Lovecraftian Horror
HP Lovecraft didn’t see much of his work in print, nor did he know much success. He certainly had no idea the influence he would have on generations of writers and artists. Even though his correspondence and collaborations picked up speed over time, his life was cut short by cancerg, and Lovecraft remains one of those sad tales of a major artists who never saw the result of his life’s work. Lovecraft is thus the James Dean of horror, the Van Gogh of weird, the Alfred Wegener of genre writing.
What would HP Lovecraft think of the phrase “Lovecraftian horror?” Lovecraft fans and literary critics use the phrase Lovecraftian horror to refer to any artistic work that is more interested in the horror of the unknown than in gory descriptions of violence or the shock effect of a candle blown out in the wind. This particular sub-genre of horror is especially focused on cosmic horror.
HP
Lovecraft may have predated genre writing, and even the genres he is most
associated with: science fiction and horror, but he is still an icon among
fans of literary and pulp genre and “weird tales.” Since Lovecraft’s
influence can be seen in everything from the postmodern stories of Jorge
Luis Borges to contemporary animation and studio art, the phrase
Lovecraftian horror is in use across all genres. To call a work of art
“Lovecraftian” is to imbue it with cosmic strangeness, misanthropy,
antiquation, and a touch of graphic viscera.
How did one man come to be associated with the weird? HP Lovecraft’s output is not exactly monumental; in fact, Lovecraft himself never saw a true full-length book version of his own fiction, dying before his friends and correspondents could put together a respectable collection of his published fiction. How, then, did HP Lovecraft’s name come to stand in for an entire way of thinking? Lovecraft may have been the godfather of the horror fiction genre, and at the least an apostle of science fiction writing, but his influence is much wider than cheap paperbacks and student films.
The Necronomicon
The story of the Necronomicon parallels and contains all that is Lovecraft. From a young age, Lovecraft’s obsessions leaned toward the odd. First, Lovecraft was obsessed with Egypt and all things Oriental. This turned into a lifelong fascination with mythology in general, mostly of the Greek variety. Some of his oldest written material included references to characters and themes that would pop up in later stories and essays. For example, in a letter written later in his life, Lovecraft recalls using the pseudonym Abdul Alhazred in his playtime and imagination as a child. Abdul Alhazred is famously credited (by Lovecraft) as the author of the mythical Necronomicon.
The Necronomicon was a creation of Lovecraft, a book that never actually existed. Lovecraft told a friend, towards the end of his career as a magazine editor, that he’d come up with the name in a dream. The Necronomicon is supposedly an ancient book listing ancient gods long since defeated or in hiding, and methods for calling forth those gods. Lovecraft used The Necronomicon as a catch-all for the mythology of his weird universe, a sort of textual shibboleth he could call on when he needed to add a piece to his mythical world for a plot point.
Lovecraft is often quoted as saying he invented The Necronomicon as a way of bringing "a background of evil verisimilitude" to his stories. The Necronomicon is a stand-in for religious books and scriptures of all kinds, a sort of Old Testament from which he could draw many horrors.
The word Necronomicon has entered the popular lexicon through Lovecraft’s creepy stories. The name itself inspires visions of satanic ritual. It is an ancient-sounding name, perfect for Lovecraft’s at times antiquarian-sounding writing style.
We still see references to The Necronomicon in popular culture, often in places that have little or nothing to do with HP Lovecraft or Lovecraftian horror. You can even buy books with the same name, often novelty items or special interest collector’s books. The most famous of these is one put together by a man simply called Simon. Simon’s version of The Necromicon links HP Lovecraft to the mystic Aleister Crowley and his thoughts on ancient Babylonian myths. It also involves elements of Christianity, Wicca, Satanism, and obscure Hebrew myths. It is a novelty item, but its verisimilitude has no doubt convinced a few here and there that this is a real book or mythical piece of art.
Even though the Necronomicons you’ll find at specialty book stores bear little or no resemblance to Lovecraftian horror itself, they can be fun additions to a Lovecraft collection, or sources for Lovecraftian role-playing games.
Cthulhu
There’s something strangely lovable about Lovecraftian horror characters. Cthulhu himself is so beloved by Lovecraftian horror fans, he appears on t-shirts and even in popular Internet memes.
Indeed an entire mythos has popped up around Lovecraft’s lovable aquatic beast, with many authors contributing to the Cthulhu mythos. That’s how Lovecraft’s influence has been carried on, by people who have studied his writings (philosophical, political, and fiction work) and continued exploring the creepy worlds Lovecraft invented.
There are entire series of Cthulhu role-playing games, Cthulhu novels, and even fan-made films based on Lovecraft’s eerie world-destroyer Cthulhu.
What is Cthulhu?
