H.P. Lovecraft was the inventor of cosmic horror, of weird fiction and the Cthulhu mythology. His stories, incubated by a lonely and febrile childhood, found purchase in the fertile earth of pulp fiction where he inspired many other writers, from Robert E. Howard, to Robert Bloch and Clark Ashton Smith, many of whom also collaborated on the several short stories, some of which are also included here, in this special deluxe edition. This title, alongside H.G. Wells Short Stories, is a companion volume to our hugely successful Gothic Fantasy series of classic and modern writers.

"The dreams were wholly beyond the pale of sanity . . . " Plagued by insane nightmare visions, Walter Gilman seeks help in Miskatonic University's infamous library of forbidden books, where, in the pages of Abdul Alhazred's dreaded Necronomicon, he finds terrible hints that seem to connect his own studies in advanced mathematics with the fantastic legends of elder magic. The Dreams in the Witch House, gathered together here with more than twenty other tales of terror, exemplifies H. P. Lovecraft's primacy among twentieth-century American horror writers. This volume is a companion to the other two Penguin Classics edition of Lovecraft's work: The Call of the Cthulhu and The Thing on the Doorstep. This original collection presents the definitive texts of the work, including a newly restored text of "The Shadow out of time" along with S. T. Joshi's invaluable introduction and notes. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Sixteen stories inspired by the 20th century's great master of horror, H.P. Lovecraft, and his acknowledged masterpiece, 'At the Mountains of Madness', in which an expedition to the desolation of Antarctica discovers evidence of an ancient ruin built by horrific creatures at first thought long-dead, until death strikes the group. All but two of the stories are original to this edition, and those reprints are long-lost works by science fiction masters Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Silverberg.

Part of the Penguin Orange Collection, a limited-run series of twelve influential and beloved American classics in a bold series design offering a modern take on the iconic Penguin paperback Winner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers competition For the seventieth anniversary of Penguin Classics, the Penguin Orange Collection celebrates the heritage of Penguin's iconic book design with twelve influential American literary classics representing the breadth and diversity of the Penguin Classics library. These collectible editions are dressed in the iconic orange and white tri-band cover design, first created in 1935, while french flaps, high-quality paper, and striking cover illustrations provide the cutting-edge design treatment that is the signature of Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions today. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories Frequently imitated and widely influential, Howard Phillips Lovecraft reinvented the horror genre in the twentieth century, discarding ghosts and witches and instead envisioning mankind as a tiny outpost of dwindling sanity in a chaotic and malevolent universe. This definitive collection reveals the development of Lovecraft's mesmerizing narrative style and establishes him as a canonical-and visionary-American writer.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft's unique contribution to American literature was a melding of traditional supernaturalism (derived chiefly from Edgar Allan Poe) with the genre of science fiction that emerged in the early 1920s. This new Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics edition brings together a dozen of the master's tales-from his early short stories "Under the Pyramids" (originally ghostwritten for Harry Houdini) and "The Music of Erich Zann" (which Lovecraft ranked second among his own favorites) through his more fully developed works, "The Dunwich Horror," The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and At the Mountains of Madness.

The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories presents the definitive corrected texts of these works, along with Lovecraft critic and biographer S. T. Joshi's illuminating introduction and notes to each story.

In the second volume of the crticially acclaimed Black Wings series, S.T. Joshi - the world's foremost Lovecraft scholar - has assembled eighteen more brand-new and imaginative horror tales, inspired by the greatest writer of the supernatural H.P. Lovecraft.

Leading contemporary horror authors, including John Shirley, Richard Gsin, Brian Evenson, Rick Dakan, Jason V. Brock, Rick Dakan, Jason C. Eckhardt, Brian Evenson, Tom Fletcher, Richard Gavin, Caitlín R. Kiernan, John Langan, Nick Mamatas, Nicholas Royle, Darrell Schweitzer, John Shirley, Melanie Tem, Steve Rasnic Tem, Jonathan Thomas, Donald Tyson, Don Webb, and Chet Williamson, will draw upon themes, images, and ideas from the life work of the master of the genre to deliver a rich feast of terror.

