This complete collection of strange and unusual stories from H. P. Lovecraft features an array of dark and supernatural themes. Forbidden, esoterically veiled knowledge is at the forefront of many of Lovecraft's works, as well as non-human influences on humanity, inherited guilt, fate, civilization under threat, race, risks of a scientific era, religion, and superstition.

Many of Lovecraft's stories were inspired by his nightmares. His interest in the supernatural started during his childhood days when his grandfather would tell him Gothic horror stories. In 1913, he wrote a critical letter to a pulp magazine that ultimately led to his involvement in pulp fiction. During the interwar period, he wrote and published stories that focused on his interpretation of humanity's place in the universe. In his view, humanity was an unimportant part of an uncaring cosmos that could be swept away at any moment. These stories also included fantastic elements that represented the perceived fragility of anthropocentrism.

About the Author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (20 August 1890 - 15 March 1937) was an American writer of weird fiction and horror fiction, who is known for his creation of what became the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft was relatively unknown during his lifetime. While his stories appeared in prominent pulp magazines such as Weird Tales not many people knew his name. Throughout his adult life, Lovecraft was never able to support himself from earnings as an author and editor. He was almost exclusively published in pulp magazines before he died in poverty at the age of 46, but is now regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors of supernatural horror fiction. Among his most celebrated tales are "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Rats in the Walls," At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth, and The Shadow Out of Time.

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