Madness Take its Toll: H.P. Lovecraft

You know what sucks?  Being the twentieth century’s equivalent to Edgar Allan Poe and receiving barely a fraction of the recognition that pumpkin head had.  I’m talking of course about the one, the only, the eternally plagiarized, H.P Lovecraft!  For those unaware of Lovecraft, and why I and a growing number of others are sporting Miskatonic University t-shirts, then this should be an enlightening article for you.  It’s time to descend into a realm of madness, alien entities, Elder Gods, and early twentieth century racism and anti-Semitism.  It’s the world of H.P. Lovecraft.

Let’s start with the basics.  Have you ever heard of Cthulhu?  Or Yog-Sothoth?  Well, then this’ll be a treat.  Basically H.P. Lovecraft is one of those rare, special people who more or less created a genre.  In his case, it’s cosmic horror/weird horror.  Have you ever read a story or seen anything involving a giant malevolent deity from outer space, another dimension, the ocean, or something like that.  It probably has too many eyes, tentacles, and the like.  Yeah, that all started with him. And does he get credit for it?  Well, actually now he is.

When I said he was like Poe, I mean that his works were greatly underappreciated in his own time, the twenties and thirties.  However over the last few decades his works have seen resurgence in popularity thanks to the wonder of the internet.  Now you see his works adapted into games, films, and even a play parody of Fiddler on the Roof.  Modern horror writers like Stephen King have called him a massive influence on their works and one of the greatest horror writers of the twentieth century.  It’s nice to see that his works are becoming more popular, if not more mainstream.   Sadly, no one will understand your Innsmouth Swim Team hoodie.

Lovecraft’s works tend to be set in New England, sound familiar Stephen King, notably in Massachusetts in the small town of Arkham, home to the Miskatonic University.  As such most of the protagonists are farmers, students/professors, or wealthy New England heirs.  They’re not that important.  The protagonists are there to show the reader what happening.  They have virtually no personalities, and usually go insane or die at the end of the story.  There are maybe a handful of stories that have “happy” endings and I use that word loosely.  No enemy in Lovecraft is ever beaten for good.  The most the hero can hope for is to live until tomorrow.  And that’s the central theme of the stories.  Lovecraft was a bit of a nihilist.  He wanted to show the sheer unimportance of humanity in the face of cosmic powers beyond our comprehension.  We are but specks in the cosmos to these entities.  Also worth noting, these entities are not gods.  Rather, they’re more along the lines of superpowerful, highly advanced aliens that people worship as gods.  Lovecraft was an atheist and refused to have any sense of the divine in his stories.

Lovecraft was an excellent writer, except for dialogue.  His stories project a real sense of dread and terror through its descriptions and sense of suspense.  If you’re a new reader, check out the Cthulhu Mythos, his most well know works.  They have some continuity, not much, and are generally less horror based and more about the aforementioned themes.  Since he wrote entirely in short stories, you can just pick up any copy of his collected works and start.  There’s no right or wrong way to get into him.  Some of his stories are good, some aren’t.  But you’ll see the work of a great and underappreciated mind in his words.

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