H.P. Lovecraft

[Hot_Wings]

I think H.P. Lovecraft is the greatest horror writers of all time. Got any input on this?

[Anise]

Ultimate horror often paralyses memory in a merciful way.

-- H.P. Lovecraft / The Rats in the Walls

[ringbearer]

I like his stories...the greatest ...no.

[sbpollo1]

You should watch some of the old Night Gallery TV shows. There are some great Lovecraft shows.

[osszie]

I enjoyed a lot of Lovecrafts........very imaginative (and occasionally very psychological) horror.

the good news is that the copyright for much of his work expired so you can read (and download) much of it here for free:)

http://www.gizmology.net/lovecraft/works/index.htm

[BeardofPants]

Poor bastard.

Some good stuff.... but I prefer Poe.

[osszie]

*poor bastard*.........well, I guess so.........cancer killed him in 1937.

Anyone interested in starting to read him I would recommend the Cthulhu Mythos tales -

THE NAMELESS CITY
THE FESTIVAL
THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE
THE CALL OF CTHULHU
THE DUNWICH HORROR
THE WHISPER IN DARKNESS
THE DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE
THE HAUNTER OF THE DARK
THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH
THE SHADOW OUT OF TIME
AT THE MOUNTAIN OF MADNESS
THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD

Each can be read alone, this is the order in which they appeared in print.

[Draken]

Ah the good old Cthulhu mythos. That was what was best about Lovecraft, dreaming up a universe that was so bleak and malignant and hopeless for mankind. Used to love playing Call of Cthulhu in my younger years, is that still in print?

I went through a phase of picking up any Lovecraft book I could get, managed to get quite a few of the old 1960s Panther paperbacks- wonder if they're worth owt now?

He has his flaws but he created a terrific mythos, and for that reason I'd rather read him than Poe.

[osszie]

Yep the Call of Cthulhu (RPG) is still in print (Chaosium Publishers) I think It's in its 6th edition now and as popular as ever........the amount of source material available is quite staggering :)

Used to play a lot of it myself something very gratifying about creating a character that you know is doomed from the start, made a change from all those spangle AD&D "supermen";)

I certainly agree that Lovecraft had his flaws.......using a thousand words where sometime a hundred would have done (long winded so an' so) but for pure creativity not many in the genre have come close.

Brian Lumley (a more "modern" writer) probably came the closest with his Necroscope/Vampire world books...........but then Lumley has also added his own stories to the Cthulhu Mythos so maybe I'm a little biased;)

[Draken]

CoC source material would be more staggering yet if anyone ever published all the research I did into the period! The amount of time I used to spend on that game! There were some interesting guns around that I used to like to add to the game - tiny little .2" "velo-dog" one-shots, a flat self-loading "palm pistol" that came disguised as a Gauloise case, big Webley "man stopper" revolvers (forget the exact calibre but it was over .5"and there was only room for five chambers), .410" shotguns disguised as walking canes, 10-bore shotguns, "Destructor" bullets to increase shotgun effect at range...talk about mis-spent youth!

But back to thread - read one Lumley mythos book (The Burrowers Beneath?) and enjoyed it but never got around to reading any others. Some authors are better guardians of the mythos than others. Derleth probably did most to keep interest up after HP's death but he was clueless, bless him. Introducing still greater "gods" that would fight a "war in heaven" with the mythos gods and be the salvation of mankind utterly missed the point of it all, in my opinion.

[osszie]

Brian Lumley's Cthulhu mytho's works are available in Omnibus Editions 1&2 (although there is possibly a 3rd available now).

Have you never read the Necroscope books draken? As a Durham lad you should.......Brian Lumley was born and raised in Horden and much of the early part of Necrosope is based there (named Harden in the books).....tis pretty cool to walk around the coast near the town and see the places he writes about......some of it is even based in Crimdon Dene:eek:

Ah......Poor August Derelith.......Lovecraft created an amazing Universe and then beautifully kept most of it hidden from his readers.......just the occasional hint of the madness and choas of the "powers of the universe".......never explaining......alway's keeping it hidden from us.........Derelith on the, on the other hand, continued the creative process, and tried to shove it down our throats in a way more suited to a comic book style than the dark narrative of lovecraft.

IMO Derelith got it wrong........very wrong.......Lovecraft made a point several times that his invented races were alien(s) in every sence of the world......and that we were powerless it stop them in their grand designs, if they even bothered to notice us at all, there plans and thoughts were so alien to us that it sent many of his "heroes" mad........we were helpless pawn in the struggle for power that we could neither comprehend or prevent.

