And your first Lovecraft tale was ....?

[Dr. Atomic]

Colour Out of Space was my first, followed by Shadow Over Innsmouth. Someone suggested that, as a science fiction fan, I might enjoy those two in particular. He was right, and while I've liked or loved most everything I've read by ol' H.P., those two remain my favorites.

[sanityassassin]

I am not too sure but I think I read at least an excerpt from Call of Cthulhu when I was a teenager but the first I read properly was the Outsider and I loved it. That was closely followed by the Rats in the Walls which I also really enjoyed

[Ningauble]

My first was "The Colour out of Space", in Stora skräckboken (1959) when I was 11. I found the book in my father's collection and thought the Swedish title of the story sounded vaguely science-fiction-ish (I was a huge SF fan at the time). And it scared me silly! I didn't read Lovecraft again until I was 14 or 15, when I had seen references to "Cthulhu" in various RPG material, and decided to look him up (by that time I had completely forgotten that he was the guy who wrote "Colour").

I still find "Colour" a bit unsettling.

[Fried Egg]

My first H.P. Lovecraft tale was Dagon which I just read this morning.

It's the first story in the collection "The Call of Cthulhu and other weird stories".

[j. d. worthington]

Welcome to the club, Fried Egg. Question: What did you think of it?

[Fried Egg]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

Welcome to the club, Fried Egg. Question: What did you think of it?

Well, it was kind of spooky the seabed rising out of the ocean like that. I gather it was based on a dream he had? His writing style is a pleasure to read and I am enjoying working myway through the collection.

[j. d. worthington]

Apparently at least part of the story was (the crawling across the plain to reach the boat). That's not an uncommon thing with Lovecraft, who frequently used his dreams in his work; either as the story overall, or as an element in them. If you're reading the notes (as I take it you are), then you're probably aware that "Polaris" is based on a dream plus a debate he was having with a correspondent over reality versus illusion.

Enjoy!

[Fried Egg]

I've just read "The Outsider" and it was brilliant; the best so far. In reading the notes afterward, I was suprised to find it had been criticised for having a nonsensical plot. I guess I see their point, but the plot "holes" didn't occur to me attall when I was reading the story. I was too engrossed in it's other aspects that more than make up for such flaws (if indeed flaws they be).

[j. d. worthington]

That one has been addressed many places. It has been argued that, given the epigram from Keats' The Eve of St. Agnes, it could be seen as the dream of the Baron from that poem, and that it is a tribute to Keats, having been written the centenary of his death. It has also had some very interesting psychological interpretations over the years, often using a Jungian approach. While it isn't among my favorites, I do think it is a richly interpretable story.

Glad you're enjoying the tales; it'll be interesting to hear your thoughts on the others as you go along...

[HoopyFrood]

I'm also making my way through The Call of Cthulhu and other weird stories, albeit quite slowly as I keep dipping in and out of it every so often, which I bought after reading the fantastic Call of Cthulhu in another anthology (and that, as I've said previously, was my first Lovecraft tale). I really need to go back and read more of ...and other weird stories very soon. I've really enjoyed the stories that I've read thus far, though, epecially The Hound.

[Fried Egg]

I just finished "Howard West - The Re-animator" last night and subsequently had my first Lovecraft inspired nightmare! That was a disturbing tale...

[Dexter]

My first story was "The Call of Cthulhu" maybe twenty years ago. For whatever reason it had little impact on me at the time. I'm now reading Lovecraft again and having a good time with it. I've only read the first 6 stories of Lovecraft: Tales, so it's probably too early to pick any as the most powerful, but I really got a kick out of "The Outsider". In truth I've loved them all so far. Even "Howard West..." even though it was a bit repetitious. I thought Howard was well drawn.

[Blue Tyson]

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, I think when I was about 8. Thought it was pretty trippy.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, I think when I was about 8. Thought it was pretty trippy.

At that age? I'm not at all surprised. If Alice does it for some people....

[UnderTheOath]

Call of Cthulhu. Yesterday.