H. P. Lovecraft
Born	Howard Phillips Lovecraft August 20, 1890(1890-08-20) Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Died	March 15, 1937 (aged 46) Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Occupation	short story writer; novelist
Genres	Horror, Science fiction, Fantasy
Literary movement	Cosmicism

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, known then simply as weird fiction. Events 636 - Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting This is a list of modern literary movements: that is movements after the Renaissance. Cosmicism is the literary Philosophy developed and used by the American writer H Events 636 - Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Weird fiction is a subgenre of Speculative literature written in the late 19th and early 20th century

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: the idea that life is incomprehensible to human minds and that the universe is fundamentally alien. Cosmicism is the literary Philosophy developed and used by the American writer H The Universe is defined as everything that Physically Exists: the entirety of Space and Time, all forms of Matter, Energy Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking The Protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story. Sanity considered as a legal term denotes that an individual is of sound mind and therefore can bear Legal responsibility for his or her actions Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of Pop culture. The Cthulhu Mythos is a Shared universe created in the 1920s by American horror writer H A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθειον - pantheion, literally "a temple of all gods " neut The Necronomicon is a Fictional book appearing in the stories by horror novelist H A grimoire (grɪˈmwɑr is a textbook of magic. Books of this genre typically giving instructions for invoking Angels or Demons performing His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Christianity. Pessimism, from the Latin pessimus (worst is the decision to evaluate perceive and view life in a generally negative light Cynicism (Kυνισμός originally comprised the various philosophies of a group of ancient Greeks called the Cynics, founded by The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings ^[1][2] Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality. Gnosis (from one of the Greek words for Knowledge, γνώσις is the spiritual knowledge of a Saint or mystically enlightened human being Mysticism (from the Greek grc μυστικός mystikos, an initiate of a Mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with identity Reality, in everyday usage means "the state of things as they actually exist"

Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades, and he is now commonly regarded^[3] as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, ^[4]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Marriage and New York 1.3 Return to Providence 2 Background of Lovecraft's work 3 Themes 3.1 Forbidden knowledge 3.2 Nonhuman influences on humanity 3.3 Atavistic guilt 3.4 Inability to escape fate 3.5 Civilization under threat 3.6 Race 3.7 Gender 3.8 Risks of a Scientific Era 4 Influences on Lovecraft 5 Lovecraft's influence on culture 6 Survey of the work 6.1 Letters 6.2 Intellectual property 7 Parodies 8 Locations featured in Lovecraft stories 8.1 Historical locations 8.2 Fictional locations 9 Bibliography 10 Adaptations 10.1 Television 10.2 Movies 10.3 Theatre 10.4 Audio Books 10.5 Radio production 11 Further reading 12 Footnotes 13 External links

Biography

Early life

Lovecraft was born on August 20, 1890 at 9:00 a. Events 636 - Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common m. in his family home at 194 (later 454) Angell Street in Providence, Rhode Island. The house was torn down in 1961. He was the only child of Winfield Scott Lovecraft, a traveling salesman of jewelry and precious metals, and Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft, who could trace her ancestry in America back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it was an English settlement on the east coast of North America His parents married, the first marriage for both, when they were in their thirties, unusually late in life given the time period. In 1893, when Lovecraft was three, his father became acutely psychotic in a Chicago hotel room while on a business trip. Psychosis (from the Greek ψυχή "psyche" for mind or soul and -οσις "-osis" for abnormal condition with adjective psychotic Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. He was brought back to Providence and placed in Butler Hospital, where he remained until his death in 1898. Butler Hospital is a private non-profit psychiatric and substance abuse Hospital for children adolescence adults and seniors located in Providence Rhode Island Lovecraft maintained throughout his life that his father died in a condition of paralysis brought on by "nervous exhaustion" due to over-work, but it is now almost certain that Winfield Scott Lovecraft died from general paresis of the insane. Paralysed redirects here For other uses see xx Paralysed (disambiguation Paralysis is the complete loss of Muscle function General paresis, also known as general paralysis of the insane or paralytic dementia, is a now-rare neuropsychiatric disorder affecting the brain ^[5] It is unknown whether Lovecraft was ever aware of the actual nature of his father's illness or its cause (syphilis), although his mother likely was, possibly having even received tincture of arsenic as "preventive medication". Syphilis is a Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal Bacterium Treponema pallidum pallidum. Arsenic (ˈɑrsənɪk is a Chemical element that has the symbol As and Atomic number of 33

Lovecraft thereafter was raised by his mother, his two aunts (Lillian Delora Phillips and Annie Emeline Phillips), and his grandfather, Whipple Van Buren Phillips. All resided together in the family home. Lovecraft was a child prodigy, reciting poetry at age two and writing complete poems by six. List of child prodigies|Fictional child prodigies A child prodigy is a one who masters one or more skills or arts at an early age His grandfather encouraged his reading, providing him with classics such as The Arabian Nights, Bulfinch's Age of Fable, and children's versions of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Thomas Bulfinch ( July 15 1796 - May 27, 1867) was an American writer born in Newton Massachusetts. The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient The Odyssey ( Greek: Ὀδύσσεια or Odússeia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. His grandfather also stirred the boy's interest in the weird by telling him his own original tales of Gothic horror. Weird fiction is a subgenre of Speculative literature written in the late 19th and early 20th century Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. His mother, on the other hand, worried that these stories would upset him.

Lovecraft was frequently ill as a child, at least some of which was certainly psychosomatic, although he attributed his various ailments to physical causes only. Psychosomatic medicine is an interdisciplinary medical field studying psychosomatic illness, now more commonly referred to as psychophysiologic illness or disorder Early speculation that he may have been congenitally disabled by syphilis passed on from father to mother to fetus has been completely ruled out. A fetus (or foetus or fœtus) is a developing Mammal or other Viviparous Vertebrate, after the Embryonic stage and Due to his sickly condition and his undisciplined, argumentative nature he barely attended school until he was eight and then was withdrawn after a year. He read voraciously during this period and became especially enamored of chemistry and astronomy. Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study He produced several hectographed publications with a limited circulation beginning in 1899 with The Scientific Gazette. The hectograph or gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a Printing process which involves transfer of an original prepared with special inks to a pan of Four years later he returned to public school at Hope Street High School.

His grandfather's death in 1904 greatly affected Lovecraft's life. Mismanagement of his grandfather's estate left his family in such a poor financial situation they were forced to move into much smaller accommodations at 598 (now a duplex at 598-600) Angell Street. Lovecraft was so deeply affected by the loss of his home and birthplace he contemplated suicide for a time. In 1908, prior to his high school graduation, he claimed to have himself suffered what he later described as a "nervous breakdown", and consequently never received his high school diploma (although he maintained for most of his life that he did graduate). Mental breakdown (also known as nervous breakdown or snapping) is a non-medical term used to describe a sudden acute attack of Mental illness such as S. T. Joshi suggests in his biography of Lovecraft that a primary cause for this breakdown was his difficulty in higher mathematics, a subject he needed to master to become a professional astronomer. Sunand Tryambak Joshi (b 22 June 1958 in Pune, India) is an Indian American Literary Critic, and a leading Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and This failure to complete his education (he wished to study at Brown University) was a source of disappointment and shame even late into his life. Brown University is a highly esteemed private University located in Providence, Rhode Island and is a member of the Ivy League.

Lovecraft wrote some fiction as a youth but, from 1908 until 1913, his output was primarily poetry. During this time, he lived a hermit's existence, having almost no contact with anyone but his mother. A hermit (from the Greek ἔρημος erēmos, signifying " Desert " "uninhabited" hence "desert-dweller" adjective "eremitic" This changed when he wrote a letter to The Argosy, a pulp magazine, complaining about the insipidness of the love stories of one of the publication's popular writers. The ensuing debate in the magazine's letters column caught the eye of Edward F. Daas, President of the UAPA, who invited Lovecraft to join in 1914. An Amateur Press Association or APA is a group of people who produce individual pages or Magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all The UAPA reinvigorated Lovecraft and incited him to contribute many poems and essays. An Amateur Press Association or APA is a group of people who produce individual pages or Magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all An essay is usually a short piece of writing It is often written from an author's personal point of view. In 1917, at the prodding of correspondents, he returned to fiction with more polished stories such as "The Tomb" and "Dagon". "The Tomb" is a Short story by H P Lovecraft written in June 1917 and first published in the March 1922 issue of The Vagrant. "Dagon" is a Short story by H P Lovecraft, written in July 1917, one of the first stories he wrote as an adult The latter was his first professionally published work, appearing in Weird Tales in 1923. Weird Tales is an American Fantasy and Horror fiction Pulp magazine first published in March 1923. Around this time he began to build up a huge network of correspondents. His lengthy and frequent missives would make him one of the great letter writers of the century. Among his correspondents were Robert Bloch (Psycho), Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian series). Robert Albert Bloch (April 5 1917 Chicago – September 23 1994 Los Angeles) was a prolific American Writer, primarily of crime Psycho is a 1959 pulp thriller by Robert Bloch. Plot summary The story is divided (below but not in the actual book into Clark Ashton Smith ( January 13, 1893 - August 14, 1961) was a Poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy Robert Ervin Howard ( January 22 1906 &ndash June 11 1936) was an American pulp writer of Fantasy, Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian, from the name of his homeland Cimmeria) is a Fictional character often associated with

In 1919, after suffering from hysteria and depression for a long period of time, Lovecraft's mother had a nervous breakdown and was committed to Butler Hospital like her husband before her. Hysteria in its colloquial use describes a state of Mind, one of unmanageable Fear or Emotional excesses Major depressive disorder, also known as major depression, unipolar depression, unipolar disorder, clinical depression, or simply depression Nevertheless, she wrote frequent letters to Lovecraft, and they remained very close until her death on May 21, 1921, the result of complications from gall bladder surgery. Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar The gallbladder (or cholecyst sometimes gall bladder is a small organ whose function in the body is to store Bile and aid in the digestive process Lovecraft was devastated by the loss.

