Another incredible story from Lovecraft, and up there with Cthulhu as my favorite. For some reason, I think this one was the most unsettling and scary of all the ones I have read so far.

Like Cthulhu, this one maybe loses some points due to blatant racism that maybe makes the story just slightly less enjoyable to read. That being said, the more I read from Lovecraft, the more I like, as it's a bit of a transition to get into his style.

~~~~Spoilers~~~~

The evocative dreams, the impending madness, the hidden city under the castle, the rats, and their terrible noises, and the cannibalism? It was incredible. The pacing of this story was terrific, and the ending was amazing, and gives the reader a lot to chew on after it's all done. ( )

I like this better than any other story by HPL. For the simple reason that there are no extraterrestrial or otherwise fantastic forces involved. This is just about the bad things, really bad things, that man can do to man....and thus so much more frightening. ( )

Oh, dear, another nobleman has discovered a deep dark secret past and is now rebuilding the old family homestead. Evil will ensue. Honestly, I am torn about this one. On one hand, the initial horror is rather wonderfully creepy, and the hero of the tale is a cat, albeit with the jaw-dropping name of Nigger-Man. On the other hand, this is one of the aristocrat-succumbs-to-family-degeneracy stories, which means Lovecraft's obsessions with family crypts, devolution, and cannibalism will make their appearances. So, for me, the delightfully creepy ghost story quickly descends into the physical ICK! moments that I do not find at all enjoyable. Lovecraft's weird obsessions with race, phrenology, and sensitive souls are there as well, mostly on the periphery (outside of the name). I do think its interesting that the high-born sensitives tend frequently to become the degenerates is an interesting theme with Lovecraft, and I would like to credit him with more self-awareness on this count, but so far I tend to think that is unwarranted.*

*2017 update: It was totally unwarranted. Lovecraft can't see the forest for the trees when it comes to his own failings.

(Moved 2016 review to the individual work Sept. 2017 to make room to review the collection under its own entry.) ( )