Special thanks to riemannianmanifold for recommending H.P. Lovecraft to discuss!
❝The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.❞
-- H.P. Lovecraft
American writer of fantastic and horrifying short stories and novels, H.P. Lovecraft, his full name is Howard Phillips Lovecraft, was one of the 20th century masters of the Gothic tale of terror. He was born August 20, 1890 in Providence, Rhode Island in the USA. Lovecraft was interested in science at an early age, but his health prevented him from attending college. In 1913, he wrote a critical letter to a pulp magazine that ultimately led to his involvement in pulp fiction.
He was a master of poetic language, and he attained unusually high literary standards in his particular fictional genre. Lovecraft joined the small "Kalem Club" of writers when he moved to New York, and he would be the center of a wider body of authors known as the "Lovecraft Circle."
His Cthulhu Mythos series of tales describe ordinary New Englanders' encounters with horrific beings of extraterrestrial origin. His well-known short stories were The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (wrote in 1927; published later in 1941), At the Mountains of Madness (wrote in 1931; in 1936), and The Shadow over Innsmouth (wrote in 1931, published 1936). He was virtually unknown during his lifetime and was mostly exclusive published in pulp magazines before he passed away at the age of 46 in poverty on March 15, 1937.
Discussion Questions:
Which of his short stories did you first read? And continue to dive into?
What genre? Or creatures did you enjoy in his stories? Or how did you visualize the characters?
With his writings becoming known more so after he passed away, what do you think H.P. Lovecraft could have written more of? More in his Gothic literature?
We're thankful for his writings that he has shared with us. Thank you, H.P. Lovecraft.
Always open to additional questions and comments on about H.P. Lovecraft and his works.
If there is another author you would like to see a discussion on, please post your suggestion in the comments below for a chance to be featured in a future chapter!
Resources: