More delights from Arthur Upfield

Every Upfield Bony story is enjoyable, but some more than others.  Several Bony books, including The Death of a Lake, feature some kind of particularly unusual and characteristically Australian theme such as flash floods, rabbit migrations, fishing for swordfish or, in this case, a lake that forms every 20 years or so due to flooding, and then takes several years, but at an accelerating pace, to evaporate.  Rabbits visit the disappearing lake each night by the thousands, to quench their thirst - the descriptions of this scene and the opportunities it presents for trapping, are grippingly described.  Typically, however, these stories seem almost to have been written because of a strong attraction to the phenomenon, rather than in order to provide a strong setting to feature the mystery. The Death of a Lake has a couple vivid characters,  and there is tension as the lake vanishes as to whether a body that is expected will be found - but it's a limp mystery.

In contrast, The Battling Prophet is terrific - one of the best of the Bony stories.  A the outset, Bony is invited to stay, for a few days of fishing (!), with Mr. Luton, an old but extremely vital, tough man - a former bullock team driver (he's cracking the whip on the book cover).  Mr. Luton believes that his very old friend and boon companion, former bullock team partner and neighbor, Ben Wickham, has been murdered.   After their glory days together on the trail, Wickham, the Battling Prophet of the title, has become famous throughout Australia and the world for developing scientific methods for exceptionally precise weather prediction.  He has gained passionate adherents and bitter enemies - and several people want to get their hands on his methods.

The books starts quickly with an outrageous story about how Wickham died - and the seemingly wacky reason why Luton is convinced it was murder.  The mystery is excellent and the characters fascinating, particularly Luton and Miss Alice McGorr, who is recruited by Bony to pose as Luton's niece for the purpose of protecting him while Bony investigates.  Alice, a former delinquent turned extraordinary police woman is a complete, laugh out loud riot.  Wonderful story!!

The Call of Cthulhu - H.P. Lovecraft

My friend Terra is a huge Lovecraft enthusiast, and so at her suggestion (her Lovecraftian primer shared below), I have begun my exploration of the genre with The Call of Cthulhu, a very short novel which I greatly enjoyed. The protagonist of the novel is a Man of Science, who is deeply skeptical about his scholarly uncle's mysterious writings on a horrific beast known as Cthulhu. Full of atmosphere and delicious prose - a vivid and enjoyable tale that has definitely sparked my interest in reading more.

A Lovecraftian Primer for the Novice Scholar

Books & Stories

​Works by H.P. Lovecraft

(The following short stories are where I would recommend any budding cultist or bold investigator begin their journey. Many of HPL’s short stories can be found online here: http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/)

The Call of Cthulhu (Gives a good sense of the atmosphere and style in many HPL stories. The central source of the famed Cthulhu mythos.)

The Shadow over Innsmouth (A tale of intrigue and dread in a small town. Introduces some of Cthulhu’sfishier relatives.)

The Whisperer in Darkness (Dread terrors from above. While not explicitly about the King in Yellow, this is the only HPL story that contributes to his mythos.)

​Lovecraft’s Inspiratons

Ambrose Bierce (I’ve never read any Bierce, but I hear that HPL was enamoured of his stories.)

Robert Chambers (He wrote a collection of short stories entitled “The King in Yellow” which alternates between stories of the pallid king and tales of daily life in revolutionary Paris, for some reason. I would highly recommend the story “The Repairer of Reputations” from this collection.)

​Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft

(This list could go on forever – so much current fiction makes at least reference to Cthulhu or unspeakable horrors lurking beneath the waves or beyond the stars… here are a few examples I have enjoyed.)

A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman (Short story in Fragile Things, also available in a beautiful format here http://neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf)

Rehearsals for Oblivion (Various short stories which all have something to say about the King in Yellow mythos. Highly recommended if the tattered king strikes your fancy.)

The Hastur Cycle (A more scholarly approach to the King in Yellow mythos. Each story is accompanied byan editor’s note explaining its literary/historical context. This collection includes “The Repairer of Reputations” as well as “The Whisperer in Darkness”.) 

New Cthulhu 2 (This is a short story collection by various authors that I happened across at the library. These stories take HPL themes and legends and address them in a modern setting. I found most of them to be quite enjoyable.)

Locke and Key (Graphic novel which draws from some HPL mythos, also includes a lot of magic that is not from HPL.)

Films, Shorts, & Audio

​Feature Films:

The Whisperer in Darkness (Adaptation by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (2011))

Die Farbe (Adaptation of HPL’s “The Color Out of Space” (2010). Filmed in Austria; subtitled)

Dagon (Inspired by “The Shadow over Innsmouth”(2001). I have not seen this one yet but it is supposed to be quite good)

Re-Animator (Adaptation of HPL’s “Herbert West – Reanimator” (1985). A classic gore-fest.)

The Burrowers (Info here: http://hplfilmfestival.com/films/burrowers)

Short Films:

(While most of these are not strictly Lovecraft, they are definitely Lovecraftian and worth a viewing. If you enjoy any of these, consider coming to the H.P.Lovecraft film festival in Portland in October!)

Fat Rabbit 

(http://www.adampetke.com/#!fat-rabbit/c1qfk)

Frank DanCoolo, Paranormal Drug Dealer

(Full 8 minute film is somewhere on the internet if you look hard enough. Clip can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZmASfMOpxw)

Silas and the Tomb(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlNQecZ6Rj4)

Dirty Silverware (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXkl_j02pNE)

Flesh and Bone (Music video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzJYFGx2pQ4)

The Mill at Calder’s End (I don’t know if you’ll be able to find the full film online, but here is a trailer https://vimeo.com/ondemand/themillatcaldersend)

Thresher (https://youtu.be/SqNdbHHWtBc?list=PLKikQyzc03Rq50vrHUZ5jVeOazbsKq4qf)

Escape from Midwich Valley (http://lovecraftzine.com/2015/12/28/free-to-watch-escape-from-midwich-valley-inspired-by-the-shadow-over-innsmouth/)

The Earth Rejects Him (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcDXYYPhdAs)

The Call of Farqunglu (Lego spoof of the genre, very well done. https://youtu.be/n7o6ERhuEN4)

Roe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn5IemrVVbc)

August Heat (https://vimeo.com/151533546)

Autumn Harvest (Very dark. http://zombiehamster.com/reviews/indie/watch-lovecraftian-noir-autumn-harvest/)

Dark Adventure Radio Theater

A product of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, these radio programmes never fail to provide an evening’s entertainment. More info here: http://www.cthulhulives.org/radio/DART/index.html