fits the requirement for that reading event?
The Shunned House will always make my top 10. Otherwise I kinda agree. Call Of Cthulhu always irritates as if he doesn't want anyone working it out why does he document it. I'd put Dunwich Horror higher in spite of its weak ending, the good stuff is so dense and claustrophobic. Glad I found your site, thanks.
The Dream quest of Unknown Kadath will always have the first spot for me, followed by Colour out of space and The Dunwich Horror, not to forget The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Spoiler here. I've forgotten the name of the story in which someone gets wrongly embamled and dies along with its enemy, it's an interesting story.
Gosh, I don't think I could narrow Lovecraft's best stories down to ten. Though At the Mountains of Madness and The Call of Cthulhu are definitely two of my favorites, even if I haven't read all of these yet.
Even though they’re short form, I’d put a couple near the top of my list that are absent from yours. They’re tight stories with deep impact and I believe they’re resonant in todays world for a number of reasons. They’re Nyarlathotep and Dagon. Both stories are gripping from the outset. Nyarlathotep could perfectly describe the Western political climate today and the dangers of a marriage between technocracy and ideology leading humanity into oblivion. Dagon is a story of a man who during a time of violence had his placid mind shattered by an experience beyond his control. His struggle with morphine in the aftermath is prescient in the midst of 21st century foreverwar as is his inability to escape the horror. Is there something at the door driving him out the window to the squalid street below? Or is it more likely his crippled mind that Dagon now inhabits pushing him to his doom. I’ve loved Lovecrafts works since I was an adolescent and even more as I’ve aged. I rediscovered him in my mid-20s on my time off working at a hardware store in New Bedford, Mass. I’d fish buzzards bay on Thursday’s and always had an anthology with me. Haven’t put them down since and I’m approaching 50 now.
I'm just glad that The Dream Quest had nothing to do with this list. I will never understand why others love that story. Even though I hated Dream Quest, but I feel The Festival was very disappointing. It felt very unfinished and rushed as hell. It certainly had the potential to be so much more. I will say Shadow Over Innsmouth is really damn good. It came that close to tieing my first place being Music of Erich Zahnn. Call of Cthulhu wasn't half bad either, but the story within a story style of writing threw me off a bit. Would have easier to do the flashback part first then do the time skip thing to the present moment of the story. Pushing the past and present sections so close together is just stumbled me. At least I think that's how it went. Only read it once after all.
My top 10 Lovecraft non-collaborative works: 10. The Whisperer in Darkness 9. Cool Air 8. The Rats in the Walls 7. Herbert West - Reanimator 6. The Lurking Fear 5. The Quest of Iranon 4. The Thing On the Doorstep 3. The Shadow over Innsmouth 2. The Shadow out of Time 1. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Hi Michael! I don't disagree at all! you've done a great job. In barely 20 mins you managed to say the essential for each story. Thank you. By the way, what happened to the Bayless jackets of your Lovecraft Arkhams ; )
My list before watching, worst to best 10) The Rats in the Walls 9) The Shadow Over Innsmouth 8) The Haunter of the Dark 7) The Thing on the Doorstep 6) The Whisperer in Darkness 5) The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath 4) The Hound 3) The Dunwich Horror 2) The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 1) The Colour Out of Space
The Shadow Out of Time - that has the Yiths from Western Australia (?). I'm telling you they're still there, no exaggeration. I think I'm most interested to read The Colour out of Space.
I think part of the problem with a lot of Lovecraft adaptations is that the filmmakers will have an idea about what to do with the film, but just as Lovecraft writes, their ideas remain amorphous and ill defined. Where Lovecraft does this for effect, filmmakers do it from lack of ability. The problem I have with this today is that through technology there’s no reason they couldn’t bring their vision completely and coherently to life. Color Out of Space is one of my favorite Lovecraft tales because of how grounded it feels and the concept of that alien was so unique and horrifying in its own right. It’s inspired many creators since including the film Annihilation. I would only really trust a handful of filmmakers to pull off a Lovecraft story. I hope Guillermo DelToro gets his shot.
Lovecraft question: Many years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I read a review in an actual newspaper about a biography of HPL in graphic novel form. Sounded good, but could never find it in an actual bookstore. I eventually forgot the name/author, so when the internet came along I tried searching by Lovecraft biography, but still no luck. SO: A. do I have a terrible memory and there was never any such thing? (most likely) B. was this book total crap and it disappeared off the face of the earth? C. I don’t know how the internet works? Anyone have an answer?