Since 1968, Republican presidents have occupied the White House far longer than Democratic presidents, and recently Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress as well. In spite of these electoral triumphs, leading spokespersons on the right continue to depict conservatives as an embattled minority. Lashing out at their liberal opponents, sharp-tongued partisan advocates like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity never tire of issuing jeremiads against what they perceive as the inexorable tide of liberal abuses that threatens to overwhelm the Republic.
But if Republicans have won the battle at the voting booths, why is the right so angry?
As S. T. Joshi reveals in this incisive profile of twelve leading conservatives, the rage at the heart of the right is fueled by a gnawing sense that conservatives long ago lost the hearts and minds of the American people. Since the F.D.R. administration, conservatives have unsuccessfully opposed legislative and judicial reforms that today are considered so mainstream as to be, well, "conservative." In effect, yesterday's liberalism is today's conservatism, and this has been the direction of social and political change since the age of the Model T.
Examining the writings of such conservative icons as Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley Jr, Phyllis Schlafly, and nine others, Joshi uncovers statements that most people today would consider not just radical but outrageous:
In the 1950s, Russell Kirk opposed Social Security because he said it was "un-Christian."
In the same decade, William F. Buckley Jr. argued against the desegregation of public schools on the grounds that it would be an infringement of states' rights (an argument also used a century earlier to defend slavery).
In the 1970s, Phyllis Schlafly declared that women's liberation is a "disease" and a "homewrecker."
Knowing that these positions are today indefensible, conservative spokespersons have little recourse but to engage in passionate invective that attempts to portray their opponents as extremists. Joshi characterizes the aggrieved lament of conservatives as the last gasp of those who know their ideas will be confined to the dustbin of history.

H. P. Lovecraft's brand of cosmic horror has long forced readers to an inexorable truth there are powers in the universe whose immensity dwarfs petty human conflicts. Inspired by Lovecraft and brought together by editor S. T. Joshi, the stories in Black Wings of Cthulhu 5 explore the very essence of fear.

Between these covers lie many of the finest Lovecraftian authors, including Sunni K Brock, Donald R. Burleson, Mollie L. Burleson, Nicole Cushing, Jason C. Eckhardt, Sam Gafford, Wade German, Cody Goodfellow, David Hambling, Lynne Jamneck, Mark Howard Jones, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Nancy Kilpatrick, W. H. Pugmire, John Reppion, Darrell Schweitzer, Jonathan Thomas, Donald Tyson, Robert H. Waugh, and Stephen Woodworth.

Through his collaborations with today's most talented and acclaimed practitioners of Lovecraftian fiction, editor S. T. Joshi has made the Black Wings of Cthulhu series essential for every library of horror and the macabre. Volume four offers up seventeen new masterpieces, each exploring the roots of fear employed so famously by the master himself, H. P. Lovecraft.Between these covers there lies a who's who of the supernatural, including Fred Chappell, Jason V Brock, Gary Fry, Richard Gavin, Cody Goodfellow, Lois H. Gresh, Caitli n R. Kiernan, Charles Lovecraft, Will Murray, John Pelan and Stephen Mark Rainey, W. H. Pugmire, Ann K. Schwader, Darrell Schweitzer, Simon Strantzas, Melanie Tem, Jonathan Thomas, Donald Tyson, and Stephen Woodworth.

Following the great success of the early Gothic Fantasy, deluxe edition short story compilations, Ghosts, Horror and Science Fiction, this exciting title in the series is packed with swashbuckling and steam-punking up to your eyeballs. Adventures and alt-historical tales from classic authors are cast with previously unpublished stories by exciting budding contemporary writers.

