Lovecraft, the master of horror
Journalist and poet Howard Philips Lovecraft is best remembered for his writings about horror, fantasy and science fiction, genres he was able to mix in order to create a new style, later to be called the 'Fantastic'. Much like Edgar Allan Poe, whose work he admired, he described numerous terrific scenes and creatures from his delirious imagination and, mostly, from the nightmares that systematically haunted him. These nightmares stemmed from his hard and tumultuous life, which eventually led him to his death, in the uttermost darkness, in 1937. He was only 47 years old.
Like so many other writers, Lovecraft's talent was only acknowledged after his death. Today, the writer is an undeniable reference in Fantastic literature and the genre he helped create went far beyond the borders of literature and extended to other areas, such as cinema, comic strips or even video games. Several artists have tried to capture the essence of his madness in order to give shape to his fabulous imagery. Here are some examples:
Known as the personification of radioactivity, the god Azathoth lies sleeping in his throne, placed in the center of the Universe. His intelligence matches his great power, but something (perhaps an inter-dimensional war) caused the collapse of his mind. When he finally wakes up, he'll try to destroy the Universe...
Chaugnar Faugn is mentioned by Lovecraft in one of his books, but Frank Belknap Long was the one to give him shape: a being doted with a trunk, ears and two gigantic tusks, similar to a mammoth's. He was a hybrid between a humanoid and a pachyderm, with broad, square shoulders, human hands and a protuberant stomach; his membranous ears were equipped with tentacles, the trunk ended with a enormous wheel-shaped disk and the tusks were translucent and intertwined.
Cthulhu's concept is a complex one, and it is related with a cult that began hundreds of thousands of years ago with the primitive Man, who would've been visited by Aliens. Lovecraft himself left drawings of this creature, a winged humanoid, with a misshaped head, with tentacles and tentacular limbs.
Nyarlathothep, the crawling chaos, can assume thousands of shapes, mostly of horrifying monsters and only a few of human appearance. In one of these, he embodies a slender figure, with the face of an old pharaoh, his bearing reminding you of a fallen angel. His only purpose is to stimulate the worst instincts in mankind, in order to spread the chaos and bring back the darkness...
Shub-Niggurath's shape is that of a colossal organic mass of bubbly surface that continually projects tentacles and testicles, at the same time he opens mouths and vaginal orifices. He vomits living beings of all sizes and shapes, devouring them at the same speed he produces them. He is called the Black Goat and inhabits a cave in the Black Forest.
Interesting links about Lovecraft: here and here.
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11 comments
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Ummm, Poe died in 1849 and Lovecraft was born in 1890 so he couldn't have KNOWN Poe. Perhaps you meant he knew his writing?
regards
Stacy Brian Bartley
Yes, of course, Stacy. That's it. Lovecraft knew Poe's writing, obvious ;)
Thanks for commenting.
seven em 26 de July de 2009
I don't think Poe or Lovecraft would let a little thing like death keep them down.
They're immortal, SubCool...
seven em 27 de July de 2009
very interesting indeed.
H P Lovecraft was, it seems, obsessed by the 18th century. When he went into one old American house, he exclaimed in delight, "Men in three-cornered hats have lived in this house!"
Thanks for this interesting article.
Sad that none of Lovecraft's novels was published in his lifetime. There are at least two biographies.
... and Lovecraft's Cthulhu inspired this delightful piece of black humour by Neil Gaiman.
http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Cool_Stuff/Short_Stories/I_Cthulhu
Thanks for your suggestions, Prodnose. We'll check it out.
Be back soon ;)
seven em 29 de July de 2009
I was first introduced to Lovecraft at the tender, impressionable age of 14 while on a road trip from NY to VA. I became completely enamored with his use of words like balustrade, and the use Byzantine when referring to something that was sorely outdated. His works of fiction are among the most terrifying, in my opinion. I can neither prove nor disprove the existence of his alternate realities. Who am I to say that there is not a parallel dimension to our own that only a few are selected to witness? How can I discount the existence of a sleeping behemoth in the Atlantic that, when he wakes, will destroy our Earthly realm? Or, argue that there are certain corners, in certain houses where the angles add up just so, and portals open while we sleep, allowing the dwellers from within to freely roam about?
All of this bring me to one ultimate question.... What is "reality"? An accepted group hunch. No more than that.
Thanks for a great string/topic...
Thank you for your comment, Pandora.
Lovecraft is a fantastic source of inspiration for those with an open mind.
seven em 22 de August de 2009popular
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