The Shadow over Innsmouth

By: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrated by: Richard Coyle

Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

The perfect H. P. Lovecraft title to follow on from 2010's At the Mountains of Madness, and the only HPL title not to appear in a periodical! Perfect also because it is split in to 5 distinct chapters...ripe for abridgement into five half-hour episodes!

The Shadow Over Innsmouth tells the first-person story of a young historian, Robert Olmstead, who, while investigating his family genealogy in New England, is intrigued to learn about a hated and mysterious fishing town called Innsmouth. When he visits he finds the place to be run-down and near-deserted, with a cult-like religion and a strange, degenerate population. His investigation soon turns into a race to escape the town and the the evil creatures he sees emerging from the sea.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth was written by H. P. Lovecraft in 1931 and is the only one of his works of fiction not to have initially been published as part of a periodical. It continues HPL's Cthulhu Mythos, featuring townspeople worshipping the elder sea god Dagon and mentioning the mysterious Shoggoth creature of his other works.

Howard Phillips "H. P." Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 - March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction. As early as the 1940s, Lovecraft had developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fiction featuring a pantheon of humanity-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical.

Although Lovecraft's audience was limited during his life, his reputation has grown and he is now regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century. Stephen King called him "the 20th century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale." This 2011 adaptation comprises five episodes, originally aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra, once again read by the superb Richard Coyle and featuring music by acclaimed composer Jon Nicholls. The series is offered here in exclusive extended edition.

©2011 Ladbroke Productions (Radio) Ltd (P)2011 Spokenworld Audio/Ladbroke Audio Ltd

Love Lovecraftian stories, timeless as ever.

Lovecraft writes wonderful stories. I'm being pulled deeper and deeper Into his offerings. Maybe one day I will turn into something that can worship the others undeserving as I am.

Excellent read

Horror, wonder and suspense at its best. Where has this been hiding all my life?

one of the best Lovecraft stories.

Great story. The only weakness is the long random long sounds between chapters here.

THIS GUY RIGHT HERE

Oh My God I was not expecting this when I decided to delve into my favorite type of horror. One thing about lovecraftian fiction is that it doesn't matter who reads it, it's all about how they read it and this guy is spot on! The moment I saw I could pick who read the story I flicked through the list, tossing them aside one after anothe, until I heard it. Richard Coyle, where ever you may be, you have a gift for this and I am honored to have heard it. But seriously, it's hard to set the proper tone for a story like this and it's kinda what kept me from audible for awhile. But this guy? This guy did it for me, great story told be a great voice actor, cheers from me.

Get it!

Fantastic story and narration. If you like Lovecraft or just mystery/horror this is a must! Yes it's only 2.5 hours long but you'll be thinking about it for hours afterwards

The narration was marvelous. Lovecraft at his best

Richard Coyle brings this undying classic to life with perfect narration. The music is perfect also

exelente divertida y unica

H.P. siempre será un icono del terror y está historia clásica lo muestra, el lector que utilizan es exelente

best narration for this story

Almost perfect,
Best sound effects, narration and pacing of an version of this story I've found.
My only complaint is that for some reason they found it necessary to introduce the book and do the credits at the beginning of EVERY chapter... it's a short story, give me a break. Weird, unfortunate choice.
Very minor in the scheme of things.

Excellent portrayal! Classic terror from Lovecraft

The story is one of the essential Lovecraft reads and the performance was absolutely on point.

Great Story, Narrator, Music!

I did not know about H.P. Lovecraft. But this short story was a nice introduction to him as a writer. I found the book dark and frightening. it was so riveting, I had to listen to the book in one sitting. In addition to a really good story, the Narrator was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!
I will be looking for him in other stories. His tone when the tense moments happened had me on the edge of my seat. And of course that music....I was scared for the protagonist before the danger even happened. I have found a new author and a new narrator!