''The Spawn of Cthulhu'' is an
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
of
fantasy short stories, edited by American writer
Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
in October 1971 as the thirty-sixth volume of its ''
Ballantine Adult Fantasy series''. 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
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
'' 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)
*"
The Whisperer in Darkness" (
H. P. Lovecraft)
*"
An Inhabitant of Carcosa" (
Ambrose Bierce)
*"The Yellow Sign" (from ''
The King in Yellow'') (
Robert W. Chambers)
*"Cordelia’s Song from ''The King in Yellow''" (
Vincent Starrett)
*"The Return of Hastur" (
August Derleth)
*"Litany to Hastur" (from ''
Dreams from R'lyeh'') (
Lin Carter)
*"The Children of the Night" (
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906June 11, 1936) was an American writer. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subge ...
)
*"K’n-yan" (
Walter C. DeBill, Jr.)
*"
The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" (
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...
)
*"The Hounds of Tindalos" (
Frank Belknap Long)
*"
The Curse of Yig" (
Zealia Brown Reed Bishop)
*"The Mine on Yuggoth" (
Ramsey Campbell)
References
1971 anthologies
Cthulhu Mythos anthologies
Lin Carter anthologies
Ballantine Books books
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