When I was a kid, I started plotting my Christmas lists months in advance of the big day. No matter what ended up under the tree, creating the “perfect” wish list was just as much fun as ripping into presents. I’d pour through the JC Penny holiday catalog and through the ads in Famous Monsters, scrawling dozens of items on sheet after sheet of notebook paper. Often, I themed my wish lists — Mego Superheroes, Star Wars, Micronauts, Dungeons and Dragons — hoping to send myself into a Christmas day overdose of whatever obsession haunted my dreams at the time. I’m often asked questions along the lines of “if I were going to get into TV shows about talking cars, what would you suggest I buy to get me started?” Considering the season, I thought it might be fun to post such recommendations (not about talking cars … maybe … but about some of my other favorite obsessions) in a few themed gift lists over the next couple of weeks.

And since nothing says Joyeux Noel like cosmic horror, I figured I’d kick things off with a suggested shopping list of Lovecraftian horror!

1. The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre – This is the first collection of Lovecraft’s work I ever read, and it’s a great primer for someone interested in his fiction.
2. Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos – You’ll get a few repeat stories in this book, but you’ll also get a good overview of the mythos created by Lovecraft and enhanced by others. One of my favorite Robert Bloch stories, “Notebook Found in a Deserted House”, is included in this volume.
3. Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft – Another book of basics for your shelf, this one covering Lovecraft’s Dreamlands stories.
4. Graphic Classics Volume 4: H. P. Lovecraft – 2nd Edition – A nifty collection of comic adaptations of Lovecraft stories.
5. H.P. Lovecraft: A Life – An extensive biography of Lovecraft by renowned Lovecraft scholar, S. T. Joshi.
6. An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia – S. T.Joshi also put together this essential reference on Lovecraft’s work.
7. Arkham Horror – A classic board game recently revised and re-released. Hours of spooky fun.
8. Cthulhu 12 Inch Plush Inspired by HP Lovecraft – Awww. A cute Cthulhu for you to cuddle with at night. Sweet dreams.
9. The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft – A silent film adaptation of “The Call ofCthulhu” by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
10. Re-Animator – Lovecraft hated this story, but horror fans delight in this gruesome movie.
11. The Resurrected – A relatively faithful and rather creepy adaptation of “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”.
12. Call of Cthulhu: Horror Roleplaying in the Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft, 6th Edition – Break out the dice and immerse yourself in Lovecraftian horror in what I consider the best roleplaying game ever created.
13. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth – A Lovecraft-inspired video game that’s actually kind of creepy. If you can figure out how to escape the Innsmouth mob, let me know!
14. Lovecraft – A Vertigo graphic novel that ponders the question, “what if Lovecraft’s creations were real?”
15. The Necronomicon – For goofs, really. This was the book that introduced me to Lovecraft. It’s funny how many people used to (and still do) believe this little paperback has real power. Many a junior high warlock had this tome in his backpack in my day.

If, like me, you get a kick out of lists, I encourage you to visit the entries in LiteMind List  Group Writing Project.  This list is a little too niche-specific to really get any traction in the project, but it was still a lot of fun.