The Colour Out of Space
by H.P. Lovecraft
Original Title: The Colour Out of Space
Author: H. P. Lovecraft
Publication Date: September 1927
Genres: Fiction, Horror, Science-fiction
File Version: 1.0
H.P. Lovecraft was perhaps the greatest twentieth-century practitioner of the horror story, introducing to the genre a new evil, monstrous, pervasive and unconquerable.
In The Colour Out of Space, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" in the wild hills west of the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts.
The narrator discovers that many years ago a meteorite crashed there, poisoning every living being nearby; vegetation grows large but foul-tasting, animals are driven mad and deformed into grotesque shapes, and the people go insane or die one by one.
Lovecraft work has influenced many authors, including Stephen King, who considers him "the greatest craftsman of the classic horror story of the 20th century".