Amazingly, I'd never owned or read anything by HP Lovecraft until a few days ago even though I've long been aware of him and despite being a huge fan of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories which are in the same genre as Lovecraft (in fact, he and REH wrote to each other regularly). Every month I buy a magazine called FORTEAN TIMES which is about ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, general weird stuff etc and this month's cover story is "Return Of The Old Ones: HP Lovecraft And The Horrors Of Ancient History" which was absolutely fascinating and got me wondering why I'd never read anything by Lovecraft (however, two of his stories, "At The Mountains Of Madness" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", have been adapted for radio so I am aware of those two). Anyway, last Friday I bought an e-book called "The Complete Fiction of HP Lovecraft" - quite a bargain, reduced from £18 to £8.42 - and I'm now reading it and making up for all those Lovecraftless years :)
Although I haven't delved deeply into Lovecraft's works, the two that spring immediately to mind are THE DUNWICH HORROR and THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE--- both of which I've read more than once, and really enjoy. My enjoyment might be atypical from the "usual" Lovecraft fan, though. The Cthulu mythos stuff is kinda "enh" to me. . . not altogether interested in exploring that end of the tale. I kind of prefer it remaining an "unknowable" evil entity-- best just left alone and forever asleep. What does grab me is his use of the common, everyday American countryside and small towns (at least in the few stories I've read) and such as the settings for his stories. And maybe that's not his most common device, I don't know. But I think we horror readers tend to associate "ancient" evils like this with a more European setting, which lends it an exotic distance. Having these events occur down-county back in our own beloved "good ol' days" definitely ups the horror-ante, y'know?
Tangentially related note: Anyone familiar with the B-(maybe C-?) grade cult film, CALL GIRL OF CTHULU--? Turns out it showed at the San Diego Comicon this year at some point (right between VIDEODROME and FROM BEYOND). I've not seen it myself, I will confess, but I did do a show this spring with the woman who plays the lead (said Call Girl--), a local actress/performer/horror-host, and if you're a fan-- there could not BE a more delightful, unique, kind, and generous soul to share the stage with--! An unfailingly delightful teammate-- !
I have to say that I was a lot like you, Colin, in that I knew the name but not the work until about 10 years ago when I was reading Jeanne Favret-Saada's Witchcraft in the Bocage (Cambridge, 1980) and she mentioned in a footnote that she felt a 'Lovecraftian chill.'
I had no idea what that meant, so I picked up a copy at a local bookstore (interesting sidenote: there was a wizened old crone of a woman behind me who when she saw what I was purchasing, croaked, "You like Lovecraft?" Kinda gave me the willies). I liked it, but I will say that if you binge on it, you'll discover that his vocabulary does tend to get a little repetitive and I found that blunted the effect somewhat for me.
I fear you may have overpaid, however, as I downloaded a free app on my phone/device which has most, if not all, of his works. How that happens I have no idea, but I think there is an interesting publishing history there (Arkham?) which I've never felt sufficiently motivated to explore.
Still if you can carry it with you, it's a great way to pass your time in an airport or in a quiet cafe when you don't want to lug anything more substantive with you. I hope that you enjoy it!
And if the shameless plug for Favret-Saada wasn't enough, I'll add another for Green Wake by Kurtis Wiebe with art by Riley Rossmo (huge fan, here). It has a nice Lovecraftian feel, while being quite original, I found.
Like HB, I haven't delved too deeply into his works, but I have read a number of his stories and I'm familiar enough with his work. However, although I've known about Lovecraft since I was at least a teen, because sometimes his work was referenced in comics and also by other authors, I actually only first read any of his actual prose rather late in life, like about 10 or so years ago. I avoided him earlier because I was kind of wary of horror as a genre when I was a kid/teenager. That's why I'd disagree with Colin that his work and Howard's can be considered the same genre, despite the fact that they corresponded: Lovecraft wrote straight up horror, often with SF overtones, while Howard mainly wrote sword & sorcery (pretty much setting its foundations, given his influence on later writers). Anyway, I think it's important to read at least a little of Lovecraft's work just because it's been so influential on so many later writers and so many aspects of it have been incorporated into the other fiction, comics and movies that we geeks tend to love. However, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I think he was really good at conveying the horror of nameless or scarcely knowable things - like the way he saw outer space as this source of virtually immeasurable terrors for us puny humans on Earth, rather than the setting for boundless adventure and exploration. And like HB, I liked that he often sets his stories in some little out-of-the-way towns or villages in the New England countryside. On the other hand, if you pay attention, you can really see a lot of his hang-ups as well. The guy was obsessed with sex, or rather obsessed with his revulsion thereof, as in many instances the crux of his stories are tied to the fact that humans had sex with, say, some kind of apes or fish or sea otters or something and then gave birth to unspeakable hybrids. And that tied into another of his hang-ups, as you don't need to do much reading between the lines to realize he's often making allusions to how apparently inadvisable it is to mix "races."
