This collection of seven stories includes such legendary Lovecraft gems as “The Call of Cthulhu”, “The Whisperer in Darkness”, “Cool Air”, and of course, “The Colour out of Space.” Interspersed among these are two shorter—yet no less eerie—spine tinglers “The Picture in the House” and “The Terrible Old Man.” The final tale, “The Shadow out of Time,” deserves its placement in this collection. It’s a novella that could easily be reduced to a short story, sparing the reader from repetitive and monotonous descriptions.
We begin with one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most popular stories in which a glowing green meteorite crashes into a field of crops and proceeds to poison both soil and water, driving the farmer and his family insane. As local scientists attempt to study fragments of the bizarre rock, it is soon discovered that the vile, luminous substance that infected the land around the crash site might be intelligent. How will the locals rid themselves of “The Colour Out of Space”?
In “The Picture in the House,” a young cyclist takes shelter from a torrential downpour in what he thinks is an abandoned house, only to find it occupied by a jovial old man with a sinister taste in reading material.
After the suspicious death of an elderly anthropologist named Professor Angell, his nephew Francis inherits all of his notes detailing a bizarre series of events involving a primitive, savage cult who worship a grotesque creature named Cthulhu, a member of the Great Old Ones who will someday return to dominate the Earth. Angell’s notes and collection of newspaper clippings detail shared visions and dreams around the world that coincided with an earthquake in the seas of the South Pacific—during which an island of unearthly design surfaced from the depths bearing an ancient evil. Could it be that these events are all related to “The Call of Cthulhu“?
After suffering a mild heart attack in his flat, a destitute man seeks treatment from an elderly eccentric physician living directly above him. Upon entering the frigid apartment of Doctor Muñoz, the man observes that one of the bedrooms has been converted into a laboratory complete with machinery to maintain the temperature below fifty degrees. While administering treatment, Muñoz reveals that he has been experimenting with methods for prolonging life. When our hero finally discovers the true subject of Muñoz’s experiments, he develops a mortal fear of “Cool Air.”
Following a flood in the remote mountains of Vermont, the corpses of several grotesque creatures are observed floating in the surging rivers. This inspires the locals to resurrect tales of ancient evils living in the dense and menacing woods. When such legends are printed in the local papers, Albert Wilmarth, a professor of literature at Miskatonic University in Massachusetts and an expert on folklore, responds to the editors with skepticism. Wilmarth cites fables and myths dating back generations as the source of these ludicrous superstitions—until he begins corresponding with an elderly Vermont farmer named Henry Akeley whose terrifying encounters with strange creatures escalate with each letter and finally convince Wilmarth to travel to Akeley’s home and witness these creatures for himself. What he finds, however, is merely “A Whisperer in Darkness.”
When three burglars decide to target the seaside home of a recluse, they swiftly learn why the locals consider him “The Terrible Old Man.”
A professor of economics at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts suffers a five-year long amnesia during which he was possessed by a different personality. Afterward, he recalls scraps of the experience that lead him to believe that his consciousness was exchanged with that of a superior being from Earth’s prehistoric past. After publishing an account of his experiences, he is contacted by a mining engineer in Australia who sends pictures of ruins unearthed in the desert—oddly constructed stone blocks bearing hieroglyphs that correspond precisely to the professor’s memories. Accompanied by a group of scholars, the professor leads an expedition to Australia in a search for answers, but while exploring the ruins alone one night, he finds the shocking truth in the form of “A Shadow out of Time.”