Welcome to the fifth issue of The Lovecraft eZine!  This is the one you’ve all been waiting for: In addition to our usual fine Lovecraftian tales, I’ve got something special for you this month: Two Sherlock Holmes stories set in the universe of H.P. Lovecraft!

Bruce Durham starts us on our journey:

The Case of the Galloway Eidolon: Though closed for the evening, the warm, deep shadows cast by the subdued lighting failed to disguise each victim’s grisly demise. Two had received severe chest wounds, their cotton shirts blood-soaked and torn from multiple swings of some bladed instrument. The third had suffered a more ghastly wound, a crushed cranium; the blow slicing bone and opening the forehead down to the mouth. His glazed eyes stared obscenely in opposite directions.  “Ever see anything like it, Holmes?” Lestrade asked…

The Call of the Dance, by William Meikle: “What is it Holmes?” I whispered, but my friend did not answer. The glow from the cylinder intensified. At first I thought Holmes was moving in for a closer look, then I saw he was intent on something on the trestle to one side – a journal of some kind. But as he stepped slowly nearer, so the glow grew brighter. I have seen the aurora in Northern climes, and the light that danced there above us in that workshop reminded me of that. But I was not inspired by the same sense of awe – no, this was more like fear, an animal terror of something unworldly, something far beyond my experience...

Unearthly Awakening, by W.H. Pugmire: And so I have come to you, on this foggy day in Providence, and lured you from your little world among the university lads, and held your hand as we walked past the little park adjacent to the shunned house. And we walked the streets where once Poe trod, and climbed down the steps that led to the winding walkway that took us into this enchanting burying ground…

Dreams of Fire and Glass (conclusion), by Neal Jansons: The city was empty. Whatever amazing beings had built this immense place had either died or moved on. As I continued to fly, all that was below me was city, but soon I was out of air and in water. The cold filled me as I went deeper, and the pressure of miles of ocean bore down upon me. I crossed a ridge and saw another city, as impressive as the first, but covered with slime and small forests of colorless coral…

Darius Roy’s Manic Grin, by Brian Barnett: Darius Roy shifted his eyes to Dr. Johansson. Dr. Johansson felt his chest tighten. Something about the mania in Mr. Roy’s red-ringed eyes… Something was different about the man. In all his medical years, Dr. Johansson for the first time sat across from a man who he felt threatened by. He, for once, was happy to see a straight jacket in use. But shame bit at him. It was his duty to cure the man, not fear him…

As always, all story artwork is by mimulux!  (Thank you, Pat — I appreciate you.)  Please visit her website and, if you can, maybe even buy some of her art.

I also want to thank Neal Jansons, Bruce Priddy, W.H. Pugmire, and Sandra Lock for all of the help that they give me, in so many different ways.

Remember to stay in the loop on all things Lovecraft by subscribing to this website via email (top right of this page) and RSS, and to LIKE us on Facebook and follow me on Twitter!

Last, a quality Kindle and Nook version of The Lovecraft eZine is coming very soon!

Thanks for reading,

Mike Davis
Editor

P.S. For those of you who were looking forward to chapter 2 of my story The Town of Autumn, thanks for your interest: It’s coming soon.  I have a painful chronic illness, and it’s been hitting me hard lately.  Sometimes I have to choose which things to focus on.  Stay tuned…