******Beginning of Part Three******

And so we continue with “My 6 Recommended Short Stories By HP Lovecraft”. Now, I mentioned that we would be getting into controversy. As a fan of his work, there are some aspects about Lovecraft that are unavoidable. Yes, some of his stories manage to avoid these flaws. But the tales I am about to recommend are some of my favorites for their use of horror and storytelling. But they are marred by a dark shadow, one that I was upfront with in my introduction.

Now it is time to see HPL at his best and simultaneously his worst. Reader beware, you're in for a scare . . . in more ways than one.

7# “The Rats in the Walls”

Is there an animal more dank than the rat? Possible. Imagine all of those dank and tittering little rodents in your walls, driving you mad? Don’t you want to just break down the walls and get rid of them all? But what’s this? You find more than just rats in the walls.

Buckle up, this is one of those I greatly enjoy and for good reason.

And yes, it’s another haunted/cursed house story. I’m a sucker for these.

Holy shit, I got chills after listening to that one again. What can I say about it without spoiling anything? This is just such a damn good horror story. The built up just keeps ramping up, higher and higher, or in the case of this story, deeper and deeper. The rats . . . the rats!

The creation of a family history spanning for centuries and use of historical events is astounding. The ever growing madness of the narrator, subtle at first, but rollercoasting towards the end. A sheer masterpiece that regales a tale of dark discovery and loathsome lineage. I absolutely love the horror elements of this story. It is borderline flawless in its execution, atmosphere, beautiful pacing, and sheer brilliance . . .

[ — — — — — — — — — — — — — BUT — — — — — — — — — — — — — ]

That cat’s name. Oh, my, good, gravy. So, HPL has a very colorful name for the cat that the narrator owns in this story. And I’m about to spoil it for you because I need to talk about this. Are you ready? I’m just . . . he names the cat “N-Man”.

Apparently, after doing a little research, that was the name of a cat from HPL’s childhood. And yes, it does take me out of the story every time that name comes up. And it comes up often. In one moment the narrator says “[They] taken my N-Man away from me”. And out of contacts, that quote could make anyone think the narrator was crying because someone stole his black servant/lover away. And knowing what we know about HPL, that image being in one of his stories is kind of funny.

It’s unfortunate ridiculousness like this that makes it challenging to be a fan of Lovecraft. There really is no excuse or real narrative reason for the cat to be called N-Man. HPL could have named that cat anything, after a friend or family member or even an author he admired. Like, I don’t know, “Poe” since the author wrote a story about a “Black Cat” or Algernon “Blackwood”. You could have named that cat “Blackwood”, Hit Points, missed opportunity there, dang-gummit!”

So! Fair warning to you dear reader, be prepared.

[From] Beyond that, this story is one of HPL’s finest uses of the setting, the build up to madness, and prophetic dreams. Its tendrils of inspiration reach across many media. One of my favorite video games of all times, “Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem”, takes inspiration from many of Lovecraft’s works and “Rats in the Walls” especially.

That reveal of the narrator’s legacy and what lies beneath his family’s estate is simultaneously one of the most inspirational and haunting things I have ever read. I used a run-on sentence, that is how awesome this story is. Run-on sentence for the win!

Fun fact, Robert E. Howard of “Conan the Barbarian” fame loved this story so much that he wrote a letter to a magazine praising it. And HPL got in touch with Howard and they became penpals. The guy who wrote Conan and the guy who wrote Cthulhu were bros. And it was all because of this story.

I have appraised this slightly flawed masterpiece long enough, let as open the vault and plunge deeper into the depths . . .

6# “Herbert West—Reanimator”

Alright, now we get to the nice aged cheese in HPL’s dank basement. I just love campy horror goodness just as much as the straight up horror. And HPL hated writing this series. He was being paid for each chapter when submitting it to a horror magazine. It was the only reason he did it and he openly despised the finished product. Many fans, including Lovecraft Scholar S.T. Joshi, view this story as one of HPL’s poorest works.

So why is it on my list of recommended works?

Because years after listening to an audiobook of this story, I still have not forgotten it. It is a fascinating read. It’s silly, over-the-top, and honestly, a well written tale of defiance against death. And it is a testament to the talent of HPL that I believe even at his poorest, he was still a damn good writer.