The Thing on the Doorstep is a very good story, but when the protagonist kills his friend who had become possessed, why wasn’t the protagonist arrested at the end? Kind of bothered me.
Question why after February 1932 did Lovecraft only write like 5 more stories before dying in march 1937. And his final story was written in November 1935 why did he stop over a year before he died? Why did he slow down and stop i thought he didnt get sick til January or February in 1937
He was pretty discouraged during his last few years. Some of his best stories were rejected by Weird Tales and when At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow out of Time were published by other magazines they were heavily edited and changed without his approval. I recommend I Am Providence by S. T. Joshi for the details.
Never had a brain for Lovecraft,his prose just killin' me,maybe my brain isn't high enough for his work,maybe i bite more than i can chew,or simply i was reading the wrong stuff (only Dream of the unknown Kadath and Mountain of madness) wich is pretty strange considering my favorite author of all time is R.E.H and of course Poe must be squized somewhere,can you give me few tips where to start with him cause i trust you more than google ? :) I would really love to get into this fella P.S. the things on the doorstep in my case are usually jehova witnesses xD
if you look at it as outsider art, it might become more interesting. Study outsider art a bit and you'll understand. the voices and ideas from the margins.
In my very minority opinion, Mountain of Madness is one of Lovecraft's most disappointing works. I thought it was dull. Poe is a bit dated nowadays for many readers, but his place in the canon remains strong.
While I don’t disagree with any of these choices, my personal favorite has always been “The Picture in the House”, which I think is criminally underrated by many Lovecraft fans today.
I always loved “The Music of Erich Zann”. There’s just something about it.
That story is great!
Personally I really dig polaris for only being like 4 pages and the festival is incredible if you ask me.
The Music of Erich Zann is peak weird fiction. The imagery of the sloped street is extremely strong, and its disappearance adds a lot to it too.
I need to read that again I barely remember it but remember really liking it
That's the one I always recommend to complete newcomers. It's short enough to not seem like a commitment, but it encapsulates what Lovecraft in one story.
Shadow Over Innsmouth will always be my #1.
Great list!
fuck yeah
Shadow Over Insmouth was magnificent.
Oh that one is great for sure
The Whisperer in Darkness and The Shadow Over Innsmouth are tied for the number 1 spot for me
Yeah same. The way he builds the tension and dread before he even gets on the bus is masterful.
Shadow Out of Time will always be my favourite story ever. The ending will give me chills every time.
That was a great ending!
Yes the ending is so insanely good! Its my secound favourite one direktly after Mountains Of Madness
"You know, the 'Thing on the Doorstep' could be an Amazon package." I legit LOLed 🤣
Before I watched the video I created a quick list of my own favorites. nThis included:
(1) At the Mountains of Madness
(2) The Statement of Randolph Carter
(3) Rats in the Walls
(4) The Shadow over Innsmouth
(5) The Call of Cthulhu
(6) The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
(7) Dreams in the Witch House
(8) The Thing on the Doorstep
(9) The Haunter of the Dark
(10) The Dunwich Horror
Fairly good agreement. My list might have looked a bit different on another day or if I had thought about is a bit longer.
Keep up the great work!
Great list!
Can someone explain the appeal of The Statement of R.C.? It was little more than a decent pulpy horror tale for me.
@@toprak3479 I like it because of the short punch line at the end of the story.
@@mikeschroeder6867 Ah. That punchline effect makes me think of cheesy campfire horror stories so it detracts from my enjoyment quite a bit lol
@@toprak3479 So what is on your HPL top ten list?
For anyone in doubt of the penmanship of Lovecraft, this line is from The Outsider (number 10), "And at last I resolved to scale that tower, fall though I might ; since it were better to glimpse the sky and perish, than to live without ever beholding day."
Well done and thank you! Your video has nudged me towards finally reading some H.P. Lovecraft - although I wholeheartedly recommend that if anyone intends reading any Lovecraft that they let some dust gather on the collection for added effect!
I agree about the dust. It’s necessary.
