Crypt of Cthulhu/Issues 51-75

Issues 1-25 · Issues 101-125 · Issues 26-50 · Issues 51-75 · Issues 76-100

Issue 51

Cover art of the issue #51

Crypt of Cthulhu #51 was published in November 1987. It had 60 pages.

Contents

• Cover Art by Grey Ginter [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Lovecraft and Blackwood: A Surveillance by Mike Ashley [essay] (3–8, 14)
• Innsmouth Spawn by Randall Larson [essay] (9–14)
• Interior Art by Richard L. Tierney [illustration] (13)
• Interior Art by Otto Bumberger [illustration] (13)
• Did Lovecraft Revise “The Curse of Alabad and Ghinu and Aratza”? by Will Murray [essay] (15–16)
• Cthaat Aquadingen: A Guide to Further Research by Carl T. Ford [essay] (17–20)
• Henry Kuttner’s Cthulhu Mythos Tales: An Overview by Shawn Ramsey [essay] (21–23, 14)
• The True History of the Tcho-Tcho People by Robert M. Price and Tani Jantsang [essay] (24–27)
• Still More Limericks from Yuggoth by Lin Carter [poetry] (27, 31)
• The Benevolence of Yib by Lin Carter [fiction] (28–31)
• The Mystics of Muelenburg by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (32–36)
• Not So Horrid Dunwich Horrors [notice] (36)
• More Lovecraft Funnies! [notice] (36)
• From the Vaults of Yoh-Vombis by Lin Carter [essay] (37–41)
• [Movie: “The Dunwich Horror”] [notice] (41)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (43–50)
  • Discovering H.P. Lovecraft (Starmont, 1987) edited by Darrell Schweitzer; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (43–44)
  • Robert E. Howard: Starmont Reader’s Guide 35 (1987) by Marc A. Cerasini and Charles Hoffman; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (44–46)
  • Dagon #18/19 by Carl Ford; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (46–48)
  • The Mage (Colgate University, Winter 1987) reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (48)
  • The Curse directed by David Keith; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (48–50)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (51–59)
  • Letter by Jessica Amanda Salmonson (51)
  • Letter by Robert M. Price (51–52)
  • Letter by Jeff Newman (52–53)
  • Letter by T. E. D. Klein (53)
  • Letter by Philip Obed Marsh (53–54)
  • Letter by Abner Mozingo (Robert M. Price) (54)
  • Letter by Lin Carter (54)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (54)
  • Letter by Stefan Dziemianowicz (54–55)
  • Letter by L. Sprague de Camp (55)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (55–56)
  • Letter by Brett Rutherford (56)
  • Letter by Charles Garofalo (56)
  • Letter by Michael J. Lotus (56–57)
  • Letter by Brian Lumley (57)
  • Letter by Will Murray (57)
  • Letter by Shawn Ramsey (57)
  • Letter by Phinas Kornegay (Robert M. Price) (57)
  • Letter by Paul R. Wilson (57–58)
  • Letter by Peter H. Cannon (58–59)
  • Letter by Dan Gobbett (59)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Letters of Comment

[Jessica Amanda Salmonson]: Reading through the last six issues, I'm surprised how really good the magazine is, and I mean in contrast to many small horror magazines. I wonder how you manage to keep it such a "good ol' boys" thing, 99.9% Guys writing 99.9% about Guys, when Weird Tales and even Arkham House published MANY women, and when the field is wide open for women at this time. Most of the new little horror magazines are edited by women. About half the finest writers for them are women, though women make up only about 30% of the contents generally. I'd have thought the days when a journal like Whispers could run five issues in a row without a single female voice were over, and I do think this is a flaw in Crypt, not to deny the merits of most that js featured. It's just that given that historically women have contributed to the field, and presently women contribute significantly to the field, a magazine devoid of women is obviously contributing less than it should or could. And I think that, subconsciously or otherwise, an editor has to try mighty hard to feature so few women. Most such magazines have a small "gratis" list of professionals and much-sought contributors: look at yours and count the percentage of women. Most magazines of merit, and yours certainly is, get that way by targeting contributors; check your letter file to see how many women you've contacted. There are a million tiny "turns" an editor makes in the course of a year and it is at every one of those turns that the magazine's shape takes form, and the hoary excuse "I wasn't sent anything by women" is not sufficient. I've not seen all your issues though and perhaps this run of six is some kind of fantastic fluke; why do I doubt it?

[Robert M. Price]: Cthuihuvian chauvinism? A serious charge! It deserves a response. First, I should note that we have had a few women writers in Crypt of Cthulhu: Carolyn Lee Boyd, Denise Dumars, Donna Death, Eileen McNamara, Morgana LaVine, Tani Jantsang, Bernadine Bosky, and Mollie Burleson. Yet of course the vast preponderance of writers are male. This is certainly not by conscious design. Second, you should keep in mind that many or most of our articles are produced by the same small crew: me. Will Murray, S. T. Joshi, Steve Mariconda, Marc Cerasini, Peter Cannon, etc. So while a huge number of articles are male-authored, it is not guite true that there is a huge number of males doing the writing. Still, there are obviously far more men than women behind the pens. Why is this?

I have always thought that Lovecraftian horror has more appeal to men (or at least males: most of us seem to have been adolescents when we discovered HPL) than to women. Not that I thought it s hould be that way, mind you, though I can certainly see how women might be cool towards so misogynist a writer as HPL whose very few female characters are malevolent figures (in "The Thing on the Doorstep," "The Horror at Red Hook," and "Medusa's Coil"). What led me to believe that Lovecraft attracts mostly males is reader data: something like 95% of our subscribers are male, and subscribers count for about onefifth of our total circulation and thus form a statistically significant sample. I get the impression that of all letter writers to "Mail Call of Cthulhu" about the same percentage holds. Certainly the same is true for our submissions.

You say that there is a much larger percentage of women involved in today's horror field than these percentages would suggest. Thus perhaps I as editor am somehow skewing things. Perhaps so, but I don't know how. You mention our list of complimentary copies sent to professionals and intended contributors. Yes, we have such a list, but it is composed of those who have written critically or creatively in the Lovecraftian field al- ready and thus are naturally liable to be interested in Crypt. I can't help it if there aren't more women. What I am suggesting is that the representation of women and men both among readers and writers of Crypt reflects the proportionate interest of both sexes rather than magnifying the one at the expense of the other.

If my perception is correct, how to square it with your impression of a greater number of women in the horror field? I can only guess that while more women find horror fiction in general to their liking, less women enjoy the misogynist HPL in particular. You are referring to women editing and writing for horror magazines with a wider focus than the Mythos/Lovecraftfixated Crypt, so my reading of the facts would seem to be consistent with your observation.

Having said all that, let me now say that I would heartily welcome more women writers (and readers!). If any women have felt somehow unwelcome in our pages, I regret this and herewith invite you to contribute! In fact, may I invite you, Jessica, to do an article on the women of Weird Tales (as Maryanne Snyder suggested last issue)? And perhaps another sometime on women ghost story writers?

[Jeff Newman]: I'm quite unhappy to learn you are changing your policy on fiction and soliciting submissions from readers. Judging from the letters in "Mail-Call" I'm in the minority here, but to me, no passage from the abhorrent Necronomicon or any other eldritch tome could be more frightening than the dreaded words, "Next time... all-fiction issue!"

I think the reason I'm so dismayed by the new policy is that supernatural/horror tales are already available in literally dozens of diverse publications—books, magazines, and fanzines—but we have only two regular sources of quality HPL criticism. I just don't believe we need another forum for horror fiction—particularly of the "fan Mythos" variety. (I can't resist the nasty crack, "Anyone who solicits Mythos stories from fanzine readers deserves everything he gets!") Maybe I wouldn't be quite so disturbed if you were going to publish new stories in a separate magazine devoted solely to fiction, but, selfishly speaking, printing them in Crypt necessarily means less space for the articles and departments I read the mag for.

[Phinas Kornegay]: I had ordered the Strange Company publication The Death of a Gentleman and perused it, but only when I read Stefan Dziemianowicz's review of it in Crypt #50 did something strike me: Dziemianowicz notes how the articulate and literary HPL was reduced to scribbling pained phrases in a death-diary. Tragic yes, but somehow appropriate, too. How closely HPL's fate parallels that of his own character Robert Blake, who as his monstrous doom approached him across the storm-tossed Providence sky, could record in his journal only "final frenzied jottings."

Other subjects discussed: Borges and Lovecraft, Wagner's preface to Fat Face by Michael Shea, longevity of the zine, the unity of Antarctica, the habitat of the black lotus, chronological error in "Dreams of the Black Lotus", lack of gory details in Lin Carter's stories, Arkham House letting important items go out of print, too many Cthulhu Mythos entities.

Reactions and Reviews

[David E. Schultz]: You should have subtitled the "Limericks from Yuggoth" "Shaggai Doggerel." Truly wretched stuff.

[Lin Carter]: Crypt #51 was certainly packed with good stuff. Surprised to learn "Tcho-Tcho" really means something: thought Derleth just made it up! Does Tani Jantsang read Tibetan? Remember, HPL's letter to Bloch was countersigned or endorsed by the Tcho-Tcho lama with his actual name written in Tibetan. I'd love to know how it transliterates into English phonemes. I think I mean phonemes...

This Ligotti chap astonishes me. Seems like he came out of nowhere just recently and is already an accomplished master, as far as I'm concerned. "Vastarien" was the single best story in #49, and "Muelenburg" is another gem of a story. His sublety of effect, control of mood and atmosphere, and sheer power of eerie suqqestiveness would have delighted Lovecraft himself, who admired that sort of thing but couldn't do it any more than can.

Suggest you spin off another Cryptic sibling: Ligotti Tales, and put together everything he's published so far. He is a marvel!

Pray inform Paul R. Wilson that "eluctidation" means to surgically remove sufficient skin and meat from a living human body to expose to view the naked, pulsating , slimy organs within... Hideous enough for you now, Paul R.?

P. S. Grey Ginter's cover drawing was excellent. Get more art from him!

[Robert Bloch]: The Hallowmassive issue arrived and I enjoyed it as always. But one of the statements in Shawn Ramsey's fine article on Henry Kuttner's work needs to be corrected. There was a draft of "The Black Kiss" written by Kuttner which he couldn't sell to Weird Tales or any other market: he suggested I revise it, and I did a complete rewrite. But the basic premise was his, not just the name, "Michael Leigh."

[Michael J. Lotus]: I liked #51 quite a bit, particularly the Blackwood article and the "Mystics of Muelenburg."

<...>I thought Will Murray's article showing HPL didn't revise "The Curse of Alabad and Chinu and Aratza" was an amusing shaggy dog. I have suspicions that he didn't revise a vast number of works from that era—perhaps Mr. Murray has stumbled on a whole new genre in HPL studies.

[Stefan R. Dziemianowicz]: Crypt #51 might be called the "merciful correlation of contents issue," with Shawn Ramsey's and Carl Ford's respective anatomies of Lumley's and Kuttner's Mythos fiction and the info on the TchoTchos. Mike Ashley's piece on Lovecraft and Blackwood was his usual informative stuff. We all idolize Lovecraft looking back from 1987, but it's interesting to see how his contemporaries perceived him. Hugh Cave seemed to think of him as just another colleague in his interview with Audrey Parente in the last Etchings and Odysseys. About the same time, though, John Campbell was using him as an example of the type of fantasy he did not want in Unknown, which in a very backhanded way was recognizing Lovecraft not just as an author, but as an innovator of a particular kind of fantasy.

Of all the fiction Lin Carter has had in Crypt, I liked "The Benevolence of Yib" the best. Ligotti's "The Mystics of Meulenburg" was his usual good stuff.

[Wilum Pugmire]: I loved the new Crypt. My favorite item was Mike Ashley's "Lovecraft and Blackwood: A Surveillance." Reading it made me regret that I've yet to find a collection of Blackwood's tales. Ashley writes very well, and the article seems well-researched. Shawn's piece on Kuttner's Mythos tales reveals yet another side of Ramsey's writing talents (he has composed many excellent poems, written some swell stories, and edited a great first issue of Revelations from Yuqgoth).

I hope you will soon realize that Ligotti deserves a special issue dedicated to him, filled with rare tales and articles. He continues to stun and fascinate me with his titanic abilities as a writer. Thanks for including "The Mystics of Muelenburg" in this issue. The other articles were all interesting and entertaining, and as usual the letters section was great.

In my letter, it should have been "his letters from HPL..." that Munn burned.

Issue 52

Cover art of the issue #52

Crypt of Cthulhu #52 was published in December 1987. It had 60 pages.

