It will be noticed immediately that Black Forbidden Things showcases the work of a handful of today’s prominent Lovecraftian researchers, S.T. Joshi, Will Murray, David Schultz, William Fulwiler, and myself. These tortured souls have contributed much of the splendid scholarly analysis that has distinguished Crypt of Cthulhu from other fanzines during its decade of existence. Two items here did not appear in the pages of Crypt. One is my study “Randolph Carter, Warlord of Mars,” which forms a sequel of sorts to Fulwiler’s essay, “E.R.B. and H.P.L.” My essay first appeared in Tekeli-li #1 in 1991. Similarly, I have also taken the liberty of borrowing (from the second issue of the same magazine) my controversial essay “Cosmic Fear and the Fear of the Lord: Lovecraft’s Religious Vision,” as a natural adjunct to my earlier “‘Lovecraftianity’ and the Pagan Revival.” 

A similar scholarly purpose is served by the inclusion here of three draft stories Lovecraft received from the hands of his revision clients. De Castro’s “The Automatic Executioner” became HPL’s “The Electric Executioner,” while “A Sacrifice to Science” became “Clarendon's Last Test” or simply “The Last Test.” William Lumley’s “The Diary of Alonzo Typer” turned out surprisingly well as Lovecraft’s rewrite of the same name. Here, then, are three of his revision tales in the case of which we may be precisely sure what role Lovecraft had.