It’s difficult to think of an anthology of stories steeped in the mythos of the Elder Gods as being “cozy”, but that’s exactly what this felt like to me… a cozy collection of tales that both warm the heart and chill the spirit just a little bit.

It wasn’t until after I’d finished reading the stories that I read Lockhart’s introduction and fully appreciated how he approached selecting these tales, and hopefully bending the common misperception that “home & hearth” are always safe, warm, happy places. The perfect combination of “cozy” and “horror”, and I have to say that I enjoyed the atmosphere these stories created by reading them without any awareness of the theme that would be unfolding as I read them. Even the tagline, “In his house at R’lyeh, Cthulhu waits dreaming…” subtly suggests an atypical home full of dread where you can sense an unfathomable unseen horror, knowing you need to uncover or reveal it even though that discovery may consume and destroy you.

And most of the stories in this collection tickle and tease that part of your brain, knowing the thing behind the door will drive you mad, but that knowledge is not enough to quiet the driving need to open that door…

Listen to Ross reading the anthology intro, and the story “Assemblage Point” read by author Scott R. Jones from this collection can also be found there

For me, the stories that intrigued me or that I enjoyed the most were “Dead Canyons” by Ann K. Schwader, “Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window” by Michael Griffin, “On a Kansas Plain” by Michael J. Martinez, “Aerkheim’s Horror” by Christine Morgan, and “Love Will Save You” by Cameron Pierce, with “The Lightning Splitter” by Walter Greatshell also near the top.

Lockhart has done a wonderful job compiling these stories, and to have an anthology where the majority of the stories are good or better, instead of having just one or two gems amongst an otherwise average playing field is also a delight.

If you’re a fan of psychological horror and the Cthulhu mythos, you just might enjoy this collection as much as I did.

Word Horde: www.wordhorde.com, @WordHorde

What are the dreams that monsters dream? When will the stars grow right? Where are the sunken temples in which the dreamers dwell? How will it all change when they come home?

Within these pages lie the answers, and more, in all-new stories by many of the brightest lights in dark fiction. Gathered together by Ross E. Lockhart, the editor who brought you The Book of Cthulhu, The Children of Old Leech, and Giallo Fantastique, Cthulhu Fhtagn! features nineteen weird tales inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! edited by Ross E. Lockhart
Paperback: 330 pages
Publisher: Word Horde (August 15, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1939905133
ISBN-13: 978-1939905130