The Horror in the Museum & Other Stories

The Horror in the Museum, and Other Tales | Howard Phillips Lovecraft

"It is only within the last few years that most people have stopped thinking of the West as a new land."

- The Mound, by Zealia Bishop and H. P. Lovecraft

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Bookwomble This 70-page novella was published in 1940 as by Zealia Bishop, whose actual contribution was the following synopsis, "There is an Indian mound near here, which is haunted by a headless ghost. Sometimes it is a woman," which she hired Lovecraft to write up into a full story. It's feeling like he incorporated those elements pretty early in the tale, then followed his own tentacle. Pretty good so far ? 1y

Ruthiella “His own tentacle” 😂😂😂 1y

The_Book_Ninja When I started reading this it was giving me “Bone Tomahawk” vibes. A wild film which is well worth a watch 1y

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Bookwomble @Ruthiella 😏🐙 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I've not seen that film, but will catch it if it ever appears on any of the media I've access to 😊 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble I know you‘re not a fan of Amazon but if you have access to Prime… https://watch.amazon.co.uk/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.26ac378d-e9e9-595e-2aec-18ede... (edited) 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I have some access to Prime, but don't like the idea of paying extra to watch a film that will eventually be broadcast free. I am old and tight 👴🏻💸😂 1y

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The_Book_Ninja

The Horror in the Museum, and Other Tales | Howard Phillips Lovecraft

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“The Horror in the Museum” & the “The Mound” fit into the Cthulhu Mythos & bookend a collection of terror tales. I enjoyed these less than the last HPL collection that I read as I think I prefer his “cosmic” horror. However, the tales are “revisions” of stories from HP‘s “clients” (early fan fiction?) The best, “Winged Death”:stunningly racist yet intriguing detective/Cthulhu mash-up. I‘d read a Sherlock Holmes meets Cthulhu if such a genre exists

Bookwomble Ask and ye shall receive! 🔎🐙

Shadows Over Baker Street

(edited) 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble My good man. You are, indeed, the sardine‘s whiskers! 🎻🐙 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I've got this Baker Street one on my enormous TBR pile, if you fancy reading it at some indeterminate time in the future. 1y

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The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble Great! Can read it soon if you want…just bought a copy. Pulled out the skinniest Holmes (Sign of Four…but you knew that😂) Will read that to set the scene until Shadows arrives😉👍🏼 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Ok, I'll zip through Museum and we can start on Baker Street together. One of my favourite Holmes quotes is from "The Sussex Vampire" when Holmes is dismissing the supernatural as an element in the mystery: "No ghosts need apply." I'll be disappointed if none of these stories makes some reference to that! ?? 1y

The_Book_Ninja Don‘t zip on my account, Wombie…I‘m a slow reader so I‘m sure I‘ll be a few days at 221b. 💉 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble Shadows Over Baker Street arrived today but I have to send it back because pages were falling out. I‘ve ordered a replacement🙄 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Ugh! Hate when that happens 😠 I see you're getting your Lovecraftian fix from other quarters, though 😊 1y

The_Book_Ninja Quick reads while I wait for the postman😉 1y

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Bookwomble

The Horror in the Museum, and Other Tales | Howard Phillips Lovecraft

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The second story, “The Crawling Chaos“, was wholly written by HPL, but credited with a co-writer whose dream inspired the images of the tale. HPL explicitly credits Thomas de Quincy as another source for his opium-fuelled fever dream, and it harks back, too, to HPL's fascination with Lord Dunsany's dreamy fantasies, as filtered through the imagination of Edgar Allan Poe - phew! Despite all of that going on, it's decidedly HPL.
⬇️

Bookwomble There is no plot or narrative, this is all about atmosphere, which is fearful and apocalyptic. The Crawling Chaos is an epithet given to one of HPL's elder gods, Nyarlathotep, and although it doesn't make an appearance on the page, its world-ending ambition does, and if this is somebody's dream then I'd imagine they were going through a period of intense existential crisis. I really liked this one 🖤
@The_Book_Ninja @bthegood (edited) 1y

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Bookwomble

The Horror in the Museum, and Other Tales | Howard Phillips Lovecraft

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This is a book of "revisions" by HPL of stories written or outlined by others. The title story is by Hazel Heald.
It's hardly a spoiler to say that you should decline the invitation to stay overnight in the wax museum of horrors, and that if you do accept then don't be surprised if you become an exhibit! How that happens is creepyly interesting as this has enough elements of the masters' influence to set it in his universe, ⬇️

Bookwomble ... though it's really not high enough on the "ineffable adjective" count to pull it much higher than mid-rank. Still, 3.5 squamously tendrilated ⭐
@The_Book_Ninja @bthegood I thought I'd post something, given we've all read at least this one ? 1y