Sadly, there is that pesky racism in the story. It’s frustrating that two of HPL’s stories that I remember fondly have this dark and dank element to them. I will avoid going into a deep rant this time, I’ve said my peace on HPL’s flaws enough.

Booting up The HPLHS audiobook now. So, here, we, GO!

From the Dark — This narrator is pretty chill about following his buddy West, even after what happened at the end of this first chapter. Reanimating the dead seems like a casual hobbit to these rookie-scientists. I’ve read that HPL was paying tribute to “Frankenstein” with this story and it shows even this early on. But the fact we have mention of zombie monkeys and never see them disappoints me.

The Plague-Daemon — So this chapter centers around an outbreak of typhoid in the town of Arkham. And after COVID-19, this kind of hit close to home. The story’s timeline is not mentioned so far but it likely takes place in the 1920s. And any pandemic during that time was deadly. And of course, some fresh bodies means more experiments can be performed.

This chapter also displays one element which was required by the magazine that Lovecaft hated, the use of cliffhangers and recaps. Now, to me, it kind of adds to the silly charm of the thing. Sure, some readers now may find the constant use of recaps annoying. But I find the cliffhangers to have just the right amount of cheese to add to the story.

Six Shots by Midnight — Ugh . . . I said my piece, HPL. I knew it was coming but still. Yeah, this is the chapter. West and the narrator take a dead underground black boxer and turn him into a zombie. But we also get a taste of HPL’s dislike for Italians too. I’m part Italian and I shook my head at this chapter.

I’m going to troll on this chapter and say that the narrator only sticks around with West because he has a crush on the mad doctor. I refuse to believe, after two zombie attacks and another at the end of this chapter, that the narrator does not have some ulterior motive to stay with West. Science be damn,no amount of science could convince me that reanimating the dead was a good idea after three freaking zombie attacks.

I mean, the narrator keeps describing West’s blonde hair and blue eyes like he is some closeted tsundere wanting desperately for his “sempai” to notice him. Seriously, if ever a movie [remake] or series is made of this story, I demand the narrator be a tsundere with a fatal crush on West. It will be a tasty counter to all the racist crap HPL insists on inserting into an otherwise fun little horror story.

The Scream of the Dead — Gives new meaning to “death of a salesman”. So I joked in the last chapter that the narrator is a tsundere with a huge crush on West. Now this chapter makes clear that the narrator is cold and mad for scientific defiance against death, with a hint of doubt. Or this is an abusive relationship going on between West and the narrator. One the narrator cannot escape from.

At this point, I’d ditch West and the whole town to start over. Oh, and we finally get hints of the timeline, 1910s. So the first zombie could have been reanimated as early as the 1900s. Good on you West. Not like there are enough problems during that time but let’s add zombies to the mix.

Why not?! 🧟

The Horror from the Shadows — So, now West is in the Great War and using lizard embryos. I’m surprised no zombie reptile people were made by the mad scientist. And the narrator made it clear that he only stuck around with West out of fear. Yup, that is an abusive relationship right there.

The Tomb-Legions — What an ending. I will not spoil, as always. But I like it when evil mad scientists get their comeuppance.

This was an interesting retread into an otherwise flawed but interesting tale. I’ll admit, if I was putting any thought into the ranking of these stories, this would be number one. But I knew the racism was coming in this one and wanted to discuss a couple stories before we get into that dank flaw of HPL.

I still like “Herbert West, Reanimator” because it has such rich potential for a nice and cheese mad scientist who defies death narrative. I have yet to watch the movie this is based on, Re-Animator (1985), but I’ve heard good things that it is a cheesy cult classic. Honestly, if not for the need to recap, HPL could have made a more refined and tight short story out of this idea. But, he needed a paycheck and wrote what he could to make ends meet.

I acknowledge that this is one of HPL’s weaker entries but it is still a goofy, melodramatic, and sometimes chilling read. If you look past its flaws and give it a try, and find some enjoyment from it, then the rest of HPL’s library may interest you.

And now, we come to my favorite short story that HPL wrote. Which is . . . Going to have to wait till next time! A cliffhanger, just like Herbert West—Re-animator! MahahahaAH!

Check out the HP Lovecraft Historical Society site for the audiobooks I listen to when making this article:

https://www.hplhs.org/

******End of Part Three******