About fifteen years ago, I dutifully ploughed way my through his entire collected works. It has to be said, it was a bit of a hard grind. While I appreciate his importance, in terms of the concepts he introduced to the genre, his writing style isn't exactly snappy. That, coupled with his seeming aversion to dialogue, plot, character and story structure means they're tales that you tend to read out of a sense of duty, rather than for actual pleasure.
SteveDC-- That is a very good point, now that you mention it. It's like he writes primarily to convey mood. . . or the "feeling" of a moment or setting (that feeling in this case being mostly foreboding or horror or terror, I suppose--).
The old Suspense radio show did an adaptation of The Dunwich Horror that actually succeeds pretty well because the producers obviously insisted on shoring it up with more conventional elements to make it playable to a "regular" audience.
I've read a couple of Lovecraft stories (Rats in the Walls definitely, I can't remember what else) and I'd agree that they're more about mood and atmosphere than plot. That, coupled with his anti-Semitism/racism, doesn't exactly have me burning to read more.
I'd say Lovecraft's influence might be more important than his actual stories; he's cast a long shadow and a lot of later writers have been influenced by him, or used his creations in their own work. The Call of C'thulhu RPG comes to mind, with its focus on research instead of fighting, and the way most of the player characters end up either dead or insane in the majority of campaigns.
A couple more that come to mind: Cherie Priest's "Maplecroft", which crosses Lizzie Borden with the Lovecraft Mythos, and "Lovecraft Country", by Matt Ruff, which uses African-American characters in the 1950s to give a different perspective on Lovecraft's usual stuff.
I've heard of him; assume he wrote something like sci-fi or mystery; and never read anything by him nor could name a title. So, for what that was worth...
As always Colin you seem to come up with good Tuesday stuff!
I wonder--- did Stephen King ever cite Lovecraft as an influence? I mean, I think King is by FAR a more complete (and superior) story-teller. . . but there is that one strong, common element--- where the horror is primarily being set up in a somewhat "Americana" environment, for lack of a better word. Often in New England (and the sticks) for both writers, yes?
Annnnnd a quick Google search answers my own question for me: Yes, of COURSE he was a major early influence. Apparently that's a very well-known piece of Stephen King trivia. . .
Sorry that I missed out on the initial part of this conversation, but I hope I can contribute today.
I am a big reader of Lovecraft, but will easily admit that he is an acquired taste. His writing style is a bit turgid, especially for modern readers but his concepts of horror, that there is something just lurking out of sight, something that, if we are lucky, we will never quite see, has clearly influenced the current crop of scribblers.
His better works read quite well and a skilled actor can make them quite thrilling, which leads to the point of this message. David McCallum, of NCIS and Man From Uncle fame, produced two albums of adapted Lovecraft. The links below lead to these works at YouTube;
The Rats in the Walls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6FkDC5Qaxg
The Dunwich Horror
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq_HtZC48lM
The Haunter in the Dark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq_HtZC48lM
If you want an introduction to Lovecraft these are a great place to start.
Please enjoy,
PS Hey Humanbelly, saw your post about the revamped basement. Can you get me your email address again. I've got a piece of artwork that I made expressly for you that I think you might enjoy.
Hey, so nice to see you pop up, pfg! (And goodness, what a generous gesture--- you are the best--!) Yep, I see that you're still in my email address book-- I'll touch base with ya presently--- And offer my appreciations in advance-!
14 comments:
Have you read any of the stories by H.P. Lovecraft? Do you have any opinions on this author?