Here's one bit from Iranon I find uncharacteristically optimistic for Lovecraft and really like:
“Wherefore do ye toil; is it not that ye may live and be happy? And if ye toil only that ye may toil more, when shall happiness find you? Ye toil to live, but is not life made of beauty and song? And if ye suffer no singers among you, where shall be the fruits of your toil? Toil without song is like a weary journey without an end. Were not death more pleasing?”
Whenever it comes to rating something so subjective as literature there is no win-win situation really. I'd agree though with COC being in the 1st place since it encapsulates so well his style, has so many of his inventions and has such a memorable antagonistic force.
Yeah, Cthulhu was an easy choice for the top spot.
Love the List! I tried to find other top 10 Lovecraft lists but couldn't find any.... So Thank You!
My top 10 Favorite (Not Best):
10. The Crawling Chaos
9. The Rats in the Walls
8. At the Mountain of Madness
7. The Evil Clergyman
6. The Lurking Fear
5. The Dunwich Horror
4. The Haunter in the Dark
3. The Whisper in Darkness
2. The Color Out of Space
1. The Shadow Over Innsmouth
I like 'The Lurking Fear' it's like a test run for Shadow Over Innsmouth
Shadow over innsmouth might be my favorite. It might not be as interesting as the stories about cthulhu or other outer space godlike beings, but this story deserves the term „horror“ it terrified me the most out of the stories i‘ve read yet
Same
I found your channel 2 days ago with your top 20 favorite books video. Decided to go pick up a few of your suggestions yesterday, including Conan :) . Today I picked up a collected works of HP Lovecraft. And now this video. Great few days.
Oh. And I am finishing Dracula in a couple days. Wonderful.
Thanks! I’m glad that terrible video I did was good for something! I’m so glad you have enjoyed my nonsense.
What a fantastic video, although I love all your videos! I have yet to read my Lovecraft books but I took notes on your post, and now I’m excited to move him to the top of my TBR list! Thanks for all your posts!
Thanks for watching! I hope you enjoy HPL!
My favorite HPL story is 'The Outsider'. It was the first one I ever read (not counting adaptations), having come across it in junior high school. The timing was perfect, as I felt like an outsider myself in those days, and it felt like it spoke to me on a personal level, capturing the feeling of alienation I had, and in many ways still have to this day.
I'm glad The Thing On The Doorstep (great Amazon joke) made your list. That's been one of my favorites since I read it in the Yankee Witches anthology.
Yeah, The Outsider is special. Great story.
Awesome list! Thanks for doing this and for the shoutout!
I can't wait to finish reading thru his work and compiling my own list. I suspect we'll have a few stories in common.
I also found it weird in the Mountains of Madness, when the narrator was able to easily and quickly decipher an entire history from engravings on the wall, and given the circumstance. Oh, well.
The ending was also a tad lackluster but it was still really good overall.
Shadow Out of Time is one of the few I need to read yet.
It’s actually quite good! Very sci-fi.
"The colour out of space" is my favorite. What an unexpected ending !
I'm ashamed to admit this, but after the first 2 minutes of this video I thought you might be having a stroke and I didn't think I was going to even finish it. I misjudged you and hope my insolence can be forgiven. Cuz you have a really good grasp on Lovecraftian horror and offered a lot of thought provoking ideas. I especially your analysis on the Colour out of Space, TBH not one of my favorites but you nailed it on that,"hit by a car" analogy 1000% . It really is just a cold, indifferent universe out there and "deserved" has no place in it. I'm going to seek out those mythos Monday videos you were alluding to. 🤘🏼
This is my top ten:
1) The tomb
2) The music of Erich Zann
3) The festival
4) The dreams in the witch house
5) The lurking fear
6) The moon bog
7) The Dunwich horror
8) The alchemist
9) "Dagon" and "In the vault"
10) "The Hound" and "The shadow over Innsmouth"
You cheated. I see twelve. :D
I always have such fun watching your videos!! 🤗🤗
Thanks! I appreciate you watching!
The thing on the doorstep being an Amazon package made me lol. Another great vid, From one of the best channels on TH-cam.
Thanks!