The theme of the issue was "The Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft".

Contents

• Cover Art by Guy Cowlishaw [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• The Volume Out of Print by Jim Cort [fiction] (3–8)
• Midnight in Providence by Charles Garofalo [fiction] (9–12)
• Howard Lovecraft and the Terror from Beyond by Robert M. Eber [fiction] (13–18)
• The Man Who Collected Lovecraft by Philip Weber [fiction] (19–29)
• Christmas with Uncle Lovecraft by Bruce J. Balfour [fiction] (30–33)
• Lovecraft as a Character in Lovecraftian Fiction by Robert M. Price [essay] (35–37, 33)
• From the Vaults of Yoh-Vombis by Lin Carter [essay] (38–41)
  • The Jabberwock by Lin Carter [poetry] (41)
  • The Yeti by Lin Carter [poetry] (41)
• [Donald Wandrei Obituary] [notice] (41)
• The Keeper at the Crypt by Carl T. Ford [essay] (42–43)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (45–55)
  • Clark Ashton Smith: Letters to H.P. Lovecraft (Necronomicon Press, 1987) by Clark Ashton Smith; edited by Steve Behrends; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (45–46)
  • 13 Short Horror Novels (Bonanza, 1987) edited by Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (46–47)
  • Lovecraft Studies #15 (Necronomicon Press) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (47–48)
  • Studies in Weird Fiction #2 (Necronomicon Press) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (47–48)
  • The Compleat Crow (Ganley, 1987) by Brian Lumley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (48–49)
  • Demogorgon (Grafton, 1987) by Brian Lumley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (48–49)
  • Weirdbook #22 (Summer 1987) edited by W. Paul Ganley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (48–49)
  • Deep Things Out of Darkness (Garrie Hall) by Roger Johnson; reviewed by Robert M. Price (49–50)
  • The Magazine Mythos, 1986–1987 reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (50–55)
• “Dancehall” Church Razed by Mark A. Cerasini [essay] (55)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (56–60, 33, 43, 55)
  • Letter by Meldrum Hawkins (56)
  • Letter by Frank Belknap Long (56)
  • Letter by Dick Fawcett (56)
  • Letter by Tom Rathgeber (56–57)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (57)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (57)
  • Letter by Allen Koszowski (57–58)
  • Letter by Charles Garofalo (58)
  • Letter by Stefan Dziemianowicz (58)
  • Letter by James Rockhill (58)
  • Letter by David E. Schultz (58–60)
  • Letter by Lin Carter (60)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (60)
  • Letter by Tani Jantsang (60, 33)
  • Letter by Shawn Ramsey (33, 43, 55)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Letters of Comment

[Frank Belknap Long]: In a recent "Mail-Call of Cthulhu" department. Will Murray, I think it was, refers to "Lovecraft's famous Brooklyn mugging." HPL was never mugged, in Brooklyn or otherwise. He was out late one night—into the small hours, in fact—and when he returned to his lodgings he discovered that two suits, and some other articles, had been stolen. This upset him, of course, but not to anything like the extent that has been implied. He did not look upon it as disastrous. I called the following day, and he told me that George Kirk, who occupied the Barnes Street apartment upstairs, had supplied him with some needed things, etc., and helped him get in touch with the police.

[Dick Fawcett]: You might appreciate a little tale that I love to tell about the Cthulhu Mythos. Years ago I had lunch with Frank Long and asked him how HPL pronounced "Cthulhu." Frank didn't even look up from his soup bowl, paused between spoonfuls, and with little or no hesitation replied: "Damned if I know, I don't think Howard did either!"

[David E. Schultz]: Personally, I think the only thing significant about the TchoTchos is that Lovecraft mentioned them offhandedly in one of his stories. Beyond that, and the aside in the letter and the revision tale, who cares? The "additions" and embellishments to the Mythos by writers following Lovecraft's death are really of little importance to Lovecraft scholars, though I imagine they are of great importance to those who study the Mythos as a literary sub-sub genre. To borrow a phrase from Jeff Newman, I think essays like yours "trivialize" Lovecraft's work. The only reason I happen to know so much trivia about Derleth's early Mythos stories is that I feel that the record needs to be set straight about the origins and development of Lovecraft's pseudomythology, and so I need to see where the distorting influences (primarily Derleth's) originated. Otherwise, I have no interest in the so-called Cthulhu Mythos and the endless additions by others than Lovecraft and the very small circle of his literary contemporaries.

[Shawn Ramsey]: I would like to address the criticisms of Crypt leveled by Ms. Jessica Amanda Salmonson at your magazine's lack of female authors. First, let me reaffirm the facts she pointed out to begin with—that really, there aren't very many females writing for the 'zine. This is true. However, I think it is not necessarily correct in calling the "excuse" used by many editors who say "no females submit" "archaic." Must we be labeled barbarians be- cause we tell the truth? I think not. For one, Jessica, it is not entirely easy for editors to recover addresses of lady writers—this job is, in fact, quite nearly impossible without the proper connections. I as editor of Revelations from Yuggoth myself would love to reprint more work by female macabre artists. However, much of the stuff currently being produced is below the par I set for my magazine. Moreover, most of the older stuff put out by such highly-respectable ladies as Creye La Spina, Leah Bodine Drake, Mearle Prout, Dorothy Quick, Alice I'anson, and others is extremely difficult to research copyrights for, and as such even more risky to reprint.

Don't get me wrong. I am not defending chauvinism. Many of my favorite macabre artists are of the fairer sex—C. L. Moore, M. E. Counselman, and all of the ladies aforementioned (and somewhere on that list your name must surely fall). But I must insist that simply because editors lack stories by women (Schiff is a good example—he is perhaps the most un-biased man I ever met) does not mean they are "archaic," "chauvinistic," or most of all plotting against the opposite sex for domination of the field of supernatural literature. One might disagree; but why do I doubt it?

Other subjects discussed: description of a new film script called "Lovecraft", definitions of "schizoid", The Rod and the Snake story, which Derleth's story contained the first mention of Tcho-Tcho, Derleth and Lovecraft and Kuttner and Mythos, Derleth's "Innsmouth Clay".

Reactions and Reviews

[Michael J. Lotus]: I am sorry to write that Crypt #52 was my least favorite issue, ever. The HPL-as-character stories did nothing for me. They did not say anything interesting about the man, using him as one more Mythos prop. Using Lovecraft himself in this way is to take the Mythos to its logical extreme, retaining the superficialities and gimmicks that HPL used, usually at the expense of the tone, atmosphere, substance and purpose which characterized his literary ideal and the best of his fiction. I don't mean to be harsh—I do not mind if your readership wants an occasional batch of stories like this. I am glad that you don't print such material too often. Furthermore, I believe that both the readers and writers in question are capable of better. I think the reception that the Ligotti stories have received is evidence of this. He proves that it is possible to draw inspiration from what is unique and of most value in Lovecraft's work. I will admit that this is a matter of opinion and taste, and others surely differ.

[Allen Koszowski]: Just wanted to say that I enjoyed Crypt #52 very much. Also I wanted to salute Stefan Dziemianowicz for his excellent reviews. I feel that he hasn't been given enough credit. Even though we disagreed sharply in our assessments of Re-Animator, in general I have found his reviews to be a good guide for those who don't have the time to read everything — and he expresses his views much better than I ever could. His magazine reviews this time out were very welcome.

[L. Sprague de Camp]: Thanks for Crypt #52. I laughed myself silly over the stories by Messrs. Cort and Garofalo.

[Jim Cort]: I especially liked Bruce J. Balfour's charming "Christmas with Uncle Lovecraft." It was a wonderful idea, and the story had an unexpected note of poignancy. Guy Cowlishaw's witty cover was also a real treat.

[Robert Bloch]: Yuletide issue is excellent—you'll tide me over until next year! It continues to amaze me that there are so many new aspects of HPL being discovered by the scholars who contribute to Crypt Probably no other contemporary author has received such intense a study—or deserved it!

[Charles Carofalo]: Lin Carter's poem about the Jabberwock was excellent. It read like Lewis Carroll had written it. His work on the Griffin was clever as well.

Issue 53

Cover art of the issue #53

Crypt of Cthulhu #53 was published in February 1988. It had 44 pages.

The theme of the issue was "Lovecraft’s Fragments".

Contents

• Cover Art by Robert H. Knox [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• On “The Book” by S. T. Joshi [essay] (3–7)
• On “Azathoth” by Will Murray [essay] (8–9)
• On “The Descendant” by S. T. Joshi [essay] (10–11)
• “The Thing in the Moonlight”: A Hoax Revealed by David E. Schultz [essay] (12–13)
• [No more Lovecraft films from Stuart Gordon…] [notice] (13)
• Where was the Place of Dagon? by Will Murray [essay] (14–17)
• Faulty Memories and “Evill Sorceries” by Robert M. Price [essay] (18–22)
  • The Round Tower by H. P. Lovecraft [fiction] (19–20)
  • Of Evill Sorceries Done in New England of Daemons in No Humane Shape by H. P. Lovecraft [fiction] (20–21)
  • [The Rose Window] by H. P. Lovecraft [fiction] (21–22)
• And Yet Even Still More Limericks from Yuggoth by Lin Carter [poetry] (23–24)
• Did Lovecraft Have Syphilis? by Robert M. Price [essay] (25–26)
• Who the Hell was Winfield Scott Phillips? by Will Murray [essay] (27–29)
• Iranon & Kuranes: An Intertextual Gloss by Donald R. Burleson, PhD [essay] (31–33)
• From the Vaults of Yoh-Vombis by Lin Carter [essay] (34–37)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (38–43)
  • Weird Tales (Spring 1988) reviewed by Lin Carter (38–40)
  • Ghosts & Scholars (Crucible/Aquarian Press) edited by Richard Dalby and Rosemary Pardoe; reviewed by Mike Ashley (40–41)
  • The Art of Horror Stories (Chartwell Books) by Peter Haining; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (41)
  • Mother of Toads (Necronomicon Press, December 1987) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Robert M. Price (41–42)
  • The Dweller in the Gulf (Necronomicon Press, December 1987) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Robert M. Price (41–42)
  • Off the Ancient Track, A Lovecraftian Guide to New-England & Adjacent New-York (Necronomicon Press) by Jason C. Eckhardt; reviewed by Robert M. Price (42)
  • Fantasy Commentator, Vol. VI, No. 1 (Fall 1987) edited by A. Langley Searles; reviewed by Robert M. Price (42–43)
  • FuBar: A Periodical 6 (Soft Books) reviewed by Robert M. Price (43)
  • GRUE Magazine #6 (Hell’s Kitchen Productions) edited by Peggy Nadramia; reviewed by Robert M. Price (43
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (44, 13, 22, 24, 26, 37, 43, 7, 9, 17, 33)
  • Letter by Scott D. Hazen (44)
  • Letter by James Rockhill (44)
  • Letter by Philip Obed Marsh (44)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (44)
  • Letter by David F. Godwin (44, 13, 22)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (22)
  • Letter by Michael A. Morrison (24)
  • Letter by Morgan T. Holmes (24, 26)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (26)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (26, 37)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (37)
  • Letter by Charles Garofalo (37)
  • Letter by Randy Palmer (37)
  • Letter by Allen Koszowski (37, 43)
  • Letter by Melvin G. Outlaw (Robert M. Price) (43)
  • Letter by L. Sprague de Camp (7, 9)
  • Letter by Shawn Ramsey (9, 17)
  • Letter by Jim Cort (17, 33)
  • Letter by Michael J. Lotus (33)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Letters of Comment

[Shawn Ramsey]: Wheareas I agree with Mr. Dziemianowicz's opinions regarding Mr. Rainey's excellent "Threnody," I found his surmise of the work of Mr. Wilum Pugmire's fiction overall quite unprobing and slight—he fails to analyze the work of Mr. Pugmire in its full form, as well as neglecting to try to truly understand the emotional depth in which his tales take their originality. As opposed to certain other Mythos pastiches which are wholly uninspired and resound hollow in everything but a somewhat bland and unoriginal plot, Mr. Pugmire is thorough in the production of his tales, be they simple or not, in that they are full of hideously simple hints and portents to the true nature of his creation, the Sesqua Valley. This creation, Mr. Pugmire has made from a part of himself, and part of everything he sees and feels, thus rendering his stories the truest art imaginable.

[Michael A. Morrison]: Although I find Crypt erratic, that is part of its charm; and each issue contains at least a couple of fascinating items—if nothing else, the reviews and letters are usually interesting. I hope that your more liberal fiction policy does not lead to an increase in the percentage of Crypt that is devoted to fiction. Fan horror zines that publish fiction are everywhere these days, it seems, but precious few magazines include the mix of fiction and nonfiction, with the emphasis on HPL's works, that characterizes Crypt. In any case, I'm glad you changed your one-time plans to stop at #50. Hang in there at least until #100, okay?