Marriage and New York

A few weeks after his mother's death, Lovecraft attended an amateur journalist convention in Boston where he met Sonia Greene. Sonia Haft Greene Davis ( 16 March 1883 - 26 December 1972) was a one-time pulp fiction writer and amateur publisher a single mother Born in 1883, she was of Ukrainian Jewish ancestry and seven years older than Lovecraft. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ They married in 1924, and the couple moved to the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Administrative divisions of New York State differ from those in certain other countries and most U Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. The City of New York Lovecraft's aunts may have been unhappy with this arrangement, as they were not fond of Lovecraft being married to a tradeswoman (Greene owned a hat shop). Initially Lovecraft was enthralled by New York but soon the couple was facing financial difficulties. Greene lost her hat shop and suffered poor health. Lovecraft could not find work to support them both so his wife moved to Cleveland for employment. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Lovecraft lived by himself in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn and came to intensely dislike New York life. Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. ^[6] Indeed, this daunting reality of failure to secure any work in the midst of a large immigrant population — especially irreconcilable with his opinion of himself as a privileged Anglo-Saxon — has been theorized as galvanizing his racism to the point of fear, a sentiment he sublimated in the short story The Horror at Red Hook. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that "The Horror at Red Hook" is a short story written by H ^[7]

A few years later he and Greene, still living separately, agreed to an amicable divorce, which was never fully completed. Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. He returned to Providence to live with his aunts during their remaining years. Due to the unhappiness of their marriage, some biographers have speculated that Lovecraft could have been homosexual, though Greene is often quoted as referring to him as "an adequately excellent lover". Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. ^[8]

Return to Providence

Back in Providence, Lovecraft lived in a "spacious brown Victorian wooden house" at 10 Barnes Street (the address given as the home of Dr. The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of Architectural styles predominantly employed during the Victorian era. Willett in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward) until 1933. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a Novella by H P Lovecraft written in early 1927, set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence Rhode The period after his return to Providence — the last decade of his life — was Lovecraft's most prolific. During this time period he produced almost all of his best-known short stories for the leading pulp publications of the day (primarily Weird Tales) as well as longer efforts like The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and At the Mountains of Madness. Weird Tales is an American Fantasy and Horror fiction Pulp magazine first published in March 1923. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a Novella by H P Lovecraft written in early 1927, set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence Rhode At the Mountains of Madness is a Novella by horror writer H P He frequently revised work for other authors and did a large amount of ghost-writing, including "The Mound," "Winged Death," "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs," and "The Diary of Alonzo Typer. A ghostwriter is a professional Writer who is paid to write books articles stories reports or other content which are officially credited to another person "

Despite his best writing efforts, however, he grew ever poorer. He was forced to move to smaller and meaner lodgings with his surviving aunt. He was also deeply affected by Robert E. Howard's suicide. Robert Ervin Howard ( January 22 1906 &ndash June 11 1936) was an American pulp writer of Fantasy, In 1936 he was diagnosed with cancer of the intestine and he also suffered from malnutrition. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled In Anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the Stomach to the Anus and in humans and other mammals consists Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or insufficient diet. He lived in constant pain until his death on March 15, 1937 in Providence. Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Lovecraft was listed along with his parents on the Phillips family monument. That was not enough for his fans, so in 1977 a group of individuals raised the money to buy him a headstone of his own, on which they had inscribed Lovecraft's name, the dates of his birth and death and the phrase, "I AM PROVIDENCE," a line from one of his personal letters. Lovecraft's grave in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence is occasionally marked with graffiti quoting his famous phrase from "The Call of Cthulhu" (originally from "The Nameless City"):^[9]

"That is not dead which can eternal lie,

And with strange aeons even death may die. Swan Point Cemetery is a Cemetery located in Providence Rhode Island, USA. Graffiti (singular graffito; the plural is used as a Mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched scrawled painted or marked in any manner on property For the 2005 film see The Call of Cthulhu (film. " The Call of Cthulhu " is one of H "The Nameless City" is a horror story written by H P Lovecraft in January 1921 and first published in the November 1921 issue of the amateur press journal "

On October 13, 1997, unknown individual(s) attempted to dig up Lovecraft's body from his grave, not knowing that his body is not under the new headstone. Events 54 - Nero ascends to the Roman throne 409 - Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar ^[10]

Background of Lovecraft's work

H. P. Lovecraft’s name is synonymous with horror fiction; his writing, particularly the “Cthulhu Mythos”, has influenced fiction authors worldwide, and Lovecraftian elements may be found in novels, movies, music, comic books and cartoons. The Cthulhu Mythos is a Shared universe created in the 1920s by American horror writer H Many modern horror writers, including Stephen King, Bentley Little, Joe R. Lansdale, and Neil Gaiman have cited Lovecraft as one of their primary influences. Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American Author, Screenwriter, Musician, Columnist, Bentley Little (born 1960 in Arizona) is an American Author of numerous horror novels. Joe R Lansdale (born October 28, 1951, Gladewater, Texas) is an American author and martial-arts Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and

Lovecraft himself, though, was relatively unknown during his own time. While his stories might have made it into the pages of prominent pulp magazines such as Weird Tales (often eliciting letters of outrage from regular readers of the magazines), not many people knew his name. He did, however, correspond regularly with other contemporary writers such as Clark Ashton Smith and August Derleth, people who became good friends of his, even if they never met in person. Clark Ashton Smith ( January 13, 1893 - August 14, 1961) was a Poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy August William Derleth ( February 24 1909 &ndash July 4 1971) was an American writer and anthologist This group of correspondents became known as the “Lovecraft Circle”, since they all freely borrowed elements of Lovecraft’s stories — the mysterious books with disturbing names, the pantheon of ancient alien gods such as Cthulhu and Azathoth, and eldritch places such as the New England town of Arkham and its Miskatonic University — for use in their own (with Lovecraft’s blessing and encouragement). Arkham is a Fictional city in Massachusetts, part of the Lovecraft Country setting created by H The Miskatonic River is a fictional New England river in the writings of H

After Lovecraft’s death, the Lovecraft Circle carried on. Howard Phillips Lovecraft ( August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy August Derleth was probably the most prolific of these writers, and added to and expanded on Lovecraft’s vision. Derleth’s contributions have been controversial, to say the least; while Lovecraft never considered his pantheon of alien gods more than a mere plot device, Derleth created an entire cosmology, complete with a war between the 'good' “Elder Gods” and the 'evil' “Outer Gods” (such as Cthulhu and his ilk), which the 'good' Gods were supposed to have won, locking Cthulhu and others up beneath the earth, in the ocean etc. An Elder God is a Deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H P Lovecraft. The term Outer God is used to describe a number of Deities in the Cthulhu Mythos of H Cthulhu is a giant fictional creature one of the Great Old Ones in H , and went on to associate different gods with the traditional four elements.

Lovecraft's fiction has been grouped into three categories by some critics. While Lovecraft did not refer to these categories himself, he did once write, "There are my 'Poe' pieces and my 'Dunsany pieces' — but alas — where are my Lovecraft pieces?"^[11]

• Macabre stories (approximately 1905–1920)
• Dream Cycle stories (approximately 1920–1927)
• Cthulhu Mythos/Lovecraft Mythos stories (approximately 1925–1935)

Some critics see little difference between the Dream Cycle and the Mythos, often pointing to the recurring Necronomicon and subsequent "gods". Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett 18th Baron of Dunsany ( 24 July 1878 &ndash 25 October 1957) was an Anglo-Irish writer and The Dream Cycle is one of the three major categories of the fictional works of H The Cthulhu Mythos is a Shared universe created in the 1920s by American horror writer H The Lovecraft Mythos is the term coined by the scholar S T Joshi to describe the imaginary mythical backdrop settings A frequently given explanation is that the Dream Cycle belongs more to the genre of fantasy, while the Mythos is science fiction. Also, much of the supernatural elements in the Dream Cycle takes place in its own sphere or mythological dimension separated from our own level of existence. The Mythos on the other hand, is placed within the same reality and cosmos as the humans live in.

Much of Lovecraft's work was directly inspired by his night terrors, and it is perhaps this direct insight into the unconscious and its symbolism that helps to account for their continuing resonance and popularity. A night terror, also known as pavor nocturnus, is a Parasomnia disorder characterized by extreme terror and a temporary inability to regain full consciousness Many observers throughout history have argued that there are influences on Consciousness from other parts of the Mind. "Symbolic" redirects here For other uses see Symbolism (disambiguation and Symbolic (disambiguation.

All these interests naturally led to his deep affection for the works of Edgar Allan Poe, who heavily influenced his earliest macabre stories and writing style known for its creepy atmosphere and lurking fears. Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, ^[12]

Lovecraft's discovery of the stories of Lord Dunsany with their gallery of mighty gods existing in dreamlike outer realms, moved his writing in a new direction, resulting in a series of imitative fantasies in a "Dreamlands" setting. Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett 18th Baron of Dunsany ( 24 July 1878 &ndash 25 October 1957) was an Anglo-Irish writer and

Another inspiration came from a totally different kind of source; the scientific progresses at the time in such wide areas as biology, astronomy, geology and physics, all contributed to make the human race seem even more insignificant, powerless and doomed in a materialistic and mechanical universe, and was a major contributor to the ideas that later would be known as cosmicism, and which gave further support to his atheism. Cosmicism is the literary Philosophy developed and used by the American writer H

It was probably the influence of Arthur Machen, with his carefully constructed tales concerning the survival of ancient evil into modern times in an otherwise realistic world and his mystic beliefs in hidden mysteries which lay behind reality, that added the last ingredient and finally helped inspire Lovecraft to find his own voice from 1923 onwards. Arthur Machen (ˈmækən ( March 3, 1863 &ndash December 15, 1947) was a leading Welsh Author of the 1890s

This took on a dark tone with the creation of what is today often called the Cthulhu Mythos, a pantheon of alien extra-dimensional deities and horrors which predate humanity, and which are hinted at in aeon-old myths and legends. The Cthulhu Mythos is a Shared universe created in the 1920s by American horror writer H The term "Cthulhu Mythos" was coined by Lovecraft's correspondent and fellow author, August Derleth, after Lovecraft's death; Lovecraft jocularly referred to his artificial mythology as "Yog-Sothothery"[1]. August William Derleth ( February 24 1909 &ndash July 4 1971) was an American writer and anthologist

His stories created one of the most influential plot devices in all of horror: the Necronomicon, the secret grimoire written by the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. The Necronomicon is a Fictional book appearing in the stories by horror novelist H A grimoire (grɪˈmwɑr is a textbook of magic. Books of this genre typically giving instructions for invoking Angels or Demons performing The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding This article is about the fictional literary character created by H The resonance and strength of the Mythos concept have led some to incorrectly conclude that Lovecraft had based it on pre-existing myths or occult beliefs. Faux editions of the Necronomicon have also been published over the years.

