HP Lovecraft and Supernatural Horror

Well, it’s been really quiet here at Nat’l Blues, hasn’t it? Besides taking on more work in the past month, and generally trying to get things organized in an adult-type way, the posts have slowed. I mean, life is not one big party, is it? Also, you have to admit, that as life cruises along, its not all amazing, weird and wild crap that you have to share with the world, be it music, books, movies, or any other adventures you may be having. Sometimes, things just go along without a lot of excitement, and you just do your thing. Which is ok, really. But, in the spirit of the Natural Blues, I have decided to continue in the vein of recent posts on wacky escapist entertainment to post some items about H.P. Lovecraft. Cause really, do we need any more freakin’ political commentary? Or freakin stories about celebrities? Let’s just zone out for a little while and think about (fictional) creepy stuff, rather than real life creepy stuff.

First, let's get down to basics, right? Superantural Horror can be best summed up in the writings of Machen in "The White People":

"Do you know," he said, "you interest me immensely? You think, then, that we do not understand the real nature of evil?"

"No, I don't think we do. We over-estimate it and we under-estimate it. We take the very numerous infractions of our social 'bye-laws'--the very necessary and very proper regulations which keep the human company together--and we get frightened at the prevalence of 'sin' and 'evil.' But this is really nonsense. Take theft, for example. Have you any horror at the thought of Robin Hood, of the Highland caterans of the seventeenth century, of the moss-troopers, of the company promoters of our day?

"Then, on the other hand, we underrate evil. We attach such an enormous importance to the 'sin' of meddling with our pockets (and our wives) that we have quite forgotten the awfulness of real sin."

"And what is sin?" said Cotgrave.

"I think I must reply to your question by another. What would your feelings be, seriously, if your cat or your dog began to talk to you, and to dispute with you in human accents? You would be overwhelmed with horror. I am sure of it. And if the roses in your garden sang a weird song, you would go mad. And suppose the stones in the road began to swell and grow before your eyes, and if the pebble that you noticed at night had shot out stony blossoms in the morning?

"Well, these examples may give you some notion of what sin really is.

(this illustration of Machen's story was obtained here)


Supernatural horror is an exploration of the perversion of the "natural" laws to Machen, and here we have a starting point for the essay by Lovecraft. It is really the fear of the unknown, the unknowable...that really makes people quake. Really, if you are interested in any way in the realm of horror fiction, take all of your Stephen King Books, and deposit them in the dumpster and start working through HPL's suggestions. I mean, c'mon, Stephen King did authorize the making of Maximum Overdrive, didn't he? (even Angus couldn't save this one)

Ok, You should first get up to speed on HPL's essay, the classic Supernatural Horror in Literature. Then be sure to read some of Lovecaraft's best writings. I would start with the classic, Call of Cthulhu, then probably The Colour of Out Space.

Follow up with a reading of Machen's "The White People" and Blackwood's "The Willows" (thanks to Gordon Fernandes for posting these timeless stories). Additionally, you should definately pick up "The Color Out of Space Anthology", which is an excellent collection of the major works referecned by HPL in his seminal essay.

(Notice here the utterly fantastic Charles Burns cover...)

You should be well on your way to becoming a total weirdo at this point

If this post totally enthralls you, then I suggest you immediately order the "The Call of Cthulhu" DVD. This film, though low budget, is bar none the best adaption of a Lovecraft story. Rather than attempt to go full out on sets, locations, and FX, the makers of this film took it into the realm of silent films, which totally complements the elements of the tale, and given the time frame for the story line, contributes greatly to the atmosphere. A true winner, and at $20 a pop, you can't go wrong. Bears watching during Halloween season.

Well, there you have it. A great synopsis to get you started on a lifetime of freakish pursuits. Interestingly enough, Lovecraft's vision lived well beyond his lifetime, with the Cthulhu mythos being alive and well in popular horror/sci fi culture throughout the country. I believe a greater scholar than myself (if not many popular culture scholars) have demonstrated that once an iconic figure in myth, such as Dracula, is popularized and transformed to the needs of the current culture, then we have indeed transcended the original context of the myth and it will live forever....hahahahah (cue evil laughter). No seroiusly, the amount of crazed Cthulhu dolls and t-shirts across the net attest to this. I leave you with proof positive that this is the truth. First, a garish image of the great beast Cthulhu as rendered by Paul Carrick.

And some bizarre variations of this creature.....

Man, this is getting too freakin weird for me......well, at least when yer phone is tapped and you start babbling in the Cthulhu language, you'll end up in an asylum rather than Gitmo. Yeah, this is getting weird....isn't it?

There, now don't you feel better about all this evil nasty stuff?!?!