Questions tagged [h-p-lovecraft]
Howard Phillips Lovecraft, also known as H.P. Lovecraft was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction between 1917 and 1937, especially the subgenre known as 'weird fiction'.
97
questions
96
votes
7
answers
253k
views
What's the best order to read HP Lovecraft's novels?
I've always been interested in the Cthulhu mythos and I wanted to get into HP Lovecraft's books. What is the best book to start with? I know that Cthulhu was first mentioned in Lovecraft's Call of ...
- 42.6k
76
votes
8
answers
19k
views
What are some examples of Lovecraft's racism in his published short stories?
I was reading a review of Color out of Space at Ars Technica and some of the commenters were really up in arms about Lovecraft's racism.
Now, I don't doubt the man was racist and that above the ...
47
votes
7
answers
8k
views
What influence did H.P. Lovecraft have on science fiction?
The main focus of Lovecraft's works are indeed... aliens. Lots and lots of aliens. Some visited Earth and lived on it. Some battled between themselves. Some built cities. Some destroyed cities. Some ...
- 2,394
34
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Was Lovecraft's "Shunned House" a real building?
"The Shunned House" is one of my favorite stories by H. P. Lovecraft, although that is probably a minority opinion. One of the things that is notable about it is the detail with which he describes ...
- 97.4k
30
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Gloomy H. P. Lovecraft adventure quest with de-hydrated water
There's an H.P. Lovecraft tome I can't tell you much about as I found it far too long and gloomy to finish. It must have been in paperback print somewhen roughly around 1970.
My justification for 'far ...
- 518
27
votes
3
answers
8k
views
What star constellation awakens Cthulhu?
When reading descriptions of Cthulhu I came across the information that he will awaken from his deathlike sleep when the stars are in the right constellation.
What is the most specific description ...
- 373
25
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Did any of Lovecraft's stories actually have a protagonist who keeps writing even as they are about to die?
I came across a funny article mocking the supposed format of some of Lovecraft's stories where the protagonist continues to write when he really, really, should be running. The article goes like this:
...
- 4,017
24
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Lovecraft story about a man who doesn't know he's a monster
I read this story for my English class last year.
The man starts out in a castle which he has lived in his whole life. He can't go through the forest because he always leads back to the castle. He ...
- 573
23
votes
2
answers
16k
views
Is there a Batman-Lovecraft connection?
Arkham is the fictional town that many of Lovecraft's stories take place in. Arkham Asylum in Gotham is named from its founder. But with the line of Arkham-named Batman games, I cannot help but wonder,...
- 343
21
votes
3
answers
10k
views
Did HPL ever draw his creatures, or see drawings in his lifetime?
H.P. Lovecraft had a pretty vivid imagination, but did he ever draw out or see others drawings of his creatures from his Cthulhu mythos? If so is there some authoritative, or widely accepted set of ...
- 81.9k
21
votes
2
answers
10k
views
How closely does our current image of Cthulhu match HP Lovecraft's description?
We all recognize the squamous dude below as Cthulhu. As far as I know, the only place HPL described the Big C was in the story "The Call of Cthulhu." (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
How closely ...
- 1,559
19
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Was Half Life 1 inspired by HP Lovecraft's "Fungi from Yuggoth"?
The similarities aren't stark, but they remind me about each other so much.
Yuggoth... is a strange dark orb at the very rim of our solar
system... There are mighty cities on Yuggoth—great ...
- 1,313
18
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Why are the beings in the earlier H.P Lovecraft series so easily dealt with?
I've recently been listening to classic H.P. Lovecraft horror with audio books.
It's quite enjoyable to drive home during a stormy night and listen to classic horror tales.
One thing in most of the ...
- 346
18
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What works did Lovecraft and his "Cthulhu Mythos" draw from?
H. P. Lovecraft frequently referenced, drew inspiration from, or outright borrowed elements from others' works. In order to fully appreciate the references and allusions in Lovecraft's stories, what ...
- 3,366
16
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Why do people refer to "cultists" in the Lovecraftian mythos, if Lovecraft himself never used the word?
I've search around the complete works of Lovecraft, and he never had used the word cultist, only worshipper or follower. Today this is the word used to refer to the member of cults in the Mythos ...
- 271
16
votes
4
answers
10k
views
How is "tekeli - li" pronounced?
