« Two architects | Main | Anniversary »
May 06, 2005
The Colour Out of Space
Read The Colour Out of Space as a bedtime story yesterday. It's not clear why H.P. Lovecraft chose British spelling for the title, but use of "grey" in place of "gray" makes sense.
His stories seem so quiet, as though you drift off to sleep while reading them, sinking into bad dreams. Unlike other horror his doesn't seem to rely on surprise even for suspense. You can reread the better stories over again without dispelling the shadows. After putting the story down, the cold remains. You can go out in broad daylight and see darkness underlying sunlight, the quiet tension amidst weariness, the desperation felt when depression becomes tinged with paranoia.
H. P. Lovecraft seems almost Lutheran.
Posted by Mark at May 6, 2005 08:53 AM