I have read over thirty stories by Lovecraft, and of those my ten favourites would probably be:
10. "The Rats in the Walls"
09. "The Picture in the House" (I find this to be the most frightening one)
08. "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family"
07. "The Colour Out of Space"
06. "Under the Pyramids"
05. "The Haunter of the Dark"
04. "The Mound"
03. "The Shadow Over Innsmouth"
02. "At the Mountains of Madness" (this one has the best ending)
01. "The Call of Cthulhu"
Hon'ble Mentions to "Memory," "The Whisperer in Darknes," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Statement of Randolph Carter," "The Lurking Fear," "Dagon," and "Celephaïs."
I am loving your list! I'm a huge sci-fi fan and for some odd reason (don't shame me, I still like to think I'm a sci-fi fan LOL) I'm just now getting into/exploring H.P. Lovecrafts works after receiving The Book of Azathoth tarot card deck as a gift. I got myself a big book of most... if not all? (I wish I knew for sure but it's a 470 page book) of his works. Short stories atleast. I've read a few already that you mentioned but I'm continuously pausing your video to see if my collection has the story you're talking about :) Thank you!!!
Thanks for watching! I hope you enjoy your Lovecraft book!
I’ve never read H.P Lovecraft but you make them sound great.
"The Thing on the Doorstep" was my first Lovecraft read - I was only 11 and (appropriately) recall a feeling of maddening suffocation. The odd names, Kamog, Azathoth,, etc.went right over my head of course. But my world changed perceptibly that day.
New viewer, new subscriber. Agree with you 100% on The Colour Out of Space, a phenomenally effective story.
Dagon was my first HPL, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I recently read The White Ship (directly from an original issue of Weird Tales, no less), obviously not the best HPL but it had an ethereal quality.
Remember Pickman’s Model, which eventually became a Night Gallery episode?
Man, I got Sunday off, and I saw this video at just the right time. Think I'll read some more Lovecraft, see what he can teach me about building suspense for my story.
I’m still disappointed I didn’t win when you raffled off that great Lovecraft collection! 😆 Excellent list! I’ll have to work my way through them all and see if we agree.
I’m actually sorry you didn’t get that book!
It would be interesting to have a video on Nyarlohtep (I can't remember the actual name). It's an early poem he did. Some people say it's a bit prophetic.
I should do one.
Thanx. This was fun.
Thanks for watching!
1. At The Mountains of Madness
2. Beyond the Wall of Sleep
3. The Strange High House In The Mist
4. The Call of Cthulhu
5. The Rats in the Walls
6. The Picture in the House
7. The Temple
8. The Colour Out Of Space
9. The White Ship
10. The Randolph Carter Cycle
Those. Those are my choices.
Really fun and enjoyable list of these stories! As you say, quibbles about rankings will ensue, but that's always the way. Having been a fan, since the far away dark of the 60s, of stuff like sci-fi and fantasy books, comics, Star Trek, James Bond, Dr. Who and a host of others, to be a fan is almost defined by having disagreements with other fans. After all, who else would care? 😀 But this was an awesome list.
Thanks!
Whisperer in Darkness is my favourite one, but I haven't read all of them. The atmosphere of WiD is absolutely fantastic.
I definetly agree with number 1 and 2. 100%.
Great list! Has pumped me up for reading some Lovecraft! Was the Shadow of Innsmouth made into a movie? I watched one years ago that sounds very similar to what you were describing.
Dagon was based on Shadow Over Insmouth. They changed the story a lot but I still remember it being a fun movie.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Yes! I just looked that up, and that’s the one I remember! I remember it being pretty scary!
Great list! I've read most if not all of these stories and would have to agree with their placement.
Have you ever done an Edgar Allan Poe Top 10? That would be cool.
I have not. Now I have to!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 👍
I think color out of space is one of the best cosmic horror stories ever writen.
My personal taste but lots of the listed ones are nicer reads then cthulhu.
Besidest this the list is on point... I just miss a story i really loved "the horror in the museum" but CooS is simply the best in my opinion.
The Francois Baranger illustrated editions of At The Mountains Of Madness are excellent. Made me appreciate the story a lot more. Shadow Over Innsmouth is probably my number 2, with Call of Cthulhu the obvious top choice. Dagon and Dunwich Horror in the top 10 as well.
A few oddball / underrated gems of his:
The Cats of Ulthar
The Quest of Iranon
The Terrible Old Man
The Tomb
From Beyond
All great stories
i love the older sciFi covers
Me too! They are the best!
