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Is nobody gonna talk about how absolutely brilliant the audio editing on Akeley's words is? The extremely subtle, quiet computerized note layered underneath Ian's voice? *chef's kiss*
I was trying to figure out what you meant and then I got to chapter seven and oh, hey! That's pretty cool! I'm not sure I'd have picked up on it without the heads up.
Similar story here! I work the overnight shift at a small hotel, and it is interesting to be alone in the late hours, imagining the gulfs of infinitude that Lovecraft so beautifully and horribly hints at.
You should check out the Conan novels by Robert E. Howard. They are in the public domain. You can download them for free on librivox. I listened to those when I was a janitor cleaning a rough factory.
“Come on over. There’s no terrible aliens here now. Be sure to bring all evidence of them so we can laugh and laugh at them. Come on down. We’ll have a gay ole time”
Can't agree more, Audiobook's Such as Lovecraftians Tale has always been An awe to me. It's no Pretentious feelings or the sort, i Genuinely think that This World Building and structure bizarre and eerily Intriguing due to the Fact we never knew who or what resides Far Beyond our Imagination and Mind. There's always This uncanny Feeling that wakes me up And try to convince me that these stories are mere Fictions nothing more.
@@warrioroflight6872 You aren’t excited for a reboot of that cartoon for kids except that it’s for bitter judgmental adults and every character is a terrible person with no redeeming qualities and the central character has been totally omitted? 😂 American film and TV has been so much fun lately!
I actually live in Vermont, quite near to a few of the locations mentioned in the story. It makes this Waaaaaaaay creepier. ...I think I'll refrain from walking in the woods for awhile. Well done Mr. Gordon, top quality narration!
This is just amazing. I listened to Lovecraft audiobooks from several other tubers before finding this one, and none do it quite so well as you. The voice is perfect, and works very well to evoke the feeling of the story. Very well done. I look forward to listening to the rest of your content, because it is now my mission to do so. Thank you!
I grew up in a tiny village in the mountains of Southern California. I used to hike the deer trails around my home. I can almost guarantee that I have discovered clearings, meadows, gullies and small valleys that no other humans, aside from friends that were with me, have seen. There are certain spots that produce a vague, yet intense, feeling of dread. It's a feeling that you are standing somewhere that you are not at all welcome and should not be. I always respected these instincts. Maybe it was all in our heads, but I don't think so. There are places that humans have no place treading.
I once walked into a small patch of woods near fort Wayne Indiana, couldn't have been bigger then 2 square acres. I froze in my tracks about 20 feet in and I swear something was in those woods, and knew i was too. I left quickly.
I lived about 30 miles out from nowhere when I was in my twenties. I definitely did feel that certain areas where the territory of another entity. My thought was that I was "smelling" pheromones. A subliminal sensory warning. Some sort of predator was marking their territory and my animal mind picked it up somehow.
I've been in a supposedly haunted building before. The abandoned "Northern State Mental Hospital" in Sedro-Wooley, Washington state. There was definitely a feeling palpable in the air right away. I didn't feel at all scared but somehow my legs were quivering and there was an undeniable feeling that something did not want us there. We all felt it. Eventually we heard a grunt from the other end of a hallway and heard running towards us. We all thought it was security at first (we were not supposed to be there) but after we all escaped we were freaked out and realizing that security would've had a flashlight or something. It was very dark and there was broken glass and other debris all over the hallway floor. Another time I was there with my girlfriend getting laid and she heard someone calling her name and was so freaked out she had to leave right away. Needless to say I ended up with a bad case of 🔵🔵 that night. 😥
@@tonys7524 In his defense, he was a child when he had it, and he didn't name it himself. Such phrasing was also not taboo during Lovecraft's lifetime the way it is now.
His grandfather named the cat. It was an elderly kitty by the time he had it. He didn't want to change its name as to confuse the kitty. He didn't name the cat. Let's just drop it.
Ive always been very impressed on how ahead of the time Lovecrafts stories and ideas are.. He must of been horrifying the people of early 20th century.. It was for sure a bizzare time with all the spiritualism, mystics and all the rest of the Victorian spookiness.. And here we are 100yrs later still freakin people out enjoying his timeless works..