Throughout his career as a literary critic, H. L. Mencken was intent on elevating the bold, the daring, and the innovative over the hackneyed, the trite, and the superficial, and his drama criticism exhibits this tendency to the fullest. Though known primarily as a newspaperman and commentator, Mencken also wrote several one-act plays, as well as a full-length work. In The Collected Drama of H. L. Mencken: Plays and Criticism, S. T. Joshi has assembled for the first time Mencken s dramatic works, comprising six one-act plays and the lengthy three-act play Heliogabalus. These plays, which have never been reprinted since their original appearances in newspapers or in Mencken s early volume A Book of Burlesques (1916), exhibit Mencken s penchant for satire and ridicule. Several of the plays, such as In the Vestry Room and The Wedding: A Stage Direction, display Mencken s oft-expressed cynicism about the institution of marriage. Another related play is Asepsis, a satire on exaggerated concerns about sexual health in young married couples. Other plays take aim at the cultural deficiencies of the common people, such as Death: A Philosophical Discussion, which relays the hackneyed reactions of a group of mourners over the death of a friend. Mencken s most significant play by far is Heliogabalus, a play he co-wrote with his frequent collaborator, George Jean Nathan, in which Mencken expresses his scorn of the Christian religion. The second half of this book features a selection of Mencken s early writings (1905 17) on drama, most of which have never been reprinted. Various essays on Shakespeare, Shaw, Synge, Strindberg, Ibsen, and others exhibit Mencken s keenness as a literary critic and his understanding of the aesthetic possibilities of the drama. With an introduction by the editor who provides an overview of Mencken s work as a dramatist and drama critic, this collection will be of interest to amateur and even professional drama companies, theatre historians, and of course, anyone interested in the writings of Mencken.

Baltimore native Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) was an essayist, literary critic, magazine editor, novelist, and journalist. Starting as a reporter for the Baltimore Morning Herald at the turn of the century, Mencken eventually became associated with the Baltimore Sun and his work for the newspaper spanned five decades. In H.L. Mencken: An Annotated Bibliography, S.T. Joshi provides the most exhaustive and comprehensive bibliography of the writings of H. L. Mencken ever assembled. It presents detailed information on his book publications from 1903 to the present, with a full list of editions and reprints. Most significantly, it presents for the first time a comprehensive annotated listing of his magazine and newspaper work (including more than 1,500 anonymous editorials for the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Evening Sun, and other papers, which have never been listed in any previous bibliographies), a thorough index to his book reviews, and a full list of interviews Mencken gave during his lifetime. Word counts of nearly every item in the bibliography have been supplied, and the book has been thoroughly indexed by name, title, and periodical. Because every item has been annotated, scholars and students can, for the first time, gain an idea of the subject-matter of all Mencken's writings, especially his magazine and newspaper work. The indexes will allow users to locate any given item with ease. The chronological arrangement of each section allows users to understand the growth and development of Mencken's work, making this volume an invaluable resource.

H. P. Lovecraft's "Supernatural Horror in Literature," first published in 1927, is widely recognized as the finest historical survey of horror literature ever written. The product of both a keen critical analyst and a working practitioner in the field, the essay affords unique insights into the nature, development, and history of the weird tale. Beginning with instances of weirdness in ancient literature, Lovecraft proceeds to discuss horror writing in the Renaissance, the first Gothic novels of the late 18th century, the revolutionary importance of Edgar Allan Poe, the work of such leading figures as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce, and William Hope Hodgson, and the four "modern masters"-Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood and M. R. James. In this annotated edition of Lovecraft's seminal work, acclaimed Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi has supplied detailed commentary on many points. In addition, Joshi has supplied a comprehensive bibliography of all the authors and works discussed in the essay, with references to modern editions and critical studies. For this new edition, Joshi has exhaustively revised and updated the bibliography and also revamped the notes to bring the book in line with the most up-to-date scholarship on Lovecraft and weird fiction. The entire volume has also been redesigned for ease of reading and reference. This latest edition will be invaluable both to devotees of Lovecraft and to enthusiasts of the weird tale.

From the masters of the genre, 14 spellbinding tales written between 1880 and 1940, including "The Sin Eater," by Fiona McLeod, a wild Celtic fantasy about a grotesque ritual; "The Eye Above the Mantel," by Frank Belknap Long, a sonorous prose-poem demonstrating the effects of verbal witchery; as well as renowned works by Ambrose Bierce, R. H. Barlow, Lord Dunsany, Ralph Adams Cram, William Hope Hodgson, Arthur Machen, W. C. Morrow and five other writers skilled in transporting devotees of the supernatural to terrifying realms of the unknown.

From a master storyteller of supernatural tales come six horror stories that launched the career of "psychic doctor" John Silence. Ghost story fans will delight in "A Psychical Invasion," in which a house is apparently haunted by former tenants; "Ancient Sorceries," which tells of strange experiences in a small French town; as well as "Secret Worship," "The Nemesis of Fire," "The Camp of God," and "A Victim of Higher Space." Edited and with an introduction by occult fiction authority S. T. Joshi.