Derelith wouldn't accept that we would come out second best in this universal struggle........so he invented gods that would come to our salvation.........as you said he missed the point..totally:mad:

That's a lot of guns!........We played our campaign of 'Cthulhu in '20s England so our characters were lucky to get there hands on an old army officers pistol and a couple of 12-bore:( .......the campaign did move in The Dreamlands.....so the lack of guns did'nt really make a lot of difference in the end:D

[Draken]

Well I never knew that - funny as I once wrote a scenario wherein the Lambton Worm was found to have been a Cthonian...it was pants, so I'll spare you the details!

I liked bringing in the alternative weapons to reward clever players - I liked the subtleties of the concealed small calibre weapons and encouraging players to use less firepower but more intelligence (when dealing with human cultists at least - when you get to meet the Byakhee it's time to blaze away with shotguns at point blank!).

[Khamûl]

*bump*

I've heard a lot about Lovecraft, so I bought a book with a collection of his stories today. I really enjoyed The Rats in the Walls and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the stories.:)

[Jabberwock]

I've read a lot of Lovecraft's stories and for me there is something so artificial and distracting about his writing style that it evokes nothing remotely like 'cosmic' horror. The tales are also so freaking colorless and lifeless that they bore the pants off you with their emptiness. That being said, I do remember enjoying them at one time (like age 14). His early tales are not much more than second rate copies of Lord Dunsany, who was a far superior writer, even in the horror vein, though there are few examples of Dunsany's forays therein.

[Khamûl]

I must admit that his writing style is a bit verbose at times, but I still find it enjoyable. And his favorite word is "antediluvian".

[Draken]

Wow quite a bump...

I would never say Lovecraft was a great (or even good) writer - but I would always say that the bleakness of his alternative universe is unique, and the feel of his stories hold true to that bleakness - hence I don't find them the least bit boring.

Khamûl - don't forget "eldritch"!

[Khamûl]

I don't think I've come across "eldritch" yet, since I've only read a handful of stories. I'll be on the lookout for it. :)

[Nautipus]

H.P. Lovecraft is my favorite writer. *poor bastard* indeed. He died because they took too much fluid from his cancer-ridden abdomen, poor guy. He is unique among writers in that almost none of his more popular creations are humanoid, or even reiniscient of anything earthly. I really appreciate that.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

You just like Cthulhu for his tentacles, don't you? :p

[Nautipus]

Actually, he's one of my least favorites.;) I favor the Elder Ones, and their whole back story.

[GrayMouser]

Yay, HP

Lovecraft's narrators routinely rave about the "hideous," "monstrous" and "blasphemous" nature of their revelations. Wilson went on, again quite reasonably, to observe, "Surely one of the primary rules for writing an effective tale of horror is never to use any of these words -- especially if you are going, at the end, to produce an invisible whistling octopus."


http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2005/02/12/lovecraft/


http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/?date=2003-11-30
The Misadventures of Hello Cthulhu

[Morwen]

Currently reading Lovecraft's Call of the Cthulhu. It's wonderful <3

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Most recent of his was Mountains of Madness. I got a used copy of a book called the Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath; I still haven't gotten around to reading it, but the point is that this copy had very arcane markings in it, scribblings in the margins, underlining the materials used in various occultic ceremonies, etc. These scribblings and underlinings grew in number throughout, until eventually entire chapters were underlined, and finally the margins were witness to an explosion of epiphany, which it took some five or six pages to record, and finally ended with the phrase: "Real illusion or illusioned reality? The Gate holds the answer."

Probably the funniest second-hand book I've ever had. :cool:

[GrayMouser]

Most recent of his was Mountains of Madness. I got a used copy of a book called the Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath; I still haven't gotten around to reading it, but the point is that this copy had very arcane markings in it, scribblings in the margins, underlining the materials used in various occultic ceremonies, etc. These scribblings and underlinings grew in number throughout, until eventually entire chapters were underlined, and finally the margins were witness to an explosion of epiphany, which it took some five or six pages to record, and finally ended with the phrase: "Real illusion or illusioned reality? The Gate holds the answer."

Probably the funniest second-hand book I've ever had. :cool:

So that's what happened to that old copy of mine....

Actually, during my brief occult/esoteric phase at age 15 (anyone remember Lobsang Rampa and the Third Eye?) the "Dream-Quest" was one of my greatest influences.

