***SPOILERS***
Having finished The Lurking Fear and Other Stories, I thought I would rate the individual tales therein:
The Lurking Fear: Relies on standard Lovecraftian tropes and themes (rapid degenearate evolution, bizarre family histories, &c.); expends too much language assuring us that things are cosmically horrifying or indescribably hideous in lieu of actual horror-inducing description; saved by brilliant dreamlogic moments, as when the protagonist is driven to keep digging after he has already removed a coffin, discovers a cramped, pitch black tunnel in the ground, and sojourns into it (crawling) with only a dying flashlight! Grade: B
Dagon: A south seas archeological adventure with Lovecraft in H. Rider Haggard mode; nicely executed and a neat-weird geological idea. Grade: A-
Beyond the Wall of Sleep: Lacks any suspense with H. P. telegraphing the concept from the outset and then lamely trudging toward its conclusion anyway; extra-credit points for Lovecraft's finest title though. Grade: D-
The White Ship: Hmm, not sure what to make of this one; some excellent fantasy ideas and descriptions here, but maybe too brief to muster any real impact. Grade: B-
Arthur Jermyn: Oh no, Lovecraft telegraphing badly again; another degenerate family with a mysterious ancestor; seriously considering other reading material at this point. Grade: F
From Beyond: Liked this one a lot for some reason; maybe for its visual intensity or its snappy pacing; rescued my interest in this book. Grade: A
The Temple: Excellent - rescued my regard for Lovecraft; an unlikely protagonist in a strange and unpredictable tale (another sea-faring story - I like to see H. P. working outside the New England gothic occasionally); evokes a real sense of wonder. Grade: A+
The Moon Bog: Some nice surreal imagery (spirits dancing in moonlight to a pan-pipe - who can resist) makes up for the fact that you're way ahead of the characters the whole time. Grade: C+
The Hound: Don't really remember much about the story, but the initial concept is terrific - the decadent grave-robbers and their personal museum of the horrific; rich in aesthetic detail. Grade: A-
The Unnamable: Predictable but kinda fun as it reveals a bit about how H. P. sees his own craft (the main character is a writer of weird tales); references to 18th Century America are more historically concrete than usual (Cotton Mather, &c.), which is interesting. Grade: B-
The Outsider: Very weird, very intriguing story; twist ending is unfortunately way too obvious. Grade: C
The Shadow Over Innsmouth: Well, I hate to besmirch a classic, but I'm afraid Shadow takes the few Lovecraftian elements that I'm not fond of, and drags them out for 70 tedious pages; obsessed with degenerate families, slow moving, predictable and overly wordy, this is like a 'worst of HPL' compilation for me. The escape/chase through town was handled well though. Grade: D- <i>Edited by: AlphSeeker at: 12/10/03 7:18 pm
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They are called The Trouble With Magic and A Charmed Death. A woman named Maggie O'Neill has a dead end job in a pokey little town in Indiana. One day she gets a new job in a charming store called Enchantments- and it turns out that her boss is a practicing witch. It turns out that Maggie herself has some empathic talents, and can "feel" spirits".
Demons, magic, and mayhem in northern Kentucky and in Cincinnati. I love this series of books. 