His prose is somewhat antiquarian. An antiquarian or antiquary is one concerned with Antiquities or things of the past Often he employed archaic vocabulary or spelling which had already by his time been replaced by contemporary coinages; examples including Esquimau, and Comanchian. He was given to heavy use of an esoteric lexicon including such words as "eldritch," "rugose," "noisome," "squamous," "ichor," and "cyclopean," and of attempts to transcribe dialect speech which have been criticized as clumsy, imprecise, and condescending. His works also featured British English (he was an admitted Anglophile), and he sometimes made use of anachronistic spellings, such as "compleat" (for "complete") "lanthorn" ("lantern"), and "phantasy" ("fantasy"; also appearing as "phantastic" and "phantabulous"). British English or UK English ( BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the An Anglophile is a person who is fond of English culture and England in general

Lovecraft was a prolific letter writer. During his lifetime he wrote thousands of these letters, however the exact number of letters he wrote is still hotly debated. An estimate of 100,000 seems to be the most likely figure, arrived at by L. Sprague de Camp. Lyon Sprague de Camp, ( November 27 1907 – November 6 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author Lovecraft inscribed multiple pages to his group of correspondents in small longhand. He sometimes dated his letters 200 years before the current date, which would have put the writing back in U. S. colonial times, before the American Revolution that offended his Anglophilia. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" An Anglophile is a person who is fond of English culture and England in general He explained that he thought that the 18th and 20th centuries were the "best"; the former being a period of noble grace, and the latter a century of science. A century (from the Latin centum, meaning one hundred is One hundred consecutive Years Centuries are numbered ordinally (e Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding

Themes

Several themes recur in Lovecraft's stories:

Forbidden knowledge

In "The Call of Cthulhu" (1926), Lovecraft wrote: "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. For the 2005 film see The Call of Cthulhu (film. " The Call of Cthulhu " is one of H . . some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new Dark Age. " Lovecraft's protagonists are nevertheless always driven to this "piecing together," which makes up most Lovecraft stories.

When such vistas are opened, the mind of the protagonist-investigator is often destroyed. Those who actually encounter "living" manifestations of the incomprehensible are particularly likely to go mad.

Those characters who attempt to make use of such knowledge are almost invariably doomed. Sometimes their work attracts the attention of malevolent beings; sometimes, in the spirit of Frankenstein, they are destroyed by monsters of their own creation. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley

Nonhuman influences on humanity

The beings of Lovecraft's mythos often have human (or mostly human) servants; Cthulhu, for instance, is worshiped under various names by cults amongst both the Eskimos of Greenland and voodoo circles of Louisiana, and in many other parts of the world. This article does not discuss "cult" in the original sense of "veneration" or "religious practice" for that usage see Cult (religious practice Eskimos or Esquimaux are Indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia ( Russia) across Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America

These worshipers served a useful narrative purpose for Lovecraft. Many beings of the Mythos were too powerful to be defeated by human opponents, and so horrific that direct knowledge of them meant insanity for the victim. When dealing with such beings, Lovecraft needed a way to provide exposition and build tension without bringing the story to a premature end. Dramatic structure refers to the arrangement of the constituent parts of a play or Screenplay. Human followers gave him a way to reveal information about their "gods" in a diluted form, and also made it possible for his protagonists to win temporary victories. Lovecraft, like his contemporaries, envisioned "savages" as closer to the Earth, only in Lovecraft's case, this meant, so to speak, closer to Cthulhu.

Atavistic guilt

Another recurring theme in Lovecraft's stories is the idea that descendants in a bloodline can never escape the stain of crimes committed by their forebears, at least if the crimes are atrocious enough. Descendants may be very far removed, both in place and in time (and, indeed, in culpability), from the act itself, and yet blood will tell ("The Rats in the Walls," "The Lurking Fear," "Arthur Jermyn," "The Alchemist," "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward). "The Rats in the Walls" is a Short story written by H "The Lurking Fear" is a short story by H P Lovecraft in the Horror fiction genre " Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family " is a Short story by H For similarly-named works see The Alchemist (disambiguation " The Alchemist " is a Short story by H "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" is a Novella by H P Lovecraft. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a Novella by H P Lovecraft written in early 1927, set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence Rhode An example of a crime that Lovecraft apparently considered heinous enough for this consequence is cannibalism ("The Picture in the House," and, again "The Rats in the Walls"). "The Picture in the House" is a short story written by H "The Rats in the Walls" is a Short story written by H

Inability to escape fate

Often in Lovecraft's works the protagonist is not in control of his own actions, or finds it impossible to change course. Many of his characters would be free from danger if they simply managed to run away; however, this possibility either never arises or is somehow curtailed by some outside force, such as in The Colour Out of Space and The Dreams in the Witch House. "The Colour Out of Space" is a Short story by American horror writer H "The Dreams in the Witch House" is a short story by H Often his characters are subject to a compulsive influence from powerful malevolent or indifferent beings. As with the inevitability of one's ancestry, eventually even running away, or death itself, provides no safety (The Thing on the Doorstep, The Outsider, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, etc. "The Thing on the Doorstep" is a short story written by H " The Outsider " is a Short story by American horror writer H The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a Novella by H P Lovecraft written in early 1927, set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence Rhode ). In some cases, this doom is manifest in the entirety of humanity, and no escape is possible (The Shadow Out of Time). "The Shadow Out of Time" is a Short story by American Horror fiction writer H

Civilization under threat

Though little known to his fan base, Lovecraft was very familiar with the work of the German conservative-revolutionary theorist Oswald Spengler. Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (29 May 1880 Blankenburg am Harz &ndash 8 May 1936 Munich) was a German Historian and Philosopher whose Spengler's pessimistic thesis of the decadence of the modern West formed a crucial element in Lovecraft's overall anti-modern, conservative worldview. Spenglerian imagery of cyclical decay is present in particular in "At the Mountains of Madness. At the Mountains of Madness is a Novella by horror writer H P " In fact, S. T. Joshi places Spengler at the center of his discussion of Lovecraft's political and philosophical ideas--his book on the topic is entitled, H. P. Lovecraft: The Decline of the West. Lovecraft wrote to Clark Ashton Smith in 1927: "It is my belief, and was so long before Spengler put his seal of scholarly proof on it, that our mechanical and industrial age is one of frank decadence" (see China Mieville's excellent introduction to "At the Mountains of Madness", Modern Library Classics, 2005). To some degree, however, Lovecraft was also acquainted with the writings of another German intellectual who dealt with civilized decadence in philosophical terms, Friedrich Nietzsche. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist

Lovecraft frequently dealt with the idea of civilization struggling against more barbaric, primitive elements. A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements In some stories this struggle is at an individual level; many of his protagonists are cultured, highly-educated men who are gradually corrupted by some obscure and feared influence.

In such stories, the "curse" is often a hereditary one, either because of interbreeding with non-humans (e. g. "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family" (1920), "The Shadow over Innsmouth" (1931)) or through direct magical influence (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward). Physical and mental degradation often come together; this theme of 'tainted blood' may represent concerns relating to Lovecraft's own family history, particularly the death of his father due to what Lovecraft must have suspected to be a syphilitic disorder. Syphilis is a Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal Bacterium Treponema pallidum pallidum.

In other tales, an entire society is threatened by barbarism. Sometimes the barbarism comes as an external threat, with a civilized race destroyed in war (e. g. "Polaris"). Sometimes, an isolated pocket of humanity falls into decadence and atavism of its own accord (e. The term atavism (derived from the Latin atavus, a great-grandfather's grandfather and thus more generally an ancestor denotes the tendency to revert to ancestral type g. "The Lurking Fear"). But most often, such stories involve a civilized culture being gradually undermined by a malevolent underclass influenced by inhuman forces.

There is a lack of analysis as to whether England's gradual loss of prominence and related conflicts (Boer War, India, World War I) had an impact on Lovecraft's worldview. It is likely that the "roaring twenties" left Lovecraft disillusioned as he was still obscure and struggling with the basic necessities of daily life, combined with seeing non-European immigrants in New York City.

Race

A common dramatic device in Lovecraft's work is to associate virtue, intellect, elevated class position, civilization, and rationality with white Anglo-Saxons, often posing it in contrast to the corrupt, intellectually inferior, uncivilized and irrational, which he associated with people he characterized as being of lower class, impure racial "stock" and/or non European ethnicity and dark skin complexion who were often the villains in his writings. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south

In his poem "On the Creation of Niggers", Lovecraft says:

“

When, long ago, the gods created Earth; In Jove's fair image Man was shaped at birth. In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods and the god of Sky and Thunder. The beasts for lesser parts were designed; Yet were too remote from humankind. To fill the gap, and join the rest of Man, Th'Olympian host conceiv'd a clever plan. A beast they wrought, in semi-human figure, Filled it with vice, and called the thing a Nigger.

