H.P. Lovecraft

[Gumball]

I've never learnt about Lovecraft before, and I've never sought him out. But once I finish with Jane Austen's novels, I would suppose that a good transition would be provided by him.

Pride and Prejudice and Tentacles :affraid:

 

[Josjor]

 

[Harlock999]

I've never learnt about Lovecraft before, and I've never sought him out. But once I finish with Jane Austen's novels, I would suppose that a good transition would be provided by him.

Pride and Prejudice and Tentacles :affraid:

:lol!:

 

[babysinister]

I watched the Lovectaft: Fear of the Unknown last night. I have never read him but I will now thanks to this thread! :idea:

MisterE, if you can wade past his writing style which can be best described as, er, old fashioned, frequently convoluted and with a penchant for purple prose, you'll acquire this taste. Play past all that and you will get to the heart of Lovecraft. I guess the best story to start with is The Call of Cthulhu.

All of the above is true!
Lovecraft exists in an antiquated world of even older dreams and fears.

Your reply reminds me of something that C.G. Jung wrote about writing that (supposedly) comes from the unconscious, that it tends to be convoluted and portentous like that, laden with racial memory.

 

[Harlock999]

I watched the Lovectaft: Fear of the Unknown last night. I have never read him but I will now thanks to this thread! :idea:

MisterE, if you can wade past his writing style which can be best described as, er, old fashioned, frequently convoluted and with a penchant for purple prose, you'll acquire this taste. Play past all that and you will get to the heart of Lovecraft. I guess the best story to start with is The Call of Cthulhu.

All of the above is true!
Lovecraft exists in an antiquated world of even older dreams and fears.

Your reply reminds me of something that C.G. Jung wrote about writing that (supposedly) comes from the unconscious, that it tends to be convoluted and portentous like that, laden with racial memory.

"The nethermost caverns...are not for the fathoming of eyes that see; for their marvels are strange and terrific. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Schacabao say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes secretly are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl." Howard Phillips Lovecraft

 

[murfman]

Guys, you should definitely check out the excellent HP Podcraft.com podcast. They have been reviewing all of Lovecraft in order it was written. It is awesome and funny. They also have raised money by doing some full readings. You should all check it out.

[Edit]
I couldn't post links when I first mentioned this site. So here is the link.

http://hppodcraft.com/

 

[user 2027]

You, of course, can read all his writings for free on the web at The H.P. Lovecraft Archive

 

[Deleted member 2386]

Late to the sacrifice, as usual, but by the Black Goat of the Wood with a Thousand Young, that's a killer tattoo, Anthony!

As with Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. Howard, the other two main progenitors of modern weird fiction and buddies of HPL, I absolutely adore Lovecraft despite his many manifest warts. He truly was one of a kind, and his legacy speaks for itself--a friend just attended the annual Lovecraft Film Fest in Portland, and she reported it as being a real blast. Hope to make it out there myself, one of these strange aeons...

And hey, if you chaps like Lovecraft but haven't given Smith or Howard a shot, you might dig'em--of the three, Smith was the only one with a sense of humor, pitch black though it is, and his stuff is woefully under-read these days, whereas Howard, despite being the weakest writer of the three, at least has the enduring legacy of Conan the Barbarian to warm his hoary shade. Both are at their best when they're doing more fantastical pieces ala Lovecraft's Dreamlands cycle, but also wrote, or attempted, contemporary horror. They really helped create and define Lovecraft's Mythos--we often think of an artist being solely responsible for their creations, but even if the stories they wrote weren't proof enough, the letters the three writers exchanged make it very clear that they had a symbiotic relationship, feeding off of folklore and earlier authors, such as Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Poe, the Gothics, etc, in order to jointly create the Mythos people often wholly credit to Lovecraft. Best of all, as with HPL all their stuff is public domain, so you're spoiled for choice when it comes to finding affordable or free editions of their work.

Ia! Ia!

 

[friar_jay]

I've enjoyed Lovecraft's stories since high school. I grew up playing the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game which is based on the Cthulhu Mythos.

There are two great Lovecraft related films...both black & white (though made in the last few years). They're done by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
* The Call of Cthulhu
* The Whisperer in Darkness

Though not Hollywood big budget films they are done exceptional well. Google them or look for their trailers on youtube...good stuff.

 

[user 2027]

 

[Greyson]

thanks Geoff, that made me burst out laughing, I hadn't seen that one before

 

[user 2027]

Why vote for the lesser evil?

