The Tomb and Other Tales by H.P. Lovecraft

[Drunk Monk]

This is my old 1970 Del Rey paperback, for which I paid $2.25, probably in the late 70s.  I think I have all the Del Rey Lovecraft paperbacks in the series. It's a collection of short stories spanning H.P.'s career from 1917 to 1937 plus some fragments and early writings, one dated 1905 when he was a teen.

It was enjoyable, although H.P. is really a one-trick pony.  All his short stories are pretty much the same (keep in mind that horror fiction only really works for me in short stories; novels tend not to sustain my horror except for a few of King's works).  H.P.'s eloquent in that old school way, and describes the thin lines between madness and hallucinations well - it's always ambiguous whether the narrator actually experienced these horrors or whether it was just some perverse dream.  I still admire the worlds he built, the Cthulhu mythos, which grew much deeper than he imagined. He has this great sense of how deep research might expose you to something you don't want to know, like Eve and the apple.  There's an obsession love of ancient books, and a loathing, a fear.  Then there's his racism which was never so overt to me as it is now.  He's of that colonial mindset, constantly looking down upon the swarthy-skinned and slant-eyed as subhuman, blaming immigrants for crippling society.  At the same time, he's seduced by Asian mysteries - after all, the Necronomicon was written by a mad Arab. In some ways, H.P.s xenophobia makes his work even more terrifying.  On top of that, I kept having these deja vu moments, remembering some passage I read before perhaps, which lended itself to the general creepiness of H.P.s style. 

Back in High School, one of my D&D friends got a Necronomicon.  It was some fan book, a nicely bound edition, and he was convinced it was the actual thing (he was also a major HS stoner - lost track of what became of him).  I'm still not convinced that he ever really read much H.P. and only got the mythos through peripheral references within the D&D circles.

I'm still bemused by the mythos he created, but I doubt I'll go back for the rest of those paperbacks that I have. I suppose I should trade them but I doubt they have much value.  If anyone wants them, I'm happy to forward them.  I regret never getting some of the clothbound editions illustrated by Gahan Wilson.  Those were kinda awesome and would sit proudly on the shelf, even if un-re-read.

[King Bob]

I re-read some of his stuff a few years ago, but most left me cold. I think you need to be a teenager to really get into it. I still enjoyed "The Strange High House in the Mist" and think it may be his best story, although it's not often anthologized.

[Drunk Monk]

I re-read some of his stuff a few years ago, but most left me cold. 

Cold as in unmentionably cold and clammy with non-euclidean horror or cold as in toss this paperback into the furnace?

[Drunk Monk]

[Drunk Monk]

Seems ill advised to open these things given recent events...

More infoi

THE NECRONOMICON LIVES? ANCIENT 'BOOK OF THE DEAD' SCROLL FOUND IN EGYPTIAN TOMB
Contributed by Jeff Spry
Jan 26, 2021, 5:46 PM EST
It might not be bound in human skin like the notorious Necronomicon seen in the Evil Dead flicks, but this ancient Book of the Dead scroll recently excavated at the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt does act as a chilling guide to the afterlife.
International archaeologists led by famed Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass have unearthed a new hoard of antiquities at the 4,200-year-old funerary temple of Queen Nearit, a wife of the pharaoh Teti. Teti ruled Egypt from approximately 2323 B.C. to 2291 B.C.

Besides the 13-foot-long Book of the Dead papyrus scroll depicting paths to the netherworlds of the deceased, the treasure also includes over 50 wooden sarcophagi, a Senet board game, a river boat with rowers, a statue of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, wooden masks, an Anubis shrine, and a burial sanctuary dedicated to an Old Kingdom queen.

Dr. Zahi Hawass - Credit: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

As reported in an official statement by Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Hawass and his colleagues found the coffins and assorted relics dating back to the New Kingdom era (1570–1069 B.C.) in 52 separate burial shafts ranging from 33 to 40 feet deep. These expansive burial grounds exist in what was once the capital of ancient Egypt, Memphis.
This fortuitous find happened following many seasons of excavations at the mortuary temple representing the cult of Queen Nearit, which surrounds the pyramid of King Teti, the first king of Dynasty 6. The cache of sarcophagi were adorned with ancient god paintings and snippets from the Book of the Dead, a spiritual handbook that was believed to aid the newly expired in navigating to the heavenly paradise of Aaru where Osiris dwells.

Book of the Dead scroll on display in the background - Credit: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

"The excavation started in 2010, when we discovered a pyramid of a queen next to the pyramid of King Teti, but we didn't find a name inside the pyramid to tell us who the pyramid belonged to," Dr. Hawass told CBS News. "I'd never heard of this queen before. Therefore, we add an important piece to Egyptian history, about this queen." 
Perhaps the most intriguing item listed in the bounty, was this 13-foot-long papyrus containing Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead, a manuscript that ancient Egyptians employed as an instructional manual to navigate the realms of the afterlife. The name of the sacred scroll's owner, Pwkhaef, is inscribed on it. This identical name was also discovered written on a wood coffin and a collection of four shabti figurines intended to serve the deceased. 

Credit: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Dr. Hawass also related that this marked the first time such a long papyrus had ever been found inside a burial shaft.  
The stone temple was comprised of a trio of mud-brick warehouses located on its southeastern side and contained offerings delivered to the queen and her husband. It was a focal point for rituals and offerings presented for the cult of the queen to sustain and revive her eternal soul after death.
This vast cemetery itself predates the coffins by at least eight centuries, adding to the historical significance of the mission's remarkable discoveries and another piece of the puzzle as to the site's origins.

[Greg]

I've been following the Sakkarah stories since I saw the Netflix documentary.

[thatguy]

I've wanted to make a Necronomicon halloween costume for some time - a big, "hi boys and girls", inviting, google-eyed mascot-thing...of doom!



--tg

[Drunk Monk]

That costume could go very very wrong in so many ways...

[thatguy]

Exactly!

--tg