August Derleth was an American author known primarily for horror and fantasy fiction. He notably co-founded Arkham House Publishers and contributed to preserving H.P. Lovecraft's legacy. Some of his prominent works include The Lair of the Star Spawn and The Mask of Cthulhu.
If you enjoy reading books by August Derleth then you might also like the following authors:
If you enjoy August Derleth's exploration of uncanny and cosmic horror, H.P. Lovecraft should be right up your alley. Lovecraft's stories introduce vast, mysterious forces that highlight humanity's insignificance.
His work The Call of Cthulhu opens a window onto terrifying ancient beings from far beyond our reality, creating an atmosphere both fascinating and unsettling.
Clark Ashton Smith crafts dark, poetic fantasies that blend vividly imagined worlds with a sense of cosmic wonder and dread, similar to Derleth's style.
In his collection The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies, Smith presents stories rich with lush descriptions, strange creatures, and a deeply gothic feel.
If you like Derleth's thrilling and atmospheric prose, you would enjoy Robert E. Howard's colorful and action-packed storytelling. Howard is famous for creating vivid heroes and wild adventures, as in The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian.
His narratives combine high adventure, supernatural menace, and memorable characters in a gripping combination of fantasy and horror.
For fans of Derleth's suspenseful supernatural stories, Robert Bloch offers similarly straightforward, eerie tales with psychological depth.
His famous novel Psycho explores twisted minds and hidden dangers lurking within everyday settings, making readers question the ordinary world around them.
If you're drawn to August Derleth's hauntingly atmospheric horror, Frank Belknap Long should capture your imagination. Long often portrays otherworldly threats that blur reality into dreamlike terrors.
In his story collection The Hounds of Tindalos, readers encounter eldritch entities and other-dimensional horrors that remain unsettling and unforgettable.
Ramsey Campbell writes atmospheric horror that slowly builds dread, often rooted in psychological fear and supernatural mysteries. His stories typically explore dark corners of ordinary life, revealing hidden terrors beneath the surface.
A good example is The Hungry Moon, a novel blending ancient folklore and cosmic horror, centered around a seemingly peaceful rural town consumed by sinister forces.
Brian Lumley is known for crafting vivid horror stories with adventurous pacing and clear Lovecraftian inspiration. His writing often blends suspenseful investigations, monstrous threats, and imaginative supernatural worlds.
His novel The Burrowers Beneath introduces readers to Titus Crow, who battles ancient, terrifying entities threatening humanity.
Algernon Blackwood creates stories steeped in powerful atmosphere and haunting awe, often focused on the mysterious allure and dangers of the natural world. His fiction examines how nature can be an overwhelming, otherworldly presence.
A classic work is The Willows, where two friends on a canoe trip encounter an ominous, hidden force in remote wilderness areas.
Arthur Machen is famous for his dark fantasy and horror tales, frequently exploring hidden realities and ancient, sinister mysteries lurking beneath everyday life. He portrays secretive, eerie worlds intersecting with the mundane, causing unsettling consequences.
His novella The Great God Pan powerfully captures the chilling fear of forbidden knowledge and unseen horror.
Manly Wade Wellman blends supernatural horror with regional American folklore, often drawing from Appalachian legends. He creates unique characters navigating uncanny threats with practicality and courage.
His collection Who Fears the Devil? features Silver John, a wandering hero armed with supernatural knowledge and a silver-stringed guitar, confronting ghostly evils in rural settings.
M.R. James is a master of classic ghost stories, blending subtle dread with scholarly characters and quiet threats from the supernatural. His work often unfolds in rural English settings, filled with antique manuscripts and shadowy figures that haunt the imagination.
Readers who enjoy Derleth's eerie atmospheres might particularly appreciate James' collection of ghostly tales, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.
T.E.D. Klein writes horror fiction that builds tension through mysterious events and unsettling, subconscious fears. His stories explore ancient mythologies intersecting with everyday life, creating sustained feelings of strangeness and ambiguity.
Fans of August Derleth's blending of subtlety and dread will likely enjoy Klein’s novel, The Ceremonies.
Laird Barron's stories expose readers to cosmic horror, ancient entities, and the fragile nature of sanity. His work mixes tough realism with a dark take on humanity's place in the universe.
Readers drawn to Derleth’s cosmic horrors might enjoy Barron’s gritty, atmospheric collection, The Imago Sequence and Other Stories.
Sherwood Anderson is known for thoughtful explorations of small-town life, loneliness, and human emotions. His stories concentrate on character psychology and subtle social dynamics.
While not horror, Anderson's quiet examinations of ordinary lives in Winesburg, Ohio share Derleth’s attentive portrayal of Midwestern characters facing internal struggles.
H. Russell Wakefield crafted ghost tales filled with atmospheric suspense and chilling revelations beneath polished surfaces.
His stories often revolve around haunted places, aristocratic families, and claustrophobic settings, effectively escalating from subtle unease to outright terror.
Fans who appreciate Derleth’s elegantly crafted chills will enjoy Wakefield’s notable collection, They Return at Evening.