Howard Phillips Lovecraft

A cura di C. Aira, A. Finotto e J. Pignet 
 Five short stories by the great American writer of fantasy and horror fiction, who was E.A. Poe's follower and Stephen King's main inspirer: The Alchemist (his first tale written when he was 18), The Color Out of Space (one of the most famous short stories of cosmic horror), The Outsider (considered his best short story by many critics), The Thing on the Doorstep (shocking story of occultism and body transmigration), Imprisoned with the Pharaohs (commissioned by Houdini, the great illusionist famous for his apparently impossible escapes).
 The reader is accompanied by in-depth analyses on Lovecraft's themes (among which supernatural horror), his debt to his predecessors (Poe, Hawthorne, Bierce, Stoker), the gothic novel and the 'double', as well as his influence on writers, cinema, music and games. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Cinque short-stories del grande scrittore americano della narrativa fantastica e horror, epigono di E.A. Poe e ispiratore di Stephen King: The Alchemist (il primo racconto scritto all’età di 18 anni), The Colour Out of Space (uno dei più famosi racconti di orrore cosmico), The Outsider (da molti considerato il suo più bel racconto), The Thing on the Doorstep (allucinante storia di occultismo e trasmigrazione dei corpi), Imprisoned with the Pharahos (dedicato a Houdini, il grande illusionista famoso per le sue fughe impossibili).

Lovecraft’s Themes

Story 1 - The Color Out of Space

Extension: Supernatural horror

Story 2 - The Outsider

Extension: Lovecraft’s debt to his predecessors

Story 3 - The Thing on the Doorstep

Extension: The double

Story 4 – The Alchemist

Extension: H.P. Lovecraft’s influence and fortune

Story 5 – Imprisoned with the Pharaohs

Extension: Films, games and music inspired by Lovecraft’s works

Summing-up activities

Glossary

2 The Outsider BEFORE READING Story 1 Choose the right definition. An outsider is a man who comes from abroad. lives in a foreign country. feels different to other people in society. has a special role in a team. likes the country. 2 Find out the following words in the card. arch   branch   castle   country   field   forest   mirror   moon   river   road   stairs   stone   tower   tree T C F R D W U R D T Y O A H P C O U N T R Y W S S J L R O A D E J E T W I K V N E K R L B M L R M O O N J X E R M M I R R R S S T A I R V P E W Q T X D N N F E I S X L O F P O A R C H Q R H T D P N G Z H L U E D E Z X E Q A U F M F I E L D K 3 Match the verb with the appropriate noun. Ve rb Noun a. open 1. stair b. look out 2. book c. cross 3. window d. read 4. door e. walk along 5. bridge f. climb 6. street g. light 7. candle 24 

Weird Stories The Outsider 1 Story 2 Written in 1921 and published in  Weird Tales  in 1926, this short story is about a shocking escape followed by a terrifying revelation. Unhappy is the man who is afraid and sad when he remembers his childhood, the solitary hours spent in great, dark rooms full of old books, the terrifying watches2 in sinister woods of grotesque, gigantic trees. This is what destiny gave to me   to me, the confused and the depressed, the desolate and hopeless. And yet, I am strangely content and desperately cling3 to those distant memories every time my mind wants to go beyond. I do not know where I was born. I know that the castle was very old and full of dark passages with high ceilings covered with cobwebs4 and shadows. The corridors were going to pieces and the stones were terribly humid; there was a disgusting smell everywhere, similar to the smell of corpses5 piled up6 generation after generation. It was always dark inside so that sometimes I used to light candles to find some comfort; and there was no sun outdoors because the gigantic trees were taller than the highest accessible tower. Only one black tower was higher than the trees, but it was partly ruined and could be climbed only stone by stone with great difficulty. I do not know how long I have lived here. Certainly someone looked after me, but I do not remember any human being except myself; or anything alive except rats, bats and spiders. Probably the people who brought me up7 were very old because I only have not very clear memories of someone as old as the castle. To me the bones and skeletons I saw in the crypts were not grotesque. In my imagination I associated them with everyday 5. corpse: dead body. 6. piled up: placed one on the other. 7. brought (bring-brought-brought) up: helped me to become a man. 1. outsider: a person who is not accepted as a member of a group of people. 2. watch: moments of vigilance. 3. cling: remain attached. 4. cobweb: spider net. 25 

Esplora 5 short-stories di Lovecraft: The Alchemist, The Colour Out of Space, The Outsider, The Thing on the Doorstep, Imprisoned with the Pharaohs.

Weird Stories Collana RAINBOWS

Level B1 • Pre-Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

Weird Stories

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