title: Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos: Stories
author:  H. P. Lovecraft 
description: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."<br />--H. P. LOVECRAFT, "Supernatural Horror in Literature" <br />Howard Phillips Lovecraft forever changed the face of horror, fantasy, and science fiction with a remarkable series of stories as influential as the works of Poe, Tolkien, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. His chilling mythology established a gateway between the known universe and an ancient dimension of otherworldly terror, whose unspeakable denizens and monstrous landscapes--dread Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, the Plateau of Leng, the Mountains of Madness--have earned him a permanent place in the history of the macabre. <br />In Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, a pantheon of horror and fantasy's finest authors pay tribute to the master of the macabre with a collection of original stories set in the fearsome Lovecraft tradition: <br />, The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: The slumbering monster-gods return to the world of mortals.<br />, Notebook Found in a Deserted House by Robert Bloch: A lone farmboy chronicles his last stand against a hungering backwoods evil.<br />, Cold Print by Ramsey Campbell: An avid reader of forbidden books finds a treasure trove of deadly volumes--available for a bloodcurdling price.<br />, The Freshman by Philip Jose Farmer: A student of the black arts receives an education in horror at notorious Miskatonic University. <br />PLUS EIGHTEEN MORE SPINE-TINGLING TALES!
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  THE CTHULHU MYTHOS...
  
  
  
  
  
  What arcane horrors, dimlit landscapes, nauseating monstrosities are conjured
  up by these words! The creation of H. P. Lovecraft, the Mythos has fired the
  imaginations of generations of readers—and of writers, giving rise to a fresh
  host of stories (some of which you will find in THE SPAWN OF CTHULHU, edited
  by Lin Carter) by innumerable authors who have added immeasurably to the
  original concept.
  
  
  
  
  
  Who was Lovecraft? What was he like? What were his sources, and did he believe
  in any part of the grisly worlds he created in the Mythos?
  
  
  
  
  
  In clear, affectionately objective prose, Lin Carter examines the Myth, and
  the man behind the Myth.
  
  
  Lovecraft: A Look Behind the “Cthulhu Mythos”
  
  
  
  
  
  Lin Carter
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BALLANTINE BOOKS • NEW YORK
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 1972 by Lin Carter
  
  
  
  
  
  First Printing: February, 1972
  
  
  
  
  
  Cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
  
  
  
  
  
  (Version 2.0)
  
  
  Introduction: The Shadow Over Providence
  
  
  
  
  
  1\. The Visitor from Out