In At The Mountains Of Madness the "piping sound" of the shoggoths is transcribed as "tekeli - li". This has always bothered me, as I have no idea how to imagine that sound as piping or whistling. How ...
- 273
16
votes
5
answers
21k
views
Is John Carpenter's The Thing influenced by At the Mountains of Madness?
The plot of both stories, a group of scientists uncover an alien being which ends up wreaking havoc on their encampment.
In At the Mountains of Madness, we don't see the devastation caused by the ...
- 81.9k
16
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Cthulhu Mythos: How does the cult recruit people, if at all?
In The Call of Cthulhu there is a worldwide cult that worships Cthulhu (and possibly other great old ones). I'm wondering: how do cult members actually make their way into the cult?
A few thoughts I ...
- 2,561
16
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Does Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space reference the concept of radioactivity?
I've read several interpretations and background information on "The Colour out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft, which all say his goal was to create a kind of truly alien monster - a color instead of a ...
- 555
15
votes
7
answers
5k
views
Who is sample No. 118 in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward?
In H. P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, Dr. Willett
Dr. Willett is told by
that
'twas Number 118, and I conceive you would have shook had you looked it up in my list in t'other room.
...
- 18.9k
15
votes
6
answers
11k
views
What happens at the end of "Mountains of Madness"?
I can only tell from my memory, as I do not have the book here at the moment.
I guess Lovecraft never told, but are there hints in other works?
- 4,481
15
votes
2
answers
859
views
What H.P. Lovecraft stories do Charles Stross's Laundry series reference?
I've recently read a few of Charles Stross's Laundry series of books. These obviously reference Lovecraft in many ways but-- since I've never read any Lovecraft -- I don't know which stories are most ...
- 938
15
votes
0
answers
994
views
Who or what was #118? [duplicate]
I just finished reading H. P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. (Spoilers...)
One mystery that remains at the end is who exactly was "number 118" (the powerful being summoned by Dr. ...
- 440
14
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Was Tolkien familiar with Lovecraft's work?
I have not found any allusion to Lovecraft in Tolkien's works, as far as I can remember. Was Tolkien aware of Lovecraft's works, and, if so, did he ever read any of it? And if he did, did Tolkien ...
- 899
14
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Did Lovecraft ever describe his fiction as 'cosmic horror'?
H.P Lovecraft wrote extensively about what we now call 'cosmic horror', a mix of elder beings, forgotten gods, and alien beings. All these beings have one thing in common : their chaotic nature.
...
- 81.9k
13
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Why are reactions to Old Ones and other horrors so different in Lovecraft's works?
I've read through several of Lovecraft's works, and characters seem to react quite differently from one another in response to witnessing beings not of this world:
In The Dunwich Horror, one of the ...
- 324
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Where did Lovecraft write about Carcosa?
According to Wikipedia
American writers Robert W. Chambers and H.P. Lovecraft borrowed the
term Carcosa for their stories.
I have copies of books that between them claim to be the complete ...
- 355
13
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Short story where a character sees another dimension
I read this story years back and I can't remember its title and who wrote it.
The plot goes something like this:
A guy (or maybe some sort of scientist) gets into a lab accident(?) and his vision is ...
- 133
13
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What's in the box at the end of Lovecrafts's Reanimator?
At the end of Herbert West: Reanimator, West has a box delivered to him which he incinerates. The contents of the box are never explicitly mentioned but is it implied as to what's inside?
My guess is ...
- 232
13
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Does the Miskatonic River match a real place?
I haven't read any of H.P. Lovecraft's works, but lately I've been intrigued by these fictional locations in my state of Massachusetts.
This is how Wikipedia describes the location.
The Miskatonic ...
- 1,438
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Short story about a sea monster attacking a ship - this author inspired Lovecraft
Some time ago I borrowed a little book, which was a collection of short stories. I am really talking likely of a less-than-200 pages book.
I think that on the back of the book was written that this ...
- 1,355
11
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Did Lovecraft ever explicitly mention any enemies of the Cthulhu?
Does the Cthulhu (see: "The Call of Cthulhu", Lovecraft; cthulhu.org; Wikipedia; The H.P. Lovecraft Wikia), have any enemies in the official H.P. Lovecraft canon?
Different internet resources suggest ...
- 213
11
votes
2
answers
430
views
How big is Miskatonic University?
In H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, the narrator explains,
It is an unfortunate fact that relatively obscure men like myself and my associates, connected only with a small university.....