The_Book_Ninja Has all the right elements that makes it fit into what I already know about the Cthulhu cannon. The cover is just too good and seems to be a spot-on interpretation of Rhan-Tegoth, the cosmic “It” of this title story. Nice to see the mythos break out of Providence and reach smoggy old, cobblestoned London. I did a Google of Hazel Heald, seems Lovecraft boasted that the story was pretty much his own. Makes sense after reading it 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Yes, I thought Fowkes cover was an excellent depiction. The street in the story is a real one, in the area described, but I couldn't find any trace of a wax museum there. Obviously a cover-up by cultists! 1y

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bthegood @Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I think the story was well told (tight might be the right word?) - but as I stated before I was expecting something more or maybe I have read/seen so many stories that are a spin off of this theme it seemed predictable - I am listening to At The Mountains of Madness and really enjoying it. (edited) 1y

Bookwomble @bthegood Ah, I'm glad you're enjoying AtMoM 😁 HPL refers several times to the landscape looking like paintings by Nicholas Roerich and, if you've not already done so, I'd recommend doing an internet search for his stuff - it's amazing, and he sounds like he was an interesting character. 1y

bthegood @Bookwomble 👍 1y

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bthegood

The Horror in the Museum & Other Stories | H. P. Lovecraft

Finished title story - I'll wait for reading buddies to comment -
@The_Book_Ninja and @BookWomble

Make a great day everyone - 🙂

The_Book_Ninja Nearly there! Half way through…sorry😬 1y

bthegood @The_Book_Ninja no worries - looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks - (edited) 1y

The_Book_Ninja Thanks for your patience guys…on the last story!

The Horror in the Museum✔️
The Crawling Chaos✔️
Four O‘clock✔️
Winged Death✔️
The Loved Death✔️
The Ghost-Eater✔️
The Diary of Alonzo Typer✔️
The Electric Executioner✔️
The Mound ❌ 1y

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bthegood @Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja okay ,my mistake - i only read the title story - thought we were reading and discussing one at a time 😖 I'll start reading the rest today - 1y

The_Book_Ninja @bthegood @Bookwomble oh! Maybe I made the mistake! I can work either way. One story at a time sounds fun actually😂 1y

Bookwomble @bthegood @The_Book_Ninja Ha, ha! I also thought we were doing one story at a time, so have also only read the first one! 😆 I had a copy of the Panther edition waiting for me when I got home today, so can properly get into it now. Perhaps we can get the ball rolling with a new post about thoughts on the title story? 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble my first book club innit🙄😂🤦🏻 (edited) 1y

bthegood @Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja - I was underwhelmed by the story. I may have been expecting a lot - years of hearing about/reading about Lovecraft and his influence on others - it was well written, tight, good but something was missing - maybe I expected it to be scarier or more unpredictable? Your thoughts? and which story next ? I was thinking of going in the order you read them Jay - so Crawling Chaos? (edited) 1y

The_Book_Ninja @bthegood @Bookwomble firstly, hilarious (but kindly) that you both waited thinking I was such a slow reader that I was still on the first story after a week, yet I was thinking you had both finished the whole book. Anyway… 1y

The_Book_Ninja @bthegood @Bookwomble …I think I was lucky that I read the well known stories in the Cthulhu “universe” as my introduction to Lovecraft. Something about this mythos with its Great Old Ones, lost cyclopean cities and cosmic terrors seems antiquated but also appropriate, like how Sherlock Holmes or James Bond are perfectly trapped in the amber of their time. The only thing that‘s difficult to accept is the racism. 👇🏼 1y

The_Book_Ninja @bthegood @Bookwomble The Horror in the Museum has the good (Eldritch horror, surreal situations) and the bad (racism, lack of female characters and fainting men) that make up the previous collection I read but if it was my first Lovecraft I‘d be underwhelmed too 1y

bthegood @The_Book_Ninja @BookWomble I think I need to start with something else for Lovecraft - I'm giving up on these collected stories and starting with

At the Mountains of Madness

(edited) 1y

bthegood @The_Book_Ninja 😂 to your first comment about the time we thought it took you to read the story - at least you know we aren't judging 😂 (edited) 1y

The_Book_Ninja @bthegood Selected Stories (Collins Classics) https://amzn.eu/d/6vz6oRE. This is the one I read. It‘s a low price and has what seems to be some key stories 1y

Bookwomble @bthegood @The_Book_Ninja Hilarious mix-ups & high-jinks 😂 Well, ok, these stories won't be the best introduction to HPL as they're only partly him. I'd say the essential stories to get to know are The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror & The Whisperer in Darkness. At the Mountains of Madness is probably my favourite HPL, and it's long enough to be a short novel rather than a short story: it does kinda dump you straight into the Mythos, though. 1y

