Top 5 (or 10) for introducing people to HLP

[TransconaSlim]

The question is simple: Which would be the top 5 stories (or 10, if your feeling adventerous) for introducing people to HLP? 

This is almost like a top five best, but not your fav stories, just the best stories.

[Barrucadu]

I tend to start people off with The Cats of Ulthar or The Outsider, then, if they enjoyed them, just lend them my large Lovecraft book for a while saying that they're bound to find something they like.

[DMcCool]

I started with Lurker at the Threshold, which is only partially Lovecraft's.  Even so, when my wife asked where she should start, I told her that one, as she is accustomed to novels. 

But outside of that, I'd have to suggest:

The Hound
The Temple
From Beyond
Herbert West: Reanimator
The Outsider

I think it best to start out with non-Dream Cycle stuff as it may be a bad starting point for a beginner.  And I advise against Mythos stuff until they've primed with Dagon and chased it with Call of Cthulhu, of course.

[Kaelestes]

I started with The Call of Cthulhu and then started working my way through the others in the order that they were written, though I cheated a couple times to get to certain stories I couldn't wait for. CoC seems like a good place to get going because it's really the focal point of Lovecraft's fame.

[JulieH]

I might make an argument for The Thing on the Doorstep.  For all its tangential connections to the mythos and accoutrements (Innsmouth, etc.), it boils down to a very simple body snatching story with a walking corpse, and a classic "DAH-duh!" ending. 

[Renegade]

my first was A Shadow Over Innsmouth, but if i were to recommend 5 to a new reader, I would say; (in no particular order) The Call of Cthulhu, The Silver Key, The Music of Eric Zan, The Rats in the Walls and (only if they were HUGE into high brow sci-fi) At the Mountains of Madness.

The Call of Cthulhu for anyone who can appreciate all the little flavors and motifs. The Silver Key for someone who is into Philosophy and impressionistic detial (interchangeable with the white ship). the Music of Eric Zan for Poe fans, it has a bit of Poe feel, but Lovecraft's amazing language and atmosphere (and of course ending). the Rats in the Walls is a must read for anyone into horror fiction. thats just a fact.

At the Mountains of Madness would be a mistake for most people, although I read it right after my first Lovecraft story (A Shadow Over Innsmouth) and i just soaked it up. In S.T. Joshi's defense (he would never recommend it to a first-timer) I was a college Biology Student, so it wasn't really too much above my head. All in all, for anyone with an interest in high science fiction and some background in biological taxonomy, its a fantastic story with (in my opinion) the greatest amount of realism in any of H.P. Lovecraft's work.

[bar1scorpio]

After a few of his shorter stories, a long-form suggestion would be-
The Rats in the Walls
and
The Colour Out Of Space

[Kaelestes]

I stumbled upon my first Lovecraft collection today and I realized it might well be the best possible introduction anyone might need for Lovecraft. It covers 22 of his best stories, which is perfect if you're trying not to turn anyone's stomach with some of Lovecraft's eccentricities, and does so in chronological order. It creates a good buildup to The Call of Cthulhu and his other masterpieces.

The first five in the book are:
The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Outsider
The Music of Erich Zann
Herbert West - Reanimator
The Lurking Fear

[TransconaSlim]

Thanks for the suggestions!

A resource I've found has been a good resource for introducing (at least my wife) to Lovecraft has been Ken Hites Cthulhu 101.  She's still not interested in reading Lovecraft.  She started to read Cats of Ulthur, I figured 'cause she likes cats she would like it, but no.  Still, she can go toe to toe with nerdy mythos references.

[Kaelestes]

Make her read Beyond the Wall of Sleep. Fifer's convinced there's some romance in there, so she might take to it.

[jiBeckett]

The first story I always give someone to read is "The Whisperer In Darkness", I find it not only painfully overlooked but one of the best he's written when it comes to showing his "tone".

Other than that: The Hound, The Music of Erich Zann, Pickman's Model, The Colour out of Space and The Rats in the Walls. In no particular order

[whpugmire]

I would give someone starting out ye Penguin Classics collection, The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories, as it contains a near-perfect blend of the kinds of things HPL penned, some of the dream-like phantasies such as "The White Ship" and "The Quest of Iranon," the very strange and wonderful early classic "The Music of Erich Zann," the gruesome horrors of "Pickman's Model," "The Dunwich Horror" and "The Thing on the Doorstep," and then those two very different short novels, At the Mountains of Madness and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

[TransconaSlim]

I would give someone starting out ye Penguin Classics collection, The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories, as it contains a near-perfect blend of the kinds of things HPL penned, some of the dream-like phantasies such as "The White Ship" and "The Quest of Iranon," the very strange and wonderful early classic "The Music of Erich Zann," the gruesome horrors of "Pickman's Model," "The Dunwich Horror" and "The Thing on the Doorstep," and then those two very different short novels, At the Mountains of Madness and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Out of the three Penguin Classics collections, I would have thought that The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories.  It has "Dagon", "Rats in the Walls", "Shadow over Innsomouth" "Color out of Space" "Whisperer in Darkness" and "The Haunter in the Dark", all what I would consider the great classical cannon of H.P. Lovecrafts work.

That being said, of the two companion volumes, I would suggest The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories over Dreams of the Witch House and Other Weird Stories.  Dreams of the Witch House was a bit rough to read, simply cause most of the volume is dreamland stuff which can be difficult in high doses.    Thing on the Doorstep would be a good one if you wanted to give someone a taste of both dreamland and mythos.

[MAS]

I always recommend 'The Statement of Randolph Carter' as this was my first and it worked for me.  It's nice and short, perfectly delivered with exacting "beats" and has a nice spooky feel and a HPL punchline ending.

That being said I gave it to someone at work this week and she got back to me with, "It was weird!"
"Weird" not being used in a, "That was awesome Weird Fiction" kinda way.
So...I'm probably wrong 

Although, I'd have to disagree with anything "long" that HPL wrote as a first read.  We've all tried to take on things like 'Kadath' so some stories seem "easy" after this.  To a first time reader I think 'Silver Key' or even 'Innsmouth' may be a bit of a head trip?

[Bassik]

I´d say the Call of Cthulhu would be best. It´s his most famous piece, it´s realy well written and pretty exciting. If someone doesn´t like it, then what hopes are there that he will ever get into the other stories?