I put At The Mountains of Madness at 1. It's My most reread story. I don't quibble over that part . We don't see the pictures....they maybe easy 2 figure out, and read.🤷♂️
The Shadow Over Innsmouth. I put at 2.
3. The Call of Cthulhu.
Our list is close. Just shows how different stories effect different people.
Great Video Michael 👍😁👍
And to be fair, Lovecraft mentioned that a lot of the work of piecing together the whole story from ATMOM took place after the fact, from the photos and sketches.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 exactly 👍😁👍
I have always been a fan of The Tomb.
I may or may not have yelled at the screen when you put The Shadow Out of Time at number NINE - but otherwise great list 😆
Ha! Sorry! It is a great story.
I love a good list. If I ever read a Lovecraft story, this will be how I decide which. 😃
It might happen. Maybe.
TCoC is my favorite as well. Many of Lovecraft's stories feature protagonists that do some unholy research because they just can't stop themselves. But for me this is the only one where you really feel that due to it's nested, fragmented structure. I think it's a lot more effectfull than his later work.
It does succeed very well, especially considering it’s length.
Haven't read a WHOLE lot of Lovecraft, maybe eight so far.
I loved the ending of The Dunwich Horror, the townspeople looking up at the three lads through the telescope, that was super scary to me.
Also just finished Whisperer in Darkness, brilliant story, the last sentence sent chills down my spine.
I don't see enough love The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, I absolutely adored that one
Oh and The Hound was great too, considering how short it was
The Hound is great fun. An underrated story.
Shadow over Innsmouth reminds me of my home town; strange ritualistic arm waving by bunches of old ladies on the beach...Qigong? Don't believe it. Sure looks like they're summoning Dagon to me!! Whisperer in Darkness too is my favourite.
Very belatedly coming to this one. You definitely rate Thing on the Doorstep higher than me, I think it's probably the weakest of his post-Cthulhu stories.
Dunwich Horror is one of his most "pulp" stories, I love it (and I love how he tacitly acknowledges basically taking the plot from Arthur Machen) but it is kind of conventionally "pulpy" in a way most of his other stories aren't.
Have you seen the film of Whisperer in Darkness? If not, it's well worth hunting out. Takes some liberties (adds a third act not in the original that's more like Brian Lumley than Lovecraft), but I suppose it had to for it to work as a film.
Shadow Over Innsmouth is a story I took a long time to come around to, I was never a fan of it when I first read it but in more recent times I've appreciated it more.
I've always rated Colour Out of Space VERY highly. The "abnormally chromatic entity" basically remains the gold standard for sheer alienness, there's almost nothing else in any SF or horror I've read that's as out there.
And yes, Cthulhu for the win at #1. I reread that a few years ago and realised anew just how well done it is.
Color Out of Space is at or near the top for me as well. I’d argue it’s low key been one of Lovecraft’s most influential stories even as cancel culture has come for him. The film Annihilation was undoubtedly rooted in COoS. The concept was so original and the telling so grounded I still remember reading it for the first time and it gripping me.
A lot of these sound really good! Definitely going to read the Rats in the Walls! At the Mountains of Madness sounds really good, too. I loved Shadow Over Innsmouth! I really should read Call of Cthulu. I love Cthulu but I've never read any of their mythos. Have you ever heard the South Park song "You and the Dark Lord Cthulu?"
Okay, I just listened to that song. Perfect!
That illustration for The Shadow over Innsmouth looks suspiciously like Nosferatu.
Rats in the Walls is basically the inspiration for Darkest Dungeon imo.
Robert E Howard also loved Rats in the Walls. I think its the story robert e Howard first read from HP Lovecraft but i could be wrong. Its mention in a letter between the two i read.
I'm jumping on board the Horror Mayhem train and I need a Lovecraft story for the cosmic horror selection. What Lovecraft story best fits the requirement for that reading event?
The Shunned House will always make my top 10. Otherwise I kinda agree. Call Of Cthulhu always irritates as if he doesn't want anyone working it out why does he document it. I'd put Dunwich Horror higher in spite of its weak ending, the good stuff is so dense and claustrophobic. Glad I found your site, thanks.
The Dream quest of Unknown Kadath will always have the first spot for me, followed by Colour out of space and The Dunwich Horror, not to forget The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
Spoiler here. I've forgotten the name of the story in which someone gets wrongly embamled and dies along with its enemy, it's an interesting story.
