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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Category Archives: Lovecraft
Basil Copper’s “From Evil’s Pillow”
It is always a great joy to discover the works of an author that I’ve previously been completely unaware of. Recently, I started reading the works of Basil Copper (1924-2013), thanks to the Valancourt Books re-release of his 1974 novel … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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Halloween Treats 2013
Every year since I started this blog back in 2007, I’ve been posting a collection of “Halloween Treats”: classic short stories of horror that are freely available to read on the internet. You can read my previous editions: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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The Challenge from Beyond, with Moore, Merritt, Lovecraft, Howard, and Long
No matter how much classic weird fiction I read, there is still plenty out there that I have not read, or even heard about. Recently I was surprised to learn about a five-part tale of weirdness, The Challenge from Beyond … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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Basil Copper’s The Great White Space
H.P. Lovecraft not only introduced a fundamentally new genre of horror — “cosmic horror” — but inspired generations of writers who have built on his ideas and taken them in interesting new directions. Valancourt Books recently released a new edition … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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Colin Wilson’s The Philosopher’s Stone
I have to admit: I almost didn’t finish reading Colin Wilson‘s 1969 novel The Philosopher’s Stone, recently reprinted by Valancourt Books. The novel is, in my opinion, a slow-starter; it takes quite some time for this curious story to find … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft, Science fiction
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Barry Pain’s “The Undying Thing and Others”
The famed H.P. Lovecraft was not only a masterful author of horror fiction, he was also a connoisseur of it. He eagerly snapped up volumes, new and old, seeking the best work of the genre, both famous and obscure. His … Continue reading
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Stephen McKenna’s The Oldest God
Imagine that you were at an isolated weekend party, and people started to act aberrant, even evil. You begin to suspect that one of the guests of the party is in fact a monster, corrupting the others. What do you … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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The Shadowy Thing, by H.B. Drake
I’ve been having a lot of good luck with my fiction reading lately, and have a backlog of really good (and weird) fiction to blog about. One that actually gave me a pleasant surprise is The Shadowy Thing (1928), by … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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Sesqua Valley and Other Haunts, by W.H. Pugmire
One of H.P. Lovecraft’s enduring legacies as a writer is the creation of a cosmology that could and would be imitated by his followers. Many great authors of horror fiction got their start writing Lovecraft pastiches, such as Brian Lumley … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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Lord Dunsany’s Pegana
A bit over a month ago, I decided to read a few of Lord Dunsany’s plays after reading Lovecraft’s glowing review of them in Supernatural Horror in Literature. The plays are wonderfully eerie and capture the spirit of ancient myths … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction, Lovecraft
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