He did get some things published in his lifetime, but getting published consistently was a struggle. He even turned to ghost writing a couple of times and did that for Houdini's autobiography/memoir. It wasn't until after he died that his friend, August Derleth, collected all Lovecraft's work and published all the stories that were finished. He even managed to take a couple that weren't and finished them himself, published those too in Lovecraft's name. I just can't remember which ones those were.
(Curiously Googling) 😲...Hats off to HP Lovecraft for featuring--and creating even more mystery--around the (now dwarf) planet Pluto. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🤓📚👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 This story was published in 1931, a year after Pluto's discovery. 🙌🏾 Clever, Clever! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Lovecraft's words hatch in your ears like fly eggs. Strange and beautiful maggots burrow deep into your brain, devouring and replacing your synapses, twisting your mind to accept their bizarre, alien presence. Then, before you know it, you are completely spellbound. Lovecraft's command and control of *you,* in his brooding and sinister world, is like no other and perfectly conveyed by Ian's absolutely wonderful narration.
@@admiralkipper4540 The sheer eloquence of your rejoinder is a sure sign that our education system is an unparalleled success, a guarantee our cultural evolution is ascending to ever greater heights, and leaves me full of optimism for the future...
@@admiralkipper4540 I personally always find the comment where someone uses the word cringe to describe someone who is simply enjoying being themselves, to be the cringiest comment. But that’s just my opinion.
They don't really “have space travel“. They are able to “swim through the aether of space“, which was a concept of space before Einstein, to my understanding.
This is uncanny. Just last night I was looking for The Whisperer in Darkness. I even thought "I wish horror babble would do it". I get home from work and there's the email!!
Thank you for recording & uploading these Lovecraft stories. I'm currently reading the Barnes & Noble "Complete Cthulhu Mythos" and I like to listen to your audio-readings of each story as I work my way through the book. Aside from "The Temple" I think this has been my favourite Mythos story so far. Lovecraft can be a tough read, but I feel your interpretation of the tales takes the edge off, and I find it more accessible, now. Great to see a nice Lovecraft community on RU-vid too, hello folks! 👋🏻
There actually is. The Lovecraft Historical Society made it in 2011. It's in black and white with clear Twilight Zone filming influences. They change the ending to make it more climatic but I think it still works. I know your post is old but I would be remiss to not let a fellow fan know about it.
The details of this audiobook are what make it so brilliant. Marvelous work - I couldn't tell if I was imagining the strange, very subtle quality of Ackeley's voice during their conversation, and ended up hanging on every word. From here on, whenever I hear or read Lovecraft, I get the feeling I'll imagine the words in your voice.
Indeed. Something about audiobooks and -stories read with a oh-so-proper English accent. Especially for Lovecraft stories, which are so often narrated by the New England upper crust scholars thrown into events that shatter their worldview. But always keep that stiff upper lip!
Honestly I always think that. Not only does he not think anything of the sudden shift in tone of the letter, but also the handwriting. And sure, he could be curious and go, but he literally brings ALL THE EVIDENCE with him. Like, dude...c'mon
What an amazing time we live in that this is freely available on the internet. Thank you for sharing this, narrated very well and great for listening on the go!
I love it. This story is so very over the top as to be actually funny. I have a friend who had some pet tree snails whom he named after Lovecraft's godlike monsters. Ian's reading is, as always, absolutely superlative, and the effect of old phonograph sound is really great. Thanks, as always!
I’ve always found something very comforting about this story. Been reading it constantly for over 30 years. It’s like an old friend, or a well loved childhood teddy bear.
You know from the Alien's perspective this could be really funny. They accidentally have someone record their big secrets, finally kill the guy that recorded them after not being able to overcome his dogs for weeks, and then have to use their little pincers to put together a bad letter hoping to get the proof back since they were SO BAD AT THIS and left SO MUCH EVIDENCE, and then have to wear the guy like a not at all convincing meat puppet. Really funny in a dark kind of way just how bad at this they are. They're just lucky that the main character is even worse at this than they are. Poor crab fungus guys, they messed up every step of the way, Nyarlathotep is wishing they got better henchmen.
It really is a thin line between horror and comedy. On paper, this is a story about aliens, conspiracies, and body horror. In practice, it's 2 guys with no situational awareness and aliens trying to do a Weekend at Bernie's.