Poor, poor Herbert West just can’t catch a break. Excellent list.
Thanks! Yeah, poor West! He came to a bad end!
No one ever mentions color out of space! Thats my favorite lovecraft story Ive read so far (havent read all of them).
At the Mountains of Madness,in my opinion, is the best fiction story ever written.
Gosh, I don't think I could narrow Lovecraft's best stories down to ten. Though At the Mountains of Madness and The Call of Cthulhu are definitely two of my favorites, even if I haven't read all of these yet.
They are all awaiting you! It was fun making this list, actually.
Even though they’re short form, I’d put a couple near the top of my list that are absent from yours. They’re tight stories with deep impact and I believe they’re resonant in todays world for a number of reasons.
They’re Nyarlathotep and Dagon.
Both stories are gripping from the outset. Nyarlathotep could perfectly describe the Western political climate today and the dangers of a marriage between technocracy and ideology leading humanity into oblivion. Dagon is a story of a man who during a time of violence had his placid mind shattered by an experience beyond his control. His struggle with morphine in the aftermath is prescient in the midst of 21st century foreverwar as is his inability to escape the horror. Is there something at the door driving him out the window to the squalid street below? Or is it more likely his crippled mind that Dagon now inhabits pushing him to his doom.
I’ve loved Lovecrafts works since I was an adolescent and even more as I’ve aged. I rediscovered him in my mid-20s on my time off working at a hardware store in New Bedford, Mass. I’d fish buzzards bay on Thursday’s and always had an anthology with me. Haven’t put them down since and I’m approaching 50 now.
MKV, the master of the Top 10 list for books and films, does it again! How about a Top 10 list for films based on Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos?
Are there 10 good ones?! Maybe you should do that list!
My favourite is The Temple, man, as a short story. It could be a nice movie too
Shadow Over Innsmouth as a novel.
That is a really good story. I remember having fun making my video about that one.
You’ve had experience with gas masks?! That’s an intriguing statement!
I have. Trust me, you need a perfect fit.
The whisperer in darkness is undoubtedly my favourite 👍
Yeah, l really like that one.
I'm just glad that The Dream Quest had nothing to do with this list. I will never understand why others love that story.
Even though I hated Dream Quest, but I feel The Festival was very disappointing. It felt very unfinished and rushed as hell. It certainly had the potential to be so much more.
I will say Shadow Over Innsmouth is really damn good. It came that close to tieing my first place being Music of Erich Zahnn.
Call of Cthulhu wasn't half bad either, but the story within a story style of writing threw me off a bit. Would have easier to do the flashback part first then do the time skip thing to the present moment of the story. Pushing the past and present sections so close together is just stumbled me. At least I think that's how it went. Only read it once after all.
Did you see the Richard Stanley / Nic Cage film Color out of space? I really enjoyed it.
My top 10 Lovecraft non-collaborative works:
10. The Whisperer in Darkness
9. Cool Air
8. The Rats in the Walls
7. Herbert West - Reanimator
6. The Lurking Fear
5. The Quest of Iranon
4. The Thing On the Doorstep
3. The Shadow over Innsmouth
2. The Shadow out of Time
1. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Great list! Some interesting choices here.
Thanks!
Hi Michael! I don't disagree at all! you've done a great job. In barely 20 mins you managed to say the essential for each story. Thank you. By the way, what happened to the Bayless jackets of your Lovecraft Arkhams ; )
Those Arkhams have been jacketless since I’ve had them. Doubtless something unspeakable happened to them. Thanks for the kind words!
Probably they are chanting and piping at discordant tunes at the centre of the universe! ; )
The Lurking Fear,
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Dunwich Horror
Those are my favorite 3 stories.
The Lurking Fear is really creepy. I really like that one too.
My list before watching, worst to best
10) The Rats in the Walls
9) The Shadow Over Innsmouth
8) The Haunter of the Dark
7) The Thing on the Doorstep
6) The Whisperer in Darkness
5) The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
4) The Hound
3) The Dunwich Horror
2) The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
1) The Colour Out of Space
How come "The Call of Cthulu" didn't make it into the list ?
@@Dems-fk8sh I've never really liked that story. Can't say why.
The Shadow Out of Time - that has the Yiths from Western Australia (?). I'm telling you they're still there, no exaggeration. I think I'm most interested to read The Colour out of Space.
