The Whisperer in Darkness by H.P. Lovecraft (Audiobook)

Artists Include:

[fisher]

YES!! I’ve been itching for more Lovecraft readings since your video about branching out. Your Mountains of Madness is probably one of my favorite videos of yours of all time. So sorry you had trouble getting this uploaded but the wait I’m certain is very worth it!!!

[themightymcb]

Tuesday: Bro this is bad business, you don't wanna get mixed up in all this.

Wednesday: I think I'm gonna die soon, tell my son I love him and make sure never to come here!

Thursday: MY FINE CHAP I DO SAY IT WOULD BE A LOVELY IDEA IF YOU CAME TO VERMONT USING A PREPLANNED ROUTE I MADE. P.S. PLEASE BRING EVERY LAST SHRED OF EVIDENCE I HAVE MAILED YOU.

Lovecraft Protagonist: Vermont sounds nice this time of year!

[laurafrakinroslin]

Ooooo, I love this one! It’s hilarious how much the aliens fuck things up and still basically succeed because, despite their incompetence, the POV character is just so much more incompetent

[FallerAdam]

Thank you for your tireless work! I belong to the Exploring Series sleep-club, but after 3 or 4 rewatch, I usually manage to get the whole picture. Thank you again!🎉🎉😍

[LetsTalkAboutPrepping]

Yes! Literally right as I'm desperately searching for good audio content at work. You're the GOAT as always

[PoseidonsWrath]

Coming home after a horrible day at work and seeing a new Lovecraft video just brought me back from the brink. Thank you for all your hard work.

[rodClark]

Now that was unexpected and brilliant. If you want to do another, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath is underappreciated and so fun. Like Lovecraft watched an 80s cartoon and said "hold my beer, I got this."

[laurafrakinroslin]

I’m kind of shocked no one’s done a riff on this story as a comedy because the aliens are so so so bad at being stealthy but the two humans have no basic survival skills and are generally so incompetent it’s amazing they’ve made it as far as they have in life without walking into an open manhole cover or something

[laurafrakinroslin]

All of his correspondence thus far as been handwritten
A previous letter was found to be a counterfeit
Suddenly gets a typed letter that says ‘hey, um, actually, never mind all that stuff I said. I’m actually totally chill with the aliens now. Also please visit me and bring the photographs, my letters, and the phonograph recording with you :) :) :)’
Wilmarth: phew, thank god that’s over

[Primus-kzri]

This is one of Lovecrafts best executed horror stories from the Cthulhu Mythos. Also has great world-building that some others didn’t have

[TheGreatBlueBlob]

This was so good. You’ve become my favorite voice for Lovecraft audiobooks.

[Sol-hmol]

this might be my favourite one in terms of horror, theres something really horrific about this one that makes my skin crawl

[nicholasbrodeur]

Ah lovecraft, why are you so good? Love your readings of them and hope you do more soon. Perhaps the dream quest of unknown kadath next? It’s a long one but one of my favourites

[burpman]

i had just been listening through all your old audiobook videos, thinking to myself "man i wish he would make more, i can only relisten so many times". safe to say my prayers were answered swiftly. almost eerily quickly...

[broceedwin]

Love the extra hussle to make the recording part sound like an actual eldritch recording 👍. Thanks for another amazing reading!

[shrimpbisque]

"Oh, interstellar travel is easy! First we put your brain in a jar..."

[averynelson]

His comments about an "undiscovered ninth planet" led to a couple quick Google searches:

"The Whisperer in Darkness" was written February–September 1930, and it was first published in Weird Tales, August 1931.

The object formerly known as the planet Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, by astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh, with contributions from William H. Pickering. It was named Pluto that March.

I'm curious if Lovecraft found out about the discovery when he was writing. If he did, he must have decided to leave his manuscript unaltered. I'm having some difficulty figuring out if the discovery was publicized, and when. Most likely Lovecraft didn't learn about Pluto until after this story was published. But then again, he kept up to date with cutting edge academic science, evidenced in many of his stories.

Edit: Apparently the discovery influenced/inspired the story!



Based on the H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia (Joshi and Schultz, 2001), The Whisperer in Darkness was written between 24 February and 26 September 1930. The minor-planet, planetesimal, or dwarf-planet Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh on 18 February 1930. However, the official announcement of its discovery was made on 14 March 1930 (Joshi and Schultz, 2001). Thus, while the discovery of Pluto did not inspire HPL to begin writing The Whisperer in Darkness it obviously had a huge impact on the development of the story. As noted by Joshi and Schultz, HPL wrote to his friend James F. Morton, “Whatcha thinka the NEW PLANET? HOT STUFF!!!”

[nowhereman]

This is one of those Lovecraft stories that would work even better adapted to a modern setting. The back and forth between Wilmarth and Akeley would work even better through the internet. Imagine, a young conspiracy theorist getting pictures and recordings of aliens from an old boomer who's house is being attacked. Possibly add in some CIA Men in Black secret alien stuff, and you have a potential cult classic on your hands.

[thomastempleman]

I used to work at a summer camp and on the second week of session, the counselors were allowed to create their own classes for the days’ last block. Mine was “Lovecraft Appreciation”, a 2 hour period (in the AC and with snacks) where we would either complete or sample the better portion of a couple audio collections I’ve collected on Audible. This was always my intro, as I think it’s Lovecraftian imagery is very grounded in the real world. A small town and a farmstead in rural New England is easier to picture than an Antarctic lost city. Summarily, this story was always a hit, especially with any kids familiar with Jeepers Creepers or Stephen King.

[Crimicide]

Always a treat to see another Lovecraft audiobook from this channel