This portion of the alt.horror.cthulhu FAQ was brought to you by Donovan K. Loucks
(webmaster@hplovecraft.com).
Besides motion pictures and games, Lovecraft has crept into many other
areas of entertainment, including television shows, radio, books on tape,
music, and comic books.
- Q: What radio shows have included Lovecraft or the
Mythos?
A: Before Lovecraft’s tales were adapted for the screen, they were
dramatised on radio.
- “The Mark Ratcliffe show” on Radio1 FM, UK
- ‘Joolz’ narrates the story “Cool Air” in Spring 1994
- “Quiet Please” (1948)
- Lovecraft mentioned in one episode
- “Suspense” (1945)
- Radio adaptation of “The Dunwich Horror”
- “Thriller”
- Radio adaptation of “Pigeons from Hell” by Robert Howard (PFH was
included in ‘Cthulhu: The mythos and kindred horrors,’ and thus the radio
reading is included here)
- “The Young Man of Providence” on BBC Radio 4, UK
- 1 hour documentary about Lovecraft and his creation, broadcast in UK
some years ago. Spooky sound effects and short quotes from various
stories. Cthulhoid quotes rendered in a gutteralised accent, which worked
surprisingly well. It may still be stashed away in the BBC sound
archives.
- Credits:
Writer: Mike Walker
Director: Shaun McLaughlin
Narrator: Hugh Burden
Lovecraft: David March
Readers:
Blayne Fairman, Garrard Green.
- Q: What Lovecraft or Mythos stories are available as books on
tape?
A: The following list shows what is available:
- At the Mountains of Madness
| Year: | 1987 |
| Media: | Tape |
| Company: | Sunset Productions |
| ISBN: | 1-56431-098-1 |
|
This is a radio-show-like dramatization set in the 1940’s, as opposed to a
literal reading of the story. Also includes Brad Linaweaver’s “The
Competitor.”
- The Call of Cthulhu
| Media: | Tape |
| Read By: | Garrick Hagon |
| Company: | Landfall Productions |
| Cost: | #3.99 |
|
- The Dunwich Horror
| Year: | 1973 |
| Media: | Album |
| Time: | 0:59 |
| Read By: | David McCallum |
| Company: | Caedmon |
|
- The Dunwich Horror and The Rats in the Walls
| Year: | 1987 |
| Media: | Tape |
| Time: | 0:59 and
1:06 |
| Read By: | David McCallum |
| Company: | Caedmon |
|
Two tape set, 1 story per tape. DH same as that on album.
- Fungi From Yuggoth
| Media: | Tape |
| Time: | 1:00 |
| Read By: | John Arthur |
| Company: | Fedogan & Bremer |
|
The “Fungi From Yuggoth” reading can be ordered for $11.00 total (S&H
included) from Fedogan & Bremer. I consider it to be the second best of
the Lovecraft tapes available, “The Thing on the Doorstep” narrowly being
first.
- The Haunter of the Dark
| Media: | Tape |
| Time: | approximately one
hour |
| Read By: | Erik Bauersfeld |
| Company: | Necronomicon Press |
| Cost: | $7.95 |
|
Originally produced on vinyl in the 1970s by Lava Mt. Records.
- The Haunter of the Dark
| Media: | Album |
| Time: | 1:05 |
| Read By: | David McCallum |
|
- The Lurking Fear
| Media: | Tape |
| Read By: | David Healy |
| Music By: | Colin Purbrook |
| Company: | Landfall Productions |
| Part No.: | RSJ 5003 |
| Cost: | #3.99 |
|
- The Outsider & The Rats in the Walls
| Media: | Tape |
| Time: | approximately one
hour |
| Read By: | Erik Bauersfeld |
| Company: | Necronomicon Press |
| Cost: | $7.95 |
|
Originally produced on vinyl in the 1970s by Lava Mt. Records.
- The Rats in the Walls
| Year: | 1973 |
| Media: | Album |
| Time: | 1:06 |
| Read By: | David McCallum |
| Company: | Caedmon |
|
Caedmon # TC 1347, Library of Congress # 73-750487
- Re-Animator
| Media: | Tape |
| Read By: | Garrick Hagon |
| Company: | Landfall Productions |
| Cost: | #3.99 |
|
- Rod Serling’s Night Gallery Reader, Volume 3
| Year: | 1993 |
| Media: | Tape |
| ISBN: | 1-882209-12-5 |
| Company: | Pharaoh Audiobooks |
|
- Stories include “Cool Air” (H.P. Lovecraft), “The Dead Man” (F.
Leiber), “The House” (A. Maurois), “The Academy” (D. Ely), and “The Devil
Is Not Mocked” (M. Wellman).