 

[Ocelot55]

So, now that I'm finally done with school and have time to read, I finally decided it was time to introduce myself to H.P. Lovecraft's work. I've never read any before, why I have no clue. You fellows seem to think he's an okay author, so it can't be that bad.

Picked up the complete works at B&N for $8. Perfect timing considering Halloween is just around the corner.

 

[user 2027]

Enjoy! The entire collection is online and in the public domain. Most of his stuff is short stories and a few longer stories that are really great. He spawned a whole generation of writers that kept his style and stories alive. August Derelth was another writer that comes to mind.

I grew up in New England in a wooded area. Winters are real gloomy in Connecticut and always had weird glow when your in the woods by yourself. Lovecraft captures that feeling and lets your imagination form the real horror. Not many writers can write good horror story that lets the reader invent their own nightmare. Probably stems that he was bed ridden as a child/teenager and his imagination created his own world and lets the reader do the same.

 

[Deleted member 2386]

I've enjoyed Lovecraft's stories since high school. I grew up playing the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game which is based on the Cthulhu Mythos.

There are two great Lovecraft related films...both black & white (though made in the last few years). They're done by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
* The Call of Cthulhu
* The Whisperer in Darkness

Though not Hollywood big budget films they are done exceptional well. Google them or look for their trailers on youtube...good stuff.

I second these recommendations--the HPLHS does great work, and both films are top-notch pastiches of their respective film styles (Cthulhu is done as a silent film, Whisperer as a Universal-style monster picture) as well as great adaptations. Much as I love the over-the-top gorefest adaptations of, say, Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, Dagon, Dreams in the Witch-House), there's something really great about the straight-faced films, too.

And Ia! Ia! to another CoC rpg veteran--nothing like a system that lets you play a paunchy old anthropologist instead of a barbarian!

 

[Deleted member 2386]

So, now that I'm finally done with school and have time to read, I finally decided it was time to introduce myself to H.P. Lovecraft's work. I've never read any before, why I have no clue. You fellows seem to think he's an okay author, so it can't be that bad.

Picked up the complete works at B&N for $8. Perfect timing considering Halloween is just around the corner.

Hope you enjoy, and by all means jump around in the volume if the first story or two you try don't grab you--HPL wrote a lot of great stuff, but he also wrote some drek, frankly, and even his best work can be an acquired taste. Assuming the sometimes-clumsy faux-antiquated language, bland characterizations, casual racism, and utter lack of female characters don't totally turn you off, you should be in for a roaring good time--for all his faults, he had tremendous talent, albeit talent heavily focused in but a few spheres.

In terms of a good starting place, I'd suggest the stories "The Temple," "The Festival", and "The Rats in the Walls" as they're somewhat shorter but still indicative of the man at his best, and "The Call of Cthulhu" if for no other reason than it's become so iconic. If you prefer longer narratives as a rule, his longest, "At the Mountains of Madness," is pretty grand, and so are "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "The Colour out of Space." If you prefer the more fantastical to the straight-up horrific, the quickie "The Outsider" is excellent, as are his Dreamland tales, "Unknown Kadath" being a personal favorite.

What say you other chaps--have a personal favorite or two that you'd rec to reader coming to the Gentleman from Providence for the first time?

 

[Ocelot55]

Read "The Call of Cthulu," "The Colour out of Space," and "The Lurking Fear," last night. Quite top notch writing. I plan on reading a few more tonight, starting with "Dagon." So far I like it.

 

[friar_jay]

Picked up the complete works at B&N for $8. Perfect timing considering Halloween is just around the corner.

Nice, that may be the same book I was gifted a while back.

And Ia! Ia! to another CoC rpg veteran--nothing like a system that lets you play a paunchy old anthropologist instead of a barbarian!

Indeed. I'll be playing some CoC in two weeks actually...ah good times, good times.

 

[TrevorLeMayRambles]

This thread got me into his strange and curious tales :afro: thanks Gents!

 

[bosun1]

A resurrected thread...shouldn't have opened that door..
Read Lovecraft in the late 60's.
Much Lovecraft out now on the net. 19 Nocturne Boulevard (19noc.com), cthulu podcast, and Brown Monkey do some great narrations/dramas/take offs of HPL. Brown Monkey is a hoot! If anyone needs some good addresses post and I'll write in the actual URL's..