Black and white photograph of H.P. Lovecraft

H.P. Lovecraft

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About

Howard Philips Lovecraft was a science-fiction/Horror author who hailed from Providence, Rhode Island. He is known primarily for his cosmicist stories in which the protagonists are often tormented by visions and interactions with beings beyond the scope of human understanding.
While he was only truly recognized posthumously, he changed the course of horror fiction. In the words of Stephen King:

Lovecraft. . . opened the way for me as he had done for others before me…. it is his shadow, so long and gaunt, and his eyes, so dark and puritanical, which overlie almost all of the important horror fiction that has come since.

People have since continued parodying, deconstructing and reconstructing the Lovecraftian mythos.

Notable Memes and Creations

Cthulhu

Cthulhu is a fictional monster created by horror writer H.P. Lovecraft that is often depicted as a large cephalopod-like creature with a tentacled mouth, large wings, clawed hands and scaly skin.[1]

Nyarlathotep

Nyarlathotep was first introduced in the short story of the same name[2] and is another reoccurring being in Lovecraftian fiction. While it is not as popular as Cthulhu-- perhaps due to its inconsistent form ranging from a pharaoh to a tangled mess of tentacles-- it still has its place in modern popular culture. Notably, "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san" is a novel and anime series wherein Nyarlathotep takes the form of a silver-haired Japanese school girl.


Nyarlathotep as a cute anime girl with silver hair

Azathoth

On H.P. Lovecraft's romans, it is described as a god of chaos, which is existed before the creation of the universe and has infinitive amount of powers until its body has separated itself from the Nyarlathotep.[3]

Controversy

While Lovecraft is revered as a writer, he was also highly xenophobic and antisemitic-- supporting organisations like the KKK.[4] Because of this, his name often sparks discussions regarding "separating the art from the artist".

Search Interest

External References

[1] Wikipedia – Cthulhu

[2] Dagonbytes – Nyarlathotep

[3] The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki – Azathoth

[4] TV Tropes – H.P. Lovecraft

Recent Videos 12 total

Recent Images 122 total


Top Comments

trachy king
trachy king

To be fair to Lovecraft, practically everybody during that time was a racist. It was the age where eugenics was considered a legitimate science.

Anyways, it can be debated that this man is the person with the biggest influence on the modern horror genre, with many of the most popular writers in horror citing him as an influence. While the mainstream has kind of lost what made his works great (nowadays I can't go anywhere in video games or board games without seeing some Lovecraftian creature design without any of the themes to go with it) it is still very nice to see this man get the attention he very much deserves.

My personal favorites of his work are "The Rats in the Walls" and "At the Mountains of Madness".

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