The Dunwich Horror (1972). Art by Victor Valla.

El horror de Dunwich y otros relatos is the last of the books I was working on earlier this year for Spanish publisher Editorial Alma. This was a more stimulating Lovecraft collection to work on than the previous two-story volume since three of the stories were ones I hadn’t dealt with before. The fourth story, The Dunwich Horror, I partly illustrated back in 1988/89, and I took the liberty of reusing the best of that set of pages showing Wilbur Whateley’s messy demise. This picture has been reprinted a few times elsewhere so I was reluctant to recycle it again, but the collision of deadlines earlier this year meant that once again I was pressed for time on this book, and having an illustration already done was a great help. It’s taken me 30 years to finally get round to depicting Wilbur’s monstrous brother.

The Dunwich Horror 1.

The Dunwich Horror 2.

The Dunwich Horror 3.

The Dunwich Horror 4.

The Dunwich Horror 5.

The Colour Out of Space was the second story of Lovecraft’s that I read after encountering The Moon-Bog in a collection of adult ghost and horror stories reprinted for younger readers. I was only about 12 at the time, and Lovecraft’s meteorite made such an impression that I spent an hour or so feverishly recounting the whole thing to a friend a few days after. The story still strikes me as one of Lovecraft’s very best (he thought so as well), and it’s one I’d always recommend to first-time readers. One of Virgil Finlay’s handful of Lovecraft illustrations shows the climax of the story (see this earlier post) so I avoided that scene in favour of other moments. And before anyone complains, the well seen below isn’t the type that’s described in the story (with a bucket depended from a “sweep” on a long, moveable pole) but this was the best option for the composition.

The Colour Out of Space 1.

The Colour Out of Space 2.

The Colour Out of Space 3.

The Colour Out of Space 4.

The Colour Out of Space 5.

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward isn’t an easy story to illustrate since it’s less overtly visual than the others, concerning a case of spiritual possession with many of the key events taking place off-stage. Ideally I would have preferred a little more time to work on this one.

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 1.

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 2.

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 3.

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 4.

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 5.

The Whisperer in Darkness, on the other hand, is much more promising with its intelligent alien invaders skulking around the woods of Vermont. The final picture, showing a view of the planet Yuggoth, is the one that inspired this subsequent piece. As usual, all the pictures may be seen at a larger size here.

The Whisperer in Darkness 1.

The Whisperer in Darkness 2.

The Whisperer in Darkness 3.

The Whisperer in Darkness 4.

Previously on { feuilleton }

• A view over Yuggoth

• Illustrating Sherlock Holmes

• Illustrating Dracula

• Illustrating Frankenstein

• Narraciones extraordinarias by Edgar Allan Poe

• The Thing on the Doorstep

• Die Farbe and The Colour Out of Space