Innsmouth Free Press #5

Innsmouth Free Press not only publishes original short stories that fall into that weird fiction style that fits so well with a Lovecraftian vibe, but you'll find on their site classic tales from H.P. Lovecraft and fictionalized news articles set in the Lovecraftian town of Innsmouth, labeled Monster Bytes. IFP #5 is their third and final issue for 2010.

I'm not a hip cat when it comes to Lovecraft's work, but I like weird fiction so I wanted to give this periodical a go. The look of the free PDF magazine has a clean, crisp style that makes it very appealing for a reader like me who isn't keen on visual bombardments from some periodicals. And the cover art by M.S. Corley evokes that dark, strange atmosphere that's to be expected from the stories stored within.

The table of contents looks like this: "The Concierto of Senor Lorenzo" by Kenneth Yu, "The Night We Burned Our Hearts Out" by Paul Jessup, "The Changeling" by Tom Hamilton, "Beneath the Cold Black Sea" by Martin Hayes, "Borgan's Deli" by Jarrid Deaton, "The Green World" by Julio Toro San Martin, "The Song of Tussagaroth" by James Lecky, "Nibbling" by Cheryl McCreary.

I found just about every story very enjoyable, and definitely were well-suited for the Lovecraft vibe without borrowing directly from the acclaimed author. If I had to pick three personal favorites, I'd likely go with: Kenneth Yu's story about a musician's brief stay in a nearly empty hotel and the fascination the proprietor has with him; Martin Hayes' story of a fishing village and the tormented souls who are lost at sea and those left behind on shore; and Cheryl McCreary's story involving an army of worms. Ew, worms.

If you're a fan of the weird tale, then I think you'd be doing yourself a favor by checking out the Innsmouth Free Press. You might be impressed and pleasantly surprised.