What's your favorite H. P. Lovecraft story?

[AtlasEros]

Mine is Dreams in the Witch House; never watch the movie it's beyond terrible.

[Oniya]

Most of the movies were pretty much crap.  The old black-and-white Dunwich Horror did some interesting things, though.

I can't pick an outright favorite - I could prattle on for pages about individual stories, but two that I really like are The Outsider, and The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath.  Dream Quest stands out because it isn't as dark as most of his other pieces.  The Outsider's ending just gives me shivers.

[Sabby]

I only read one of the collection books, and to be honest, it was pretty hit or miss... I found myself skipping through a lot of it.

One stood out for me though :) Don't remember the name, but it was about a rich boy who would sneak out to this hidden crypt in the forest... he felt so drawn to it, he'd sit outside of it for hours, but he could never get inside, since the doors were locked.

When he was a man, he found out he was related to a man who was supposed to be buried in that crypt... but he had been struck by lightning the night the old mansion burned down, and so was denied his rightful place in the family crypt. He learned all of this through some kind of flash back, and when the lightning hit him, he awoke, standing in the middle of the old burnt mansion, in a blackened spot, where his ancestor died.

He was taken to Arkham, and they told him that he would be buried in that crypt... and he was at peace.

[meikle]

Pickman's Model, The Colour Out of Space, and The Statement of Randolph Carter all do it for me.

I hate The Call of Cthulhu with a passion.

[Callie Del Noire]

Pickman's Model, The Colour Out of Space, and The Statement of Randolph Carter all do it for me.

I hate The Call of Cthulhu with a passion.

Why? I would have never discovered the Mythos or have the books if it hadn't been for a good CoC GM.

The Thing on the Doorstep and The Case of Dexter Ward.

[meikle]

Why? I would have never discovered the Mythos or have the books if it hadn't been for a good CoC GM.

The Thing on the Doorstep and The Case of Dexter Ward.

I don't hate the mythos or the Call of Cthulhu games, just the short story titled "The Call of Cthulhu".

Because it's boring, it doesn't evoke the same creepiness that stories like Pickman's Model or the Colour Out of Space do, and introducing a terrifying monster over the course of a ten thousand word story just to 'beat' it by crashing a boat into its face is lame.

[Sabby]

I always found the boat thing a bit out of place... felt, as Yahtzee so elegantly put it, 'kind of video gamey'

[Oniya]

I don't hate the mythos or the Call of Cthulhu games, just the short story titled "The Call of Cthulhu".

Because it's boring, it doesn't evoke the same creepiness that stories like Pickman's Model or the Colour Out of Space do, and introducing a terrifying monster over the course of a ten thousand word story just to 'beat' it by crashing a boat into its face is lame.

Lovecraft himself referred to it as "rather middling—not as bad as the worst, but full of cheap and cumbrous touches."

I had the rare fortune of being introduced to the Mythos through one of the old Deities and Demigods books - the one that also came with the Melnibonean and Newhon mythos, before some author or other sued TSR for copyright infringement.  (It might have even been August Derleth's estate.)

[Hemingway]

Pickman's Model and the Music of Erich Zann get a mention for being the story that got me into Lovecraft in the first place. I read them in a collection of horror stories my brother had. I've since gotten this baby. You could beat someone to death with that thing! Or scare them to death!

Anyway.

It's hard to pick just one favorite. The Colour Out of Space was incredibly creepy. The Whisperer in Darkness possibly even more so. Those are the two that come to mind.

[AtlasEros]

Most of the movies were pretty much crap.  The old black-and-white Dunwich Horror did some interesting things, though.

I can't pick an outright favorite - I could prattle on for pages about individual stories, but two that I really like are The Outsider, and The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath.  Dream Quest stands out because it isn't as dark as most of his other pieces.  The Outsider's ending just gives me shivers.

I've spoken with a lot of people that really liked the Outsider, which I found odd as it is very different from most of Lovecraft's works.  It is actually one of my least favorites of his stories but I can see how some people would enjoy it.  Dream Quest is a great story, of course it isn't horror but surreal fantasy, HPL does have several more surreal fantasy works, those were of course inspired by one of his favorite writers Lord Dunsany.

[AtlasEros]

Pickman's Model, The Colour Out of Space, and The Statement of Randolph Carter all do it for me.

I hate The Call of Cthulhu with a passion.

I really thought Call of Cthulhu was one of his weaker peices.  I also greatly enjoyed Pickman's Model, especially the way it ended.  The Colour out of Space was made into one of the better Lovecraft movies, Die Monster Die (which the Misfits did a great song about).  All the Randolph Carter stuff was good.

[AtlasEros]

Pickman's Model and the Music of Erich Zann get a mention for being the story that got me into Lovecraft in the first place. I read them in a collection of horror stories my brother had. I've since gotten this baby. You could beat someone to death with that thing! Or scare them to death!

