The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories

Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro, known for The Shape of Water, has curated the Penguin Horror series, a stunning collection of classic horror tales and poems by the genre's greatest masters. As a filmmaker and devoted fan of horror literature, del Toro has selected some of his all-time favorites for this series. Among the works included are Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Ray Russell’s short story “Sardonicus” (hailed by Stephen King as “perhaps the finest example of the modern Gothic ever written”), Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and stories by Ray Bradbury, Joyce Carol Oates, Ted Klein, and Robert E. Howard. Each deluxe hardcover in this collection features original cover art by Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, making these beautifully eerie editions must-haves for fans of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and the paranormal.

The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories

H.P. Lovecraft’s unique contribution to American literature was his fusion of traditional supernatural horror, influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, with the emerging genre of science fiction in the early 20th century. The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories compiles a dozen of Lovecraft’s most iconic tales, ranging from his early works like “Under the Pyramids” (originally ghostwritten for Harry Houdini) and “The Music of Erich Zann” (which Lovecraft considered one of his best) to his more developed stories such as “The Dunwich Horror,” “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,” and “At the Mountains of Madness.” This collection features the definitive corrected texts of these works, accompanied by an illuminating introduction and notes from Lovecraft critic and biographer S.T. Joshi.