”

In "The Call of Cthulhu" he writes of a captured group of mixed race worshipers of Cthulhu:

“

the prisoners all proved to be men of a very low, mixed-blooded, and mentally aberrant type. Most were seamen, and a sprinkling of negroes and mulattos, largely West Indians or Brava Portuguese from the Cape Verde Islands, gave a colouring of voodooism to the heterogeneous cult. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting The Republic of Cape Verde ( Portuguese: Cabo Verde, 'kabu 'veɾdɨ is a Republic located on an Archipelago in the Macaronesia But before many questions were asked it became manifest that something far deeper and older than negro fetishism was involved. Degraded and ignorant as they were, the creatures held with surprising consistency to the central idea of their loathsome faith.

”

In a letter of January 23, 1920, Lovecraft wrote:

“

For evolved man — the apex of organic progress on the Earth — what branch of reflection is more fitting than that which occupies only his higher and exclusively human faculties? The primal savage or ape merely looks about his native forest to find a mate; the exalted Aryan should lift his eyes to the worlds of space and consider his relation to infinity!!!!

”

^[13]

In "Herbert West - Reanimator," Lovecraft gives an account of a just-deceased African-American male. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Aryan is an English word derived from the Sanskrit " Ārya " meaning "noble" or "honorable" He asserts:

“

He was a loathsome, gorilla-like thing, with abnormally long arms that I could not help calling fore legs, and a face that conjured up thoughts of unspeakable Congo secrets and tom-tom poundings under an eerie moon. The Bakongo or the Kongo people (meaning "hunter" also sometimes referred to as Congolese, live along the Atlantic coast of Africa The body must have looked even worse in life - but the world holds many ugly things. [14]

”

In "The Horror at Red Hook," one character is described as "an Arab with a hatefully negroid mouth". ^[15] In "Medusa's Coil," ghostwritten by Lovecraft for Zealia Bishop, the story's final surprise--after the revelation that the story's villain is a vampiric medusa--is that she

“

was faintly, subtly, yet to the eyes of genius unmistakably the scion of Zimbabwe's most primal grovellers. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election . . . [T]hough in deceitfully slight proportion, Marceline was a negress. [16]

”

In "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward," this is a description of an African - New English couple: "The present negro inhabitants were known to him, and he was very courteously shewn about the interior by old Asa and his stout wife Hannah. " In contrast to their apparently alien landlord: "a small rodent-featured person with a guttural accent"

In the short story "The Rats in the Walls," one of the narrator/protagonist's nine cats is named "Nigger-Man".

“

As I have said, I moved in on July 16, 1923. My household consisted of seven servants and nine cats, of which latter species I am particularly fond. My eldest cat, "Nigger-Man," was seven years old and had come with me from my home in Bolton, Massachusetts . . . "[17]

”

The narrators in "The Street," "Herbert West: Reanimator," "He," "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," "The Horror at Red Hook," and many other tales express sentiments which could be considered hostile towards Jews. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ He married a woman of Ukrainian Jewish ancestry, Sonia Greene, who later said she had to repeatedly remind Lovecraft of her background when he made anti-Semitic remarks. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Sonia Haft Greene Davis ( 16 March 1883 - 26 December 1972) was a one-time pulp fiction writer and amateur publisher a single mother "Whenever we found ourselves in the racially mixed crowds which characterize New York," Greene wrote after her divorce from Lovecraft, "Howard would become livid with rage. He seemed almost to lose his mind. "^[18]

Lovecraft was an avowed Anglophile, and held English culture to be the comparative pinnacle of civilization, with the descendants of the English in America as something of a second-class offshoot, and everyone else below (see, for example, his poem "An American to Mother England"). England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland His love for English history and culture is often repeated in his work (such as King Kuranes' nostalgia for England in "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath"). Kuranes (also King Kuranes) is a Fictional character in H P Lovecraft 's Dream Cycle. The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a Novella by H P Lovecraft.

The narrator of "Cool Air" speaks disparagingly of the poor Hispanics of his neighborhood, but respects the wealthy and aristocratic Spaniard Dr. "Cool Air" is a short story by the American Horror fiction writer H Hispanic (hispano hispánico hispânico Hispānus adjective from ''Hispānia'', the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) is a term that historically Muñoz, for his Celtiberian origins, and because he is "a man of birth, cultivation, and discrimination. " The degenerate descendants of Dutch immigrants in the Catskill Mountains, "who correspond exactly to the decadent element of white trash in the South" ("Beyond the Wall of Sleep", 1919), are common targets. The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. The Catskill Mountains (also known as simply the Catskills) a natural area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany White trash is a Pejorative term targeted at lower social class White people with poor prospects and/or low levels of education The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive In "The Temple," Lovecraft's highly unsympathetic narrator is a World War I U-boat captain whose faith in his "iron German will" and the superiority of the Fatherland lead him to machine-gun helpless survivors in lifeboats and, later, kill his own crew, while blinding him to the curse he has brought upon himself. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers Fatherland is the nation of one's "fathers" " Forefathers " or "patriarchs"

One of the foremost Lovecraft scholars, S. T. Joshi, notes "There is no denying the reality of Lovecraft's racism, nor can it merely be passed off as "typical of his time," for it appears that Lovecraft expressed his views more pronouncedly (although usually not for publication) than many others of his era. Sunand Tryambak Joshi (b 22 June 1958 in Pune, India) is an Indian American Literary Critic, and a leading It is also foolish to deny that racism enters into his fiction. "[2] In his book "H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life," Michel Houellebecq argues that "racial hatred" provided the emotional force and inspiration for much of Lovecraft's greatest works. H P Lovecraft Against the World Against Life is a work of Literary criticism by French author Michel Houellebecq regarding the works of H Michel Houellebecq (miʃɛl wɛlˈbɛk (born Michel Thomas) born 26 February 1958 (birth certificate or 1956 on the French island of Réunion

According to L. Sprague de Camp's biography, Lovecraft moderated his views a lot toward the end of his life. Lyon Sprague de Camp, ( November 27 1907 – November 6 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author A biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος meaning "life" and gráphein (γράφειν meaning "to write" is an account Sprague de Camp says Lovecraft was horrified by reports of anti-Jewish violence in Germany (prior to World War II, which Lovecraft did not live to see), which he regarded as irrational. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Lovecraft racist antagonism is a corollary of his nihilistic notion of biological determinism: At the Mountains of Madness, in which explorers discover evidence of a completely alien race (the Elder Things) who are credited with the accidental introduction of life to earth, through bioengineering but who were eventually destroyed by their brutish shoggoth slaves. At the Mountains of Madness is a Novella by horror writer H P The Elder Things (also known as the Old Ones) are fictional aliens in the Cthulhu Mythos. A shoggoth (or shaggoth is a fictional monster in the Cthulhu Mythos. Even after several members of the party are killed by revived Elder Things, Lovecraft's narrator expresses sympathy for them: "They were the men of another age and another order of being. . . what had they done that we would not have done in their place? God, what intelligence and persistence! What a facing of the incredible. . . Radiates, vegetables, monstrosities, star spawn — whatever they had been, they were men!"

These lines of thought in Lovecraft's worldview — racism and romantic reactionary defense of cultural order in the face of the degenerative modern world — have led some scholars to see a special affinity to the aristocratic, anti-modernism of Traditionalist Julius Evola:

“

Certainly "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" with its grandiose portrayal of the onyx city respires the cool and elegant spirit of Tradition, arraigned against which in several stories is the sink of decadence, Innsmouth, an inbred population made up of the offspring of lustful mariners and sea monsters, the negative force of counter-Tradition. Julius Evola, also known as Baron Giulio Cesare Evola, ( May 19, 1898 &ndash June 11, 1974) was an Italian Philosopher The eternal struggle between the Uranian power of light and the telluric forces of chaos is reflected in Lovecraft's work"[3]

”

Gender

Women in Lovecraft's fiction are rare, and sympathetic women virtually non-existent; the few leading female characters in his stories — like Asenath Waite (though actually an evil male wizard who has taken over an innocent girl's body) in "The Thing on the Doorstep" and Lavinia Whateley in "The Dunwich Horror" — are invariably servants of sinister forces. Uranus (ˈjʊərənəs jʊˈreɪnəs is the Latinized form of Ouranos () the Greek word for Sky. "The Thing on the Doorstep" is a short story written by H " The Dunwich Horror" is a Short story by H P Lovecraft. Romance is likewise almost absent from his stories; where he touches on love, it is usually a platonic love (e. Amor Platonicus The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino g. "The Tree"). "The Tree" is a Short story by American Horror fiction writer H His characters live in a world where sexuality is negatively connotated — if it is productive at all, it gives birth to less-than-human beings ("The Dunwich Horror").

Also, Lovecraft states in a private letter (to one of the several female intellectuals he befriended) that discrimination against women is an "oriental" superstition from which "Aryans" ought to free themselves.

Risks of a Scientific Era

At the turn of the 20th century, man's increased reliance upon science was both opening new worlds and solidifying the manners by which he could understand them. Lovecraft portrays this potential for a growing gap of man's understanding of the universe as a potential for horror. Most notably in "The Colour Out of Space," the inability of science to comprehend a meteorite leads to horror. "The Colour Out of Space" is a Short story by American horror writer H

In a letter to James F. Morton in 1923, Lovecraft specifically points to Einstein's theory on relativity as throwing the world into chaos and making the cosmos a jest. And in a 1929 letter to Woodburn Harris, he speculates that technological comforts risk the collapse of science. Indeed, at a time when men viewed science as limitless and powerful, Lovecraft imagined alternative potential and fearful outcomes.