Cthulhu is a one of Lovecraft’s god-like cosmic monsters. HP Lovecraft came up with Cthulhu in 1926, and he made his first appearance in the Lovecraft short story "The Call of Cthulhu," in the magazine Weird Tales in 1928.
Cthulhu is usually described as a massive humanoid animal looking alien god. He has the head of an octopus or squid, giant dragon’s wings and sharp claws, and other creepy features. He is trapped at the bottom of an ocean, waiting to make his appearance and destroy mankind. It is said that the simple sight of Cthulhu is enough to kill a man, since he is so horrible that it confounds our simple weak minds. Naturally, in Lovecraft’s mythology, a cult of insanely devoted followers sprang up around Cthulhu, and this cult and its inner-workings are a big part of the Lovecraftian horror legacy that extends into new Cthulhu novels and games to this day.
Other Influences
Writers and critics like Bruce Lord and Jorge Borges have an interest in Lovecraft because of how his interests and personal philosophy parallels the great literary and artistic thought of the period. Take a look at the features of Lovecraftian horror, as outlined by scholars and fans over the years. Notice how closely Lovecraft’s influence mirrors the great artistic and philosophical movements of the last century.
Lovecraft, Horror, & Misanthropy
Lovecraft’s work almost never gives us a real human character. Lovecraft was obsessed not with people but with people’s ignorance of their tiny place in the larger universe. This aligns perfectly with the Modernist writers and artists alive during Lovecraft’s life time.
Viscera
Lovecraft’s monsters and creatures are always slimy, gelatinous, and undefinable. Gone from Lovecraft’s vision or horror are the blood, the guts, and the bones of human bodies, and in their place are harder to define slimes and liquids, or at best, malformed imitations of earth-bound beings. You could see this as a kind of surreal element to horror, going beyond what humans are familiar with to represent something more real.
Lovecraft & Isolation
All of Lovecraft’s heroes, including those created after his death by followers of the Lovecraftian horror ethos, are lonely people. They work alone, armed only with their wits (most are scholars or academics) against an entire galaxy of unknown horrors. This isolated state of Lovecraftian heroes calls to mind the writings of existentialists like Sartre and Beckett.
These are just a few of the features common to Lovecraftian horror. Only a thinker like HP Lovecraft could create a monster-deity so heinous that the very sight of it is enough to wipe a human brain completely clear, that is still beloved by Lovecraft fans and fans of science fiction and horror. People have developed a fondness for this monster and his minions, and other Lovecraft creations as well. That is the strange appeal of Lovecraft’s creations, that unnameable quality of horror and weirdness that earns a piece of art the label “Lovecraftian horror.”
Lovecraftian Horror Movies
Like any other medium, movies can be made in the Lovecraftian style. What are Lovecraftian horror movies? Simply apply the Lovecraftian tenets to a movie.
Many movies have been made based on Lovecraft’s work or the Cthulhu mythos, with varying degrees of success. The HP Lovecraft Film Festivals in Portland and LA were founded in part to raise awareness of Lovecraftian horror movies, some of which are based on Lovecraft material, some of which aren’t. That festival has been running since the mid-90s, and is now drawing some larger crowds and more attention, even hosting Benicio del Toro as a guest judge for the 2011 festival event in Portland.
For a great example of a Lovevraftian horror movie not directly based on the works of HP Lovecraft, look no further than the classic 1979 horror-sci fi movie Alien. Though the story has nothing to do with Lovecraft, his influence is all over this movie’s creative team. H.R. Giger’s special effects creatures in Alien look remarkably similar to artist’s visions of Lovecraft monsters, and Giger has outright stated in interviews that he is hugely influenced by Lovecraft. The writer of the film Dan O’Bannon would later direct The Resurrected, one of the better movies ever made based on a piece of Lovecraft’s fiction, this time The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
John Carpenter’s The Thing is another great example of a Lovecraftian horror movie. The story of a dozen paranoid scientists trapped in the Arctic being picked off one by one by a shape-shifting alien creature with incredible powers could be cut right out of Lovecraft’s stories.
As for movies directly based on Lovecraft’s work, the pickings are slim. The HP Lovecraft Film Festival does an excellent job of supporting films based more closely on Lovecraft’s actual work, but these are usually indie films with no actual release, and can be difficult to find. Commercial films based on Lovecraft’s stories haven’t had much success translating Lovecraft’s vision to the big screen. Movies like 1970’s The Dunwich Horror are about average for Lovecraft film translations: bad special effects, wooden acting, and so many plot liberties the movie may as well change its name altogether.
Hopefully the film festivals and societies working to protect Lovecraft’s legacy will inspire future filmmakers and artists to create products worthy of the phrase Lovecraftian horror.