First published 2006
H.P. Lovecraft guides readers through the evolution of supernatural horror in his 1927 critical essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature." He traces the genre from early Gothic novels through contemporary American and British writers of his era. Lovecraft identifies the finest works the field has produced, selecting stories by Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, Guy de Maupassant, Ambrose Bierce, and Arthur Conan Doyle. Each selection comes with Lovecraft's personal commentary and critical insights about the authors and their craft. The collection includes Henry James' atmospheric short novel The Turn of the Screw alongside the other chosen tales. Stephen King notes that Lovecraft's influence extends across nearly all significant horror fiction that followed. This compilation offers horror enthusiasts a chance to explore the genre's foundational works through the lens of its most influential twentieth-century practitioner.
Genres: short-stories, literary-criticism, 20th-century, horror
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, thought-provoking
Tropes: anthology, literary-analysis
Period: 1927
432 pages · Paperback · Pegasus Books