Influences on Lovecraft

Lovecraft was influenced by such authors as Oswald Spengler, Robert W. Chambers (writer of The King in Yellow, of whom H. Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (29 May 1880 Blankenburg am Harz &ndash 8 May 1936 Munich) was a German Historian and Philosopher whose Robert William Chambers ( May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American Artist and Writer. The King in Yellow is a collection of short stories written by Robert W P. Lovecraft wrote in a letter to Clark Ashton Smith: "Chambers is like Rupert Hughes and a few other fallen Titans — equipped with the right brains and education but wholly out of the habit of using them"), Arthur Machen (The Great God Pan), Lord Dunsany, (The Gods of Pegana and other Dunsany works), Edgar Allan Poe, A. Merritt (The Moon Pool, later a great liking and admiration of the original version of The Metal Monster) and Lovecraft's friends Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. Clark Ashton Smith ( January 13, 1893 - August 14, 1961) was a Poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy Rupert Hughes (1872—1956 was a historian novelist film director and composer based in Hollywood. Arthur Machen (ˈmækən ( March 3, 1863 &ndash December 15, 1947) was a leading Welsh Author of the 1890s The Great God Pan is a Novella written by Arthur Machen. The original story was published in 1890, and Machen revised and extended it in 1894 Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett 18th Baron of Dunsany ( 24 July 1878 &ndash 25 October 1957) was an Anglo-Irish writer and The Gods of Pegāna is the first book by Irish Fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, published on a commission basis in 1905 Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, Abraham Merritt ( January 20, 1884 &ndash August 21, 1943) who published under the byline A The Moon Pool is a Fantasy Novel by Abraham Merritt. Although Merritt did not invent the lost world novel following in the footsteps The Metal Monster is an Abraham Merritt Fantasy Novel. The epic adventure starts with a foreword where Merritt is assigned the duty Robert Ervin Howard ( January 22 1906 &ndash June 11 1936) was an American pulp writer of Fantasy, Clark Ashton Smith ( January 13, 1893 - August 14, 1961) was a Poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy

Lovecraft considered himself a man best suited to the early 18th century. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system His writing style, especially in his many letters, owes much to Augustan British writers of the Enlightenment like Joseph Addison and Jonathan Swift. Augustan literature is a style of English literature produced during the reigns of Queen Anne, King George I, and George II in the The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century Joseph Addison (May 1 1672 – June 17 1719 was an English essayist and Poet. Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 Lovecraft even went so far as to write using the antiquated grammatical peculiarities of that literary era. While Lovecraft's fiction radically inverted the Enlightenment belief in mankind being able to comprehend the universe, his personal outlook as revealed in his letters shows Lovecraft largely agreeing with rationalist contemporaries like Bertrand Russell. Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian

He also cited Algernon Blackwood as an influence, quoting The Centaur in the head paragraph of The Call of Cthulhu. Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE ( 14 March 1869 &ndash 10 December 1951) was an English writer of Fiction For the 2005 film see The Call of Cthulhu (film. " The Call of Cthulhu " is one of H He also declares Blackwood's "The Willows" to be the single best piece of weird fiction ever written. Weird fiction is a subgenre of Speculative literature written in the late 19th and early 20th century

Lovecraft's influence on culture

Main articles: Lovecraftian horror and Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture

Beyond direct adaptation, Lovecraft and his stories have had a profound impact on popular culture and have been praised by many modern writers. Lovecraftian horror is a sub-genre of horror Fiction which emphasizes the Psychological horror of the unknown (in some cases unknowable over gore or other Some influence was direct, as he was a friend, inspiration, and correspondent to many of his contemporaries, such as August Derleth, Robert E. Howard and Robert Bloch. August William Derleth ( February 24 1909 &ndash July 4 1971) was an American writer and anthologist Robert Ervin Howard ( January 22 1906 &ndash June 11 1936) was an American pulp writer of Fantasy, Robert Albert Bloch (April 5 1917 Chicago – September 23 1994 Los Angeles) was a prolific American Writer, primarily of crime Many later figures were influenced by Lovecraft, including author and artist Clive Barker, prolific horror writer Stephen King, film directors John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon, game designers Sandy Petersen and Keichiro Toyama, horror manga artist Junji Ito, and artist H. R. Giger. Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English author film director and visual artist Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American Author, Screenwriter, Musician, Columnist, John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American Film director, Screenwriter, producer, film score Stuart Gordon (born August 11, 1947) in Chicago Illinois) is a director, writer and producer of Films and Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen (born September 16, 1955) is a Game designer. ˈmɑŋgə is the Japanese word for Comics (sometimes called komikku コミック and print Cartoons In their modern form manga date from shortly Junji Ito (伊藤潤二 Itō Junji, July 1963 -) is an author of Japanese horror Manga. Hans Ruedi Giger (ˈɡi ɡɚ (born at Chur, Grisons Canton, February 5, 1940) is an Academy Award -winning Swiss H. P. Lovecraft’s name is virtually synonymous with horror fiction; his writing, particularly his so-called “Cthulhu Mythos”, has influenced fiction authors worldwide, and Lovecraftian elements can be seen in novels, movies, comic books, even cartoons. Many modern horror writers — such as Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, F. Paul Wilson, Thomas Ligotti, T.E.D. Klein, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Ramsey Campbell, and Brian Lumley, to name just a few — have cited Lovecraft as one of their primary influences. Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American Author, Screenwriter, Musician, Columnist, Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Francis Paul Wilson (b May 17, 1946 in Jersey City) is an American Author, primarily in the Science fiction and Thomas Ligotti (b July 9 1953, Detroit Michigan) is a Writer of horror stories Theodore "Eibon" Donald Klein (born July 15 1947 is an American horror Writer and editor. Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan (born May 26, 1964 in Skerries Dublin, Ireland) is the author of many Science fiction and Dark John Ramsey Campbell (born 4 January 1946 in Liverpool) is an English Horror fiction author Brian Lumley (born 2 December 1937) is an English Horror fiction writer

Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges dedicated his short story "There Are More Things" to the memory of Lovecraft. Contemporary French writer Michel Houellebecq wrote a literary biography of Lovecraft called H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life. Michel Houellebecq (miʃɛl wɛlˈbɛk (born Michel Thomas) born 26 February 1958 (birth certificate or 1956 on the French island of Réunion H P Lovecraft Against the World Against Life is a work of Literary criticism by French author Michel Houellebecq regarding the works of H Prolific American writer Joyce Carol Oates wrote an introduction for a collection of Lovecraft stories. Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16 1938) is an American author and the Roger S The Library of America published a volume of Lovecraft's work in 2005, essentially declaring him a canonical American writer. The Library of America (LoA is a Nonprofit Publisher of classic American literature. Canonical is an Adjective derived from canon. Canon comes from the Greek word kanon, "rule" (perhaps originally from

Other authors have written stories that are explicitly set in the same reality as Lovecraft's original stories. Lovecraft pastiches are common. The word pastiche describes a literary or other artistic Genre. Lovecraft's characteristic devices — like the object that drives one insane upon seeing it — are now eponymous.

There have also been detailed references to the Cthulhu mythos in current and near current science fiction (for example, Babylon 5: Thirdspace and the Doctor Who new adventures novels). Babylon 5 Thirdspace ( 1998) is a made-for-television movie that is part of the Babylon 5 science fiction franchise Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Lovecraft appears as himself in the television tie-in novel Stargate SG-1: Roswell.

He has also been held responsible for the invention of the philosophy "Cosmicism" which was reflected in many works beyond his own, including the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series and movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still. Cosmicism is the literary Philosophy developed and used by the American writer H The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 Black-and-white Science fiction film that tells the story of a humanoid alien visitor who comes

Survey of the work

For most of the 20th century, the definitive editions (specifically At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels, Dagon and Other Macabre Tales, The Dunwich Horror and Others, and The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions) of his prose fiction were published by Arkham House, a publisher originally started with the intent of publishing the work of Lovecraft, but which has since published a considerable amount of other literature as well. Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in Weird fiction founded in Sauk City Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei Penguin Classics has at present issued three volumes of Lovecraft's works: The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories,, and most recently The Dreams in the Witch House and Other Weird Stories. Design Penguin Books have paid particular attention to the design of its books since recruiting German typographer Jan Tschichold The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories is Penguin Classics' first omnibus edition of works by seminal 20th century American author H The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories is Penguin Classics ' second omnibus edition of works by 20th century American author H They collect the standard texts as edited by S. T. Joshi, most of which were available in the Arkham House editions, with the exception of the restored text of "The Shadow Out of Time" from The Dreams in the Witch House, which had been previously released by small-press publisher Hippocampus Press. Sunand Tryambak Joshi (b 22 June 1958 in Pune, India) is an Indian American Literary Critic, and a leading "The Shadow Out of Time" is a Short story by American Horror fiction writer H Hippocampus Press is an American Publisher of fantasy, horror and Science fiction, and specializes in reprints or first editions of In 2005 the prestigious Library of America canonized Lovecraft with a volume of his stories edited by Peter Straub, and Random House's Modern Library line just released the "definitive edition" of Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness (also including "Supernatural Horror in Literature"). The Library of America (LoA is a Nonprofit Publisher of classic American literature. This article is about Peter Straub the novelist For the German statesman see Peter Straub (politician. The Modern Library, a current division of Random House Publishers was founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright. At the Mountains of Madness is a Novella by horror writer H P "Supernatural Horror in Literature" is a non-fiction survey of the field of Horror fiction by the famed horror writer H

Lovecraft's poetry is collected in The Ancient Track: The Complete Poetical Works of H. P. Lovecraft, while much of his juvenilia, various essays on philosophical, political and literary topics, antiquarian travelogues, and other things, can be found in Miscellaneous Writings. Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature", first published in 1927, is a historical survey of horror literature available with endnotes as The Annotated Supernatural Horror in Literature.

