The Shadow over Innsmouth

By H P Lovecraft,

Book cover of The Shadow over Innsmouth

Book description

During the winter of 1927-28 officials of the Federal government made a strange and secret investigation of certain conditions in the ancient Massachusetts seaport of Innsmouth. The public first learned of it in February, when a vast series of raids and arrests occurred, followed by the deliberate burning and dynamiting-under…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Shadow over Innsmouth as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

No writer creates a compelling sense of dread better than H.P. Lovecraft. His stories instantly immerse you in whatever world he’s conjuring, and I think his writing reached its peak in this book.

His narrator descends into a creepy world of “others” whom he senses want to harm him (in his personal life, Lovecraft was notoriously disdainful of “others”). I was willingly dragged along with Lovecraft’s desperate narrator as he raced through town, hotel rooms, and ultimately into a terrifying gathering of the townspeople.

Nearly a century after its publication, I consider it to be one of the most timeless…

Planning a trip to the seaside? Taking in some sunshine and salt air? You could do worse than bringing along a copy of The Shadow Over Innsmouth!

A tale of a rundown city on the Massachusetts coast, filled with slimy monsters, ancient horrors, and a pervasive sense of unease. The smell of decay practically wafts off the page. The twist at the end still holds up.

I think Shadow was the second Lovecraft story I ever read, and remains one of my all-time favorites. Again, this one’s a short story, but look for it in a collection of Lovecraft’s other…

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