Other subjects discussed: H. H. Holmes, was Lovecraft a misogynist, the death of Donald Wandrei, why so few Mythos stories are published professionally, new Lovecraft adaptation (The Evil Clergyman), who called Lovecraft "his own most fantastic creation", "Balsamo's Mirror" by L. Sprague de Camp, pronunciation of "Cthulhu", Sonny Liston's quote, kabbalah and New Age.

Issue 54

Cover art of the issue #54

Crypt of Cthulhu #54 was published in March 1988. It had 60 pages.

The theme of the issue was "The Fishers from Outside by Lin Carter".

Contents

• Cover Art by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (front cover)
• Photo (Lin Carter) by Judy Appleton and Gloria Martin [illustration] (inside front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Strange Manuscript Found in the Vermont Woods by Lin Carter [fiction] (3–14)
• Interior Art by Allen K. (Allen Koszowski) [illustration] (14)
• The Secret in the Parchment by Lin Carter [fiction] (15–18)
• From the Archives of the Moon by Lin Carter [fiction] (19–26)
• Dead of Night by Lin Carter [fiction] (27–35)
• The Shadow from the Stars by Lin Carter [fiction] (36–40)
• How Ghuth Would Have Hunted the Silth by Lin Carter [fiction] (41–42)
• The Fishers from Outside by Lin Carter [fiction] (43–52)
• Papyrus of the Dark Wisdom by Clark Ashton Smith and Lin Carter [fiction] (53–58)
• The Slitherer from the Slime by H. P. Lowcraft (Lin Carter and Dave Foley) [fiction] (59–60, 18, 35, 40, 42, 52, 58)
• Interior Art by Allen K. (Allen Koszowski) [illustration] (58)
• Lin Carter: June 9, 1930–February 7, 1988 [essay] (back cover)

Issue 55

Cover art of the issue #55

Crypt of Cthulhu #55 was published in March 1988. It had 52 pages.

The theme of the issue was "The Cryptophile".

Contents

• Cover Art by L. L. McAdams [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (ii)
• The Cryptophile: An Index to the first fifty issues of The Crypt of Cthulhu (1981–1987) compiled by Mike Ashley [essay] (1–30)
  • Introduction: Echoes from the Crypt by Mike Ashley [essay] (2–3)
  • Checklist of Issues by Mike Ashley [essay] (4)
  • Index to Contributors by Mike Ashley [essay] (5–23)
  • Index to Authors and Works Discussed by Mike Ashley [essay] (24–30)
• Cryptic Criticism reviewed by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (31–37)
• The Summons by Mary Elizabeth Counselman-Vinyard [poetry] (37)
• Names in the Black Book [notice] (37)
• From the Vaults of Yoh-Vombis by Lin Carter [essay] (38–41)
• The Upas by Lin Carter [poetry] (41)
• The Corkodrill by Lin Carter [poetry] (41)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (43, 48)
  • Lovecraft: A Study in the Fantastic (Wayne State University Press, 1988) by Maurice Lévy; translated by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Robert M. Price (43, 48)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (45–47, 49–50)
  • Letter by Andreas Städing (45)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (45)
  • Letter by Melvin G. Outlaw (Robert M. Price) (45)
  • Letter by Fred Chappell (45)
  • Letter by Pierre Comtois (46)
  • Letter by J. Brawley (46)
  • Letter by Mike Ashley (46–47)
  • Letter by Robert J. Wrigley (47)
  • Letter by Michael J. Lotus (47)
  • Letter by Kevin L. O’Brien (49–50)
  • Letter by Chris Hocking (50)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (50)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Reactions and Reviews

[Ros Calverley]: "The Cryptophile" is much appreciated—an interesting, informative and above all useful opus.

Issue 56

Cover art of the issue #56

Crypt of Cthulhu #56 was published in May 1988. It had 48 pages.

It was an all-fiction issue.

Contents

• Cover Art by Larry Latham [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• The Curtained Cabinet by Mary Elizabeth Counselman-Vinyard [fiction] (3–7)
• The Stain by Fred Chappell [fiction] (8–10)
• The Sect of the Idiot by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (11–17)
• The Blob That Gobbled Abdul by Richard L. Tierney [poetry] (17)
• The Treasure of the Ancients by Gary Myers [fiction] (18–20)
• Camera Shy by T. E. D. Klein [fiction] (21–27)
• Perchance to Dream by Lin Carter [fiction] (28–34)
• From the Vaults of Yoh-Vombis by Lin Carter [essay] (35–38)
• The Garuda by Lin Carter [poetry] (38)
• The Ziff by Lin Carter [poetry] (38)
• Names in the Black Book [notice] (38)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (40–44)
  • Whispers #23–24 (October 1987) by Stuart Schiff; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (40)
  • Ramsey Campbell. Starmont Reader’s Guide (48) (Starmont House, 1987) by Gary William Crawford; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (40–42)
  • The Influence (Macmillan, 1988) by Ramsey Campbell; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (42–43)
  • Kuttner Times Three (Virgil Utter) by Henry Kuttner; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (43–44)
  • The Kidnapper (TOR Books, March 1987) by Robert Bloch; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (44)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (45–48, 10, 17, 20, 27, 38)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (45)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (45)
  • Letter by Ramsey Campbell (45)
  • Letter by Brian Lumley (45–46)
  • Letter by S. T. Joshi (46)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (46)
  • Letter by Kathy Corcoran (46)
  • Letter by Robert H. Daugherty (46)
  • Letter by Mike Ashley (46–47)
  • Letter by Stefan Dziemianowicz (47–48)
  • Letter by S. T. Joshi (48)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (48)
  • Letter by Thomas R. Hall III (48, 10)
  • Letter by Ros Calverley (10, 17, 20, 27)
  • Letter by James Rockhill (27, 38)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 57

Cover art of the issue #57

Crypt of Cthulhu #57 was published in June 1988. It had 52 pages.

Contents

• Cover Art by Darrel Tutchton [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• The Cosmic Connection by Mike Ashley [essay] (3–9)
• I Found Innsmouth! by Will Murray [essay] (10–14)
• Hold It! [notice] (14)
• On Lovecraft’s “The Messenger” by Donald R. Burleson, PhD [essay] (15–18)
• Lovecraft’s Ancestors by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr. [essay] (19–25)
• In a Sequester’d Churchyard by David E. Schultz [essay] (26–29)
  • In a Sequester’d Providence Churchyard Where Once Poe Walk’d by H. P. Lovecraft [poetry] (27)
  • Edgar Allan Poe by Adolphe de Castro (Gustav Adolphe Danziger) [poetry] (27–28)
  • St. John’s Churchyard by Robert H. Barlow [poetry] (28)
  • In a Providence Churchyard by Maurice W. Moe [poetry] (28)
  • Where He Walked by Henry Kuttner [poetry] (28)
• Names in the Black Book [notice] (29)
• On Lovecraft’s “The Wood” by Donald R. Burleson, PhD [essay] (30–32)
• Night Gaunts [notice] (32)
• More Dunwich Horror contributed by Chris Hocking [notice] (32)
• How Her Doom Came Down at Last on Adrazoon by Lin Carter [fiction] (33–34)
• Correction [notice] (34)
• Rapture in Black by Mark Rainey [fiction] (35–40)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (43–47)
  • The Unexpurgated Clark Ashton Smith: The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis (Necronomicon Press, 1988) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (43–44)
  • Lovecraft Studies 16 (Necronomicon Press, 1988) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (44–45)
  • Mad Moon of Dreams (W. Paul Ganley, 1987) by Brian Lumley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (45–46)
  • Fungi From Yuggoth: A Sonnet Cycle read by John Arthur; music by Mike Olson; reviewed by Richard L. Tierney (46–47)
• Correction [notice] (47)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (50–52)
  • Letter by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr. (50)
  • Letter by John Salonia (50)
  • Letter by David Barker (50)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (50)
  • Letter by Mark Rainey (50–51)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (51)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (51)
  • Letter by Kevin L. O’Brien (51)
  • Letter by Robert H. Knox (51)
  • Letter by Allen Koszowski (51)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (51)
  • Letter by Michael J. Lotus (51–52)
  • Letter by Gene Zombolas (52)
  • Letter by W. Paul Ganley (52)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (52)
• Machen Society Meeting by John Eric Holmes [essay] (52, 34)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Reactions and Reviews

[Morgan Holmes]: Tell Stefan Dziemianowicz I was glad to see him back me up on Wandrei in his letter. His Weird Tales: 32. Unearthed Terrors is an excellent book.

The references to bands like This Mortal Coil in Rainey's "Rapture in Black" was interesting. He must listen to college radio like few others out there like me.

[Tani Jantsang]: In response to Diana Goddeswinne's letter against "Rapture in Black": I am a woman and I found that story very good. It was horrible and terrifying, which a horror story is supposed to be. It is not male chauvinism because that involves a human male towards a female. These were Deep Ones treating the woman as such. In "Shadow over Innsmouth" the human males were treated God-knows-how by the female Deep Ones and forced to breed with them. One must remember that the "people" mistreating these humans, male or female, are not human. Rainey has the reaction of the Deep Ones toward their female victim as unemotional, bearing no malice, even after she attacks them with karate. It seems to me more like a male shark taking a bite out of a female swimmer. That is not male chauvinism.

Issue 58

Cover art of the issue #58

Crypt of Cthulhu #58 was published in August 1988. It had 64 pages.

The theme of the issue was "A Critical Commentary on the Necronomicon".

Contents

• Cover Art by Robert H. Knox [illustration] (front cover)
• Introduction by Robert M. Price [essay] (2–4)
• Section One—Preliminary Questions by Robert M. Price [essay] (5–23)
  • Chapter I: The Critical Approach by Robert M. Price [essay] (5–7)
  • Chapter II: Abdul Alhazred by Robert M. Price [essay] (8–10)
  • Chapter III: What Kind of Book? by Robert M. Price [essay] (11–15)
  • Chapter IV: Alhazred’s Sources by Robert M. Price [essay] (16–18)
  • Chapter V: The History of the Religion by Robert M. Price [essay] (19–22)
  • Chapter VI: The Verse-Numbering System by Robert M. Price [essay] (23)
• Section Two—The Authentic Material by Robert M. Price [essay] (24–45)
  • Chapter VII: That Which Came Before Men by Robert M. Price [essay] (24–35)
  • Chapter VIII: From the Book of Thoth by Robert M. Price [essay] (36–39)
  • Chapter IX: Concerning the Dead by Robert M. Price [essay] (40–45)
• [Pornonomicon] [notice] (45)
• Section Three—The Apocryphal Material by Robert M. Price [essay] (46–59)
  • Chapter X: The Fall of Cthulhu by Robert M. Price [essay] (46–50)
  • Chapter XI: Apocalyptic Tracts by Robert M. Price [essay] (51–53)
  • Chapter XII: Rites of Exorcism by Robert M. Price [essay] (54–57)
  • Chapter XIII: Christian Interpolations by Robert M. Price [essay] (58–59)
• Footnotes by Robert M. Price [essay] (60–63)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (64)
  • The Unnamable directed and screenplay by Jean-Paul Ouellette; reviewed by Robert M. Price (64)
• Briefly Noted [notice] (64)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Reactions and Reviews

[Scott D. Hazen]: I loved issue #58. It was brilliant. It must have taken many hours to prepare, but they were well worth it. I even borrowed some for use in a Call of Cthulhu game I ran for my friends. We all had a good laugh over certain passages.

[Sean Branney]: As a scholar of the Necronomicon, I very much enjoyed Crypt #58. Most of the erudition presented there was quite thorough and most interesting

[James Rockhill]: Thank you for continuing your efforts on the behalf of Lovecraft and his circle. Crypt #58 was fascinating, as effective a separation of the wheat from the chaff in Lovecraftian pseudobiblia as one could reasonably expect. I hope that Mr. Carter had a chance to read it before illness overtook him; he would have loved it. Some of the methodology behind your exclusion of certain texts is frustratingly similar to that used by New Testament scholars in removing "The Lord's Prayer" from the lips of the Lord. A satire on contemporary Biblical criticism, eh?

[David F. Godwin]: Congratulations on the Necronomicon issue. Not only did we get a summary of significant quotations in the literature—numbered and indexed—but an informative short course in exegesis and the "higher criticism." Thanks for an outstanding piece of work.

