The Call of Cthulhu
The story that started the Cthulhu legend.
1 hr 21 min · read by Gabrielle Nistico
0:00
4:28
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Author
H. P. Lovecraft
The New England writer of cosmic horror and the Cthulhu Mythos.
1890–1937 Horror - GothicHorrorSci-Fi
About
Who was H. P. Lovecraft?
H. P. Lovecraft was an American writer of 'cosmic horror': stories of ancient beings, forbidden books and the terror of a universe that does not care about us. The Call of Cthulhu made his monsters famous.
His life
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1890 and lived there almost all his life. He was often ill and poor, and wrote thousands of letters to a circle of young writers he encouraged.
His stories
He published mostly in pulp magazines such as Weird Tales, and was barely known when he died in 1937, aged 46. His tales of Cthulhu, the Necronomicon and the town of Arkham grew into a shared world other writers still add to, and he is now one of the most influential horror writers ever. His letters and some stories also show ugly racist views, which readers today talk about openly.
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.
New to H. P. Lovecraft?
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The Call of Cthulhu
The story that started the Cthulhu legend.
1 hr 21 min · read by Gabrielle Nistico 
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
A traveller stops in a strange fishing town and learns its secret.
2 hr 0 min · read by James Leitch
0:00
3:57
The Dunwich Horror
Something terrible is growing on a remote farm in Massachusetts.
1 hr 52 min · read by Richard Stibbard
0:00
4:30
Audiobooks
Listen to H. P. Lovecraft
At the Mountains of Madness
Narrated by Michael Lyons
A geologist leads a scientific expedition to Antarctica and finds a mountain range higher than the Himalayas. Beyond the peaks they discover the ruins of an immense, anci...
0:00
4:33
Medusa's Coil
Narrated by Ken Kowalik
Denis de Russy comes home to his Louisiana plantation with a new wife, Marceline, a woman of mysterious background. Soon the old house begins to feel wrong. There are odd...
0:00
4:34
The Call of Cthulhu
Narrated by Gabrielle Nistico
A man going through his late great-uncle's papers finds a strange clay carving and a stack of notes about a secret cult. Following the trail from New England to New Orlea...
0:00
4:28
The Colour Out of Space
Narrated by Shawn Rigby
A surveyor from Boston is sent to the hills west of Arkham, Massachusetts, where a valley is now a gray, barren stretch known as the blasted heath. An old man tells him w...
0:00
4:29
The Curse of Yig
Narrated by Ken Kowalik
In the Oklahoma territory of the early 1900s, settlers whisper about Yig, the father of serpents, who punishes anyone who harms his children. Walker Davis and his wife Au...
0:00
3:32
The Dunwich Horror
Narrated by Richard Stibbard
In the remote hills of Dunwich, Massachusetts, a strange boy named Wilbur Whateley grows far too fast, and his family keeps secrets that locals avoid. Odd sounds and stra...
0:00
4:30
The Festival
Narrated by Craig Michael Beck
A man travels to his ancestors' seaside town of Kingsport, Massachusetts, at Yuletide. He is welcomed by a silent old man in a mask. At eleven o'clock a crowd of cloaked...
0:00
3:25
The Horror at Red Hook
Narrated by John Klicman
A haunted detective hunts occult whispers through Red Hook, uncovering a cult and an ancient terror. John Klicman's gripping narration plunges you into Lovecraft's urban...
0:00
4:33
The Lurking Fear
Narrated by Phil Thames
Tempest Mountain is a lonely hill in the Catskills with a ruined mansion and a terrible history. A thunderstorm has driven a man there, and something in the dark has kill...
0:00
4:39
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Narrated by James Leitch
A young man touring New England wants the cheapest way to get around, and a ticket agent points him toward Innsmouth, a decayed old seaport that people avoid and whisper...
0:00
3:57
The Shunned House
Narrated by Tony Conning
In Providence, Rhode Island, an old house sits on a hill. Its cellar is damp, and over the decades people who lived there have fallen ill and died. A narrator and his unc...
0:00
4:07
Life in dates
H. P. Lovecraft's life
- 1890
Born in Providence, Rhode Island.
- 1923
Begins publishing in Weird Tales.
- 1928
The Call of Cthulhu.
- 1929
The Dunwich Horror.
- 1936
At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
- 1937
Dies in Providence, aged 46.
Questions
Questions about H. P. Lovecraft
What is cosmic horror?
Horror built on the idea that the universe is vast, ancient and indifferent to humans. Lovecraft is its best-known writer.
Which Lovecraft story should I listen to first?
The Call of Cthulhu, then The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Are Lovecraft's stories in the public domain?
Many are in the United States. Each Academy Voices recording is a new performance by a real narrator.
Where can I listen to H. P. Lovecraft audiobooks narrated by real people?
Academy Voices has 11 H. P. Lovecraft audiobooks, each performed by a real narrator, with a free sample on every one. Every recording is Certified Human Voice.
Reviewed October 2026 by the Academy Voices team. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikidata .
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