The H. P. Lovecraft Appreciation Thread

[Randolf]

***SPOILER WARNING***
This thread may contain spoilers about certain H. P. Lovecraft stories.

For those who have not read this man's writings, his (almost) complete body of creative work and other writings can be found here:


I have thus far read Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness and The Colour Out of Space. I am now well on my way through The Dunwich Horror. I have also read all of Lovecraft's biography. Whenever I have a dull moment in my day, I stop by the above site and pick out a new story to read, and I have thus far been highly entertained and-- dare I say it-- enriched by the experience.

I present this thread for those of us who know and love (or at least like) his writing-- and for those of us who, like me, are just learning about him for the first time-- to get together and discuss his life and work. Any thoughts or feelings on this subject will go in this thread.

Don't think I don't feel like an idiot hearing so many references to this man over the years and only just within the last week or so learning jack about who he really was and what kind of stories he wrote. Now's my chance to redeem myself by indulging in his makings with wild abandon!

Commence.

EDIT: Added the button link.

[Sharpshooter005]

Well hell yes, that does seem to be a pretty substantive compillation of free lovecraft stuff.

Also theres this. It's not by Lovecraft, but it involves stuff from lovecraft. Specifically "What if the soviets weaponized a shoggoth during the Afghan war"

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

[EyeOfPain]

Ridiculous Lovecraftian-ness

Unfortunately, I couldn't find subs on YouTube, but the girl is Nyarlathotep.

I've read a couple of stories, namely "The Call of Cthulhu". I've meant to read more, but I'm not sure if I should just dive in, or start in some kind of chronological order.

[Randolf]

So far, I don't find that any of the stories form any real continuity, so I don't think it makes much of a difference where you start. I just pick whatever sounds cool, or sometimes just at random.

I've now finished reading The Dunwich Horror, The Evil Clergyman, The Book, and The Curse of Yig. The Clergyman was kinda pointless, as was the Book. I can't recommend The Curse of Yig on account of it being quite gross on a number of levels (and not in the sense of classical Lovecraftian horror). The Dunwich Horror, however, was quite good, if a bit unceremonious towards the end.

I'm considering one day soon investing in the Cthulhu Mythos RPG, which, if what I hear is true, may be one of the most awesomeful things EVARZ.

...or not, it may be a waste of money. Opinions?

[Yuko-san]

What is the first book in the cthulhu series? I want to read it.

[Randolf]

Umm... Call of Cthulhu?

If you check the site I mentioned in the first post, you have the option of viewing the stories list in chronological order. As far as I know, Call of Cthulhu should be the first story that actually makes a big deal out of that character. The others mostly mention him in passing.

But, like I said, it doesn't make a big difference where you start. They don't seem to go in any particular order.

[Tifaria]

What is the first book in the cthulhu series? I want to read it.

I... I still don't understand why you don't just Google these things yourself. 


I have tried reading Lovecraft many times over a span of many years.  I started with the Cthulhu stuff, and it went right over my head, so maybe I should start with something shorter?  I don't know.  Every time I try to read him I feel like I get to the end of the story and have no idea what just happened or what I just read.  I dunno, is there a good story you guys would recommend for someone to start with?  I guess his first story?  I dunno.  Oh, but I like the glossary section of the hplovecraft.com site, so I think I'm going to start there and see if maybe knowing some background information ahead of time will help me with reading it.  I feel kinda dumb for saying I don't get Lovecraft, but... I don't get Lovecraft. 

[Randolf]

Don't worry, Tifaria; one day, you will.

Granted, you may not care much for it when you do.

Personally, as I've said, the first three stories I read were Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness and The Colour Out of Space. I recommend those three, as well as The Dunwich Horror, as prime examples of the Lovecraftian method. I was recommended these by someone very well-versed in Lovecraft's writing, so between me and them, you can take those suggestions for good.

Also, I'd avoid the stories co-authored will Zealia Bishop. Those can get kinda... gross.

Some people have suggested that Lovecraft's work gets better further down the line (early to mid 1930's to the end of his life). I can't quite prove this, but on my experience thus far, he does seem to get his act together over time.

One word of warning to those unfamiliar with the man: Lovecraft's writing can be... xenophobic at times. Not quite what you'd call racist, but with a very low opinion of people from foreign countries-- and not just any one race, either. This is closer to manifest destiny than straight-up white supremacy. This is the one big shortcoming of his work, but admittedly it was his fear of unknown and foreign things that fueled much of his weird alien mythology. Speaking for myself, I can't really excuse his slights against people from other countries or cultures, however ignorant his words might be, but I do my best not to let it interfere with my enjoyment of his work. I hope it doesn't interfere with any of yours, either.


Also, I'll repeat this for emphasis: the site I provided in the first post is a complete collection of all of Lovecraft's work, from fiction to correspondence, for free. They've got a detailed biography, links to Lovecraft-inspired works and all manner of other goodies. I strongly recommend exploring the place thoroughly for a solid education on the man, his life and his work.