Letters

Although Lovecraft is known mostly for his works of weird fiction, the bulk of his writing consists of voluminous letters about a variety of topics, from weird fiction and art criticism to politics and history. Weird fiction is a subgenre of Speculative literature written in the late 19th and early 20th century Weird fiction is a subgenre of Speculative literature written in the late 19th and early 20th century S. T. Joshi estimates that Lovecraft wrote about 87,500 letters from 1912 until his death in 1937, including one 70-page letter from November 9, 1929, to Woodburn Harris. Sunand Tryambak Joshi (b 22 June 1958 in Pune, India) is an Indian American Literary Critic, and a leading Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Lovecraft was not a very active letter-writer in youth. In 1931 he admitted: "In youth I scarcely did any letter-writing — thanking anybody for a present was so much of an ordeal that I would rather have written a two hundred fifty-line pastoral or a twenty-page treatise on the rings of Saturn. " (SL 3. 369–70). The initial interest in letters stemmed from his correspondence with his cousin Phillips Gamwell but even more important was his involvement in the amateur journalism movement, which was responsible for the enormous number of letters Lovecraft produced.

Lovecraft clearly states that his contact to numerous different people through letter-writing was one of the main factors in broadening his view of the world: "I found myself opened up to dozens of points of view which would otherwise never have occurred to me. My understanding and sympathies were enlarged, and many of my social, political, and economic views were modified as a consequence of increased knowledge. " (SL 4. 389).

Today there are five publishing houses that have released letters from Lovecraft, most prominently Arkham House with its five-volume edition Selected Letters. Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in Weird fiction founded in Sauk City Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei Other publishers are Hippocampus Press (Letters to Alfred Galpin et al. Hippocampus Press is an American Publisher of fantasy, horror and Science fiction, and specializes in reprints or first editions of ), Night Shade Books (Mysteries of Time and Spirit: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and Donald Wandrei et al. ), Necronomicon Press (Letters to Samuel Loveman and Vincent Starrett et al), and University of Tampa Press (O Fortunate Floridian: H. Necronomicon Press is an American Small press Publishing house specialising in Fiction, Poetry and Literary criticism relating P. Lovecraft's Letters to R. H. Barlow).

Ohio University Press also published "Lord of a Visible World - An Autobiography in Letters" in 2000 which presents his letters according to themes, such as adolescence and travel. It was edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz.

Intellectual property

There is controversy over the copyright status of many of Lovecraft's works, especially his later works. Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for Lovecraft had specified that the young R. H. Barlow would serve as executor of his literary estate, but these instructions had not been incorporated into his will. Robert Hayward Barlow ( 18 May 1918 – 2 January 1951) was an American Author, Anthropologist and Historian Nevertheless his surviving aunt carried out his expressed wishes, and Barlow was given charge of the massive and complex literary estate upon Lovecraft's death.

Barlow deposited the bulk of the papers, including the voluminous correspondence, with the John Hay Library, and attempted to organize and maintain Lovecraft's other writing. The John Hay Library is the second oldest library on the campus of Brown University in Providence Rhode Island. August Derleth, an older and more established writer than Barlow, vied for control of the literary estate. August William Derleth ( February 24 1909 &ndash July 4 1971) was an American writer and anthologist One result of these conflicts was the legal confusion over who owned what copyrights.

All works published before 1923 are public domain in the U. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone S. ^[19] However, there is some disagreement over who exactly owns or owned the copyrights and whether the copyrights for the majority of Lovecraft's works published post-1923 — including such prominent pieces as "The Call of Cthulhu" and "At the Mountains of Madness" — have expired as of April 2008. For the 2005 film see The Call of Cthulhu (film. " The Call of Cthulhu " is one of H At the Mountains of Madness is a Novella by horror writer H P

Questions center over whether copyrights for Lovecraft's works were ever renewed under the terms of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 for works created prior to January 1, 1978. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the History and purpose Before the 1976 Act the last major revision to statutory copyright law in the United States occurred in 1909 New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) The problem comes from the fact that before the Copyright Act of 1976 the number of years a work was copyrighted in the U. S. was based on publication rather than life of the author plus a certain number of years and that it was only good for 28 years with one renewal for an additional 28 years. The Copyright Act of 1976 retroactively extended the renewal period for all works to a period of 47 years^[20] and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 added another 20 years to that, for a total of 95 years from publication. The Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA of 1998 &ndash alternatively known as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, Sonny Bono Act, or Pejoratively Similarly, the European Union Directive on harmonising the term of copyright protection of 1993 extended the copyrights to 70 years after the author's death. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Council Directive 93/98/EEC of 29 October 1993 harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights is a European Union directive in the field of So, all works of Lovecraft published during his lifetime, became public domain in all 27 European Union countries on 1 January, 2008.

In those Berne Convention countries who have implemented only the minimum copyright period, copyright expires 50 years after the author's death. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing Copyright

Lovecraft protégés and part owners of Arkham House, August Derleth and Donald Wandrei, often claimed copyrights over Lovecraft's works. Donald Wandrei ( April 20, 1908 &ndash1987 was an American Science fiction, Fantasy and Weird fiction writer poet and On October 9, 1947, Derleth purchased all rights to Weird Tales. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Weird Tales is an American Fantasy and Horror fiction Pulp magazine first published in March 1923. However, since April 1926 at the latest, Lovecraft had reserved all second printing rights to stories published in Weird Tales. Hence, Weird Tales may only have owned the rights to at most six of Lovecraft's tales. Again, even if Derleth did obtain the copyrights to Lovecraft's tales, no evidence as yet has been found that the copyrights were renewed. ^[21]

Prominent Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi concludes in his biography, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life, that Derleth's claims are "almost certainly fictitious" and that most of Lovecraft's works published in the amateur press are most likely now in the public domain. The copyright for Lovecraft's works would have been inherited by the only surviving heir of his 1912 will: Lovecraft's aunt, Annie Gamwell. Gamwell herself perished in 1941 and the copyrights then passed to her remaining descendants, Ethel Phillips Morrish and Edna Lewis. Morrish and Lewis then signed a document, sometimes referred to as the Morrish-Lewis gift, permitting Arkham House to republish Lovecraft's works but retaining the copyrights for themselves. Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in Weird fiction founded in Sauk City Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei Searches of the Library of Congress have failed to find any evidence that these copyrights were then renewed after the 28-year period and, hence, it is likely that these works are now in the public domain. The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress

According to an essay by Peter Ruber, the current editor of Arkham House, called "The Un-Demonizing of August Derleth", certain letters obtained in June 1998 detail the Derleth-Wandrei acquisition of Lovecraft's estate. Peter Ruber (born 1940) is a United States author editor and publisher It is unclear whether these letters contradict Joshi's views on Lovecraft's copyrights. ^[22]

Chaosium, publishers of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, have a trademark on several Lovecraftian phrases and creations, including "The Call of Cthulhu", for use in game products. Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of Role-playing games still in existence Call of Cthulhu is a Horror fiction Role-playing game based on H A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual Another RPG publisher, TSR, Inc., original publisher of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, included in one of that game's earlier supplements, Deities & Demigods (originally published in 1980 and later renamed to "Legends & Lore"), a section on the Cthulhu Mythos; TSR, Inc. TSR Inc was an American game publishing company most famous for publishing the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game. Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by For the article on gods see Deity Deities & Demigods, alternately known as Legends & Lore, is a reference book for later agreed to remove this section from subsequent editions because of Chaosium's intellectual property interests in the work.

Regardless of the legal disagreements surrounding Lovecraft's works, Lovecraft himself was extremely generous with his own works and actively encouraged others to borrow ideas from his stories, particularly with regard to his Cthulhu mythos. By "wide citation" he hoped to give his works an "air of verisimilitude", and actively encouraged other writers to reference his creations, such as the Necronomicon, Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth. The Necronomicon is a Fictional book appearing in the stories by horror novelist H After his death, many writers have contributed stories and enriched the shared mythology of the Cthulhu Mythos, as well as making numerous references to his work. (See Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture. )

Parodies

Lovecraft's style and subject matter have lent themselves to numerous parodies within the science fiction and horror genres.

Broad parodies that reference the Cthulhu Mythos are listed on the Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture page. Literature that specifically parodies Lovecraft's prose style includes:

• Peter Cannon's "Scream for Jeeves" (which combines Lovecraft with P. G. Wodehouse); these and several other Lovecraft parodies were later collected in Forever Azathoth and Other Horrors
• Howard Waldrop (as M. For the comic book character see Peter Cannon Thunderbolt. Peter H Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975 (ˈwʊdhaʊs was an English Comic novelist who enjoyed enormous popular success Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946, in Houston Mississippi) is a Science fiction author who works primarily in Short fiction M. Moamrath)'s "Cthulhublanca"
• Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald", a Hugo-winning short story combining H. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and " A Study in Emerald " is a short story written by British Fantasy and Graphic novel Author Neil Gaiman. P. Lovecraft and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes first appeared in Shadows Over Baker Street, an anthology of stories combining the worlds of Cthulhu and Holmes. Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 was an Anglo-Scottish Author most noted for his stories about the Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in Publication in 1887 Shadows Over Baker Street New Tales of Terror! is an anthology of stories each by a different author and each concerning an exploit of Arthur Conan Doyle 's Gaiman also has a web exclusive on his site, "I, CTHULHU".
• Real Ghostbusters did a parody episode called "The collect call of Cthulu" in which Ray's favorite Lovecraft based comic book comes to life. This article is about the animated spin-off of the 1984 film Ghostbusters.

