By H. P. Lovecraft

I bought this book from Barnes & Noble using a gift certificate just before the massive shutdowns at the beginning of the pandemic crisis. I bought this particular copy because of the fabulous illustrations on the cover and inside jacket, by Travis Louie. In addition to the illustrations it has deckle edged pages, which give it a tome of curiosities appeal, befitting of the subject matter.

I have only recently discovered Lovecraft and was interested in finding out more because of his influence on modern artists such as horror writer Stephen King, and director John Carpenter. His own influence by Edgar Allen Poe is apparent, though he has flavored that influence with his own imaginary pantheon of evil space faring monsters that awaken to curdle the blood of unsuspecting and curious men. His tales are often full of mystery, rumor, hints of hidden evil, clues from various accounts and diaries, and markings on artifacts of unknown origin. He purposefully uses archaic spellings and language to imbibe his stories with the feel of ancient myth.

Among my favorites are, The Picture in the House, The Colour Out of Space, and The Whisperer in Darkness. The Picture in the House is a poetic short where a wandering stranger comes face to face with a cannibal when he seeks shelter from a storm in rural New England. The Colour Out of Space describes a creeping and insidious force from space that poisons a farmer, his family, and surrounding land which is only visible because of it’s bizarre luminescence. The Whisper in Darkness is a suspenseful tale about giant crablike alien beings inhabiting the backwoods of Vermont.

H.P. Lovecraft can’t really be discussed in these times without mention of his well documented personal animosity toward people who are not white, and English speaking. His racism is apparent in his writing whenever he discusses foreigners and people of color. One of his characters has a cat, named after the ‘N’ word, and apparently was based on his own cat with the same name. He is also known to have expressed antisemitic viewpoints despite having been married to a Jewish woman for a short period of time. Despite these unfortunate facts, his writing has had its fare share of influence on modern horror, and can’t be discounted. His stories do not require any of these elements to function and could exist without them, but they more a description of the person who wrote them than anything. The reader should be aware, and any reverence should be balanced with context and reality.