Anyway.

It's hard to pick just one favorite. The Colour Out of Space was incredibly creepy. The Whisperer in Darkness possibly even more so. Those are the two that come to mind.

I really loved the cosmic sense in Erich Zann, that gave me such a great image in my mind.  Whisperer in the DArkness was really fun too, the big rain storm washing down the body parts was a great detail in that work.

[Oniya]

There was another really poignant one about a man who ruled this fantastic kingdom, and ended with a description of a homeless man found dead under a bridge. 

Found it:  Celephais

[DarklingAlice]

I have always liked "The Outsider" and have a soft spot for "The Nameless City" as it formed the basis of an RPG scenario back in college.

"Nyarlathotep" and "The Cats of Ulthar" are both good examples of his shorter works. My favorite longer work has to be "At the Mountains of Madness" which was, incidentally, my first exposure.

[MikeH5]

I really enjoyed "The Dunwhich Horror." It was the first HP Lovecraft short I ever finished and it single handedly sucked me into the genre. Ever since I've wanted Lovecraftian themes in the rpgs I GM.

[Callie Del Noire]

I hate talking about lovecraft.. cause I want to play CoC when I talk about it.  Delta Green particularly.

[AtlasEros]

There was another really poignant one about a man who ruled this fantastic kingdom, and ended with a description of a homeless man found dead under a bridge. 

Found it:  Celephais

I think he was a heroine addict if I recall correctly, & I too really enjoyed that work.

This has been a really great thread for me, many of these stories I haven't read in over 10 years & this is bringing back so many great images I had while reading these works.

[AtlasEros]

I hate talking about lovecraft.. cause I want to play CoC when I talk about it.  Delta Green particularly.

I really want to play Delta Green too, from the reviews I've watched about it on youtube it sounds like a great modern version of the game.  Something that could have so easily been done terribly wrong.  The books are crazy expensive, used copies on ebay are over $50 shipped but I'm still looking for one.  I've played COC before & love the game, some of the best games I've ever played.  I also worked major HPL themes into my current FR D&D game.

[Callie Del Noire]

I really want to play Delta Green too, from the reviews I've watched about it on youtube it sounds like a great modern version of the game.  Something that could have so easily been done terribly wrong.  The books are crazy expensive, used copies on ebay are over $50 shipped but I'm still looking for one.  I've played COC before & love the game, some of the best games I've ever played.  I also worked major HPL themes into my current FR D&D game.

I got Rules of Engagement somewhere. It was worth the 20 bucks I spent back then. I shudder to think what you'd have to pay to get them now. I REALLY wish they would put them in some form of ebook.

[Oniya]

I think he was a heroine addict if I recall correctly, & I too really enjoyed that work.

This has been a really great thread for me, many of these stories I haven't read in over 10 years & this is bringing back so many great images I had while reading these works.

It mentioned the generic 'drugs', and hasheesh (sic) by name.  When he runs out of money to buy drugs (and presumably to pay his rent), he is turned out of his garret, and wanders across a bridge where he meets the knights that will return him to Celephais.

[Lilias]

'The Lurking Fear' was the first Lovecraft story I read, in a Greek anthology. A bit further down in the same volume was 'The Shunned House', and that's where I was hooked for good. 'The Moon-Bog', 'The Horror at Red Hook' and 'Pickman's Model' are other favourites. Out of the novels, on the other hand, my preference lies firmly with 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'. I don't care much for the dream-world stories, with the exception of 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath', and I seem to prefer those with only roundabout links to the Mythos.

[MikeH5]

I gotta say I prefer the stories about PIs and professors to the ones they have in the weird dreamscapes myself.

[AtlasEros]

I got Rules of Engagement somewhere. It was worth the 20 bucks I spent back then. I shudder to think what you'd have to pay to get them now. I REALLY wish they would put them in some form of ebook.

Is the Rules of Engagement book a module or a book with more settings details?  I know it's not the base book.  I checked drivethroughrpg.com thought they might have it in ebook from but they don't, so I'm guessing it is likely the company hasn't released it that way.

I'm going to keep checking ebay, hoping I can find a copy of the base book for less than $30.

[Lilias]

Ehm... CoC 6th ed. corebook is going for £15.56 right now on DriveThru ;) For Rules of Engagement, you'll have to wait...

[AtlasEros]

Ehm... CoC 6th ed. corebook is going for £15.56 right now on DriveThru ;) For Rules of Engagement, you'll have to wait...

No, we were talking about the Delta Green base book, they are out of print & run for around $50 on the low end.  The Chaosium versions of COC are very easy to find & really cheap.  I got my copy for just over $5 shipped in the US.  So I wouldn't advise anyone to pay that price you listed for a e-copy of that book when you could get an actual copy for a lot less.