Issue 59

Cover art of the issue #59

Crypt of Cthulhu #59 was published in September 1988. It had 72 pages.

The theme of the issue was "Forgotten Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos".

Contents

• Cover Art by Robert H. Knox [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• The Aquarium by Carl Jacobi [fiction] (3–9)
• Horror at Vecra by Henry Hasse [fiction] (10–24)
• Oops! [notice] (24)
• [David Fobert, a 32-year-old security guard at Swan Point…] contributed by M. Eileen McNamara [notice] (24)
• The Guardian of the Book by Henry Hasse [fiction] (25–41)
• Die, Movie, Die! [notice] (41)
• Legacy in Crystal by James Causey [fiction] (43–50)
• Demons of Cthulhu by Charles D. Hammer [fiction] (51–57)
• The Mantle of Graag by Paul Dennis Lavond [fiction] (59–61)
• New Dunwich Horrors [notice] (61)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (63–67)
  • Weird Tales, 32 Unearthed Terrors (Bonanza Books, 1988) edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz; with Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg; reviewed by Robert M. Price (63)
  • Collected Poems (Necronomicon Press) by Donald Wandrei; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (63–66)
  • Studies in Weird Fiction #3, Spring 1988 (Necronomicon Press) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (63–66)
  • Insidious Garden: A Look at Horror Fiction, Moshassuck Monograph Series: Number Two by Edward W. O’Brien, Jr.; reviewed by Robert M. Price (66–67)
  • “The Dreamer in the Darkness” in Wasteland #10 (DC Comics) by Del Close, William Messner-Loebs, and John A. Peck; reviewed by Robert M. Price (67)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (68–72)
  • Letter by Virgil Utter (68)
  • Letter by Stuart McLean (68)
  • Letter by Keith M. Frey (68)
  • Letter by Carl T. Ford (68)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (68)
  • Letter by Kevin A. Ross (68)
  • Letter by Diana F. Goddesswinne (68)
  • Letter by Keith M. Frey (69)
  • Letter by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr. (69)
  • Letter by Scott Briggs (69)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (69–70)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (70)
  • Letter by Robert H. Knox (70–71)
  • Letter by Stefan Dziemianowicz(71)
  • Letter by Lew Cabos (71)
  • Letter by Charles Garofalo (71–72)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (72)
  • Letter by Gahan Wilson (72)
  • Letter by R. L. Tierney (72)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Reactions and Reviews

[Robert Bloch]: You've done a signal service in collecting and publishing the stories in #59 — all of which are Lovecraftian in spirit, though not necessarily his equal in HPLoquence.

Your projected Barlow issue sounds like another winner. Something to look forward to indeed!

[Charles Gray]: I had just about given up hope of ever reading "Horror at Vecra" and "The Mantle of Graag." Now if only you could track down and print "Why Abdul Alhazred Went Mad," "Dr. Xander's Cottage," and "Through the Alien Angle," I would be deliciously happy.

Well, with Crypt #59, Cromlech #3, and Risque Stories #6, you have achieved your first one hundred publications. Sincerest congratulations.

[Rah Hoffman]: I enjoyed issue #59, “Forgotten Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos," although the constantly recurring theme of a book, a library, or a bookstore unfortunately tended to become monotonous within the single issue.

[Paul A. Roales]: I enjoyed Crypt #59 very much, especially the two Henry Hasse stories.

[Charles Garofalo]: Crypt of Cthulhu #59 included a couple of stories I had wanted to read for a long time: "Demons of Cthulhu" and "Guardian of the Book." "The Mantle of Graag" came closer to Lovecraft than any of the others. I also perversely enjoyed "Legacy in Crystal," in spite of its obviousness. In fact, I could imagine "Legacy" made into a Twilight Zone segment. "The Aquarium can't say I cared for, but I was not impressed with the non-Cthulhu version of the tale either. "Horror at Vecra" is superior, if standard Cthulhu spookery.

Your book reviews were as interesting as the stories themselves. I would not want O'Brien's Insidious Garden... I've started to have my fill of Christians who think it's a sin if your bookshelf contains anything but the Bible and commentaries thereof (oh, maybe a cookbook so you can bake a cake for the church social).

[Dennis Lien]: I enjoyed #59, as always. I note that "Paul Dennis Lavond" was a house pen name employed variously by Fred Pohl, C. M. Kornbluth, Robert A. W. Lowndes, and Dirk Wylis. Any idea who wrote "The Mantle of Graag"? (I'd guess Lowndes).

Afraid I'd have to agree with Derleth's implied criticism—the brief Cthulhu Mythos references in Jacobi's original "Aquarium" seem dragged in and the story is stronger without them. "Guardian of the Book" and "Demons of Cthulhu" were in their individual ways quite funny, unfortunately for them.

Wonder who Charles D. Hammer is or was? Anyone who spells "fhtagn" correctly in a 1959 teen sleaze mag story must have had some pride in his work.

[Kevin A. Ross]: As for Crypt 59, I found Jacobi's "The Aquarium" and Hasse's "Horror at Vecra" to be the pick of the lot. Hasse's “Guardian of the Book" dragged on somewhat as the narrator continually debated on whether to read the accursed book; the Mythos elements seemed unnecessary, almost as if they had been added as a second thought. Causey's tale is also guilty of this tactic, with even worse results considering the Christianity-reinforcing climax. And the final tales by Hammer and Lavond turned out to be typical uninspired fannish Mythos pastiches. Sigh.

And though a few of Stefan Dziemianowicz's remarks in his review of Brian Lumley's Mad Moon of Dreams might have offended some, they were nevertheless apropos. If anything Dziemianowicz was merciful in the fact that he didn't mention the ridiculous sequence in which Hero [what an imaginative name, eh?) and Eldin are shuffled between the sky-ships of several of their enemies in a series of escapes and prisoner parades. All in the space of about two chapters. Aargh.

[Stefan R. Dziemianowicz]: Crypt 59 was another treasure trove. Just when you think you've read every Mythos story... I tend to use the Weinberg/Berglund Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos as my reference book for the more obscure fan fiction, and of all the stories you reprinted only Jacobi's got any mention there. Sorry, but I don't think the restoration of the Mythos elements to that one helps it out much (although I'll fight to the death to defend the sanctity of an author's version over the editor's version!). The Hasse stories were interesting, too. Do you think years from naw, Mythos scholars will write how the end of “Horror at Vecra" foreshadowed the 1988 remake of The Blob? If not, then remember, you heard it here first! And while on this tack, has anyone ever noticed how much Clark Ashton Smith's "The Chain of Aforgomon" [1935] has in common with the Universal movie The Mummy [1932]. Substitute a chain for bandages and--BINGO!) This was also the first opportunity I had to read "The Guardian of the Book," and for all of its shortcomings I think Hasse caught much of the true spirit of the Mythos. In particular, I liked his idea that the very knowledge of the Mythos is itself a sort of horrible corruption. Undoubtedly you know that Paul Dennis Lavond, author of "The Mantle of Graag," was a collective pseudonym used by the members of the Futurians. In his book The Futurians, Damon Knight says it usually indicated stories that Harry Dockweiler, Robert Lowndes and Fred Pohl all had a hand in, although sometimes it was used by them individually. The story's mention of the Song of Yste seems to tip it more towards the Lowndes ouvre (he used this book in his story, "The Abyss").

[Brian Lumley]: Thanks for (God knows how many) Crypts; the most recent one (59) pleases me greatly, since it has amongst other good things a story which was something of an influence when I first read it in its edited form, oh, almost thirty years ago Actually, I'm not sure I didn't like that earlier reading better. No, "I'll go further than that and say I did like the other version better; but now at least you've given me the opportunity to compare the two, if a comparison across such a timegap is fair.

<...> Your letters column is hard-hitting as usual; certain gems of truth spring forth; people have apparently noticed that Joshi is "pompous" and Burleson redundant. Delicate dictionary definition mightn't fit my personal response, but I would say "exceedingly flatulent":—mass emissions of hot air, not complimentary to the atmosphere.

Issue 60

Cover art of the issue #60

Crypt of Cthulhu #60 was published in November 1988. It had 64 pages.

The theme of the issue was Robert H. Barlow.

Contents

• Cover Art by Robert H. Knox [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Origin Undetermined by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (3–13)
• The Experiment by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (14–16)
• Return by Sunset by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (17–24)
• A Memory by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (25–31)
• A Fragment by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (32)
• The Summons: A Fragment by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (33–38)
• The Artizan’s Reward by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (39–40)
• Fungi from Yuggoth [notice] (40)
• Eye of the God by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (41)
• The Priest and the Heretic by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (42)
• A Dream by Robert H. Barlow [fiction] (43–44)
• R.H. Barlow and the Recognition of Lovecraft by S. T. Joshi [essay] (45–51, 32)
• Robert H. Barlow as H.P. Lovecraft’s Literary Executor: An Appreciation by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr. [essay] (52–62)
• Oops! [notice] (62)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (63, 40)
  • Prime Evil (NAL) edited by Douglas Winter; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (63, 40)
  • Fine Frights (TOR Books) edited by Ramsey Campbell; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (63, 40)
  • The Year’s Best Fantasy (St. Martin’s Press) edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (63, 40)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (64, 16, 38, 40, 13, 24, 32, 44)
  • Letter by Scott D. Hazen (64)
  • Letter by James Pontolillo (64)
  • Letter by R. Dixon Smith (64, 16)
  • Letter by Michael Cisco (16, 38, 40)
  • Letter by Robert H. Daugherty (13)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (13)
  • Letter by Tani Jantsang (13, 24)
  • Letter by Charles Gray (24)
  • Letter by Morgan Holmes (32)
  • Letter by Kevin A. Ross (32, 44)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Letters of Comment

[R. Dixon Smith]: I read with some interest your review, in Crypt of Cthulhu #57, of Mad Moon of Dreams, the third volume in Brian Lumley's series concerning adventurers David Hero and Eldin the Wanderer. Reviewer Stefan Dziemianowicz forewarns readers that "although this story is set in the dreamland of Randolph Carter, there is nothing truly Lovecraftian about it."

What is problematic, I think, is the very nature of pastiche. Intended as a tribute to an earlier creation, be it a character (Sherlock Holmes, for instance) or another author's style (Lovecraft's, Howard's, and Burroughs', among others), the pastiche is a venerable tradition, if not always a noble one. Purists tend to reject them however well they are done. Because of this, Brian Lumley, best known as a Mythos writer, has provoked controversy. Some consider him Lovecraft's chief acolyte, the torchbearer of the Cthulhu cult; others accuse him, as they accused August Derleth, of cannibalizing the Mythos.

What would seem to be worth investigating is how effectively a pastiche is written. Your reviewer asserts that in "Ship of Dreams, Lumley rewrote Lovecraft as an Errol Flynn movie. In Mad Moon of Dreams he crosses Lovecraft with a dollop of The Magnificent Seven and a wallop of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars novels." Yes, and a wallop of Robert E. Howard and the tiniest dollop of L. Frank Baum for good measure, I might add. One must assume that your reviewer prefers his pastiches slavishly faithful and imitative. And that would be fine, were it not for the fact that this is not what Lumley set out to do. Lovecraft's dreamland is but a point of departure; into it Lumley hurls his mighty-thewed adventurers, Hero and Eldin, in a breathlessly paced action yarn inhabited by such worthies as Zura, Queen of Zombies, and the monstrous Mnomquah. An affectionate, visceral tribute, carried off with great panache. Even your reviewer concedes, however grudgingly, that Mad Moon of Dreams is "an adventure tale chock full of science fantasy, universal peril, strange and wondrous creatures, miracles of rare device, cavalry rescues and villains you can hiss at..." What he seems to resent is the novel's pulp-magazine origins. Yes, it is pulp-oriented, full of awe, wonder, thrills, and cliff-hanger endings, and what of it?) Wasn't Lovecraft a pulp writer? Were it not for the pulp magazines, few of us in the field would be reading the kind of current fiction we do read.

Other subjects discussed: Abdul Al-Hazred's true name and the reason of his death, etymology of the name Yog-Sothoth, Lin Carter's listing of Mythos stories, Imaginos album by Blue Oyster Cult, Hasse's "The Guardian of the Book."

Reactions and Reviews

[Russell Hansen]: Enjoy the special issues, especially the #60 about Robert Barlow.

[David Barker]: The Robert H. Barlow issue (#60) is wonderful! S. T. Joshi and Kenneth W. Faig, Jr.'s articles documenting Barlow's accomplishments as HPL's literary executor were especially valuable. What little I've read about Barlow up to now has been very negative—depicting him as aloof, uncooperative, negligent, indifferent and irresponsible in allegedly failing to carry out his duties as executor of Lovecraft's literary estate. It is gratifying even at this late date—to finally hear Barlow's side of the story and to see justice done him.

