The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories is Penguin Classics' first omnibus edition of works by seminal 20th century American author H. P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....

. It was released in October 1999 and is still in print. The volume is named for the Lovecraft novella "The Call of Cthulhu

The Call of Cthulhu

The Call of Cthulhu is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, in February 1928.-Inspiration:...

".

This edition, the first new paperback publication of Lovecraft's works since the Del-Rey editions, contains a new introduction and explanatory notes on individual stories by noted Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi

S. T. Joshi

Sunand Tryambak Joshi — known as S. T. Joshi — is an award-winning Indian American literary critic, novelist, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors of weird and fantastic fiction...

. The texts of the stories are, for the most part, the same corrected versions found in the earlier Arkham House

Arkham House

Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in weird fiction founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to preserve in hardcover the best fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. The company's name is derived from Lovecraft's fictional New England city, Arkham. Arkham House...

 editions of Lovecraft's works, also edited by Joshi, with a few further errors corrected for the present editions.

Its companion volumes from Penguin Classics are The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories

The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories

The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories is Penguin Classics' second omnibus edition of works by 20th century American author H. P. Lovecraft. It was released in October 2001 and is still in print....

(2001), and The Dreams in the Witch House and Other Weird Stories (2004).

Contents

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories contains the following tales:

1. Dagon
   Dagon (short story)
   "Dagon" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft, written in July 1917, one of the first stories he wrote as an adult. It was first published in the November 1919 edition of The Vagrant .-Inspiration:...
   
   
2. The Statement of Randolph Carter
   The Statement of Randolph Carter
   "The Statement of Randolph Carter" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written December 1919, it was first published in The Vagrant, May 1920...
   
   
3. Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
4. Celephaïs
   Celephaïs
   "Celephaïs" is a fantasy story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early November 1920 and first published in the May 1922 issue of the Rainbow.The title refers to a fictional city that later appears in H. P...
   
   
5. Nyarlathotep
   Nyarlathotep (short story)
   "Nyarlathotep" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft written in 1920, and first published in the November 1920 issue of The United Amateur. It is the first mention in fiction of the Cthulhu Mythos entity Nyarlathotep.-Synopsis:...
   
   
6. The Picture in the House
   The Picture in the House
   "The Picture in the House" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft. It was written on December 12, 1920, and first published in the July 1919 issue of The National Amateur-- which actually was published in the summer of 1921.-Lovecraft Country:...
   
   
7. The Outsider
   The Outsider (short story)
   "The Outsider" is a short story by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written between March and August 1921, it was first published in Weird Tales, April 1926. In this work, a mysterious man who has been living alone in a castle for as long as he can remember decides to break free in search...
   
   
8. Herbert West -- Reanimator
9. The Hound
   The Hound
   This page deals with the H. P. Lovecraft short story. For the character from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, see Sandor Clegane"The Hound" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in September 1922 and published in the February 1924 issue of Weird Tales...
   
   
10. The Rats in the Walls
    The Rats in the Walls
    "The Rats in the Walls" is a short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. Written in August–September 1923, it was first published in Weird Tales, March 1924.-Plot summary:...
    
    
11. The Festival
    The Festival (short story)
    "The Festival" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft written in October 1923 and published in the January 1925 issue of Weird Tales. It is considered to be one of the first of his Cthulhu Mythos stories.-Inspiration:...
    
    
12. He
    He (short story)
    "He" is a short story by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written August 1925, it was first published in Weird Tales, September 1926.-Plot summary:...
    
    
13. Cool Air
    Cool Air
    "Cool Air" is a short story by the American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in March 1926 and published in the March 1928 issue of Tales of Magic and Mystery.-Inspiration:...
    
    
14. The Call of Cthulhu
    The Call of Cthulhu
    The Call of Cthulhu is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, in February 1928.-Inspiration:...
    
    
15. The Colour Out of Space
    The Colour Out of Space
    "The Colour Out of Space" is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in March 1927. In the tale, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" in the wild hills west of Arkham, Massachusetts...
    
    
16. The Whisperer in Darkness
    The Whisperer in Darkness
    "The Whisperer in Darkness" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in Weird Tales, August 1931. Similar to "The Colour Out of Space" , it is a blend of horror and science fiction...
    
    
17. The Shadow Over Innsmouth
    The Shadow Over Innsmouth
    The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in November-December 1931, the story was first published in April 1936; this was the only fiction of Lovecraft's published during his lifetime that did not appear in a periodical....
    
    
18. The Haunter of the Dark
    The Haunter of the Dark
    "The Haunter of the Dark" is a horror story in the Cthulhu Mythos genre. It was written by H. P. Lovecraft in November 1935, and published in the December 1936 edition of Weird Tales...
    
    

External links

• Penguin Classics' page for the collection

All of the stories collected in this edition can also be found at Wikisource. Scholars should note that the texts transcribed on Wikisource may contain errors, or may represent "uncorrected" versions.