Lovecraft anyone?

[fightingmyinstincts]

I did a search and though H.P. Lovecraft had been mentioned in a few posts...this guy really deserves his own thread, if Salvatore does. I'm really too sleepy to discuss anything more complex than pudding right now...but I'll be back!

[Loredoctor]

Lovecraft was a genius. Shame the authors that he wrote with (with the exception of Howard) were terrible writers.

[fightingmyinstincts]

Actually I've read very little of Lovecraft's work...it's devilishly hard to find where I live...I should be able to remedy this in the future though.

But mainly reading what I have of his has inspired me to go back to my occult studies...though if his stories are any guide I'll probably go insane and/or endanger the human world if I do. Apparently, as my studies turned up, there are many online people who think the Necronomicon is real, that Lovecraft only pretended to make it up, and so on...I don't know, I guess it's kind of like the people who say they are reincarnated robots...the internet is starting to bother me a little in this respect, people making truly out there claims and gaining a cult following...

While I don't BELIEVE the premises of Lovecraft's mythos, I do like it very much, and I really wish there was more of this caliber of horror around out there...zombies and vampires are fun, but they prey on semi-Jungian cultural fears, while Lovecraftian horror is based on that which is purely alien. The visceral, instinctive disgust and terror are related, but in the one case it stems from a FAMILIAR subconscious fear, i.e. that of the dead acting as living, while in the Lovecraftian case it stems from the exact opposite: UNfamiliarity, complete and total foreign-ness. Stephen King can sometimes almost manage it, with things like "From a Buick 8" or maybe most notably "IT", but still this function of horror is rare...

[danlo]

Lovecraft was a genius. Shame the authors that he wrote with (with the exception of Howard) were terrible writers.

I don't recall him ever writting with anyone else--even Howard unless you're refering to the Amazing Stories/Weird Tales pulp authors. For more on Lovecraft go to Chtulhu's Corner

[Loredoctor]

Lovecraft was a genius. Shame the authors that he wrote with (with the exception of Howard) were terrible writers.

I don't recall him ever writting with anyone else--even Howard unless you're refering to the Amazing Stories/Weird Tales pulp authors. For more on Lovecraft go to Chtulhu's Corner

There was a circle of writers who would all contribute to the Cthulhu Mythos: for instance, Clark Ashton-Smith who added Hastur the Unspeakable, the Serpent People; Howard was a close correspondent with Lovecraft, and besides his Conan stories, wrote some Mythos stuff as well; the owner of Lovecraft's estate, whose name escapes me, added many aliens and gods to the mythos; Hazel Heald wrote a story with Lovecraft, contributing the famous Dimensional Shambler. These were all seen by Lovecraft to be part of his stories, as they borrowed from him.

Fightingmyinstincts - as far as I know, the Necronomicon is not real, and Lovecraft himself denied it being real; it was a creation of his youth. Besides, an analysis of the Necronomicon will reveal that it is fake; for instance, Abdul Al-Azred, the writer of the book, translates as Prince son of a Slave. This is incorrect Islamic nomenclature.

[theDespiser]

ive been meaning to read more of Lovecraf'ts stuff...right now all i have is the book of short storiesThe Doom that Came to Sarnath...

REH is my favorite author, Next to SRD

[fightingmyinstincts]

loremaster, that's very interesting about his name...I read an account of Lovecraft's were he claimed that that was a made-up name he used in make-believe stories in his childhood, and then later on used as the author of the Necronomicon...I wonder if he's lying about having made it up in his childhood, if it's meaning is a coincidence, or if he had some grasp of Arabic? If he made it up it should be gibberish...Maybe he commandeered it from somewhere else...Anyway, try telling that to the people who believe the Necronomicon is real or is at least based off of other real sources. Somehow it's gotten tangled up with the Enochian "calls" as well, and I know nothing about them. As it relates to cryptic languages, I would be interested to learn, and I will read the Book of Enoch when I get the chance, a fellow religion major is going to let me borrow it.

As an interesting, slightly-related side note, anyone here ever play Eternal Darkness for Gamecube? Lovecraft based, and pretty scary...not taken directly from the mythos but has the same style...great game.

[Loredoctor]

The name came from the influence of Arabic stories in his youth; he used to spend alot of time in his Aunts' library reading Arabian Nights and other tales. I believe that's where he got the name. Regadless, 'Abdul' is such a cliche Arabic name - no surprises it came during his childhood.

[dennisrwood]

Stephen King writes is a (self admited) style for his short story Jerusalem's Lot. it's in Night Shift. and the movie "In The Mouth Of Madness" is a tribute to King and Lovecraft. great stuff.

my wife and i got the visit Robert E.Howard's home in Cross Plains, Texas.

[Loredoctor]

Terrible tragedy what happened to Howard.

[fightingmyinstincts]

What happened to him? I am woefully under...known about stuff like this. I never heard about it.

[Loredoctor]

What happened to him? I am woefully under...known about stuff like this. I never heard about it.

He drove his parents' lorry out into their farm, and then shot himself with a rifle.

[fightingmyinstincts]

That is very sad. Any idea why?

[Loredoctor]

I believe he was suffering from depression; he may have been lonely, and his stories were never popular.

[Invain]

Abdul indeed serves as a cliche Arabic name, but the fun part is that according to my knowledge it is incorrect. The word "abd" means servant or slave and functions as a name. If followed by Al-..., it means "servant of..." Abdul Al-Hazred would mean "servant of of..." - a clear gramatical mistake.

As for works of other authors, Arthur Derleth wrote nice lovecraftian stories - mainly because he was often basing on Lovecraft's unfinished or undeveloped ideas. Not as good as the original, but worth reading in my opinion. You could also check the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

[Loredoctor]

Abdul indeed serves as a cliche Arabic name, but the fun part is that according to my knowledge it is incorrect. The word "abd" means servant or slave and functions as a name. If followed by Al-..., it means "servant of..." Abdul Al-Hazred would mean "servant of of..." - a clear gramatical mistake.

Ahh, so that's the error. The source I have includes 'prince'.

[danlo]

Ah yes the contributors to the Mythos--thanks for making that clear--was August Derleth that guy you were trying to think of? There's also another Mythos writter; Francis Bellnap Long, btw...

[Loredoctor]

Ah yes the contributors to the Mythos--thanks for making that clear--was August Derleth that guy you were trying to think of? There's also another Mythos writter; Francis Bellnap Long, btw...

Sorry for being confusing, danlo. I meant contributors, but it is also a fact that Lovecraft wrote with another occasionally - Hazel Heald. yes, Derleth was the person I was trying to think of.

[dennisrwood]

Howard suffered from terribly mood swings all of his life. he had asked a nurse if his mother would survive the night, she side no and Howard went to the car and shot himself. there is a really good movie out that does a good job of telling Howards'
life called "the Whole WIde World" excellent movie, worth your time to find.

[theDespiser]

the way i understood it was that he killed himself after she died, because he was so grief-stricken...but it amounts to the same thing...he still killed himself...