- There are more tapes in this series, which include Lovecraft’s
“Pickman’s Model” and Derleth’s “House - with Ghost” and “The Dark
Boy.”
- Roddy McDowell Reads the Horror Stories of H.P.
Lovecraft
| Year: | 196? |
| Media: | Album |
| Read By: | Roddy McDowell |
|
Stories currently unknown.
- Tales of the Unnatural
| Media: | Tape |
| Time: | 1:00 |
| Read By: | A. J. Redelsperger, Meaghan
McCarville, and Stan Winiarski |
| Company: | Buckingham Classics, Ltd. |
|
Two stories, “Burgerland” by Aron Abrams and “The Cave” by Vicki
Hendrickson are followed by Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls.” The
first stories are poor at best, and the narrators often stumble over their
lines. The Lovecraft story suffers from being abridged, and what remains
of it is read at top speed. I also noticed that at no time is the cat,
“NiggerMan,” referred to by name.
- The Thing on the Doorstep
| Media: | Tape |
| Time: | 1:10:22 |
| Read By: | Jay Gregory |
| Company: | Voice At Work, Inc. (see “Jay
Gregory”) |
| Price: | $15 |
|
The full title of the tape is “The Lovecraft Tapes, stories by H. P.
Lovecraft, Vol. I, ‘The Thing on the Doorstep’.” I consider this the best
of the Lovecraft tapes available, and hope to see more volumes.
- The Thing on the Doorstep
| Media: | Tape |
| Read By: | David Healy |
| Music By: | Colin Purbrook |
| Company: | Landfall Productions |
| Part No.: | RSJ 5004 |
| Cost: | #3.99 |
|
- Q: What music is available where the band, or song title, or
lyrics make reference to Lovecraft or the Mythos?
A: Although it would seem that Lovecraft’s influence has crept into
many musical works, it might be more correct to say that many of these
works were inspired more by the hoax Necronomicons. An excellent
article on Lovecraft-inspired music is Allen Mackey’s “Disciples of Zann,”
which appeared in the Eastertide 1995 issue (number 89) of Crypt of
Cthulhu.
- The Bevis Frond
- The Auntie Winnie Album (1988)
- “The Miskatonic Variations”—15 minutes of monotonous, psychedelic
guitar.
- Blue Oyster Cult
- Agents of Fortune
- “E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)”—Makes references to “The
King in Yellow.”
- Imaginos
- “I Am the One You Warned Me Of”—The “Starry Wisdom” is mentioned.
- “Les Invisibles”—The reference to “beneath the polar mountain” may
be a reference to Lovecraft’s _At the Mountains of Madness_. Also, the
lyrics “the empress lay sleeping to the rhyme of the star clock” may refer
to the return of the Great Old Ones.
- “In the Presence of Another World”—The phrase “when the stars are
right” is spoken.
- “The Seige and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein’s Castle at
Wisseria”—The “Starry Wisdom” is mentioned.
- Caravan
- For girls who grow plump in the night—The name “Cthulhu” is
mentioned in a song title.
- Cassandra Complex
- Satan, Bugs Bunny, and Me—Makes direct references to Cthulhu
and mentiones that “he sleeps beneath the waves.”
- The Darkest of the Hillside
Thickets (Joe Fulgham)—A Vancouver “punky surf” band whose lyrics
don’t just make passing mention to Lovecraft—their entire existence seems to
revolve around him.
- Cthulhuriffomania
- Cthulhu Strikes Back (1995)
- “Goin’ Down to Dunwich”
- “Shoggoths Away”
- “Yig Snake Daddy”
- “Unstoppable”—References to the Necronomicon.
- “Hookworm”—References to Lovecraft’s “The Whisperer in Darkness.”
- “Protein”—References to Nyarlathotep.
- “Cthulhu Dream”
- Dayglo Abortion
- Here Today, Guano Tomorrow (1988)
- Djam Karet—California progressive band. Contact ranjit@netcom.com to obtain their
album.
- Burning the Hard City
- “At the Mountains of Madness”
- Fields of the Nephilim—Dark, brooding, Gothic music.
- Dawnrazor
- The Nephilim
- “The Watchman”—Includes the lines “Cthulhu calls” and “Cthulhu, I’m
calling for you.”
- “The Gatekeeper”—Mythos related.
- H.P. Lovecraft
- Iron Maiden
- Live After Death—Album cover has “That is not dead which can
eternal lie/And with strange aeons even death may die” on a gravestone.
- Lovecraft—An Argentine heavy metal band.
- Manilla Road—Heavy metal with many Lovecraftian references
throughout. [It is not known which albums the following songs can be
found on: “The Black Cauldron,” “Return of the Old Ones,” “War in
Heaven,” “From Beyond,” and “The Book of Skelos.”]
