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Holiday Cheer and Lovecraftian Horror Combined!

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In 1853, and English church warden named John Mason Neale managed to get his hands on a sixteenth-century Swedish collection of medieval Latin songs called Piae Cantione. He and his partner decided to tinker with the music and write some new lyrics. Their efforts resulted in a catchy little ditty celebrating Christian charity for the holiday season: "Good King Wenceslas." True to the spirit of Christmas, they took an old tradition and made something new. The fruits of their labors have been enjoyed by millions world-wide. Like Christmas itself, many carols are simply repackaged versions of earlier works.

In that true holiday spirit, members of the HPLHS have always enjoyed combining music, holiday cheer, and nihilistic cosmic terror. Now we joyfully bring a selection of these Mythos holiday songs to you. Two CDs full of terrific performances are accompanied by sing-along songbooks, complete with sheet music, and featuring extensive footnotes which reveal the strange but true stories behind favorite holiday tunes and bizarre tidbits of Lovecraftian lore. There's even an all-new holiday song with lyrics by H. P. Lovecraft himself!

"Seldom has a collection of music brought such pleasure to me. I haven't stopped giggling and smiling since the disc started playing" -- Warren from South Pasadena

"Now when I go shopping this holiday, a grin crosses my face when the carols come over the speakers because I'm singing along in my head with the HPLHS versions instead of the traditional ones. Makes the holidays just a little more fun." --Dawn from Seattle

"You guys have done the impossible. You've made 'An Even Scarier Solstice' better than 'A Very Scary Solstice'!" -Julie K.

Click here to download a free MP3 of BLUE SOLSTICE and hear for yourself!

Read on for free samples, testimonials, sheet music, pretty pictures, etc... r

The CDs
Both CDs feature ensembles of talented professional singers. Thrill to the magnificent sounds of the Dagon Tabernacle Choir. Marvel at the exsquisite harmonies of the Arkham Carolers. Tap your tentacles along with the Dunwich Children's Chorale. All numbers are professionally produced and recorded with the same maniacal care that made A Shoggoth on the Roof such a disturbing achievement in musical theatre. From beatific choirs to maniacal mariachis, there's something for everyone in the first-ever CD of Lovecraftian Solstice Carols. An Even Scarier Solstice delves into the musical styles of country, gospel, and things we cannot and must not describe.

The NEW & IMPROVED Song Books
The HPLHS published its first collection of holiday songs in 1988. Now we've expanded the old collection to a full forty-eight numbers, and published them in two new and improved volumes. In addition to providing the lyrics in an easy sing-along format, we've extensively annotated the songs with fascinating and entertaining facts and legends. Learn the strange but true stories behind favorite holiday carols and relish bizarre tidbits of Lovecraftian holiday ephemera. The new books are perfect bound with glossy covers in a nice 6x9 format. They also include sheet music for selected numbers so you can sing along in four-part harmony!

The 71-page songbook for A Very Scary Solstice includes a preface by the esteemed Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi, who reveals HPL's personal thoughts about the holidays and seasonal poetry written by HPL himself.

The 73-page songbook for An Even Scarier Solstice features a preface by Mythos author Ramsey Campbell. As a special treat, our composer Troy Sterling Nies set Lovecraft's holiday poem, "A Brumalian Wish" to music, creating what we think is the world's first non-parodic Lovecraftian Christmas carol.

Reviews
Read what others are saying about our Solstice albums or listen to our radio interviews.