Lowndes was also a
horror enthusiast—as a young fan, he received two letters of encouragement from
H. P. Lovecraft in 1937. The two Lovecraft letters are reprinted in
Crypt of Cthulhu Volume 8, No 3 (Whole number 62)(Candlemas 1989), a special issue devoted to Lowndes. He wrote a number of
dark fantasy stories such as "The Abyss" (1941) (reprinted in "Revelations from Yuggoth" No 2 (May 1988) and "The Leapers" (1942), inspired by Lovecraft. The
Crypt of Cthulhu tribute issue also reprints Lowndes' Lovecraftian stories "Leapers" (a shorter version, first published as by 'Carol Grey' appeared in the Dec 1942 issue of
Future Fantasy and Science Fiction; a revised version appeared in the
Magazine of Horror; and the
Crypt of Cthulhu version represents a third and final revision, with a new intro by Lowndes explaining its publication history) and "Settler's Wall" (a shorter version of the latter as "The Long Wall" by 'Wilfred Owen Morley' was published in the March 1942 issue of
Stirring Science Stories and was twice revised for later publication). The Lowndes tribute issue also includes two Lovecraftian poems, "The Burrowers Beneath" and "Forbidden Books" (which also appeared under the 'Wilfred Owen Morley' pseudonym in
Stirring Science Stories for April and July 1941 respectively); along with two critical articles by Lowndes which first appeared in
Magazine of Horror, and an essay on Lowndes - "Lowndes, Lovecraft and the Health Knowledge Years" by
Mike Ashley. Lowndes also wrote a series of poems inspired by Lovecraft's
Fungi from Yuggoth - "The Annals of Arkya", which he followed up with "The New Annals of Arkya." According to Donald A. Wollheim's introduction to the anthology
Operation Phantasy: The Best from The Phantagraph (Rego Park, NY: The Phantagraph Press, p. 13),
The Annals of Arkya was first issued as a standalone booklet by Wollheim's The Phantagraph Press. The 12-sonnet sequence "Annals of Arkya" was reprinted in
Crypt of Cthulhu 10, No 3 (Whole number 78) (St John's Eve, 1991). These have also been reprinted in an issue of Shawn Ramsey's "Revelations from Yuggoth". His nonfiction "A Tribute to H. P. Lovecraft" appears in Peter Cannon, ed.
Lovecraft Remembered (Arkham House, 1988). ==The Health Knowledge magazines==