"If we knew what we are, we should do as Sir Arthur Jermyn did; and Arthur Jermyn soaked himself in oil and set fire to his clothing one night." So begins the tale of "The Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn," one of the riveting fantasies in this select anthology of works by the godfather of Gothic horror. Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) lived and died in relative obscurity--but his tales of mystery, myth, and madness have haunted subsequent generations of readers and writers, inspiring books and films as well as music and games. This harrowing collection features nine of Lovecraft's most popular short stories, including "Beyond the Wall of Sleep," in which a young asylum intern taps into the dark forces behind an inmate's placid exteri∨ "The White Ship," the recounting of a lighthouse keeper's voyage across a bridge of moonlight to a mythic chain of islands; and "The Dunwich Horror," in which a misbegotten youth and his sorcerer grandfather conjure up an invisible monster that terrorizes a Massachusetts village. Additional tales include "The Lurking Fear," "The Temple," "The Colour Out of Space," "From Beyond," and "The Shadow Out of Time."