As both articles make abundantly clear, Barlow was a good friend and enthusiastic advocate of HPL and his work. It is obvious that he placed a high value on both the man and his writings, and that he always had Lovecraft's best interests in mind. And he showed tremendous foresight in depositing HPL's papers in a permanent library collection for safekeeping, an unselfish act that I don't recall having been acknowledged by his detractors. Barlow, as a member of the Lovecraft Circle and a promoter of Lovecraft's works, has been so vilified and his importance so downplayed in the past, that this amazing bit of news about him having rescued HPL's letters and manuscripts from oblivion came as quite a surprise to me, and probably to many other Crypt readers.

But perhaps more important than Joshi's and Faig's defense of Barlow's reputation from previous unfair abuses, is the way in which both scholars evoke a strong sense of the warmth of the friendship between HPL and his young fan, and show Barlow to have been an interesting figure in his own right. You have to come away liking the guy after reading these two articles.

Obviously, Barlow early on recognized Lovecraft's importance and stature as a major writer, and he did a lot towards preserving HPL's works for future readers. He deserves much credit and thanks, and your issue is a fitting tribute to him.

[Wilum Pugmire]: The Barlow issue is a gem, one of your finest efforts. His fiction is quite worthy of publication, at times reaching poetic beauty.

The essays were brilliant, full of facts, and of feeling. I was astonished by Mr. Faig's continually revealed warm feelings for Barlow, HPL, and Mrs. Gamwell. One seldom finds this kind of concern in such an essay, and it is a heartwarming testimony of Kenneth's personal nature. He has been staying in the background, — silent, for far too long. I applaud his return to publication as witnessed in the new issues of Crypt.

Robert's cover was splendid.

Issue 61

Cover art of the issue #61

Crypt of Cthulhu #61 was published in December 1988. It had 44 pages.

The theme of the issue was "Mad Arab Magazine".

Contents

• Cover Art by Stephen E. Fabian [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Humour and Satire in Lovecraft by S. T. Joshi [essay] (3–13)
• Supernatural Humor in Literature by Darrell Schweitzer [essay] (14–20)
• Ensorcellry by Lin Carter [poetry] (20)
• Key to “Cthulhi-ul-iu, Where Are You?” [essay] (20, 24, 43)
• The Ringer of the Doorbell by Jim Cort [fiction] (21–24)
• The Horror from the Meteorite by Robert M. Price [fiction] (25, 20)
• Mildew from Shaggai by Robert M. Price [poetry] (26–28)
• Asceticism and Lust: The Greatest Lovecraft Revision by Peter Cannon [fiction] (29–31)
• Gone West by Richard L. Tierney [poetry] (32)
• Black Stars in the Skulls of Doom by Lin Carter [fiction] (33–34, 28)
• A Letter of Acceptance by Will Murray [fiction] (35–36)
• Interior Art by Christopher Friend [illustration] (36)
• The Real Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Wayne Hill, Tani Jantsang, and Philip Marsh [poetry] (37–38)
• Cthulhi-ul-iu, Where are You? by Jason C. Eckhardt [illustration] (39)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (40–43)
  • Folk Songs of the Cthulhu Mythos (Philo Records, 1988) by Buffy Sainte-Marie; reviewed by Ray W. Murrill (Will Murray) (40–41)
  • Magazine Roundup reviewed by Phinas Kornegay (Robert M. Price) (41–43)
• That Old One Religion by Richard L. Tierney [poetry] (43)
• Interior Art by Christopher Friend [illustration] (43)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (44)
  • Letter by Ramsey Campbell (Robert M. Price) (44)
  • Letter by Moustapha Smith (Robert M. Price) (44)
  • Letter by Rev. Enoch Bowen (Robert M. Price) (44)
  • Letter by Elmo Fern (Robert M. Price) (44)
  • Letter by Jacque Derision (Robert M. Price) (44)

Issue 61½

Cover art of the issue #61 1/2

Crypt of Cthulhu #61½ was published in December 1988. It had 36 pages.

Contents

• Cover Art by Mike T. Cherry [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Lovecraftisms by Ralph Rayburn Phillips [illustration] (3)
• Why Abdul Al Hazred Went Mad by D. R. Smith [fiction] (4–6)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (7–21)
  • European Glimpses (Necronomicon Press) by H. P. Lovecraft and Sonia H. Greene; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (7)
  • A Rendezvous in Averoigne, Best Fantastic Tales of Clark Ashton Smith (Arkham House, 1988) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (7–11)
  • The Unexpurgated Clark Ashton Smith: The Monster of the Prophecy (Necronomicon Press, July 1988) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (7–11)
  • Nostalgia of the Unknown: The Complete Prose Poetry of Clark Ashton Smith (Necronomicon Press) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (7–11)
  • Within the Circle, In Memoriam: Franklin Lee Baldwin, 1913–1987 (Moshassuck Monograph #3) by Josephine Richardson and Divers Hands; reviewed by Robert M. Price (11–12)
  • The Forbidden Room and How the Forbidden Room Happened (Moshassuck Monograph #4) by Duane W. Rimel; reviewed by Robert M. Price (11–12)
  • The Burrowers Beneath (Grafton) by Brian Lumley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (12–16)
  • Firebug (TOR Books, October 1988) by Robert Bloch; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (16–17)
  • New Moon (TOR Books, 1987) by William Relling, Jr.; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (17–18)
  • Discovering Modern Horror Fiction II (Starmont House, 1988) by Darrell Schweitzer; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (18–19)
  • Aklo: A Journal of the Fantastic #1, Spring 1988 (Caermon Books) edited by Mark Valentine and Roger Dobson; reviewed by Robert M. Price (19)
  • In Brief reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (19–21)
  • The Selected Stories of Charles Beaumont (Dark Harvest) by Charles Beaumont; edited by Roger Anker; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (19–20)
  • Ripper! (TOR Books) edited by Gardner Dozois and Susan Casper; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (20)
  • The Year’s Best Horror Stories XVI (DAW Books) edited by Karl Edward Wagner; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (20)
  • The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels (Carroll and Graf) edited by Mike Ashley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (20)
  • The Lurker at the Threshold (Carroll and Graf) by August Derleth; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (20–21)
  • H.P. Lovecraft: A Critical Study (Greenwood Press) by Donald R. Burleson; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (21)
• Our Finny Friends [notice] (21)
• Let’s Libel Lumley! [notice] (21)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (23–34)
  • Letter by Susan Michaud (23–24)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (24)
  • Letter by Ros Calverley (24–26)
  • Letter by David F. Godwin (26)
  • Letter by Robert H. Knox (26)
  • Letter by Mark Rainey (26)
  • Letter by Paul A. Roales (26–27)
  • Letter by Charles Garofalo (27)
  • Letter by Dennis Lien (27)
  • Letter by David Barker (27)
  • Letter by Kevin A. Ross (27)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (27–29)
  • Letter by Brian Lumley (29)
  • Letter by Peter Cannon (30)
  • Letter by Donald R. Burleson, PhD (30–32)
  • Letter by Tani Jantsang (32)
  • Letter by Russell Hansen (32–33)
  • Letter by James Rockhill (33)
  • Letter by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr. (33)
  • Letter by David Barker (33)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (33–34)
  • Letter by Rah Hoffman (34)
  • Letter by Sean Branney (34)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Letters of Comment

[Susan Michaud]: There are as many differences between men's and women's writings as there are between men and women. These differences have to do with nature as well as nurture, and they are what essentially makes life interesting. Many women get turned off by the abundance of misogynist stories, of brain-sucking monster stories, and of barebreasted amazon stories in the genre. These stories make most women nauseous after a while. Unfortunately, unless women stumble across a truly good horror or sci-fi writer, they lose all interest in the field. Many men, however, are happy to read bare-breasted amazon stories for the rest of their lives (which is why such stories are so abundant). Therefore, Mr. Comtois is wrong to say that many women aren't interested in the genre. Many more women would be interested if they didn't have to dredge through the sludge to get to the good stuff—and that, Mr. Comtois, is the fault of the males.

I disagree also with Mr. Comtois' contention that men will continue to dominate the field, but then again, it depends on what field he means. Men will always dominate the "brainsucking monster," "“bare-breasted amazon" part of the field because it is predominantly filled with eternally preadolescent males. Women, on the other hand, will take truly worthy horror and sci-fi to mew heights. It may take a long time, but in the immortal words of Martin Luther King—"we shall overcome."

[Darrell Schweitzer]: Do women read horror? Here's a bit of inside info, which I assume may now be revealed: one of the editors at Montcalm Publishing told me once that Night Cry had a sixty-percent female readership. Women have always been more strongly attracted to horror and fantasy than to science fiction, but this is apparently the first time in the history of the field that a fantasy prozine has gone over half in its female readership. (Typical figures for SF magazines are about 25 percent women.)

Other subjects discussed: do women like horror, an ad for a too expensive zine, "Rapture in Black" by Mark Rainey, some Henry Hasse's stories, the meaning of Nephren-Ka name, Burleson's critical style, Yog-Sothoth and religious parallels.

Issue 62

Cover art of the issue #62

Crypt of Cthulhu #62 was published in February 1989. It had 68 pages.

The theme of the issue was Robert A.W. Lowndes.

Contents

• Cover Art (“The Abyss”) by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Mike Ashley [editorial] (2)
• Leapers by Robert A. W. Lowndes [fiction] (3–22)
• Settler’s Wall by Robert A. W. Lowndes [fiction] (23–37)
• The Burrowers Beneath by Robert A. W. Lowndes [poetry] (38)
• Forbidden Books by Robert A. W. Lowndes [poetry] (38)
• Two Letters from Lovecraft by H. P. Lovecraft (39–47)
  • Letter (20 January 1937) by H. P. Lovecraft (39–42)
  • Letter (20 February 1937) by H. P. Lovecraft (42–47)
• Lowndes, Lovecraft, and the Health Knowledge Years by Mike Ashley [essay] (48–53)
• On Forbidden Knowledge by Robert A. W. Lowndes [essay] (54–56)
• On H.P. Lovecraft’s Views of Weird Fiction by Robert A. W. Lowndes [essay] (57–62)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (64–67, 22, 53, 56, 62)
  • To the Recipient of This Volume (The Strange Company, 1988) by H. P. Lovecraft and Ira Albert Cole; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (64–66)
  • Xeethra (Necronomicon Press) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (66–67)
  • The Witchcraft of Ulua (Necronomicon Press) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (66–67)
  • Lovecraft Studies 17 (Necronomicon Press) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (67, 22)
  • Weird Tales: The Magazine that Never Dies (Doubleday, 1988) edited by Marvin Kaye; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (22, 53, 56, 62)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (68, 47)
  • Letter by Kathy Corcoran (68)
  • Letter by Andreas Städing (68)
  • Letter by Thomas R. Hall III (68)
  • Letter by Mark Morrison (68)
  • Letter by Robert A. W. Lowndes (68, 47)
  • Letter by Diana F. Goddesswinne (47)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (47)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 63

Cover art of the issue #63

Crypt of Cthulhu #63 was published in March 1989. It had 48 pages.

The theme of the issue was "The Sussex Manuscript".

Contents

• Cover Art by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• The Sussex Manuscript by Fred Pelton [fiction] (3–27)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (29–36)
  • “Eleusinia” and “Beneath the Barley” (Necronomicon Press) by Arthur Machen; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (29)
  • Arthur Machen (Caermaen Books) by Aiden Reynolds and William Charlton; reviewed by Robert M. Price (29–30)
  • Remembering Derleth (The August Derleth Society) edited by Bill Dyke; reviewed by Robert M. Price (30)
  • Nocturne, Primus, Autumn 1988 edited by Michael J. Lotus; reviewed by Robert M. Price (30)
  • Studies in Weird Fiction 4 (Necronomicon Press) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (30–32)
  • Raising Goosebumps for Fun and Profit (Including the 25 Most Familiar Horror Plots) (Footsteps Press) by T. E. D. Klein; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (32–33)
  • Weirdbook 23/24 (W. Paul Ganley: Publisher) edited by W. Paul Ganley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (33–34)
  • The Weirdbook Sampler (W. Paul Ganley: Publisher) edited by W. Paul Ganley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (33–34)
  • Minnesota Fantasy Review, Volume 2, #2 reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (34–35)
  • Eldritch Tales #17 edited by Crispin Burnham; reviewed by Robert M. Price (35)
  • Deathrealm #7, Fall/Winter 1988 edited by Mark Rainey; reviewed by Robert M. Price (35)
  • Parts Magazine #2 reviewed by Robert M. Price (35–36)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (37–48)
  • Letter by David M. Massaro (37–38)
  • Letter by Glenn Lord (38)
  • Letter by Donald R. Burleson (38)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (38)
  • Letter by Ramsey Campbell (38–39)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (39)
  • Letter by Robert H. Knox (39–40)
  • Letter by Pierre Comtois (40–41)
  • Letter by W. Paul Ganley (41–42)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (42–45)
  • Letter by Keith Frey (45)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (45–47)
  • Letter by Mike Ashley (47)
  • Letter by Thomas Ligotti (47)
  • Letter by Lenny Grotze (47)
  • Letter by Steve Behrends (47)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (47)
  • Letter by Jacob Bragadia (47–48)
  • Letter by David F. Godwin (48)
  • Letter by C. L. Vunkowski (48)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (48)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 64

Cover art of the issue #64

Crypt of Cthulhu #64 was published in May 1989. It had 40 pages.