- 18.9k
11
votes
1
answer
904
views
Does the TMNT episode 'The Darkness Within' reference a specific H.P. Lovecraft story?
There's no mistaking that the TMNT episode The Darkness Within pays homage to H.P. Lovecraft.
Is there any specific story the writers are trying to reference? Or is it just the themes?
- 81.9k
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Where does Cthulhu slumber in "The Call of Cthulhu"?
I know it's in the ocean, and off the coast of an uncharted island, but I'm not sure where the island is. I'd been thinking it was Antarctica but I recently realized I was confusing it with At the ...
10
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How does a lich work in the Cthulhu Mythos?
I noticed that the liches from H. P. Lovecraft's works are different from D&D. For example, the Lovecraft version seems to lack a phylactery, and they keep their immortality by taking new bodies, ...
- 379
10
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How do Kaiju and Lovecraftian stories relate?
We know that the kaiju and Lovecraftian genres are kinda similar regarding the use of gigantic monsters and so, but Lovecraftian stories seem to cover larger spaces (dealing with stellar-sized ...
- 229
10
votes
1
answer
472
views
Why did the victims in H.P.Lovecraft's stories happen to be very intelligent?
For example in Dreams in the Witch-house, the protagonist is a very talented student at Miskatonic university
Does it implicate that only the brightest will learn the truth and as they either go mad ...
- 103
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Was the film Dark City (1998) influenced by H.P.Lovecraft?
Wikipedia cites a number of influences for the film Dark City (1998), but I was quite surprised to not see H.P.Lovecraft amongst them, since from the very introduction at the start of the film I was ...
- 953
10
votes
1
answer
495
views
Lovecraftian story about a monstrous being that engineered human civilization
I only read an excerpt of one paragraph from this story - the villain (a Shoggoth?) admits to having engineered all of human civilization (agriculture, industrialization, etc) purely with a view to ...
- 209
9
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Necronomicon short story about a twin brother who is killed by a wizard, and comes back to take revenge
This is a story most probably by Lovecraft. A wizard kills the twin brother out of jealousy. That brother is trying to come back to take revenge.
- 713
9
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How much of Stephen King's work is based on Lovecraft's works?
I heard that Stephen King based some of his work on Lovecraft, who based some of his work on E. A. Poe.
Does anyone know which works of King's were based on H. P. Lovecraft?
- 315
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Which HP Lovecraft story features a private detective?
I'm trying to recall, does any HP Lovecraft story actually feature a private detective/private eye (male or female) as the main protagonist? The answer should be specifically HPL and not any ...
- 459
8
votes
1
answer
966
views
Has anyone finished Lovecraft's Azathoth?
Lovecraft only wrote a short fragment of Azathoth. Has anyone (fairly well-known) tried to write the whole story in Lovecraft's style?
user1320
8
votes
1
answer
785
views
Why did the narrator of The Picture in the House need shelter?
H.P. Lovecraft's The Picture in the House begins with the narrator travelling down an abandoned road. From "I did not hesitate to wheel my machine ...", I gather that he was driving a car. His journey ...
user1320
8
votes
1
answer
409
views
Looking for the title of a Lovecraftian story about faces getting torn off
In the sixties I remember reading a story where a group of men are searching for an unknown, unseen monster who was killing people and destroying property. At one point, the men barricade themselves ...
- 1,040
8
votes
2
answers
3k
views
In what order should I read the 'extended' Cthulhu Mythos?
The Cthulhu Mythos is a pretty huge topic. It spans multiple authors and decades.
I'm not after a complete list, in fact I'm most interested in the first phase, the one directed by HPL, not the ...
- 81.9k
8
votes
2
answers
809
views
The chronology and genealogy of Erich Zann
What can we say about the chronology and genealogy of Erich Zann?
Here are the facts I have gathered as being potentially relevant:
The Music of Erich Zann [Music] was written in 1921 by Lovecraft ...
- 181
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is Joseph Curwen a Lich?
In H. P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, is Joseph Curwen a lich, as defined by Wikipedia?
- 379
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why does Lovecraft write that Mount Nansen (approx. 9000 ft.) is 15,000 feet high?
In the first chapter of At The Mountains of Madness I read
the peak of Mt. Nansen in the eastern distance, towering up to its height of almost fifteen thousand feet.
Isn't that height plainly ...
- 1,355