Colour Out of Space is particularly creepy.
Great list. I've never read Lovecraft. This will soon be changing.
Cheers!!!
Another excellent list, but no "Haunter Of The Dark"??????
im going to look up this author
"The Shadow Out Of Its Mouth"? "The Rats and the Walls"?
The Curse (1987) was a much better movie adaptation of The Colour Out of Space than the awful Nicholas Cage remake.
I think part of the problem with a lot of Lovecraft adaptations is that the filmmakers will have an idea about what to do with the film, but just as Lovecraft writes, their ideas remain amorphous and ill defined. Where Lovecraft does this for effect, filmmakers do it from lack of ability. The problem I have with this today is that through technology there’s no reason they couldn’t bring their vision completely and coherently to life. Color Out of Space is one of my favorite Lovecraft tales because of how grounded it feels and the concept of that alien was so unique and horrifying in its own right. It’s inspired many creators since including the film Annihilation. I would only really trust a handful of filmmakers to pull off a Lovecraft story. I hope Guillermo DelToro gets his shot.
Uncle Howard is the man!
Yes!
What did you think of the recent Nicolas Cage The Color Out of Space film?
I thought it was a fun movie. It didn’t particularly feel much like the story to me though.
Its terrible !!!!!
Lovecraft question: Many years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I read a review in an actual newspaper about a biography of HPL in graphic novel form. Sounded good, but could never find it in an actual bookstore. I eventually forgot the name/author, so when the internet came along I tried searching by Lovecraft biography, but still no luck. SO:
A. do I have a terrible memory and there was never any such thing? (most likely)
B. was this book total crap and it disappeared off the face of the earth?
C. I don’t know how the internet works?
Anyone have an answer?
I remember that graphic novel but never read it. I think it’s still available digitally.
That might be "H. P. Lovecraft: He Who Wrote in the Darkness: A Graphic Novel" by Alex Nikolavitch (Author) and Gervasio-Aon-Lee (Artist)
The Thing on the Doorstep is a very good story, but when the protagonist kills his friend who had become possessed, why wasn’t the protagonist arrested at the end? Kind of bothered me.
He most likely was. His statement, one that explains his innocence to the reader, was probably written from a prison cell.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 you may be right. I like to think that.
Question why after February 1932 did Lovecraft only write like 5 more stories before dying in march 1937. And his final story was written in November 1935 why did he stop over a year before he died? Why did he slow down and stop i thought he didnt get sick til January or February in 1937
He was pretty discouraged during his last few years. Some of his best stories were rejected by Weird Tales and when At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow out of Time were published by other magazines they were heavily edited and changed without his approval. I recommend I Am Providence by S. T. Joshi for the details.
Never had a brain for Lovecraft,his prose just killin' me,maybe my brain isn't high enough for his work,maybe i bite more than i can chew,or simply i was reading the wrong stuff (only Dream of the unknown Kadath and Mountain of madness) wich is pretty strange considering my favorite author of all time is R.E.H and of course Poe must be squized somewhere,can you give me few tips where to start with him cause i trust you more than google ? :) I would really love to get into this fella
P.S. the things on the doorstep in my case are usually jehova witnesses xD
if you look at it as outsider art, it might become more interesting. Study outsider art a bit and you'll understand. the voices and ideas from the margins.
Lovecraft is like Shakespeare. The more you read him the more the prose works. Try The Shadow Over Insmouth.
Mountains of madness call of cluthulu the hound
In my very minority opinion, Mountain of Madness is one of Lovecraft's most disappointing works. I thought it was dull. Poe is a bit dated nowadays for many readers, but his place in the canon remains strong.
While I don’t disagree with any of these choices, my personal favorite has always been “The Picture in the House”, which I think is criminally underrated by many Lovecraft fans today.
The Picture in the House was really creepy!
Reading that written dialect as a non native speaker was darn difficult for me. Same with the Zadok Allen part from Innsmouth.
Where stories about Dreamlands?
I feel sorry for H. P. I can't understand how someone can live in this world without believing in God.
It’s pretty easy, actually.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 , sorry to hear that. still love you and your channel, always look forward to your posts.
You dress so sharply in every video, I read in my boxer briefs and shirtless😂 , I like your style!