Bookwomble @bthegood @The_Book_Ninja However, I'm happy to reset the club read with anything you want to start with 😊 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble but you bought a Panther! I‘m happy to hear your thoughts on the whole collection 1y

bthegood @The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble you two discuss the collection - stick with that for the club read -I appreciate that you both let me nudge my way in - I'll read along with your thoughts while I introduce myself to HPL through his novella (which I started last night and I'm not sure I'm a Lovecraft fan to be honest) - I may come back to some of his other stories later and when I do I will have both of your insights into them - 🙂 (edited) 1y

The_Book_Ninja @bthegood sounds good👍🏼 1y

bthegood @The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble thanks for getting me motivated to try his work and for being so nice about all of the mix ups! you guys are great 🙂 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Buying Panthers is what I do! 💰🐆😎 @bthegood Mountains is long on exposition regarding HPL's conception of cosmic horror in his Mythos, and relatively short on action (though stuff does happen 🙂) Other than the short stories mentioned, for long-form fiction, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward might be a better introduction. And with that, I'll stop throwing titles at you 😄 Please feel free to join the convo at any point 🤗 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja I've obviously got some catching up to do now! 📖👀 Do you want to comment story by story or a whole-book round up? 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble I‘d enjoy story by story if you fancy it. But the whole novel is fine too👍🏼 1y

bthegood @Bookwomble thanks for the titles and input - 🙂 1y

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bthegood

The Horror in the Museum & Other Stories | H. P. Lovecraft

#BookSpinBingo -thanks for hosting @TheAromaofBooks - not a bad month - plan to finish tagged (or some of the stories) and other two books currently reading (earning a bingo this month) - letting go of the reads I wasn't enjoying led to a month filled with books I really liked!
I am finally motivated to read Lovecraft - thanks to @The_Book_Ninja and @Bookwomble -

Make a great day everyone -

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looking great, and still a week of June left!! 1y

The_Book_Ninja Hope you‘re enjoying it🙌🏼 1y

Bookwomble 🐙😊👍🐙 1y

bthegood @The_Book_Ninja so far, so good - 1y

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Bookwomble

The Horror in the Museum, and Other Tales | Howard Phillips Lovecraft

@The_Book_Ninja @bthegood #LitsyLovecraftLoveIn
Well, you've got to have a tag! I'm not sure this is the one, but... 😁
I've taken the plunge and ordered the Panther edition as I have others in that series. I do have the title story in another book, so I'm getting started on that and look forward to sharing thoughts and impressions with you both 😊

Bookwomble @bthegood @The_Book_Ninja I've looked up the waxwork subjects in Rogers' Museum I wasn't aware of & now know something of the French serial killer, Landru (also the name of a mad computer in Star Trek TOS), the murder of David Rizzio, but nothing about Madame Demers, other than that she was a Canadian murdered by her husband Napoleon. Quite an eclectic presentation. Also, a nice mention of Lovecraft's artist/author friend, Clark Ashton Smith. 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble @bthegood Well I warned you I‘m a slow reader. I started and I‘m a few pages in. The introduction confirms what you told me, old Lovecraft was rewriting stories by other authors. I‘m not far in enough to tell if the difference between these and his solo work is profound, plus reading a few Cthulhu stories doesn‘t make me an expert. But I do dig this shared cosmic/eldritch universe 1y

bthegood @The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble I just started reading last night - since this is the first of Lovecraft for me I have nothing to compare it to - finished introductions and a few pages into the story - 1y

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Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja @bthegood I'm just a few pages in, too, for to nodding off while reading 😴😄 So we're on roughly the same page. I'll refrain from further comments until we're all finished so as not to spoiler anything. 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble @bthegood See you on the other side🐙 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja @bthegood I'm on the other side 👻 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble this is what I was scared of. I‘m too slow🐌 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Hey, no pressure. We're on a loose timetable 😊 I'm awaiting delivery on the actual book collection, so I'm on pause with the anthology until that arrives. Please read at a pace that feels comfortable for you 😌 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble thank you my good Womble🙌🏼 1y

bthegood @The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble I'll cross over tomorrow 👍 1y

Bookwomble @bthegood Iä, Iä, ftaghn! 1y

bthegood @Bookwomble 🙂 1y

The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble 😱 1y

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canoflightbulbs

The Horror in the Museum & Other Stories | H. P. Lovecraft

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A collection of some of Lovecraft‘s collaborations and less popular stories, including a non-mythos sci-fi story about crystal hunters on Venus. It was good to re-read these.

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