I wrote this short story a few years back and, after reading a fair bit of H. P. Lovecraft’s work this week, realised there was a fair bit in common between the two. Something about small people, dwarfed by the immensity of the world around them. After digging the tale out, I polished it up and tweaked it in keeping with my current style. There’s a definite metaphor at work in it; I’d love to know if anyone else interprets the story in the way I do. Here’s my Lovecraftian short story.
Download and enjoy Depths at the link below!
A Lovecraftian short story: Depths
It had been three days since Joshua had left the port.
He was alone but for the vessel he was steering through the ocean. As he had left the land behind he had seen the blurred outline of cliffs wane slowly in his vision, and heard the cries of gulls and sea birds grow less frequent and excited. On the first day of his journey he had seen new smudges of land to the north and some to the south. He was heading west…
If you enjoyed Night Shade, do check out my other original books and stories.
The Witching Hours is an English ghost story. When an impending storm traps Lucy and Richard in an isolated village, a history of murder and intrigue resurfaces with terrifying consequences.
In Harvest House, Mike finds himself injured and on the run in a pastoral town. Dark figures stalk the nearby fields and songs and drums fill the air as strange folk converge for an enigmatic Festival.
The Patchwork Carnival and its spiritual sequel The Greatest Show Under the Earth follow a travelling carnival and the fates that threaten those that would explore its tents and stalls…
I loved this story which transported me onto Joshua’s boat. The description of Joshua imagining his feet dropping through the wooden floor struck a cord with me as i feel like that on piers or bridges, the horror of how deep the water is and all the creatures that are there but out of sight.
I get that Joshua feels like a tiny insignificant creature within a huge universe and is pondering the age old puzzle of the meaning of life and what his part is in it. I think we all feel like that at times.
I haven’t read any HP Lovecraft so can t write any intelligent comparisons I’m afraid!
Really glad you enjoyed! H. P. Lovecraft is often described as the missing link between Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, and King cites him as an influence on his own work. I like Lovecraft because his stories have a feeling of dread and awe regarding the universe that I can empathise with – hence the connection to the story above.
May have to look into him then! (anything on your bookshelf…..?)
Being a squid sucks!
Tell that to Cthulhu…
I would – but I can’t pronounce his name …