Cthulhu and I

I discovered H.P. Lovecraft in college, as an undergraduate at Ohio State in the mid-70s. The first one I bought was Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos Volume 1, in the Ballantine edition pictured below to the far left, the book with the skull with eyes. It contained stories by Lovecraft (and other authors like August Derleth and Clark Ashton Smith who picked up the thread of the stories after Lovecraft died) that were centered on the dark god Cthulhu and other of the eldritch Great Old Ones who live in space somewhere and are worshiped by cults who hope to conjure them to return to Earth.

 

I have a vivid memory of reading the first story, 'The Call of Cthulhu," in the main library, in a comfortable chair, on a gloomy October afternoon; I was facing a big plate glass window with a nice view of the clouds and the trees blowing in the chilly autumn winds. I couldn't have asked for a better setting for an introduction to the chilling horrors of Lovecraft. Every October, I remember the feeling I had back then, and I break out a few Lovecraft stories. Above are the first 6 Lovecraft books I bought, all from Ballantine, with the white covers being earlier editions I probably bought as used books. I have owned many more over the years, by Lovecraft and others, but these are the ones I tend to go back to, as long as they remain in readable shape.