Amazingly, I'd never owned or read anything by HP Lovecraft until a few days ago even though I've long been aware of him and despite being a huge fan of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories which are in the same genre as Lovecraft (in fact, he and REH wrote to each other regularly).
Every month I buy a magazine called FORTEAN TIMES which is about ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, general weird stuff etc and this month's cover story is "Return Of The Old Ones: HP Lovecraft And The Horrors Of Ancient History" which was absolutely fascinating and got me wondering why I'd never read anything by Lovecraft (however, two of his stories, "At The Mountains Of Madness" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", have been adapted for radio so I am aware of those two). Anyway, last Friday I bought an e-book called "The Complete Fiction of HP Lovecraft" - quite a bargain, reduced from £18 to £8.42 - and I'm now reading it and making up for all those Lovecraftless years :)
Although I haven't delved deeply into Lovecraft's works, the two that spring immediately to mind are THE DUNWICH HORROR and THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE--- both of which I've read more than once, and really enjoy. My enjoyment might be atypical from the "usual" Lovecraft fan, though. The Cthulu mythos stuff is kinda "enh" to me. . . not altogether interested in exploring that end of the tale. I kind of prefer it remaining an "unknowable" evil entity-- best just left alone and forever asleep. What does grab me is his use of the common, everyday American countryside and small towns (at least in the few stories I've read) and such as the settings for his stories. And maybe that's not his most common device, I don't know. But I think we horror readers tend to associate "ancient" evils like this with a more European setting, which lends it an exotic distance. Having these events occur down-county back in our own beloved "good ol' days" definitely ups the horror-ante, y'know?
Tangentially related note: Anyone familiar with the B-(maybe C-?) grade cult film, CALL GIRL OF CTHULU--? Turns out it showed at the San Diego Comicon this year at some point (right between VIDEODROME and FROM BEYOND). I've not seen it myself, I will confess, but I did do a show this spring with the woman who plays the lead (said Call Girl--), a local actress/performer/horror-host, and if you're a fan-- there could not BE a more delightful, unique, kind, and generous soul to share the stage with--! An unfailingly delightful teammate-- !
HB
I have to say that I was a lot like you, Colin, in that I knew the name but not the work until about 10 years ago when I was reading Jeanne Favret-Saada's Witchcraft in the Bocage (Cambridge, 1980) and she mentioned in a footnote that she felt a 'Lovecraftian chill.'
I had no idea what that meant, so I picked up a copy at a local bookstore (interesting sidenote: there was a wizened old crone of a woman behind me who when she saw what I was purchasing, croaked, "You like Lovecraft?" Kinda gave me the willies). I liked it, but I will say that if you binge on it, you'll discover that his vocabulary does tend to get a little repetitive and I found that blunted the effect somewhat for me.
I fear you may have overpaid, however, as I downloaded a free app on my phone/device which has most, if not all, of his works. How that happens I have no idea, but I think there is an interesting publishing history there (Arkham?) which I've never felt sufficiently motivated to explore.
Still if you can carry it with you, it's a great way to pass your time in an airport or in a quiet cafe when you don't want to lug anything more substantive with you. I hope that you enjoy it!
And if the shameless plug for Favret-Saada wasn't enough, I'll add another for Green Wake by Kurtis Wiebe with art by Riley Rossmo (huge fan, here). It has a nice Lovecraftian feel, while being quite original, I found.
Great topic, and
Cheers!
Like HB, I haven't delved too deeply into his works, but I have read a number of his stories and I'm familiar enough with his work. However, although I've known about Lovecraft since I was at least a teen, because sometimes his work was referenced in comics and also by other authors, I actually only first read any of his actual prose rather late in life, like about 10 or so years ago. I avoided him earlier because I was kind of wary of horror as a genre when I was a kid/teenager. That's why I'd disagree with Colin that his work and Howard's can be considered the same genre, despite the fact that they corresponded: Lovecraft wrote straight up horror, often with SF overtones, while Howard mainly wrote sword & sorcery (pretty much setting its foundations, given his influence on later writers).
Anyway, I think it's important to read at least a little of Lovecraft's work just because it's been so influential on so many later writers and so many aspects of it have been incorporated into the other fiction, comics and movies that we geeks tend to love.
However, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I think he was really good at conveying the horror of nameless or scarcely knowable things - like the way he saw outer space as this source of virtually immeasurable terrors for us puny humans on Earth, rather than the setting for boundless adventure and exploration. And like HB, I liked that he often sets his stories in some little out-of-the-way towns or villages in the New England countryside.
On the other hand, if you pay attention, you can really see a lot of his hang-ups as well. The guy was obsessed with sex, or rather obsessed with his revulsion thereof, as in many instances the crux of his stories are tied to the fact that humans had sex with, say, some kind of apes or fish or sea otters or something and then gave birth to unspeakable hybrids. And that tied into another of his hang-ups, as you don't need to do much reading between the lines to realize he's often making allusions to how apparently inadvisable it is to mix "races."
About fifteen years ago, I dutifully ploughed way my through his entire collected works. It has to be said, it was a bit of a hard grind. While I appreciate his importance, in terms of the concepts he introduced to the genre, his writing style isn't exactly snappy. That, coupled with his seeming aversion to dialogue, plot, character and story structure means they're tales that you tend to read out of a sense of duty, rather than for actual pleasure.
SteveDC-- That is a very good point, now that you mention it. It's like he writes primarily to convey mood. . . or the "feeling" of a moment or setting (that feeling in this case being mostly foreboding or horror or terror, I suppose--).
The old Suspense radio show did an adaptation of The Dunwich Horror that actually succeeds pretty well because the producers obviously insisted on shoring it up with more conventional elements to make it playable to a "regular" audience.
HB
I've read a couple of Lovecraft stories (Rats in the Walls definitely, I can't remember what else) and I'd agree that they're more about mood and atmosphere than plot. That, coupled with his anti-Semitism/racism, doesn't exactly have me burning to read more.
I'd say Lovecraft's influence might be more important than his actual stories; he's cast a long shadow and a lot of later writers have been influenced by him, or used his creations in their own work. The Call of C'thulhu RPG comes to mind, with its focus on research instead of fighting, and the way most of the player characters end up either dead or insane in the majority of campaigns.
A couple more that come to mind: Cherie Priest's "Maplecroft", which crosses Lizzie Borden with the Lovecraft Mythos, and "Lovecraft Country", by Matt Ruff, which uses African-American characters in the 1950s to give a different perspective on Lovecraft's usual stuff.
If only to contribute to Colin's survey...
I've heard of him; assume he wrote something like sci-fi or mystery; and never read anything by him nor could name a title. So, for what that was worth...
As always Colin you seem to come up with good Tuesday stuff!
I'm on the same page as Charlie. Familiar with Lovecraft, but have never read any. Makes for an educational discussion!
I wonder--- did Stephen King ever cite Lovecraft as an influence? I mean, I think King is by FAR a more complete (and superior) story-teller. . . but there is that one strong, common element--- where the horror is primarily being set up in a somewhat "Americana" environment, for lack of a better word. Often in New England (and the sticks) for both writers, yes?
HB
Annnnnd a quick Google search answers my own question for me: Yes, of COURSE he was a major early influence. Apparently that's a very well-known piece of Stephen King trivia. . .
(Dweeb, that's me--)
HB
Hiya,
Sorry that I missed out on the initial part of this conversation, but I hope I can contribute today.
I am a big reader of Lovecraft, but will easily admit that he is an acquired taste. His writing style is a bit turgid, especially for modern readers but his concepts of horror, that there is something just lurking out of sight, something that, if we are lucky, we will never quite see, has clearly influenced the current crop of scribblers.
His better works read quite well and a skilled actor can make them quite thrilling, which leads to the point of this message. David McCallum, of NCIS and Man From Uncle fame, produced two albums of adapted Lovecraft. The links below lead to these works at YouTube;
The Rats in the Walls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6FkDC5Qaxg
The Dunwich Horror
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq_HtZC48lM
The Haunter in the Dark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq_HtZC48lM
If you want an introduction to Lovecraft these are a great place to start.
Please enjoy,
PS Hey Humanbelly, saw your post about the revamped basement. Can you get me your email address again. I've got a piece of artwork that I made expressly for you that I think you might enjoy.
Take care and good reading
pfgavigan
Hey, so nice to see you pop up, pfg!
(And goodness, what a generous gesture--- you are the best--!)
Yep, I see that you're still in my email address book-- I'll touch base with ya presently---
And offer my appreciations in advance-!
HB
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