Any H.P. Lovecraft Fans on Here?

Lankester Merrin said:
He had a massive influence on cinema and later horror writers, so most people are familiar with him. It's just hard for me to recommend a writer with such immense racist baggage without explaining first
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He is influential to King with all of his 'tears between worlds' stuff. Unbeknownst to me, he also influenced one of my short stories through King, called The Portal. :lol: His mythos was described quite thoroughly in that podcast I listened to today and I have to admit, I found it fascinating.
 


ErichZann said:

Pricey!
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I know! Not sure it is worth it except for real completists. The Gou Tanabe version of Mountains of Madness is a treat if you haven't got it yet
Lexingtongue said:
He is influential to King with all of his 'tears between worlds' stuff. Unbeknownst to me, he also influenced one of my short stories through King, called The Portal. :lol: His mythos was described quite thoroughly in that podcast I listened to today and I have to admit, I found it fascinating.
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I am enjoying the WID podcasts - did you hear the previous one - Case of Charles Dexter Ward?
 
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Lankester Merrin said:
I know! Not sure it is worth it except for real completists. The Gou Tanabe version of Mountains of Madness is a treat if you haven't got it yet


I am enjoying the WID podcasts - did you hear the previous one - Case of Charles Dexter Ward?
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No, but I wish I'd started there as I'm at the end of the WID now and dying for the next one. It's very well done, isn't? The voice actors do a sterling job I feel. Good how they've brought it into a modern day setting, too.
 
I bought his necronomicon book. The stories are hit and miss. Some really good ones in there especially reanimator.

There are not an easy read, if like me you arnt a very good reader. Language used is borderline old english.

Something intriguing about his stories they have a certain charm.
 
Lexingtongue said:
Is that the one where the cat gives away his misdeed in the basement?
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Can't remember. I know Exham Priory in it is named after Hexham, after he found out he had ancestry there.

Lankester Merrin said:
He had lots of pen pals, including Robert Bloch who based the character of Norman Bates on HPL's relationship with his mad mother.
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I've never heard that before, are you sure that's true? I thought it was Ed Gein. Bloch was definitely good friends with him though.
Also scholars tend to argue that his racism solidified whilst he was living in New York. He moved leftwards on the economy, came to despise the Republicans, but he was never remotely a liberal.

By the way I would definitely recommend Arthur Machen as well if you like his tales and that weird/supernatural horror vibe.
 
I'd recommend The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Probably my favorite Canadian H. P. Lovecraft inspired rock band. Shhh!, Downtown, and Operation get the hell out of here are particular favourites.
 
There’s something about the Shadow Over Innsmouth that really stuck with me.

There is a really good anthology of modern takes on his stuff (well there are quite a few) called Cthulhu 2000.

Second @cauldbairn recommendation of Arthur Machen. A much better writer than Lovecraft. The Great God Pan and The White People are excellent stories - the latter is one of my favourite bits of weird fiction of all time.
 
cauldbairn said:
Can't remember. I know Exham Priory in it is named after Hexham, after he found out he had ancestry there.
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I think that Lovecraft's family came from the South West, and Exham is meant to be situated near Exeter and Exmouth

cauldbairn said:
I've never heard that before, are you sure that's true? I thought it was Ed Gein. Bloch was definitely good friends with him though.
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I am sure Gein was the main influence, but the description of Lovecrafts relationships with his mother in the letters is very Norman Bates

cauldbairn said:
Also scholars tend to argue that his racism solidified whilst he was living in New York. He moved leftwards on the economy, came to despise the Republicans, but he was never remotely a liberal.
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I think both might be true. His initial exposure to a more diverse society made him even more reactionary - eg Horror in Red Hook, but marriage and living in Brooklyn ultimately mellow him. The racism is left, and some of the later dialogue he gives to Randolph Carter recants aspects of his earlier bigotry.

But you are right that he is more nihilist than liberal

cauldbairn said:
By the way I would definitely recommend Arthur Machen as well if you like his tales and that weird/supernatural horror vibe.
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I love Machen. White People is a masterpiece
 
Lexingtongue said:
My mate has been telling me for years that I should read some of his stuff but I've never got round to it. However, today I started listening to a BBC adaptation of The Whisperer in Darkness on the BBC Sounds app (which I would highly recommend) and I got instantly sucked in by the Elder Things/Gods mythos. I fancy giving his stuff a go, but would like to discover more about Nyarlathotep and Azathoth and the like after what I listened to today. Any recommendations on where I should start and stories I really shouldn't miss or stuff by other authors on the subject?
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It's probably more entertaining to read/watch stuff by people influenced by HP Lovecraft, like John Carpenter, Clive Barker, HR Giger, Colin Wilson, Del Toro...
 
Pants said:
Er... the stuff that makes people shoot themselves?
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I think Lovecraft tried to convince Howard the the Universe is indifferent to human suffering - it cares not if you are happy or unhappy.

It was meant to create the impression that you can choose to be happy or unhappy, but instead painted a picture of a cold uncaring universe
 
Lexingtongue said:
My mate has been telling me for years that I should read some of his stuff but I've never got round to it. However, today I started listening to a BBC adaptation of The Whisperer in Darkness on the BBC Sounds app (which I would highly recommend) and I got instantly sucked in by the Elder Things/Gods mythos. I fancy giving his stuff a go, but would like to discover more about Nyarlathotep and Azathoth and the like after what I listened to today. Any recommendations on where I should start and stories I really shouldn't miss or stuff by other authors on the subject?
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Yes, love his work.

At the mountains of madness, the case of Charles Dexter Ward, the Dunwich Horror, Call of Cthulu. A few of my favourites.

I'm not sure if there's a great deal of background stuff about the cthulu mythos, you won't find a copy of the Necronomicon by Abdul Alhazred. He made it up.

Clark Ashton Smith wrote some cthulu mythos stuff but they were stories rather than the origins of it. Stephen King made a nod towards it in one of his stories, can't remember what it was called. A boy is looking after a grand parent, while his parent has to go out, the grand parent is bed ridden, it all goes a bit wrong, etc.

Reading through this thread there are others who will be able to tell you more than me.
 
Wasn't the stuff about him calling his cat 'nigger man' a myth as he was only a bairn when he got it? I'm aware of other accusations of racism but his work is still of interest. Very influential, obviously.
 
used to play the Call of Cthulhu roll playing game in my teens, was fantastic as a player you never won, but was more about what you learnt as you slipped into madness, cracking stuff and much better than the AD&D that was very popular at that time, but then I have always been a sucker for horror.
 

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