by H. P. Lovecraft (Author), François Baranger (Artist)

Fascinated by New England's haunted past, a young man journeys through its ancient towns on his way to Arkham. Offered a detour through Innsmouth--an isolated coastal settlement dreaded by its neighbors--he becomes intrigued after seeing strange gold jewelry from the town, its design both exquisite and disturbing. Drawn by curiosity, he decides to visit.

Once a prosperous fishing port and thriving industrial center, Innsmouth is now a shadow of its former self--its wharves rotting, its streets silent, and its people marked by unsettling deformities. Despite his growing unease, the traveler feels compelled to uncover the truth behind its decay. An old drunkard, Zadok Allen, reveals the town's grim history: in the 1800s, Captain Obed Marsh founded a pagan cult, the Esoteric Order of Dagon, after striking a pact with sea-dwelling beings who promised prosperity in exchange for unholy offerings.When his bus breaks down, the traveler is forced to spend the night in Innsmouth. As darkness falls, he wanders the narrow, crumbling streets, feeling unseen eyes upon him and hearing the sea whisper through the alleys.With The Shadow over Innsmouth, Lovecraft fashioned one of the great masterpieces of early twentieth-century horror--a cornerstone of his "cosmic regionalism," whose influence has echoed through the imaginations of generations of writers and artists.Ever captivated by the strange universe of H.P. Lovecraft, François Baranger--an illustrator acclaimed worldwide for his work as a concept artist in film and video games--has undertaken the monumental task of bringing the author's most iconic stories to life through illustration.

Author Biography

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 - March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, who is now widely recognized as one of the most influential and widely-read authors of popular fiction of all time. Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, since his death he has gained a massive and devoted following of readers who have been captivated by his gripping tales of the supernatural. Amongst scholars, Lovecraft is considered to be an exemplar of a uniquely American strain of gothic fiction, tracing its roots back to Edgar Allen Poe. Deeply influenced by Poe, as well as by Hawthorne, Lovecraft, like his forebears, created an entirely alternate world of sheer imagination that remains one of the most engaging oeuvres of fiction ever created.