H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) is recognized as a master of weird fiction. Drawing inspiration from predecessors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Dunsany, and Arthur Machen, Lovecraft evolved a highly original pseudomythology—later named the Cthulhu Mythos—that underlies many of his most powerful tales. Envisioning the coming to earth of immensely powerful alien entities from the farthest reaches of the universe, this pseudomythology underscored the cosmic perspective that Lovecraft made his contribution to weird fiction.

This volume contains major tales such as "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Whisperer in Darkness," "At the Mountains of Madness," and "The Shadow out of Time." In addition, important early tales such as "The Outsider" and "The Rats in the Walls" are included, presenting the range of Lovecraft's stories from the beginning to the end of his career. The volume includes a bibliography of first appearances of all the items included.

The volume is edited by S. T. Joshi, an authority on weird fiction. Joshi is the author of "The Weird Tale" (1990), "The Modern Weird Tale" (2001), and "Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction" (2012), and he has prepared editions of the work of H. P. Lovecraft, Lord Dunsany, Arthur Machen, Ambrose Bierce, and other weird writers.