Locations featured in Lovecraft stories

Lovecraft drew extensively from his native New England for settings in his fiction. Numerous real historical locations are mentioned, and several fictional New England locations make frequent appearances. (See Lovecraft Country. Lovecraft Country is the New England setting combining real and fictitious locations used by H )

Historical locations

• Binger in Caddo County, Oklahoma (The Mound)
• Copp's Hill, Boston, Massachusetts
• Red Line (MBTA)
• Pawtuxet (not extant)
• Newburyport, Massachusetts
• Ipswich, Massachusetts
• Salem, Massachusetts
• Many locations within his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, including the (then purportedly haunted) Halsey House, Prospect Terrace, and Brown University's John Hay Library and John Carter Brown Library. Binger is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 708 at the 2000 census. Caddo County is a County located in the US state of Oklahoma. " The Mound " is a Short story H P Lovecraft wrote as a Ghostwriter from December 1929 through early 1930 after he was hired by Zealia Bishop Copp's Hill is an elevation in the historic North End of Boston Massachusetts. The Red Line is a Rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston Massachusetts into neighboring communities Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 38 miles (61 km northeast of Boston. Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Brown University is a highly esteemed private University located in Providence, Rhode Island and is a member of the Ivy League.
• Danvers State Hospital, in Danvers, Massachusetts, which is largely believed to have served as inspiration for the infamous Arkham sanitarium from "The Thing on the Doorstep". Danvers State Hospital, officially known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, was a psychiatric hospital located in Danvers Massachusetts. Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Arkham is a Fictional city in Massachusetts, part of the Lovecraft Country setting created by H "The Thing on the Doorstep" is a short story written by H
• Catskill Mountains, New York
• Fictional Central University Library in University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Catskill Mountains (also known as simply the Catskills) a natural area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany The University of Buenos Aires (in Spanish Universidad de Buenos Aires - ( UBA) is the largest University in Argentina, founded on August According to Lovecraft there is a copy of the Necronomicon here, but the University of Buenos Aires never had a central library. The Necronomicon is a Fictional book appearing in the stories by horror novelist H

Fictional locations

• Miskatonic University in the fictional Arkham, Massachusetts
• Dunwich, Massachusetts
• Innsmouth, Massachusetts
• Kingsport, Massachusetts
• Aylesbury, Massachusetts

Bibliography

Main article: List of works by H. P. Lovecraft

Adaptations

Television

• Rod Serling's 1969-1973 series, Night Gallery, adapted at least two Lovecraft stories, "Pickman's Model" and "Cool Air", and the episode "Professor Peabody's Last Lecture" featured a character named Lovecraft being lectured on 'The Great Old Ones'. Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in the equally fictitious Arkham, set in the real-world Essex County Massachusetts. Arkham is a Fictional city in Massachusetts, part of the Lovecraft Country setting created by H The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Dunwich is a fictional town that appeared in the H P Lovecraft Short story " The Dunwich Horror " ( 1929) The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Innsmouth is a Fictional town in the writings of H P Lovecraft, part of the Lovecraft Country setting of the Cthulhu Mythos. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Kingsport is a Fictional town in the writings of H P Lovecraft. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. This is a complete exhaustive list of works by H P Lovecraft. Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling ( December 25, 1924 &ndash June 28, 1975) was an American Screenwriter, best known Night Gallery is Rod Serling 's follow-up series to The Twilight Zone that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973 " Pickman's Model " is a Short story by H P Lovecraft, written in September 1926 and first published in the October 1927 issue
• Out of Mind: The Stories of H. P. Lovecraft (1998), a Lovecraft sampler shown on Bravo! distributed by Lurker Films (IMDb entry)
• Rough Magik (2000), BBC pilot for a Call of Cthulhu show starring Paul Darrow, à la The X-Files distributed by Lurker Films (IMDb entry)
• Chilean Gothic (2000), Chilean adaptation of "Pickman's Model" directed by Ricardo Harrington distributed by Lurker Films (IMDb entry)
• The "H. P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House" episode of Masters of Horror is based on the story and directed by Stuart Gordon, who also directed Re-Animator, From Beyond and Dagon. Bravo! is a Canadian English language Cable television Specialty channel owned by CTVglobemedia. A media publishing company founded by Andrew Migliore focused on weird tales & literary horror— H The X-Files is a Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award -winning American Science fiction television series created by Chris Carter A media publishing company founded by Andrew Migliore focused on weird tales & literary horror— H A media publishing company founded by Andrew Migliore focused on weird tales & literary horror— H H P Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch House is the second episode of the first season of Masters of Horror, directed by Stuart Gordon Masters of Horror is an American Television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network Stuart Gordon (born August 11, 1947) in Chicago Illinois) is a director, writer and producer of Films and

Movies

This is a partial list of films based (generally loosely) on specific Lovecraft works. See H .P. Lovecraft at the Internet Movie Database for a more complete selection.

• 13:de mars, 1941 (2004), a Swedish short movie inspired by the Statement of Randolph Carter. " The Statement of Randolph Carter " is a Short story by H
• At the Mountains of Madness (2010), inspired by the story of the same name (IMDb).
• Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2006). (IMDb entry)
• Bleeders AKA Hemoglobin (1997). Bleeders (also known as Hemoglobin) is a horror movie released in 1997, based on H Is based on "The Lurking Fear". "The Lurking Fear" is a short story by H P Lovecraft in the Horror fiction genre
• The Call of Cthulhu (2005), a short, silent, black-and-white adaptation produced by the H. The Call of Cthulhu is a Silent movie adaptation of the H P Lovecraft short story of the same name, produced by Sean Branney and P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
• Cool Air (1998), an adaptation by Bryan Moore starring Jack Donner. Cool Air is a 1999 black and white Horror film directed by and starring Bryan Moore, and co-starring Jack Donner, with cinematography
• Cthulhu (2000) is based on the short stories "Call of Cthulhu" and "The Dunwich Horror". Cthulhu is an Australian low budget Horror film made in 1996-1997 and released in 2000, by producer-director Damian Heffernan. [4]
• Cthulhu (2007) is based on the short story "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (IMDb entry)
• Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) is loosely based on "The Dreams in the Witch House. Cthulhu is a 2007 American thriller / horror movie, directed by Dan Gildark and co-written by "
• The Curse (1987), an adaptation of "The Colour out of Space" (IMDb entry)
• Dagon (2001), directed by Stuart Gordon, based less on Lovecraft's story of the same name than on "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" transplanted to a modern Spanish fishing village. "The Colour Out of Space" is a Short story by American horror writer H Dagon is a 2001 Horror movie directed by Stuart Gordon and written by Dennis Paoli
• The Music of Erica Zann (2002),an adaptation of the short story of the same name
• The Music of Erich Zann (1980),an adaptation of the short story of the same name
• Dark Heritage (1989), an adaptation of "The Lurking Fear". Dark Heritage (UK Dark Heritage The Final Descendant) is a 1989] American horror film adapted from H "The Lurking Fear" is a short story by H P Lovecraft in the Horror fiction genre (IMDb entry)
• Die, Monster, Die! (1965), an adaptation of "The Colour out of Space" (IMDb entry)
• The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (2003), an animated adaptation (IMDb entry)
• The Dreams in the Witch House (2005) premiered on Showtime's Masters of Horror film series. H P Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch House is the second episode of the first season of Masters of Horror, directed by Stuart Gordon Showtime is a subscription television Brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United Masters of Horror is an American Television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network
• The Dunwich Horror (1970) (IMDb entry)
• The Dunwich Horror is a movie adaptation of Lovecraft's short story of the same name. " The Dunwich Horror" is a Short story by H P Lovecraft. (IMDb Entry)
• The Dunwich Horror and Other Stories (2007) is a claymation anime adaptation of The Dunwich Horror, The Picture House and The Festival. Clay animation is one of many forms of Stop motion animation Each animated piece either character or background is "deformable"&mdashmade of a malleable substance (anime in Japanese, " The Dunwich Horror" is a Short story by H P Lovecraft. (Official Site) (Toei Animation Press Release)
• The Evil Clergyman (1997), an adaptation by Andy Davis starring Jon Vomit.
• From Beyond (1986) directed by Stuart Gordon. From Beyond is a horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and released in 1986 (IMDb entry)
• The Haunted Palace (1963), an adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
• The Hound (1997), an adaptation by Anthony Penta of H. The Haunted Palace ( 1963) is an American International Pictures horror Feature film starring Vincent Price, Lon The Hound is a short Horror film directed by Anthony Penta faithfully adapted from H P. Lovecraft's short story.
• Kammaren (2007), a Swedish movie inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. (IMDb entry)
• The Lurking Fear (1994) (IMDB Entry). The Lurking Fear is a 1994 Horror film, loosely based on the H
• Necronomicon (1994), three short films based on Lovecraft stories ("The Rats in the Walls", "Cool Air", "The Whisperer in Darkness"). Necronomicon is an American Anthology Horror film released in 1994. This film depicts Lovecraft (Jeffrey Combs) stealing the Necronomicon from a religious order. Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954) is an American Actor known for his Horror film roles and his appearances playing
• Nyarlathotep (2001) is a short film based on the story of the same name (IMDB Entry).
• Re-Animator (1985) is an adaptation of "Herbert West—Re-Animator", directed by Stuart Gordon. Re-Animator is a 1985 Horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and based on the H (IMDb entry)
• The Resurrected (1992), an adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (IMDb entry)
• Road To L. The Resurrected (aka Shatterbrain) is a 1992 Horror film, directed by Dan O'Bannon and starring John Terry, Jane (Il Mistero di Lovecraft) (2005), an Italian horror mockumentary about H. Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary) a Portmanteau of Mock and documentary, is a film and TV Genre, or a single work P. Lovecraft coming to Italy in 1926. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• The Shunned House (2003) (IMDb entry)
• The Shuttered Room (1967), an adaptation in which the creature in hiding is changed from a Deep One/human hybrid to a deformed insane person. The Deep Ones are fictional creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos of H
• The Unnamable (1988), a movie about a half demon woman who wreaks terror for some teens who venture into an old house.
• The Unnamable 2 : The Statement of Randolph Carter (1992), A series of brutal murders is somehow connected to the spells of a 17th-century warlock and threatens to release a beautiful, demonic creature.
• The Whisperer in Darkness (2007), an adaptation of a Lovecraft story produced by the H. The Whisperer in Darkness is an upcoming Horror film being produced by the H P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
• Pickman's Model (1981), a 30 minute adaptation of the same-titled Lovecraft story.
• Creepshow (1982), One of the segments, "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" is a short adaptation by and starring Stephen King as the protagonist from "The Colour Out of Space"