[EyeOfPain]

Every time I try to read him I feel like I get to the end of the story and have no idea what just happened or what I just read.  [. . .] I don't get Lovecraft. 

From what little Lovecraft I've read myself, I think that might actually be what he was going for. There doesn't seem to be a single, cohesive story in the scattered mythos, so if you're looking for an overall plot, you might want to try something else.

Despite saying that, I have enjoyed the few stories I've read for what they are. I just read "The Alchemist" last night, and that mystery had a very strange conclusion.

[Tifaria]

Thanks, Randolf.  I did try reading the Cthulhu stories-- I particularly remember struggling through At the Mountains of Madness-- and giving up.  I started going through the background info last night, but tiredness got the better of me before I got very far.  I've heard a little about his xenophobia, so hopefully it won't catch me too off guard. 

Every time I try to read him I feel like I get to the end of the story and have no idea what just happened or what I just read.  [. . .] I don't get Lovecraft. 

From what little Lovecraft I've read myself, I think that might actually be what he was going for. There doesn't seem to be a single, cohesive story in the scattered mythos, so if you're looking for an overall plot, you might want to try something else.

Despite saying that, I have enjoyed the few stories I've read for what they are. I just read "The Alchemist" last night, and that mystery had a very strange conclusion.

That actually makes me feel a lot better.  I'll try reading him again without trying to connect the stories, and see if that helps. 

[Randolf]

I've heard a little about his xenophobia, so hopefully it won't catch me too off guard.

I think his low point comes in The Rats in the Walls, where he actually uses the "N" word (it's part of the name of the main character's cat, and may be partly where the name Shub-Niggurath is derived from). Just a heads up.

For another example, The Horror at Red Hook basically depicted various Asiatic peoples as squint-eyed, night-lurking creeps with bizarre and sinister religious practices, and even white-skinned races such as Germans as blond-haired, blue-eyed viking raiders (so he's not just looking down on skin color; he's looking down on pretty much everyone not a New Englander, including other white Americans and even other New Englanders who were poor or uneducated).

I try to chalk these things up to simple ignorance. He lived in the 1920s and 30s, and this kind of xenophobia and racial and social stereotyping was rather more common then than now; although one must admit his degradations of foreigners can sometimes be a bit shocking even by 20's standards.

If you can forgive him his sins, you'll like the stories better. Just try not to worry about it.

As for good reading, I can vouch for some of the longer stories (Dunwich Horror, Red Hook, Mountains of Madness, etc.) as these tend to have better-developed plots and occasionally even something like a greater meaning. To reiterate for everyone, there's no real order or continuity between them, so don't be afraid to just pick one off the list and start reading.

[Sharpshooter005]

So far, I don't find that any of the stories form any real continuity, so I don't think it makes much of a difference where you start. I just pick whatever sounds cool, or sometimes just at random.

I think outside of certain locations popping up in other stories, and offhand references to characters, theres no real chronology. The only real "narrative" is "The universe doesn't recognize anybody for anything, and theres stuff out there that can destroy you completely if you even know it exists."

Also I've only read some of his stuff, but I heard somewhere that once other horror writers/pulp authors/whatever started utilizing his concepts, he pulled a 180 and tried to correlate everything to being actual aliens that were just so advanced that they seemed all arcane and godlike (Lovecraft was a staunch athiest. Also his cat was named after a racial slur, I'll give you a hint somebody just lost their radio career over saying it a bunch).

So the "mythos" stuff thats permeated so many other authors to one degree or another, he actually seemingly regretted.

I try to chalk these things up to simple ignorance. He lived in the 1920s and 30s, and this kind of xenophobia and racial and social stereotyping was rather more common then than now; although one must admit his degradations of foreigners can sometimes be a bit shocking even by 20's standards.

Except wasn't he married to a Jewish woman? And..I think they got divorced but if I remember right, it was some deal about finances being the cause, and not the reason of him despising her ancestry.

From my understanding the dude just had a lot of baggage in general, even putting aside the societal mores of the 1920s

[Randolf]

Just to sensationalize things further, if you look here, you'll find a list of myths about Lovecraft, including whether or not he was gay.

A note about At the Mountains of Madness: it is long. Furthermore, nothing supernatural or even that scary happens until well into chapter 10. The biggest horror events happen almost at the very end.

[Mike]

I never read any Lovecraft, but I know that Eternal Darkness was inspired by him.

ED was awesome, therefore, he was awesome.

[Randolf]

As the starter of the thread, I guess I should know this, but I'm going to ask anyway.

Are Lovecraft's works considered public domain? If not, who holds the copyrights at present? I see so much stuff based on his work, I'm guessing its up for grabs. If it is, I might be just tempted into doing something with the Mythos myself.

Mike: Quake is also based on Lovecraftian lore, and also awesome, making him doubly awesome by extension.