''The Spawn of Cthulhu'' is an
anthology of
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
short stories, edited by American writer
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
. It was first published in paperback by
Ballantine Books in October 1971 as the thirty-sixth volume of its ''
Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of American publisher Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 (presumably in response to the growing popularity of Tolkien's works), the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature which w ...
''. It was the fifth anthology assembled by Carter for the series.
Summary
The book collects twelve fantasy tales and poems by various authors that either influenced or were influenced by the ''
Cthulhu Mythos'' stories of
H. P. Lovecraft, including one story by Lovecraft himself, with an overall introduction and notes by Carter.
Contents
*"Introduction: About The Spawn of Cthulhu and H. P. Lovecraft" (
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
)
*"
The Whisperer in Darkness
''The Whisperer in Darkness'' is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in ''Weird Tales'', August 1931. Similar to '' The Colour Out of Space'' (1927), it is a blen ...
" (
H. P. Lovecraft)
*"
An Inhabitant of Carcosa
"An Inhabitant of Carcosa" is a short story by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce. It was first published in the ''San Francisco Newsletter'' of December 25, 1886 and was later reprinted as part of Bierce's collections '' ...
" (
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...
)
*"The Yellow Sign" (from ''
The King in Yellow'') (
Robert W. Chambers
Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled '' The King in Yellow'', published in 1895.
Life
Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...
)
*"Cordelia’s Song from ''The King in Yellow''" (
Vincent Starrett
Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett (; October 26, 1886 – January 5, 1974), known as Vincent Starrett, was a Canadian-born American writer, newspaperman, and bibliophile.
Biography
Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett was born above his grandfathe ...
)
*"The Return of Hastur" (
August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and th ...
)
*"Litany to Hastur" (from ''
Dreams from R'lyeh
''Dreams from R'lyeh'' is a collection of poems by Lin Carter. The book was released in hardcover by Arkham House in 1975 in an edition of 3,152 copies. It was Carter's only book published by Arkham House. The title sequence of sonnets, "Dreams fr ...
'') (
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
)
*"The Children of the Night" (
Robert E. Howard)
*"K’n-yan" (
Walter C. DeBill, Jr.
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
)
*"
The Tale of Satampra Zeiros
"The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" is a short story written in 1929 by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Hyperborean cycle, and first published in the November 1931 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It is the story in which Smith created the Ct ...
" (
Clark Ashton Smith)
*"The Hounds of Tindalos" (
Frank Belknap Long
Frank Belknap Long (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known ...
)
*"
The Curse of Yig
"The Curse of Yig" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop in which Yig, "The Father of Serpents", is first introduced.
Plot
In 1889, upon arriving in Oklahoma, a couple learn about local legends surrounding a "snake god" called Y ...
" (
Zealia Brown Reed Bishop)
*"The Mine on Yuggoth" (
Ramsey Campbell
Ramsey Campbell (born 4 January 1946) is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awa ...
)
References
1971 anthologies
Cthulhu Mythos anthologies
Lin Carter anthologies
Ballantine Books books
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