- Out of the Abyss (1988)
- The Courts of Chaos (1990)
- Mekong Delta
- Mercyful Fate
- Time (1994)
- “The Mad Arab (Part One: The Vision)”
- Into the Unknown (1996)
- “Kutulu (The Mad Arab Part Two)”
- Metallica
- Master of Puppets
- “The Thing That Should Not Be”
- Ride the Lightning
- “The Call of Ktulu”—Instrumental
- Morbid Angel—Lead guitarist and only remaining founding
member, Trey Azagthoth, claims that most of their music is inspired by the
Simon edition of the Necronomicon.
- Blessed are the Sick (1991)
- “The Ancient Ones”—Lyrics mention, “Come forth, Ancient Ones,
Tiamat, Cthulu, rise...my enemies are yours...”
- Payne’s
Gray—A German band that’s been around since 1989.
- KADATH: decoded—Described as “the musical interpretation of
H.P. Lovecraft’s masterpiece The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.”
- Rigor Mortis
- Ripping Corpse
- Dreaming with the Dead (1991)
- “Dreaming with the Dead”
- “Anti-God”—References to Cthulhu.
- “Glorious Depravity”
- “Beyond Humanity”—References to Lovecraft’s “From Beyond.”
- “Through the Skin to the Soul”
- Rudimentary Peni—Weird punk music.
- Samael
- Worship Him
- “The Rite of Cthulhu”—Two minutes long.
- Univers Zero—Belgian progressive band.
- Ceux du Dehors
- “La Musique D’Erich Zann”—The liner notes describe it as “a
collective improvisation inspired by a short story by H.P. Lovecraft.”
It’s actually a bit boring and monotonous when compared to the sort of
music that story should inspire.
- The Vaselines
- The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History
- White Flag
- Feeding Frenzy (1986)—Cthulhu’s name is mentioned in a song
title.
- Yog-Sothoth—Insane, French, free-form Jazz band; similar to
what one might expect from Erich Zann.
- Q: What music do players of Call of Cthulhu recommend as
background music to add to the eerie mood of the game?
A: Of course, this varies from Keeper to Keeper, but there are some
pieces that many agree on. Editor’s note: I was deluged
with music posts and e-mails... For my sanity and timeliness, I stopped
including new ones... If anyone else wants to archive them and send me a
formatted copy, fine. Otherwise, the below list will have to do.
- “2001: A Space Odyssey” soundtrack
- “Absinthe” by Naked City - ambient, disturbing, creepy music.
- “Akira” soundtrack - Japanese Anime movie by Katsuhiro Otomo,
especially ‘Mutation’.
- “Apollo” by Brian Eno - strange and grand.
- “Cacophany” by Rudimentary Peni - Punk/weird music.
- “Dark Themes From Beyond” - CD available via Wizard’s Attic.
- “Das Klavierwerk” by Arnold Schoenberg - splintered, plaintive
music.
- “Fog Tropes/Gradual Requiem” by Ingram Marshall - modern elec. music,
strange sounds.
- “Koyanisquaatsi” by Phillip Glass - Lots of that arpeggiated
diminished chord.
- “The Nephilim” by Fields of the Nephilim - Dark, broody, gothic
music.
- “PAGTAPE” by Pagan Publishing - 10 minutes of menace and
malignity
- “The Planets” by Holst - Mars & Uranus good for action, Neptune good
for alien feeling, Saturn good for envisioning Cthulhu attacking.
- “Pure” by Godflesh - Distant mournful vocals
- “Second Edition” by Public Image Limited - Chanting vocals, throbbing
dub bass
- “Shamballa” by William Hooker/Thurston Moore/Elliot Sharp - New
jazz
- “Some Girls Wander by Mistake” by The Sisters of Mercy -
‘Trance-dance-goth’.
- “Silence of the Lambs” soundtrack
- “Techno Animal” by Justin Broadrick - Distorted guitars
- “Tubular Bells” by Mike Oldfield
- “Twin Peaks” soundtrack
- “Ummagumma” by Pink Floyd - sinister vibe, some classic spook
moments
- Tibetan Monks’ chants
Other stuff: Einsturzende Neubauten, Throbbing Gristle (esp. Mission of
Dead Souls), Iannis Xenakis, Derek Bailey, and Morphine.
- Q: What comic books have included Lovecraft stories?
A: There are a surprising number of Lovecraftian tales that have
been adapted for comic books.
- Chamber of Darkness, Number 5 (June, 1970) - Includes “The Music From
Beyond,” adapted from “The Music of Erich Zann.” The comic is very
faithful to the original story, being a period piece set in Paris.
