Lovecraft is the Shakespeare of Horror. This is he who was borrowed from by so many horror writers (Stephen King, Robert E. Howard, etc.) and even Iron Maiden borrowed a quote from him to make their albums look cool ("That is not dead that doth eternal lie, but with strange aeons even death may die...").
The first thing you have to know about Lovecraft is that he's not going to be easy on modern readers. He's a blue blood, and an intellectual. His writing was a little old-fashioned (baroque/gothic if you will) even for his day. His loathing of rural and/or ethnic peoples, especially those who had primitive lifestyles bleeds through in some of his work too, so if you're sensitive to that sort of thing--tough luck!
Why then read Lovecraft? Well, he had a profound understanding of the nature of horror. If you plan on writing horror, or just want to appreciate the difference between an ordinary thriller/slasher movie and a genuine horror movie, his writing is essential. He created a kind of Nihilist's pantheon of substitute gods, to replace what society understands of G-d. Why did he do this? Well, the most unsettling thing, more unsettling than an earthquake or tidal wave, or even natural death, is the feeling that your very existence is meaningless, and that all the things you based your life on are nothing--meaningless eternal suffering.
Some "gods" he conjured up include "Azathoth" a sort of omnipresent, multi-dimensional formless thing that is placated by odd creatures that circle it playing flutes. Then there's "Yog-sahthoth". Old Yoggie is the know it all, the omniscient slimy, formless god. Seeking this creatures' knowledge and understanding is the undoing of some characters. Then there's "Shug-Nuggarath: The Goat with a Thousand Young" "She" has the feet of a goat, and is a kind of a twisted fertility creature. Many of the stories take place over the course of years and generations, in settings of crowded cities, or rural countries, often in New England, and often places that have 'a history', but always centered on the recluses of society. The narrations often take the form of letters and journals. The reader is forced to piece things together, and it's what's not directly seen that is terrifying.
Most commonly, the protagonist is an elite, adventurous intellectual intrigued by such recluses, or is the recluse himself. His intellectual curiosity gets the best of him, of course, and he delves deeper and deeper into the world of these strange, preternaturally awful smelling, slimy, tentacled beast-gods by opening up a new cosmic dimension. Often the means for opening up this dimension is the use of drugs, chemicals, chants and spells, and reading the "unholy book", the Necromomicon which was written by "The Mad Arab"(as parodied by that crazy, B-movie Campbell guy in the "Dead" whatever movies) . He gets to a point of course where he can't escape, and then we realize someone is reading his diary, etc.
Not only does the victim in these stories lose his life, but often loses his humanity, becoming a kind of twisted, half-human beast. It is a destruction and corruption of body and soul. There's the sense in most of these stories that most of humanity is in a kind of sleep to it all, and that these "bad guy" ancient slimy beings who've existed since before time are invincible, and can only be controlled in a very limited way with special knowledge and practices.
Often the protagonist has a family history and/or is "destined" to fall into this world of horrors in some way, being predisposed to it. I'm only about half way through all the books and short stories, but it's really given me a unique understanding of horror and terror and fear of the unknown. This is the original "Twilight Zone". It should be described as "Cosmic horror" because it deals with the fear of being a self-aware and eternally tortured speck of nothing, alone in a vast and violent universe as personified in these nihilistic creatures. He goes out of his way to describe these creatures by smell, sight, and vastness of being.
I'm myself am not a nihilist by any stretch of the imagination. But these stories give me a great understanding of horror, causing me to rethink the nature of horror--deep fear. I think that understanding will make me a better writer, and perhaps a better reader too.
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Top reviews from other countries
Jaime
Genial para viajes y situaciones en las que tienes mucho tiempo muerto y el tiempo justo para leer.
Reviewed in Spain on September 18, 2018Sir Benedict Godfrey
Look no further.... H P is the master of horror
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2018
LAURA VOSS
Intitulé mensonger !!!
Reviewed in France on August 26, 2022
LAURA VOSS
Reviewed in France on August 26, 2022
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