H. P. LOVECRAFT AND THE CTHULHU MYTHOS
My next post will contain a short story, Haven of Horror, which I wrote with the intent of writing something with the feeling of a story by H.P. Lovecraft. If you have never heard that name before and enjoy horror I suggest that you read some of his stories. What follows is an introduction to Lovecraft.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1890 and most of his story took place in New England. He was an unusual man in both appearance with his prominent lantern-jaw chin and his approach to writing. Initially writing poetry he switched to horror. One of his primary influences for some of his stories was Edgar Allan Poe.
Through his writing, Lovecraft created a new genre of horror. A writer writing stories in the same vein as Lovecraft coined to name of the genre the Cthulhu Mythos.
Lovecraft’s popularity grew and waned during his career. Not until after his death, in poverty, at the age of 47 did his style of writing gain popularity. And that style was adopted by a host of other writers. One of his stories was made into the movie, The Dunwich Horror.
If you are a fan of horror and have not yet read any of his works I suggest you try to locate some of his stories. Barnes & Noble published a volume of the complete works of his fiction in 2008. Most of his work is in the form of short stories and with a little effort I’m sure you can find them in used books stores selling horror.
November 5, 2026 at 5:53 am
All my life I loved to read horror. As a teenager, I chose my reading material by the cover of the paperback, the more gruesome the better. It was during this period of my life that I discovered H.P. Lovecraft. I loved the moodiness of his stories and the amphibian-like humans the inhabited some of his stories only added to my pleasure.
I am in the process of rereading some of his work. Barnes & Noble sells an excellent compilation of all Lovecraft’s short stories and novellas. For $20 you get over one thousand pages of horror. The style of some of the stories is rather dated, but for the most part enjoyable.
Just recently I finished reading his novella The Dunwich Horror. As the story progresses, you realize something is not quite right with one of the main characters. It is the conclusion of the story that I found most satisfying. For horror fans, this is an excellent read and serves to maintain the Lovecraft approach to the land of the fantastic.
June 18, 2013 at 6:15 pm