- Creepy
- #21 (July, 1968) - “The Rats in the Walls”
- #113 - Includes “Cool Air,” illustrated by Berni Wrightson.
- Eerie #13 (February 1968) - “Wentworth’s Day”
- From the Pit (Fantagor Press)
- #1? (1994) - “The Rats in the Walls”
- H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu: The Whisperer in Darkness (Millenium
Publications, Inc.) - This series follows a group of investigators, the
Miskatonic Project, in their Lovecraftian adventures. This series is also
collected together as a single graphic novel.
- Part One (December, 1991) - Includes “Cthulhu” and “Cthulhu Statue”
trading cards.
- Part Two (March, 1992) - Includes “Hastur” and “Mi-Go” trading
cards.
- Part Three (May, 1992) - Includes “Yig, Father of Serpents” and
“Quachil Uttaus” trading cards.
- H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu: The Festival (Millenium Publications, Inc.)
- This series continues the adventures of the Miskatonic Project.
- Part One (1993)
- Part Two (1994)
- Part Three
- “Journey Into Mystery”
- #3 - “The Shambler from the Stars”
- #4 - “The Haunter of the Dark”
- #5 - “The Shadow from the Steeple”
- Lovecraft In Full Color (Adventure Comics/Malibu Graphics Publishing
Group)
- #1 (December, 1991) - “The Lurking Fear”
- #2 (March, 1992) - “Beyond the Wall of Sleep”
- #3 (April, 1992) - “The Tomb”
- #4 (May, 1992) - “The Alchemist”
- Masters of Terror
- Volume 1, Number 1 - This issue includes “It” (Theodore Sturgeon),
“The Horror from the Mound” (Robert E. Howard), “The Terrible Old Man” (H.
P. Lovecraft), “The Drifting Snow” (August Derleth), “The Shambler from
the Stars” (Robert Bloch), and “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” (Robert
Bloch).
- Volume 1, Number 2 - This issue includes “The Invisible Man” (H. G.
Wells), “The Man Who Cried Werewolf” (Robert Bloch), “Dig Me No Grave”
(Robert E. Howard), “The Music of Erich Zann” (H.P. Lovecraft),
“Pickman’s Model” (H.P. Lovecraft), and “The Roaches” (Thomas M.
Disch).
- Re-Animator
- Re-Animator: Dawn of the Re-Animator
- Re-Animator: Tales of Herbert West (Malibu Graphics Publishing Group)
- This book is a collection of the 6 “Herbert West—Reanimator” tales by
Lovecraft. It is not really a comic book, although it has a few
illustrations throughout. It also includes an introduction by Steven
Philip Jones, the editor.
- Skull Comix
- #4 (1972) - Includes “Cool Air,” “The Hound,” “Pickman’s Model,” and
“The Hairy Claw of Tolen.”
- #5 (1972) - Includes “The Rats in the Walls,” “The Hand of Ka,” “To a
Dreamer,” and “The Shadow from the Abyss.”
- Tower of Shadows
- #3 (1970) - “The Terrible Old Man”
- #9 (1971) - “Pickman’s Model”
- Vault of Horror
- #16 (December 1950/January 1951) - “In the Vault”
- #17 (February/March 1951) - “Cool Air”
- The Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft (Caliber Comics)
- “The Picture in the House” (1993)
- “Arthur Jermyn” (1993)
- “The Statement of Randolph Carter”
Adapted by Stephen Phillip Jones; Illustrated and Letters by Chris Jones,
et al.
- Q: What fun merchandise can I get which is neither game
related, nor a book/magazine?
A: The following companies produce stuff such as mugs, shirts,
stuffed Cthulhu dolls, buttons, etc. Their merchandise is listed in their
catalogs. Info on getting those catalogs follows (all addresses are in
the “General” section, under the address question).
- Chaosium - In addition to game related materials, they have
shirts/sweatshirts (Miskatonic U, Call of Cthulhu), posters, mugs, and
book covers. Snail mail them for a catalog.
- Dark House Publishing - In addition to game related material, they
have t-shirts, and assorted interesting Lovecraft and Mythos
paraphernalia. Snail mail them ($1) for a catalog.
- Pagan Publishing - In addition to game related materials, they have
the now famous stuffed Cthulhu doll! E-mail them for a
catalog.
- Wizard’s Attic - “A new mail-order outlet for mystic collectibles and
limited edition books.” They have gotten the rights from Chaosium to
produce and sell some interesting items, including M. U. sweatshirts and
“Dark Themes From Beyond: Where Evil Lurks” (first of three planned horror
music CD’s).
End of Part 6 of the alt.horror.cthulhu FAQ, “Other Media.”
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