The theme of the issue was "Herbert West—Reanimated".

Contents

• Cover Art by Jason C. Eckhardt [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Herbert West—Reanimated [fiction] (3–24)
  • I: Charnel Secrets by Robert M. Price [fiction] (3–7)
  • II: The Body from the Bog by Peter H. Cannon [fiction] (7–11)
  • III: Tombstone Tribunal by Will Murray [fiction] (11–14)
  • IV: What Came Up From the Cellar by Donald R. Burleson [fiction] (14–17)
  • V: Tears of the Dead by Charles Hoffman [fiction] (17–22)
  • VI: The Corpse Spawn by Robert M. Price [fiction] (22–24)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (26–33)
  • H.P. Lovecraft (Twayne Publishers, 1989) by Peter Cannon; reviewed by Robert M. Price (26–27)
  • Yr Obt Servt: Some Postcards of Howard Phillips Lovecraft Sent to Wilfred Blanch Talman (The Strange Company) by H. P. Lovecraft; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (27)
  • Fear and Trembling (TOR Books, March 1989) by Robert Bloch; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (28)
  • Twentieth Century Literary Criticism 30 (Gale Research Inc., 1989) reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (28–29)
  • Pulp Man’s Odyssey—The Hugh B. Cave Story (Starmont House, 1988) by Audrey Parente; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (29–31)
  • Hugh Cave’s The Corpse Maker (Starmont House, 1988) by Hugh Cave; edited by Sheldon Jaffery; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (29–31)
  • Disciples of Dread (TOR Books, 1988) by Hugh Cave; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (29–31)
  • The Voyage (Macmillan, 1988) by Hugh Cave; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (29–31)
  • Something Breathing (Embassy Hall, 1987) by Stanley McNail; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (31)
  • The Spectre #1 (Sepulchral Press, 1988) edited by Shawn Ramsey; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (31–32)
  • Midnight Graffiti #1 reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (32)
  • Grue #9 (Hell’s Kitchen Productions) reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (32)
  • Horror: 100 Best Books (Carroll and Graf, 1988) edited by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (32–33)
• Hark Hecate! by Richard L. Tierney [essay] (34
• Astro-Error! [notice] (35)
• More Dunwich Horrors contributed by Chris Hocking [notice] (35)
• Baa, Baa, Black Goat by Richard L. Tierney [poetry] (35)
• Urgent by Darrell Schweitzer [poetry] (35)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (36–40)
  • Letter by Robert H. Knox (36)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (36)
  • Letter by Douglas Anderson (36)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (36–37)
  • Letter by Dan Gobbett (37)
  • Letter by W. Paul Ganley (37)
  • Letter by Tani Jantsang (37–38)
  • Letter by Robert H. Daugherty (38)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (38)
  • Letter by Donald R. Burleson (38–40)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Reactions and Reviews

[Krishna C. Sherman]: It's been a number of years since I've been reading your publication, and, lo! I must say that your last effort in #68 has forced me to give you folks a letter of congratulations. Wow! A knockout! I can see rings of Lovecraftians dancing about in circles with joy over this one. The R'lyeh Review, which is always informative and exciting, was even more so. The verses by Mr. Tierney and Mr. Schweitzer gave me a much needed chuckle in the advent of college finals.

And Mail Call? Mail Call is opening into an even broader and complex forum for our fellow readers. Not satisfied to delve into mere trivia over whether "old Grandpa" sounded like Mickey Mouse or not, the Crypt readers are conversing over the roles of women and men in weird fiction and "deconstructionism" and such. And they do so intelligently without losing their good sense of humor. All so exciting! I can only expect that it will only open up more controversy in the future. Everyone give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.

By the way, may I also congratulate Donald Burleson (look Don, a compliment!) for his outstanding letter of response to his criticism of late. He handled his remarks with remarkable professionalism and, even more surprising, clarity. The critics do, after all, have a good point. I must say, that despite the interest he generates in his topics and ideas, his effect is somewhat diminished by his exceptionally dry prose. Now, it seems if he carried out his articles just a little bit looser, as in his last letter, I believe people would react with much more enthusiasm to his intelligent and well-informed commentary. Regardless, however people might have written about Mr. Burleson in the past, I hope no one will deny that his ideas and essays are, as always, warmly welcomed and appreciated by the readers. Cheers, Don, and well done!

The Herbert West installments were even better than expected. It was a constant joy to see the plot twist from here to there and back again. Of late, I can think of no other Crypt fiction which has brought me so much delight and surprise. I think, though, that Mr. Cannon may have a Melville obsession developing as of late. I was quite surprised NOT to see a "Great White Beast" sloshing off in the bog's distance. At any rate, the entire series was carried out wonderfully, and I believe should be included, wherever possible, beside the master's original episodes. Bravo! Everyone rise and give the fellows enthusiastic applause.

Issue 65

Cover art of the issue #65

Crypt of Cthulhu #65 was published in June 1989. It had 48 pages.

Contents

• Cover Art by Darrel Tutchton [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• The Gibbering Walls by Eddy C. Bertin [fiction] (3–17)
• The Voice in the Bones by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (18–22)
• Interior Art by Bruce W. Timm [illustration] (23)
• Surrealism and H.P. Lovecraft by John Brower [essay] (24–26)
• The Bart House Paperbacks by David E. Schultz [essay] (27–28)
• Wilbur Whateley by Marie Lazzari [poetry] (28)
• I Saw The Whisperer in Darkness by Will Murray [essay] (29–32)
• Problem Child by Darrell Schweitzer [poetry] (32)
• Analects from the Mainstream #2: Of Machen and Henry Miller: Or, Anais, Meet Arthur by Don Herron [essay] (33)
• Fun Guys from Yuggoth by Eddy C. Bertin [essay] (34–38)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (40–41, 28)
  • Necroscope II: Vamphyri! (TOR, April 1989) by Brian Lumley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (40–41)
  • Post Mortem (St. Martin’s, 1989) edited by Paul F. Olson and David B. Silva; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (41)
  • Slaughter House Magazine, Vol. 1, #3 reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (41)
  • Machenstruck: Tributes to the Apostle of Wonder (Caermaen Books, October 1988) reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (41, 28)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (42–48)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (42)
  • Letter by Henry James (unknown) (42)
  • Letter by Kevin A. Ross (42–43)
  • Letter by R. A. W. Lowndes (43)
  • Letter by T. E. D. Klein (43–45)
  • Letter by Susan Michaud (45)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (45–48)
  • Letter by Dan Gobbett (48)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (48)
  • Letter by Marie Lazari (48)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Reactions and Reviews

[Wilum Pugmire]: I really enjoy'd #65. Will's article seem'd a bit too cruel to something that was obviously an amateur production created by fans. I remember thinking it a hoot that Vernon Shea was in the film. He had very strong links to Lovecraft fandom at the time, so it is not surprising that he was in the film. Will must remember that for those of us who were young starry-eyed Lovecraft fans, to know someone who had corresponded with HPL was a kick in ye behind. "The Whisperer in Darkness" was Shea's favorite Lovecraft tale, and he was highly amused to star as Akeley. Vernon had no pretentions about the film, and described it as "crude" in his letters to me, saying that the cast was "cruddy." Vernon had just finished writing his own screenplay version of "Thing on the Doorstep" at the time, which I never got to read. Whatever this fannish film lacks, and I'm certain it must be quite lacking, it was a sincere attempt by Lovecraft tans to film HPL. That point was completely overlook'd by Will, and it should be pointed out. Sincerity in matters Lovecraftian is important to me. (Also, Will is mistaken in saying that Shea was publish'd in Weird Tales.)

"Fun Guys" was a delight. I was overjoy'd to read that someone else loved "The Outsider," as it's one of my favorite HPL yarns, and I've always hated how so many people dismiss it as a minor story.

David's wee piece on Tremaine was wonderful, and I admire how there are people out there who are dedicated to setting records correct and giving people their due. Justice is a great and valuable thing.

Mr. Brower's article was interesting, but what I really enjoy'd was how you preceded it with Ligotti's "The Voice in the Bones." Thomas is the supreme Lovecraftian surrealist.

I fear I found Eddy's tale somewhat dull. I rarely enjoy these tales that begin with two tired old men placidly discussing the wonders and terrors of life. I cannot relate to those kinds of characters, and if I were to write such a tale one of the men wou'd be applying vermilion lipstick while the other carves Lovecraftian adjectives into his flesh.

Issue 66

Cover art of the issue #66

Crypt of Cthulhu #66 was published in August 1989. It had 52 pages.

Contents

• Cover Art by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• The Door by Michael Storm [fiction] (3–5)
• The Frenzied Farmhouse by Stefan Grabinski; translated by Miroslaw Lipinski [fiction] (6–10)
• Lovecraft and the Death of Tragedy by Donald R. Burleson, PhD [essay] (11–14)
• Lovecraft’s Best Supernatural Stories by David E. Schultz [essay] (15–17)
• Essential Salts by John Dorfman [essay] (18, 17)
• “The Burrowers Beneath” by Fritz Leiber by Edward P. Berglund [essay] (19–21)
• H.P. Lovecraft and the Cabala by David F. Godwin [essay] (22–27)
• E.R.B. and H.P.L. by William Fulwiler [essay] (28–32)
• Henry Akeley by Marie Lazzari [poetry] (32)
• Alain Resnais’ Providence by John Brower [essay] (33–34, 14)
• Interior Art by Bruce W. Timm [illustration] (35)
• A Conversation With E. Hoffmann Price transcribed by Gregorio Montejo; interview of E. Hoffmann Price (36–43)
• Why (Not) Deconstruct Lovecraft? by Donald R. Burleson, PhD [essay] (44–47)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (49–52, 5)
  • The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions (Arkham House, 1989) by H. P. Lovecraft; edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (49–52, 5)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (53)
  • Letter by Ramsey Campbell (53)
  • Letter by Louis A. Irmo (53)
  • Letter by Stacy Clark (53)
  • Letter by Michael Cisco (53)
  • Letter by Dennis Lien (53)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Reactions and Reviews

[L. Sprague de Camp]: Thanks for No. 66 of Crypt. I was especially interested in the conversation with the late Edward Hoffmann Price. It is nice to know that someone thinks we did not write Dark Valley Destiny in order to vilify Robert Howard.

<...> On page 35, I loved Mr. Timm's picture of the Three Musketeers of WT. I wish I owned the original.

[Kenneth W. Faig, Jr.]: Crypt #66 is a good, well-rounded issue. I can remember buying a copy of The Dunwich Horror—it was one of the first Lovecraft books I ever bought—and wondering why Innsmouth and "The Shadow out of Time" were set in a typeface different from the rest of the book. David Schultz illuminates the whole history of HPL's Best Supernatural Stories and the Arkham House The Dunwich Horror in fascinating detail. I found perhaps most fascinating the correspondence which Derleth had with Wandrei and Bloch concerning the contents of the volume. Before The Outsider and Others emerged, Derleth and Barlow had correspondence on this subject—concerning the contents of the first AH omnibus of HPL's work—and if I recall correctly Barlow mentioned some lists of possible tables of contents which Lovecraft himself had left. But I am foggy on this.

In assessing the impact of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs on HPL's writing. Bill Fulwiler begins to mine a very rich vein—the im pact of early twentieth-century popular literature on Lovecraft's work. Lovecraft mentions a few favorite stories from the pulps, but I have little doubt that a rereading of the files of the magazines he is known to have read would uncover other probable influences. I never read Burroughs beyond the original Tarzan novel, but Fulwiler makes me want to do so.

