Letters to Lovecraft : eighteen whispers to the darkness

'The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.' So begins H. P. Lovecraft's essay “Supernatural Horror in Literature," arguably the most important analysis of horror ever written. Yet while hordes of writers have created works based on Lovecraft's fiction, never before has an anthology taken its inspiration directly from the literary manifesto behind his entire mythos...until now. Like cultists poring over a forbidden tome, eighteen modern masters of horror have gathered here to engage with Lovecraft's treatise. Rather than responding with articles of their own, these authors have written new short stories inspired by intriguing quotes from the essay, offering their own whispers to the darkness. They tell of monsters and madmen, of our strange past and our weirder future, of terrors stalking the winter woods, the broiling desert, and eeriest of all, our bustling cities, our family homes.... Contents: Brian Evenson • Past Reno Nadia Bulkin • Only Unity Saves the Damned Paul Tremblay • ______ Livia Llewellyn • Allochthon Stephen Graham Jones • Doc’s Story Tim Lebbon • The Lonely Wood Cameron Pierce • Help Me Asamatsu Ken • Glimmer in the Darkness Jeffrey Ford • The Order of the Haunted Wood Angela Slatter • Only the Dead and the Moonstruck Gemma Files • That Place Chesya Burke • The Horror at Castle of the Cumberland Orrin Grey • Lovecrafting David Yale Ardanuy • One Last Meal, Before The End Kirsten Alene • There Has Been a Fire Robin D. Laws • The Trees Molly Tanzer • Food from the Clouds Nick Mamatas • The Semi-Finished Basement "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.'So begins H.P. Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature," arguably the most important analysis of horror ever written. Yet while hordes of writers have created works based on Lovecraft's fiction, never before has an anthology taken its inspiration directly from the literary manifesto behind his entire mythos ... until now. Like cultists poring over a forbidden tome, eighteen modern masters of horror have gathered here to engage with Lovecraft's treatise. Rather than responding with articles of their own, these authors have written new short stories inspired by intriguing quotes from the essay, offering their own whispers to the darkness. They tell of monsters and madmen, of our strange past and our weirder future, of terrors stalking the winter woods, the broiling desert, and eeriest of all, our bustling cities, our family homes. SALES POINTS* Is a unique contribution to the booming Lovecraft/Cthulhu craze that will stand out from the pack due to its one-of-a-kind premise* Features a mix of literary and genre writers to draw in a diverse readership* The concept will appeal not only to fans of Lovecraft's fiction but to a far broader base of horror readers* The television program True Detective has inspired a whole new generation to seek out smart, literary approaches to classic weird fiction--Provided by the publisher "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.'So begins H. P. Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature," arguably the most important analysis of horror ever written. Yet while hordes of writers have created works based on Lovecraft's fiction, never before has an anthology taken its inspiration directly from the literary manifesto behind his entire mythos...until now.Like cultists poring over a forbidden tome, eighteen modern masters of horror have gathered here to engage with Lovecraft's treatise. Rather than responding with articles of their own, these authors have written new short stories inspired by intriguing quotes from the essay, offering their own whispers to the darkness. They tell of monsters and madmen, of our strange past and our weirder future, of terrors stalking the winter woods, the broiling desert, and eeriest of all, our bustling cities, our family homes.SALES POINTS* Is a unique contribution to the booming Lovecraft/Cthulhu craze that will stand out from the pack due to its one-of-a-kind premise* Features a mix of literary and genre writers to draw in a diverse readership* The concept will appeal not only to fans of Lovecraft's fiction but to a far broader base of horror readers* The television program True Detective has inspired a whole new generation to seek out smart, literary approaches to classic weird fiction--Provided by the publisher