Theatre

• Open Circle Theater in the Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington adapts and produces a Lovecraft play (usually interlocking stories) every year. Open Circle Theater is a multi-disciplinary performance company in Seattle, Washington. Lake Union is a freshwater Lake entirely within the Seattle Washington city limits

Audio Books

• The Call of Cthulhu and other stories. (Produced By Fantom Films; ‘The Call of the Cthultu’ read by Gareth David-Lloyd with ‘The Festival’ and ‘The Hound’ read by Ian Fairbairn. )
• Imprisoned with the Pharos and other stories. (Produced By Fantom Films; includes ‘The Nameless City’ read by Gareth David-Lloyd and ‘Imprisoned with the Pharos’ read by Staten Eliot. )

Radio production

• The Call of Cthulhu (Broadcast in Tasmania on Lovecraft's 100th birthday)
• Jeffrey Combs reads Herbert West—Reanimator (Audio book CD by Beyond Books/Lurker Films)
• At the Mountains of Madness (Atlanta Radio Theater Company)
• The Dunwich Horror (Atlanta Radio Theater Company)
• The Rats in the Walls (Atlanta Radio Theater Company)
• The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Atlanta Radio Theater Company)
• The Dunwich Horror (Suspense 1942-62)[5]

Further reading

• The Strange Sound of Cthulhu: Music Inspired by the Writings of H. A media publishing company founded by Andrew Migliore focused on weird tales & literary horror— H The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company. (ARTC is a 501(c (3 Non-profit organization dedicated to preserving promoting performing and educating people about the art Suspense was a Radio drama series broadcast on CBS from 1942 through 1962 P. Lovecraft ( ISBN 978-1847287762), written by Gary Hill

• Lovecraft: Disturbing the Universe (ISBN 0813117283), by Donald R. Burleson, PhD, a longtime scholar on Lovecraft and acquaintance of S. T. Joshi, is probably the only book analyzing Lovecraft's literature from a deconstructionist standpoint. University Press of Kentucky, November 1990.

• The Gentleman From Angell Street: Memories of H. P. Lovecraft ( ISBN 0-9701699-1-4), written by Muriel and C. M. Eddy, is a collection of personal remembrances and ancedotes from two of Lovecraft's closest friends in Providence. The Eddys were fellow writers, and Mr. Eddy was a frequent contributor to Weird Tales.

• Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos (ISBN 0-586-04166-4), written by Lin Carter in 1972, is a survey of Lovecraft's work (along with that of other members of the Lovecraft Circle) with considerable information on his life; it's now available in an updated edition (ISBN 1-55742-253-2 hc, ISBN 1-55742-252-4 pb) co-authored by Robert M. Price. Lovecraft A Look Behind the "Cthulhu Mythos" is a 1972 non-fiction book written by Lin Carter, published by Ballantine Books. Linwood Vrooman Carter ( June 9, 1930 - February 7, 1988) was an American author of Science fiction and Fantasy For other people named Robert Price see Robert Price (disambiguation Robert McNair Price

• The first full-length biography was Lovecraft: a Biography (ISBN 0-345-25115-6), written by L. Sprague de Camp; published in 1975, it is now out of print. Lovecraft a Biography is a 1975 Biography of the writer H P Lovecraft by science-fiction writer L Lyon Sprague de Camp, ( November 27 1907 – November 6 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author Out of print refers to an item typically a book (see Out of print books) but can include any print or visual media or Sound recording, that is no longer being published

• Frank Belknap Long's Howard Phillips Lovecraft: Dreamer on the Nightside (Arkham House, 1975, ISBN 0-87054-068-8) presents a more personal look at Lovecraft's life, combining reminiscence, biography, and literary criticism. Frank Belknap Long ( April 27, 1901 - January 3, 1994) was a prolific American writer of Horror fiction, Fantasy, Science Howard Phillips Lovecraft Dreamer on the Nitghtside is a biography of H Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in Weird fiction founded in Sauk City Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei Long was a friend and correspondent of Lovecraft, as well as a fellow fantasist who wrote a number of Lovecraft-influenced Cthulhu Mythos stories (including The Hounds of Tindalos).

• A newer, more extensive biography is H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (ISBN 0-940884-88-7) written by Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi. H P Lovecraft A Life is a Biography of H P Lovecraft (1890-1937 by S Sunand Tryambak Joshi (b 22 June 1958 in Pune, India) is an Indian American Literary Critic, and a leading An alternative is Joshi's abridged A Dreamer & A Visionary: H. P. Lovecraft in His Time (ISBN 0-85323-946-0).

• An English translation of Michel Houellebecq's H. Michel Houellebecq (miʃɛl wɛlˈbɛk (born Michel Thomas) born 26 February 1958 (birth certificate or 1956 on the French island of Réunion P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life (ISBN 1-932416-18-8) was published by Believer Books in 2005.

• Other significant Lovecraft-related works are An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia by Joshi and David S. An H P Lovecraft Encyclopedia is a reference work written by S Schulz; Lovecraft's Library: A Catalogue (a meticulous listing of many of the books in Lovecraft's now scattered library), by Joshi; Lovecraft at Last, an account by Willis Conover of his teenage correspondence with Lovecraft; Joshi's A Subtler Magick: The Writings and Philosophy of H. Willis Conover ( October 18, 1920 &ndash May 17, 1996) was a Jazz producer and broadcaster on the Voice of America P. Lovecraft.

• Andrew Migliore and John Strysik's Lurker in the Lobby: The Guide to the Cinema of H. P. Lovecraft and Charles P. Andrew John Migliore (b 1966 in Washington DC, United States) is the founder and director of the annual H Lurker in the Lobby A Guide to the Cinema of H P Lovecraft is a non-fiction book by Andrew Migliore and John Strysik analysing the influence of Mitchell's The Complete H. P. Lovecraft Filmography both discuss films containing Lovecraftian elements.

• Lovecraft's prose fiction has been published numerous times. The "corrected texts" were released by Arkham House in the 1980s, and many other collections of his stories have appeared, including Ballantine Books editions and three popular Del Rey editions. The three collections published by Penguin, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories, and Dreams in the Witch House and Other Weird Stories, incorporate the modifications made in the corrected texts as well as the annotations provided by Joshi. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories is Penguin Classics' first omnibus edition of works by seminal 20th century American author H The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories is Penguin Classics ' second omnibus edition of works by 20th century American author H

• Lovecraft's "revisions" or ghost-written works are compiled in The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions, edited again by Joshi.

• Some of Lovecraft's writings, however, are annotated with footnotes or endnotes. A footnote (or bootnote) is a note of text placed at the bottom of a page in a book or document A footnote (or bootnote) is a note of text placed at the bottom of a page in a book or document In addition to the Penguin editions mentioned above and The Annotated Supernatural Horror in Literature, Joshi has produced The Annotated H. P. Lovecraft as well as More Annotated H. P. Lovecraft, both of which are footnoted extensively.

• The Philosophy of H. P. Lovecraft is a study of Lovecraft's use of language to analyze the psychology of Lovecraft's writings.

• An Epicure in the Terrible (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1991), edited by David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi is an anthology of 13 essays on Lovecraft (excluding Joshi's lengthy introduction)on the centennial of Lovecraft's birth. The essays are arranged into 3 sections; Biographical, Thematic Studies and Comparative and Genre Studies. The authors include S. T. Joshi, Kenneth W. Faig, Jr, Jason C. Eckhardt, Will Murray, Donald R. Burleson, Peter Cannon, Stefan Dziemianowicz, Steven J. Mariconda, David E. Schultz, Robert H. Waugh, Robert M. Price, R. Boerem, Norman R. Gatford and Barton Levi St. Armand.

• Missing Friendship The lost friendship of Derleth essay by Darren Herhold.

• Weird Fiction and the Unholy Glee of H. P. Lovecraft (Florianópolis, SC: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, 2003), by Kezia L'Engle de Figueiredo, is a Mastership dissertation which includes a review of criticism on Lovecraft's works and analyzes the ways his aesthetic theory on weird fiction works.

Footnotes

External links

• "H.P. Lovecraft" by S. T. Joshi
• "Master of Disgust" by Laura Miller of Salon.com
• Extract from HP Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life by Michel Houellebecq
• "H.P. Lovecraft's Afterlife" by John J. Miller of the Wall Street Journal
• "The King of Weird", by Joyce Carol Oates at the New York Review of Books (1996)
• H. P. Lovecraft at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• H.P. Lovecraft Archive
• HPLHS The H. Sunand Tryambak Joshi (b 22 June 1958 in Pune, India) is an Indian American Literary Critic, and a leading Saloncom, part of Salon Media Group ( often just called Salon, is an online Michel Houellebecq (miʃɛl wɛlˈbɛk (born Michel Thomas) born 26 February 1958 (birth certificate or 1956 on the French island of Réunion John J Miller (born 1970 is the national political reporter for National Review and contributor to its Web component National Review Online Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16 1938) is an American author and the Roger S The New York Review of Books (or NYREV or NYRB) is a semimonthly Magazine on Literature, Culture, and current P. Lovecraft Historical Society
• The Virtual World of H. P. Lovecraft a clickable mapping of Lovecraft's imaginary New England
• The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
• GPod Audiobooks The Call of Cthulu

Persondata
NAME	Lovecraft, Howard Phillips
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Lovecraft, H. P.
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American short story writer
DATE OF BIRTH	August 20, 1890(1890-08-20)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Providence, Rhode Island, United States
DATE OF DEATH	March 15, 1937
PLACE OF DEATH	Providence, Rhode Island, U. Events 636 - Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. S.

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