10 Lovecraft Stories That Need Modern Movie Adaptations

H.P. Lovecraft was known for his fantastical novels, whose influence has bled into the cultural perception of horror, making them perfect for modern movie adaptations. Lovecraft is undoubtedly a flawed and prejudiced figure in literature, and any undertaking to adapt his stories should acknowledge the issues of racism, xenophobia, and homophobia in his work. Bringing Lovecraft into the modern era means doing his work justice, as well as exploring how they can be made more reflective of the present day.

The HBO series Lovecraft Country uses Black History to subvert the influences of Lovecraft and create a socially relevant exploration of his work. Upcoming directors and writers should look to the series as an example of how to deal with Lovecraft’s legacy today. Understanding Lovecraft for all his controversies and the issues with his work will allow creators to revisit his stories, which are wonderfully crafted and feature some of the best monsters brought to life through fiction.

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10 The Music Of Erich Zann

Published in 1922

The short story by Lovecraft, The Music of Erich Zann, has not been used as the source material for many film or TV adaptations. However, this is surprising as it seems like a Lovecraft that could be more easily translated to the screen. According to Collider, there aren’t more Lovecraft adaptations because his monsters are so difficult to describe and create in the physical realm. Like many authors, Lovecraft’s stories rely on the imagination of the audience to fill in the blanks and insert whatever monster they find the most terrifying.

The Music of Erich Zann is a short story, so it might be difficult to make it into a feature-length movie, but it primarily recounts the relationship between a young student and the older man, Erich Zann, who lives in his building and entrances him with his music. Not only is this one of the more character-driven Lovecraft stories, but it also presents an amazing opportunity for a unique musical composition that would add to the terrifying atmosphere.

9 The Strange High House In The Mist

Published in 1931

The Strange High House in the Mist is part of the Dream Cycle, which also includes the recently adapted Dreams in the Witch House. Though Guillermo del Toro is a skilled director and one of the few who could do Lovecraft justice, Cabinet of Curiosities exposes the problem with adapting Lovecraft. His version of Dreams in the Witch House was visually compelling, but it still lacked some essential elements required for a true adaptation. Alterations were made to make the story less offensive, but they were often aspects that contributed to the atmosphere of the plot and increased the thrills.

Despite this, del Toro would still be a great candidate to take a stab at The Strange High House in the Mist, which also deals in Lovecraft’s “dreamlands”. The story takes place in the strange place between dreaming and reality as a man investigates a mysterious house he finds himself drawn to. Old houses, architecture, and ancient structures play prominent roles in Lovecraft’s work and make his interest in history apparent.

8 At The Mountains Of Madness

Published in 1936

Set in the unforgiving terrain of Antarctica, At The Mountains of Madness follows a group of explorers who discover an otherworldly civilization under the ice. This story may not have a definitive direct adaptation, but its influence is seen throughout supernatural fiction. Like most Lovecraft stories, it expresses his fear of the unknown, a very human fear, and exploits the power that an unknown and unseen evil can have over a group of people. As there has been a resurgence in adventure films in recent years, doing a Lovecraftian exploration would be a great way to elevate the genre.

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7 A Shadow Out Of Time

Published in 1936

One of Lovecraft’s most drawn-from works, but never adapted in its original form, A Shadow Out of Time grapples with time and space travel in an extremely creative way. An alien race can travel through space and time by transferring their consciousness into the bodies of other beings, and the story’s protagonist begins to experience this. It’s a perfect example of what happens when the mind and body are split between different times. Figuring out how to visually express this story wouldn’t be easy, but it would be well worth it.

6 Dagon

Published in 1919

An early work, Dagon deals directly with the experience of soldiers coming home after fighting in World War I and what the trauma of that experience did to a generation of young men. The story tells of an encounter he had while fighting, and the horrific beast he finds while stranded in the ocean is a metaphor for the violence of the conflict. However, the most shocking part of the story comes in the final twist. Although the story is not as high profile as Lovecraft’s later work, it’s still a vital step toward the writer he would become.

5 The Thing On The Doorstep

Published in 1937

The Thing on the Doorstep was published in a larger collection of works several years after it was written and is not historically a favorite among critics. However, its focus on the relationship between the protagonist and his friend, who becomes possessed, is one of the more meaningful moments of human connection in Lovecraft’s stories, and the conclusion reads more as a tragedy than as a horror. There was an ill-conceived film in 2014, but ten years later, it’s obvious the movie was far more interested in the occult than Lovecraft was.

4 The Rats In The Walls

Published in 1924

One of Lovecraft’s earlier works, The Rats in the Walls, is an interesting exploration of how much the sins of past generations are ingrained into those in the present. When a man moves back into his ancestral home, he discovers terrible secrets about his family’s history but can’t help but succumb to them. For any actor undertaking the role, it would be hard work, as there is essentially one character in the entire story, but it’s an excellent character study. Additionally, it’s one of Lovecraft’s works whose setting could be easily rendered using practical effects.

3 The Whisperer In Darkness

Published in 1931

Once again featuring the iconic Miskatonic University of Lovecraft’s stories, The Whisperer In Darkness was a step toward science fiction for the author. Additionally, there are references to other Lovecraft works and myths he created in his stories. There is a 2011 movie version, but its best aspect is the clear love that the creators had for the story and Lovecraft in general. However, The Whisperer In Darkness does what most adaptations do by using a classic 1930s horror style instead of bringing the story into the modern era and exploring how it would work today.

2 The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath

Published in 1943

Released after Lovecraft’s death, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is part of the larger Dream Cycle and utilizes Randolph Carter, a protagonist who appears in several other iterations of his work. Part of why the novella remained unpublished for many years is due to its length. It follows Carter’s quest to find a mysterious city he sees in his dreams by traveling to the realm of the gods. The story is an odyssey that could be better suited to a miniseries than a film because of how each section of Carter’s journey is its own chapter.

1 The Call Of Cthulhu

Published in 1928

The Cthulhu is one of Lovecraft’s most iconic and horrifying monsters, and his first introduction to the character in The Call of Cthulhu is his most definitive example of the creature. Inspired by tales of the mythic monster, the Kraken, it draws from many legends about sea monsters and creatures of the deep. The story follows one man’s journey to discover everything he can about the mysterious Cthulhu and is told through notes in his research. There have been a few attempts to recreate the story, with a 2005 short film being the most prominent.

However, The Call of Cthulhu is ready for a feature-length iteration and would become beloved if done right. What the 2005 version successfully achieved was capturing the atmosphere, leaning into heavy stylization to account for the ways that visual effects can fail. Many great movies are inspired by Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, but none would compare to a retelling of the original story. Now that underwater filming technology has come so far, it opens up a world of possibilities for Lovecraft’s sea-worthy adventures.