I've read quite a few Lovecraft stories. My favorite have to be 'The Rats in the Walls', 'Dunwich Horror', 'The Mountains of Madness', 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath', and 'The White Apes'. All of these have themes that I enjoy. 'The Rats in the Walls' deals with similar themes as 'The White Apes', which is to discover a horror found in one's very own lineage. In the case of the former, the recipient of an old mansion his family used to live in leads him to discover its horrors within. The townsfolk are horrified of the house and won't go near it, on account of hundreds, if not thousands of rats springing forth from the house itself to march upon the town, eating everything including small animals as well as children and livestock. In 'The White Apes', a man whose lineage grants him a horrible appearance and even an even worse family history of hysteria and obsession, is the main character. While researching some of his great-great grandfather's work, he discovers what his father's father discovered which made him go insane. He himself loses it and proceeds to kill anyone related to him or knowing of his recent discovery.
Not all of Lovecraft's stories are outright horrifying, however. Some are even beautiful. In 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath', the main character Randolph Carter travels across incredible landscapes in order to find the sunset city. Even in 'The Mountains of Madness', the landscape described is absolutely breathtaking, to the point of it being otherworldly.
I want to keep reading his stories, though they tend to be pretty meaty. Many of his stories are rather thick in terms of plot and description. Needless to say, however, I'll be reading more of these.
No comments:
Post a Comment