Burleson contributes two worthy offerings to #66. His essay on "Lovecraft and the Death of Tragedy" certainly makes clear that the modern cosmic viewpoint spells the death of human-centered tragedy as written by the ancient Greeks. Modelling the complexities of human language is one of the crucial tasks remaining for the information sciences. I wonder whether linguistics and modern literary criticism, between the two of them, will eventually enjoy the aid of a "calculus" of human language. I, for one, am fascinated by the question of how closely machines will be able to think and communicate like human beings in the future. I wonder, for instance, whether the microchip holds the potential of correcting degenerating thought processes in human beings—of stopping Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, moderating serious mental illness, etc. Lovecraft, however, adequately foresaw that there is a risk of the displacement of what is human in us in such processes.

Dorfman furnishes an interesting note regarding the sources of Charles Dexter Ward. We know that Lovecrafl owned an early edition of Mather's Magnolia, which he bequeathed to his good friend James F. Morton, Jr. (Even at 1937 prices one wonders whether this bequest constituted the greater part of Lovecraft's estate, which was proved at under $500.) "The Door" by Michael Storm (a pseudonym?) and Paul Rerglund on Leiber's Mythos story both also furnish fascinating sidelights. I wish, however, that the specific place of publication of "The Door" was given.

Miroslaw Lipinski has translated more powerful works by Crabinski than the early tale published in Crypt #66, but even this early story shows Crabinski's genius as a writer of supernatural stories. For some reason, I have always been attracted to stories which disguise, to a limited extent, the persons and places involved in the action of the story. Perhaps this device suggests to me authorial intent to be compact and to tell only what is necessary, whereas my own worst fault in writing is to try to explain everything.

The interview with the late E. Hoffmann Price was a valuable reprint. I doubt whether Lovecraft could ever have been as commercially successful as Price. By way of contrast, I think Robert E. Howard showed he could write for many different commercial markets. Had he survived to 65, I think Lovecraft would have written and published a major speculative novel in the period 1945-1955. By way of contrast, I would expect Robert F. Howard would have become a major regional writer.

Issue 67

Cover art of the issue #67

Crypt of Cthulhu #67 was published in September 1989. It had 68 pages.

The theme of the issue was "The Plains of Nightmare by John Glasby".

Contents

• Cover Art by Daryl Hutchinson [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards: The Glasby Revelation by Mike Ashley [editorial] (2–6)
• The Ring of the Hyades by John S. Glasby [fiction] (7–23)
  • Interior Art by Bruce W. Timm [illustration] (21)
• Drawn from Life by John S. Glasby [fiction] (24–31, 23)
• The Old One by John S. Glasby [fiction] (32–46, 23)
• The Dwellers in Darkness by John S. Glasby [fiction] (47–59, 23)
  • Interior Art by H. E. Fassl [illustration] (59)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (60–65)
  • Haunters of the Dark and Other Lovecraftian Horrors (Dagon Press) by Dave Carson; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (60–63)
  • H.P. Lovecraft: Illustrated in Ichor (Niekas Publications) by Robert H. Knox; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (60–63)
  • The H.P. Lovecraft Centennial Calendar (Necronomicon Press) by Robert H. Knox and Jason C. Eckhardt; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (60–63)
  • East of Samarinda (Bowling Green Popular Press) by Carl Jacobi; reviewed by Robert M. Price (63–64)
  • The Second Book of Rimel (Running Dinosaur Press) by Duane Rimel; reviewed by Robert M. Price (64)
  • Howard Phillips Lovecraft and Nils Helmer Frome: A Recollection of One of Canada’s Earliest Science Fiction Fans (Moshassuck Monograph Series Number 5) edited by Sam Moskowitz; reviewed by Robert M. Price (64–65)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (66–68)
  • Letter by J. Brawley (66)
  • Letter by Robert A. W. Lowndes (66)
  • Letter by Donald R. Burleson (66)
  • Letter by James Rockhill (67)
  • Letter by Paul R. Wilson (67)
  • Letter by Chet Williamson (67–68)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (68)
  • Letter by Marc A. Michaud (68)
  • Letter by Louis A. Irmo (68)
  • Letter by Stefan Dziemianowicz (68)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 68

Cover art of the issue #68

Crypt of Cthulhu #68 was published in November 1989. It had 64 pages.

The theme of the issue was Thomas Ligotti.

Contents

• Cover Art by S. Thomas Brown [illustration] (front cover)
• The H.P. Lovecraft Centennial Conference [essay] (inside front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• The Prodigy of Dreams by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (3–9)
• Allan and Adelaide—An Arabesque by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (10–16)
• Interior Art by S. Thomas Brown [illustration] (17)
• Ghost Stories for the Dead by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (18–20)
• Studies in Horror by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (21–32)
• Order of Illusion by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (33–34, 32)
• Interior Art by S. Thomas Brown [illustration] (34)
• Charnelhouse of the Moon by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (35–36)
• Ten Steps to Thin Mountain by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (37, 36)
• Selections of Lovecraft by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (38–41)
• Interior Art by S. Thomas Brown [illustration] (41)
• The Consolations of Horror by Thomas Ligotti [fiction] (42–48)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (50–52)
  • Strange Shadows: The Uncollected Fiction and Essays of Clark Ashton Smith (Greenwood Press, 1989) by Clark Ashton Smith; edited by Steve Behrends, Donald Sidney-Fryer, and Rah Hoffman; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (50–52)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (53–65, 9, 36, 41, 52)
  • Letter by Steve Benner (53)
  • Letter by Marie Lazzari (53–55)
  • Letter by Henry James (unknown) (55)
  • Letter by Brian Lumley (55–57)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (57–59)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (59–61)
  • Letter by Simon MacCulloch (61)
  • Letter by Pierre Comtois (61–62)
  • Letter by L. Sprague de Camp (62–63)
  • Letter by Dennis Rickard (63)
  • Letter by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr. (63–64)
  • Letter by David E. Schultz (64–65)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (65)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (65, 9, 36, 41, 52)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Letters of Comment

[Krishna C. Sherman]: Finally, there is a certain question which has been nagging me for quite some time. I was wondering if there was any sort of secret code designated to the coloring of the covers. One month pink, the next yellow, and after that another yellow. Is this some evil plot? Some damned intrusion by the forces of the nether dimensions? Or is it in fact, pure chance, decided merely on the aesthetic qualities of color combined with the artwork? But somehow that last explanation is too simple, too pat, to be the truth of it all. No, there is something darker at hand here, and I'm certain that, as editors of this malevolent publication. you'll probably ignore this letter, or edit it during the printing or respond with some baldfaced, inhuman, demonic lie. But I must warn you, we, the readers, are on to you! Beware you devils! Prepare to be blasted back to whence you came!

Other subjects discussed: psychedelic folk-rock albums "H. P. Lovecraft" (1967) and "H. P. Lovecraft II" (1968), women and horror fiction, the use of the word "bearded", Brian Lumley's books, do the Old Ones contact human beings, difference between Lumley's Dreamlands stories and Lovecraft's, Structuralism, "The Whisperer in Darkness" amateur movie, Michael Slade's Ghoul, good horror writers, Robert E. Howard, Texans and tall tales, Benjamin Francis Musser's visit to Robert Howard, Robert Howard and Novalyne Price, Edward Hoffmann Price's birthplace, potential for documentary on Lovecraft, Lovecraft's source for the "Borellus" quote in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, Lovecraft, philosophy and science, fragment of Fritz Leiber's Mythos story.

Issue 69

Cover art of the issue #69

Crypt of Cthulhu #69 was published in December 1989. It had 48 pages.

The theme of the issue was Lin Carter.

Contents

• Cover Art by Bruce W. Timm [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Terror Wears Yellow by Lin Carter [fiction] (3–6)
• A Bottle of Djinn by Lin Carter [fiction] (7–10)
• Sweet Tooth by Lin Carter [fiction] (11–12)
• The Bell in the Tower by H. P. Lovecraft and Lin Carter [fiction] (13–23)
• The Strange Doom of Enos Harker by Lin Carter [fiction] (24–28)
• Nameless Gods and Entities: Robert E. Howard’s Contribution to the Cthulhu Mythos by Lin Carter [essay] (29–31, 23)
• The Great Old Ones: Also Known Variously as the Old Ones, the Primal Ones, Them Who Come, the Ancient Ones, and the Evil Ones, etc. by Lin Carter [essay] (32–38)
• Names in the Black Book [notice] (38)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (39–46, 10, 23)
  • Selected Papers on Lovecraft (Necronomicon Press, June 1989) by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (39)
  • Studies in Weird Fiction #5 (Necronomicon Press) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (39–42)
  • Lovecraft Studies 18 (Necronomicon Press) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (39–42)
  • Tales of the Lovecraft Collectors (Moshassuck Press, 1989) by Kenneth Faig; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (42–44)
  • Life and Death: A Hoax and a Retraction by Kenneth Faig; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (42–44)
  • Skeleton Crew #5 (Grim Reaper Design) reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (44–45)
  • Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original “Psycho” (Pocket Books, May 1989) by Harold Schecter; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (45–46)
  • No, But I Saw the Movie (Penguin Books, 1989) edited by David Wheeler; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowic (45–46)
  • Dagon #25 (June–August 1989) edited by Carl T. Ford; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (46, 10)
  • Eldritch Tales #18 edited by Crispin Burnham; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (46, 10)
  • Grue #10 (Fall 1989) reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (46, 10)
  • Tales by Moonlight II (TOR Books, July 1989) edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (10, 23)
  • The Year’s Best Fantasy: Second Annual Collection (St. Martin’s Press) edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (10, 23)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (48, 6)
  • Letter by Douglas S. Vaughan (48)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (48)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (48, 6)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (6)
  • Letter by Albert Roger (6)
  • Letter by Frank Philipp (6)
  • Letter by Jeff Leach (6)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 70

Cover art of the issue #70

Crypt of Cthulhu #70 was published in February 1990. It had 68 pages.

The theme of the issue was "Lin Carter’s Necronomicon".

Contents

• Cover Art by Jason C. Eckhardt [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• I. The Book of the Episodes by Lin Carter [fiction] (3–30)
  • Introduction by Robert M. Price [essay] (3–4)
  • The Doom of Yakthoob by Lin Carter [fiction] (4–5)
  • The Thing Under Memphis by Lin Carter [fiction] (5–7)
  • The City of Pillars by Lin Carter [fiction] (8–10)
  • The Vault Beneath the Mosque by Lin Carter [fiction] (10–13)
  • Mnomquah by Lin Carter [fiction] (13–17)
  • The Madness out of Time by Lin Carter [fiction] (18–22)
  • Dreams of the Black Lotus by Lin Carter [fiction] (22–26)
  • The Shadow from the Stars by Lin Carter [fiction] (26–30)
• II. The Book of Preparations by Lin Carter [fiction] (31–38)
• III. The Book of the Gates by Lin Carter [fiction] (39–54)
• IV. The Book of Dismissals by Lin Carter [fiction] (55–60)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (62–68)
  • The Destroyer #77: Coin of the Realm (New American Library, July 1989) as by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir (Will Murray); reviewed by S. T. Joshi (62–63)
  • Ancient Images (Scribners, 1989) by Ramsey Campbell; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (63–65)
  • The UK Round-Up reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (65–68)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (68–69, 60)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (68–69)
  • Letter by Donald R. Burleson, PhD (69, 60)
  • Letter by Thomas R. Hall III (60)
  • Letter by Norman Fleck (60)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 71

Cover art of the issue #71

Crypt of Cthulhu #71 was published in March 1990. It had 72 pages.

The theme of the issue was "The Brooding City by John Glasby".

Contents

• Cover Art by Daryl Hutchinson [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2, 18)
• The Shadow over Redforde by John S. Glasby [fiction] (3–18)
• The Brooding City by John S. Glasby [fiction] (19–28, 18)
• The Dweller Beyond the Gate by John S. Glasby [fiction] (29–38)
• A Shadow from the Aeons by John S. Glasby [fiction] (39–49)
• The Kh’yrog Tablets by John S. Glasby [fiction] (50–64)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (66–68)
  • The Sky Garden (Dementia Press, 1989) by Peter Cannon; reviewed by Robert M. Price (66)
  • Songs of a Dead Dreamer (Robinson Publishing, 1989) by Thomas Ligotti; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (66–67)
  • How to Write Horror and Get it Published edited by Marc A. Cerasini; reviewed by Robert M. Price (67–68)
  • Nocturne, Secundus edited by Michael Lotus; reviewed by Robert M. Price (68)
  • Grue, number 11 (Hell’s Kitchen Productions) reviewed by Robert M. Price (68)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (71–72, 38, 49)
  • Letter by Jeff Leach (71)
  • Letter by James Ambuehl (71)
  • Letter by Michael Cisco (71)
  • Letter by D. Shawn Small (71)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (71)
  • Letter by Paul F. Lilienkamp (71)
  • Letter by Simon MacCulloch (72)
  • Letter by Bruce W. Timm (72)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (72)
  • Letter by Michael Cisco (72)
  • Letter by Thomas Ligotti (72)
  • Letter by L. Sprague de Camp (72, 38)
  • Letter by Allen Koszowski (38)
  • Letter by Albert Roger (38, 49)
  • Letter by Donald R. Burleson, PhD (49)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 72

Cover art of the issue #72

Crypt of Cthulhu #72 was published in May 1990. It had 56 pages.

