Notes
An issue of Crypt of Cthulhu dedicated to short fiction by Lin Carter.

Includes:

• The Doom of Yakthoob – first published in The Arkham Collector (Summer 1971)
• The City of Pillars – first published in Kadath (#1 1974)
• The Acolyte of the Flame
• The Stone from Mnar
• H.P. Lovecraft: The History (article) – first appeared in Fantasy Advertiser (March 1950)
• Under the Eaves – first published in The Arkham Collector (Summer 1969)
• High Atlantis (poem)

• The Carter-Smith "Collaborations" – article by Steve Behrends
• A Response – a reply by Lin Carter
• An Interview with Lin Carter – interview of LC by Robert M. Price

It may not be exaggeration to say that a magazine devoted to any of the sub-genres of fantastic fiction would sooner or later have to devote an issue to Lin Carter. His prolificity and versatility must equal that of several other writers put together. Even in our little corner, that of the Weird Tales tradition, Lin has experimented with various sub-sub-genres. He has written poetry, fantastic fables and episodes in the tradition of Dunsany and Smith, Lovecraftian/Derlethian horror in a modern setting, and various essays and even a whole book of research, Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos.

In this special Lin Carter issue of Crypt of Cthulhu, we bring together samples of Lin's many-faceted work in weird fiction, many of them notoriously elusive collector's items. Readers of Lin's book on Lovecraft noticed in the chapter "The Last Disciple", that he had written a few stories purporting to be excerpts from the Mythos grimoires. Two were from the Necronomicon. One of these, "The Doom of Yakthoob", appeared only in The Arkham Collector, number 10. The other, "The City of Pillars", is even more rare, having appeared in Lin's own magazine Kadath, only thirty copies of which ever circulated. A third was an episode from the Pnakotic Manuscripts, "The Acolyte of the Flame". It has never been published. Until now, that is. We offer all three here.

Many Carter- and Mythos-collectors have been frustrated trying to hunt down a copy of an item once listed among his published works, "The Stone from Mnar", another Necronomicon fragment. No wonder they couldn't find it; it was listed by mistake, and though scheduled to appear as a pamphlet from Mirage Press, it was recalled at the last moment because Lin wanted to expand it. Relax, fellow-collectors; here it is.

Another hard-to-find item included in this issue is the third of Lin's Cthulhu Mythos articles from Inside and Science Fantasy Advertiser, two of which, "H.P. Lovecraft: The Books" and "H.P. Lovecraft: The Gods", were reprinted in the Arkham House volume The Shuttered Room. The third, "H.P. Lovecraft: The History", was not. This was probably because it was less complete than the others, taking into account only some of the relevant fiction. A fuller account of Lovecraft's cosmic history appears in the next issue of Crypt of Cthulhu, and Lin insists that we remind readers that his early essay is just that: a piece of Carter juvenilia presented here just for completeness' sake. Now you have all three. (That's assuming you have The Shuttered Room, of course!)

You'll also find in this issue "Under the Eaves", another supernatural tale from The Arkham Collector, number 5, and a poem, "High Atlantis". And as is customary for our author profile issues, we present a critical article, "The Carter-Smith 'Collaborations'" by Steve Behrends, with a response by Lin Carter, and an interview with Lin on subjects ranging from Lovecraft to Callisto. As Lin himself would say, Happy Magic!

Robert M. Price, Editor