Christmas and Cthulhu go hand in hand, didn’t you know?
Deck the halls with boughs of seaweed – we all await the coming of the Deep Ones who herald the return of the Great Old One, the cosmic entity known as Cthulhu, who, in turn, will bestow upon us our collective reckoning!
Hey, the Cthulhu mythos is no less powerful than the idea of reindeer pulling a magic sleigh through the midnight sky and Santa Claus wiggling his cumbersome self down a chimney to bring gifts of joy.
It’s just from a more, you know, nihilistic and altogether terrifying place.
I bought myself a handsome H.P. Lovecraft short story compilation a number of years ago and, if I recall correctly, I believe it was purchased on sale around the Christmas season. It was as book I had been meaning to pick up for what felt like a millennia.
Ever since, as the days grow cold and the nights grow long and dark, amidst cheerful decorations of twinkling lights and “happy holiday” pleasantries with strangers, I’ll set aside time to recline on my couch and give one or two of Lovecraft’s juicy cosmic horror stories a read.
Last night, it was a re-read of “The Statement of Randolph Carter”, a tale I’ve always thought was terrifically hilarious for all the repetitious (and I paraphrase) “Get out of here, Carter! No really, run away! Beat it! Leave me! Save yourself! You do not want to see what I am seeing now! Leave! Leave! Run away! Leave!” The story goes on and on in this manner. Still, amidst the shake-your-head chuckles, it does send a terrifying shiver down the spine of a reader.
Clik here to view.
Today brings us something altogether different regarding H.P. Lovecraft’s famous stories – one that showcases the universality and timelessness of his original creations – and still so cosmically horrific. Today’s reading gift is a manga version of the terror-inducing Lovecraft novella, The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Adapted and illustrated by modern horror master, Gou Tanabe, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is the third North American publication of his manga-styled Lovecraft stories, translated from the original Japanese versions, courtesy of Dark Horse Comics. Well, four books, if you count volumes one and two of At The Mountains of Mountains alongside The Hound and Other Stories, all wonderful and frightening trade paperback collections, all of which have been released over the last few years.
First announced nearly two years ago, there’s been much pent-up excitement for the release of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, the only Lovecraft story that was published in book form during his life.
The story is narrated by an antiquarian, who recalls his travels through the state of Massachusetts and the isolated and decrepit coastal settlement of Innsmouth in the early twentieth century – all in discovery of the town’s mysterious people and past. Innsmouth had been effectively destroyed by the U.S. government in the late 1920s due to reported liquor raids and the disposal of other unsavory elements. But the investigation begins to uncover town secrets best left buried and forgotten. A history of riots, a mysterious epidemic and a pagan cult cast a shadow over the old fishing village – a village not so abandoned, where modern rumours prove to be old truths and the mysteries of the deep sea begin to reveal themselves, as do much more personal revelations, bringing horror and madness with them.
The illustrated tale is a terrific romp through horror of a wonderous kind.
This holiday season, make the run to your local comic book shop or bookstore and treat yourself to the unsettling cosmic horror of The Shadow Over Innsmouth – as you’ve never read or seen it before!