The theme of the issue was "The Rats in the Walls".

Contents

• Cover Art by Gahan Wilson [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Magna Mater! The Religion of Atys and Cybele by Robert M. Price [essay] (3–5)
• Attis and Cybele, A Translation of Catullus 63 by S. T. Joshi [essay] (6–8)
• Endless Dunwich Horrors [notice] (8)
• […far beyond the most distant galaxies…] [notice] (8)
• The Rats in the Walls (A facsimile reprint of a version from Zest Magazine for Men) by H. P. Lovecraft [fiction] (9–18)
• Exham Priory: From the Papers of Sir William Brinton by Robert M. Price [fiction] (19–29)
• Scream for Jeeves; Or, Cats, Rats, and Bertie Wooster by H. P. G. Wodecraft (Peter H. Cannon) [fiction] (30–37)
• On “The Rats in the Walls” by Robert M. Price [essay] (38–39)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (41–50, 29)
  • To Yith and Beyond (The Moshassuck Press, 1990) by Duane W. Rimel; reviewed by Robert M. Price (41–42)
  • Post Oaks and Sand Roughs (Donald M. Grant, Publisher, 1990) by Robert E. Howard; reviewed by Robert M. Price (42)
  • Shadows of Dreams (Donald M. Grant, Publisher, 1989) by Robert E. Howard; reviewed by Robert M. Price (43)
  • Studies in Weird Fiction 6, Fall 1989 (Necronomicon Press) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (43–44)
  • Colossus (Fedogan & Bremer) by Donald Wandrei; reviewed by Robert M. Price (44)
  • Selected Letters 1923–1930 (Necronomicon Press, 1989) by Robert E. Howard; reviewed by Robert M. Price (44–45)
  • Ghoul (Onyx, May 1989) by Michael Slade; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (45–46)
  • Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (Arkham House, 1990) by H. P. Lovecraft and Divers Hands; reviewed by Robert M. Price (46–48)
  • The Arkham House Companion (Starmont House, 1989) by Sheldon Jaffery; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (48–50)
  • Arkham House 1939–1989 (Arkham House catalog) reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (48–50)
  • The Monster with a Thousand Faces: Guises of the Vampire in Myth and Literature (Bowling Green University Popular Press) by Brian J. Frost; reviewed by Charles Garofalo (50, 29)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (51–56)
  • Letter by John Salonia (51)
  • Letter by James Ambuehl (51)
  • Letter by Dan Gobbett (51)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (51–52)
  • Letter by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (52–55)
  • Letter by Frank Philipp (55)
  • Letter by Edward P. Berglund (55)
  • Letter by Paul R. Wilson (55–56)
• Interior Art by Wolfius [illustration] (56)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 73

Cover art of the issue #73

Crypt of Cthulhu #73 was published in June 1990. It had 48 pages.

The theme of the issue was "Lovecraftian Fiction".

Contents

• Cover Art by Steven B. Gould [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Interior Art by Steven B. Gould [illustration] (2)
• The Whisperer in the Wall by Michael J. Lotus [fiction] (3–8)
• Young Ronan by Edward O’Brien, Jr. [fiction] (9–14)
• Interior Art by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (14)
• The Price by Richard L. Tierney [fiction] (15–26)
• The Appreciative Puritan by Peter H. Cannon [fiction] (27–33)
• Weird Tales by Fred Chappell [poetry] (33–34)
• [Did you know that conductor Andre Previn…] [notice] (34)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (35–42, 34)
  • Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (Arkham House, 1990) by H. P. Lovecraft and Divers Hands; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (35–38)
  • The Recluse, 1927 (A facsimile edition reprinted by Moshassuck Press, 1990) reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (38–39)
  • “The Last Feast of Harlequin” in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1990 by Thomas Ligotti; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (39–40)
  • The House of Doors (TOR Books) by Brian Lumley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (40)
  • Pathways to Elfland: The Writings of Lord Dunsany (Owlswick Press, 1989) by Darrell Schweitzer; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (40–41)
  • The Hashish-Eater (Necronomicon Press, September 1989) by Clark Ashton Smith; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (41–42)
  • Deathrealm #11, Spring 1990 edited by Mark Rainey; reviewed by Robert M. Price (42)
  • “The Church at Garlock’s Bend” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, April 1987 by David Kaufman; reviewed by Robert M. Price (42)
  • “John Lehman Alone” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, mid-December 1987 by David Kaufman; reviewed by Robert M. Price (42)
  • The Complete Short Stories of L.P. Hartley (Beaufort Books, 1986) by L. P. Hartley; reviewed by Robert M. Price (34)
  • Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (clarification) reviewed by Robert M. Price (34)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (44–48)
  • Letter by Philip Marsh (44–45)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (45)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (45)
  • Letter by Paul A. Roales (45–46)
  • Letter by James Rockhill (46)
  • Letter by Peter H. Gilmore (46)
  • Letter by Roger Johnson (46)
  • Letter by Rosemary Pardoe (46–47)
  • Letter by Hugh Lamb (47)
  • Letter by Robert A. W. Lowndes (47–48)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (48)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 74

Cover art of the issue #74

Crypt of Cthulhu #74 was published in August 1990. It had 44 pages.

Contents

• Cover Art by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• Lovecraft and Strange Tales by Will Murray [essay] (3–11)
• On Lovecraft’s “Harbor Whistles” by Donald R. Burleson, PhD [essay] (12–13)
• Wentworth’s Debt by Robert M. Price [essay] (14–15)
• Who the Heck was Moses Brown Jenkins? by Will Murray [essay] (16–17)
• The Dweller in the Pot (or, The Pasta Out of Space Eaters) by Frank Chimesleep Short (Robert M. Price) [fiction] (18–21)
• Interior Art by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (21)
• Esoteric Order of Dagon Hymnal by Richard L. Tierney [fiction] (22–23)
• Lunatic Limericks by Darrell Schweitzer [poetry] (23)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (25–36)
  • The Weird Tale (University of Texas Press) by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Robert M. Price (25)
  • Ghosts & Scholars 12 (Haunted Library) edited by Rosemary Pardoe; reviewed by Robert M. Price (25)
  • Robert E. Howard Fight Magazine (Necronomicon Press) edited by Robert M. Price; reviewed by Robert M. Price (25–26)
  • Screams: Three Novels of Suspense (Underwood Miller, 1989) by Robert Bloch; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (26–30)
  • Lori (TOR, February 1990) by Robert Bloch; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (26–30)
  • Psycho House (TOR, 1990) by Robert Bloch; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (26–30)
  • The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch, Volume 1: Final Reckonings (Citadel Twilight, April 1990) by Robert Bloch; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (26–30)
  • The Challenge from Beyond (Necronomicon Press, 1990) by Divers Hands; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (30–31)
  • The Vivisector (Necronomicon Press, 1990) by H. P. Lovecraft; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (31–34)
  • The Conservative (Necronomicon Press, 1990) by H. P. Lovecraft; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (31–34)
  • Lovecraft Studies 21 (Necronomicon Press, April 1990) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (34–35)
  • Midnight Brushstrokes (Noctural Publications, 1989) by Allen Koszowski; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (35–36)
• Pickman’s Gallery [illustration] (36–38)
  • Interior Art by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (36)
  • Interior Art by Allen Koszowski [illustration] (36)
  • Interior Art by Steven B. Gould [illustration] (37)
  • Interior Art (“Yig”) by Rodolfo A. Ferraresi [illustration] (38)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (39–44)
  • Letter by Brian Lumley (39)
  • Response by Editor (Robert M. Price) (39)
  • Letter by Jason C. Eckhardt (39–40)
  • Letter by Fred Chappell (40)
  • Letter by Robert H. Knox (40)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (40–42)
  • Letter by Henry J. Vester III (42)
  • Letter by Edward O’Brien (42)
  • Letter by Wilum Pugmire (42)
  • Letter by Brian Humphreys (42)
  • Letter by H. E. Fassl (42–44)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)

Issue 75

Cover art of the issue #75

Crypt of Cthulhu #75 was published in September 1990. It had 80 pages.

Contents

• Cover Art by Gahan Wilson [illustration] (front cover)
• Editorial Shards by Robert M. Price [editorial] (2)
• C. Hall Thompson: The First Neo-Lovecraftian? by Stefan Dziemianowicz [essay] (3–15, 21)
• Textual Problems in At the Mountains of Madness by S. T. Joshi [essay] (16–21)
• More Lovecraft in the Comics by Will Murray [essay] (22–26, 34)
• What Happens in “Arthur Jermyn”? by S. T. Joshi [essay] (27–28)
• H.P. Lovecraft Colloquium [notice] (28)
• Buddai by Will Murray [essay] (29–33)
• Roots of the Manuxet by Will Murray [essay] (34)
• Warm Air by D. F. Lewis [fiction] (35–37)
• Excerpts from The Lovecraftian Tour of Providence contributed by M. Eileen McNamara [essay] (37)
• Worms by W. Paul Ganley [fiction] (38–43)
• H.P. Lovecraft and the Century of Violence by Colin Wilson [essay] (44–51)
• Shards from Shaggai by Robert M. Price [poetry] (52–53)
• Fun Guys from Yuggoth [essay] (54–56)
  • I Entered the Shunned House by Will Murray [essay] (54–56)
• R’lyeh Review [review] (58–72, 21)
  • Rivals of Weird Tales (Bonanza Books, 1990) edited by Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, and Martin H. Greenberg; reviewed by S. T. Joshi (58–60)
  • Studies in Weird Fiction 7 (Necronomicon Press, Spring 1990) edited by S. T. Joshi; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (60)
  • The Destroyer #81: Hostile Takeover (New American Library, 1990) as by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir (Will Murray); reviewed by S. T. Joshi (60–61)
  • The Horror of it All: Encrusted Gems from the “Crypt of Cthulhu” (Starmont House, 1990) edited by Robert M. Price; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (62–66)
  • H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos (Starmont House, 1990) by Robert M. Price; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (62–66)
  • The Robert Bloch Companion: Collected Interviews 1969–1989 (Starmont House, 1990) edited by Randall Larson; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (66)
  • Necroscope IV: Deadspeak (TOR, May 1990) by Brian Lumley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (66–67)
  • Elysia: The Coming of Cthulhu (Ganley, 1989) by Brian Lumley; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (67–68)
  • Lovecraft’s Legacy (TOR, October 1990) edited by Robert Weinberg and Martin Greenberg; reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz (68–70)
  • The Hollow Earth (William Morrow and Company, August 1990) by Rudy Rucker; reviewed by Marc A. Cerasini (70–72)
  • “Sunset Terrace Imagery in Lovecraft” and Other Essays (Necronomicon Press) by Peter Cannon; reviewed by Dabney Hoskins (Peter H. Cannon) (72)
  • Bride of the Re-Animator directed by Brian Yuzna; reviewed by Robert M. Price (72, 21)
• Mail-Call of Cthulhu [letter] (74–80)
  • Letter by Bill Malloy (74)
  • Letter by Philip J. Rahman (74)
  • Letter by David F. Godwin (74–75)
  • Letter by James Rockhill (75)
  • Letter by Dabney Hoskins (Peter H. Cannon) (75)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (75)
  • Letter by Jeff Leach (75–76)
  • Letter by Gahan Wilson (76)
  • Letter by Peter Cannon (76)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (76–77)
  • Letter by Robert Bloch (77)
  • Letter by Thomas G. Moffatt (77)
  • Letter by David M. Massaro (77–78)
  • Letter by Robert N. Daugherty (78)
  • Letter by Marie Lazzari (78)
  • Letter by Richard L. Tierney (78)
  • Letter by Robert A. W. Lowndes (78–79)
  • Letter by Darrell Schweitzer (79)
  • Letter by Carl Budka (79)
  • Letter by Richard M. Jefts (79)
  • Letter by Allen Koszowski (79–80)
  • Letter by Jeff Leach (80)
• Next Time . . . [essay] (back cover)