The narration in all of your stories is amazing but the Lovecraft ones are my favorite. The Cthulhu Mythos are hard to read on the page but listening to your videos makes them come alive ❤️
Love this channel. There are other channels that read Lovecrafts work, but few can deliver with such minute detail and passion deserving of the work. Perfection!
My new Sunday favorite is listening to you read great stories! This one based in my native Vermont. Vermont, New Hampshire and Canada rural areas due have an atmosphere of otherworldly and creepy without a great story attached to it. Thank you!
I wondered how you’d do the voices on the record and you’ve excelled. I knew almost word for word what was coming and you still sent a shiver up my spine. Well played, sir !!!!
I am so thrilled to have discovered your channel and impressed by your great narrative skills. Mad respects and thank you for bringing audio Lovecraft stories to us.
I really love listening to lovecraft stories while I sleep. Just calm enough to help me drift off, just strange enough to fuel my dreams. It is a bit annoying that I always fall asleep before I get to the climax of the story though.
This one is definitely my 2nd favorite story! I can't get the image of the South Park characters chanting, "Crab people! Crab people!" out of my mind. Also, this was a terrible night, so this was a boon and gets my mind off the things that I'd best not think of today.
As much as I adore Lovecraft stories, it baffles me to no end how his heroes can be so utterly stupid. One thing is being ignorant of horrors beyond our understanding, but the guy in this story is plain suicidal.
Two comments; many of his narrators are skeptical to the extreme as many scientists are, also the story wouldn't happen without the narrator's disbelief
Agreed, the sudden change in mood and tone in the letters as well as the insistence on him bringing the evidence suggests a ploy or a trap. I would like a competent and active protagonist for once. At least he brought a revolver.
I think one of Lovecraft's (many) strengths is his ability to place extraordinary events in to a 'real' world in an utterly convincing and believable way. This particular story and Shadow Over Innsmouth are some of the best examples of this, in my opinion.
this is so helpful because i struggle to read entire books but im also a massive nerd, so this is the best way to consume lovecrafts books for me - and you're by far the best ive found; i may believe this because i am also british, but i do believe it nonetheless.
An adaptation of Campbell's interesting, engaging and entertaining Lovecraftian sci-fi classic "The Insects from Shaggia" that's well worth a listen. Thanks, CABH. Your service in archiving & producing audio adaptations of work once marketed as pulp fiction and now a cultural landmark is noted, enjoyed & much appreciated.
Think of all the horror movies Lovecraft did not see. Have you ever said aloud don't go in that room while watching a scary movie? I find looking back thru time with all the fiction we have mentally accumulated does it a disservice.
Some of the info Lovecraft gives out about the Mi-Go in the early parts of the story seems very much like he investigated "wild man" stories about the Bigfoot creatures that live in the White Mountains and Green Mountains. The man being who he was, furtive and stealthy ape-men wouldn''t have interested him much. Something more exotic and weird would be required, like fungoid crustacean miners based on a newly discovered world.
H. P. Is one strange man. I've never been so disturbed by his stories and must be I the correct state of mind to listen to them! He can be truly terrifying.
When I was a child, I saw a movie from the forties where a personification of a violin called out the days of the week. It made my hair stand on end. I think now it must have been using the VODER, an early voice synthesizer. I imagine that is how these aliens would sound to us.
Audience: Dude, leave the house and go to California! Akeley: I suppose it is soon the time i shall move to California. Audience: seriously man... Get out of there! Akeley: Any day now, i shall move to California. Audience: Dude get OUt of there! Akeley: it is too late to move to California.
Ian, do you ever stop getting better? The answer is no. Perfection every time I wish you were sitting in a rocking chair next to my bed reading me to sleep. 💀✌🏻
I listen to these stories instead of music all day, night at work I find that I love stories on audio verses the old idiot box we are all addicted to now
I've been reading/listening to quite a few Lovecraft stories, and this one surprised me by actually scaring me quite a bit lol. I think it's because as a reader you're pretty consistently way ahead of the protagonist in terms of guessing what's actually going on, but it makes you wait to see how the horrible thing you know is coming will actually play out.