Not typically "Lovecraftian", it's been described as "Lord Dunsany meets John Carter of Mars" though it has it's fair share of Elder Gods and Unspeakable Horrors. A short read, but well worth it.

[GrayMouser]

In fact, I recall we used to use it as our Sacred Book during our home-made ceremonies.

My mom had played an Amazon Queen in one of her Little Theatre group's productions, so she had an actual metal theatrical sword that had broken in half that was one of our major props (the Sword That Was Broken), and we used some statues, tapestries and brass candle-holders and plates that my dad had brought back from India back when he was a ship's captain.

We'd light the candles and incense in my basement and perform incantations to try to open the Gates to the Seventy Steps to the Dream World....

Never got anywhere, IIRC, but it was a great way to pick up girls. :)

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Actually, during my brief occult/esoteric phase at age 15 (anyone remember Lobsang Rampa and the Third Eye?) the "Dream-Quest" was one of my greatest influences.

Really? I'd always assumed that it was just one fellow out there who saw it that way. There must have been at least two, it looks like. ;) That intrigues me, though; I wonder how common such a use of the Dream-Quest is?


Never got anywhere, IIRC, but it was a great way to pick up girls. :)

Was it? :eek: I would have thought shenanigans like that would rank somewhere around Dungeons and Dragons on the chick-o-metre. :p

[Rían]

Gwai and Gray - :D :D

*munches popcorn*

[brownjenkins]

One of his scariest stories ever...

http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/dreamswitchhouse.htm

[GrayMouser]

Really? I'd always assumed that it was just one fellow out there who saw it that way. There must have been at least two, it looks like. ;) That intrigues me, though; I wonder how common such a use of the Dream-Quest is?

Well, there are plenty of people out there looking for the "genuine" Necronomicon. Our effect was somewhat spoiled by having a cheap paperback...I think we used to sometimes substitute a more impressive-looking fake-leather copy of Reader's Digest Limited Edition reprints. We're probably lucky we didn't summon up the spirit of Dear Abby.


Was it? :eek: I would have thought shenanigans like that would rank somewhere around Dungeons and Dragons on the chick-o-metre. :p

We were fifteen...and it was the late 60s...plus it was more Ouija boards, seances and such-like mumbo-jumbo, which females tend to appreciate more.

And 'metre'? Looks like you might be getting brainwashed by your stay in Canuckistan... you'll be saying 'Zed' and 'leftenant' next ;)

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Our effect was somewhat spoiled by having a cheap paperback...I think we used to sometimes substitute a more impressive-looking fake-leather copy of Reader's Digest Limited Edition reprints.
Now, that's a suitable focus of eldritch powers. ;)

And 'metre'? Looks like you might be getting brainwashed by your stay in Canuckistan... you'll be saying 'Zed' and 'leftenant' next ;)

Say rather, I now have an excuse for my long-existing penchant for British/Canadian spellings; I don't see Zed or Leftenant happening any time soon, though, except in parody. ;)

[Bombadillo]

I bought a book called HP Lovecraft Goes to the Movies a few years back, looking to expand my horizons. I've not read much horror, but I knew he's a titan in that field.

Wow! "The Statement of Randolph Carter" is... just wow. I never thought that reading prose could produce a jump-scare! Phenomenally impressive.

Of course it would sometimes take me twenty minutes to finish one page of his thick, thick writing, and no other writer has sent me to the dictionary so very much. (Michael Chabon takes second place in the vocabulary competition in my experience, incidentally.) However, I bet that he'd defend his style as a way to produce an effect. It's tiring! and that's an effect. It's kind of mesmerizing, like a war drum, which softens the reader for the "AAAAAH!"

[Earniel]

I have recently discovered Lovecraft and enjoyed his work very much, despite NOT being a horror reader. I initially started to read because I kept encountering the Cthulhu mythos and wanted to know the origin.

I quite liked At the Mountains of Madness. For some reason white underground penguins struck me as such an intriguing idea and that was just a tiny idea in the whole story.

[The Gaffer]

Got given a massive tome of a collection recently. There's some really interesting and unique stuff in them, for sure. The non-Euclidean spaces and Old Ones and all that. To be honest I found them samey, as if each were a rough draft of the other. He was clearly off his rocker.

[Earniel]

Yeah, you can tell how some of stories clearly were forerunners to other stories. You can see the emergence of ideas that get build on in later stories. But that's part of what I like, if you read in a certain order you can sort of see the writer in the process of building a mythology.

Not sure if he was off his rocker, but he certainly had a vivid imagination.