MetaFilter posts tagged with lovecraft

"... as the rambling voice scraped and whispered on I shivered again and again..."

koeselitz — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:11:47 -0800

“West of Arkham the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut...” — In the true spirit of the holiday season, Mark E. Smith presents: a reading of that classic old Christmas tale, Howard Phillips Lovecraft's The Colour Out Of Space. [This is actually two years old, but amazingly it's apparently never seen the front page of Mefi before...] Mark E. Smith is the iconic frontman for the thirty-year-old punk band / literary institution The Fall. His cracked Manchester drawl, at turns muddled then crisp, can be riveting; and if you're like me, you could listen to him talk for hours on end. I encourage you to give it a go and close your eyes, settling into the rhythm and cadence - you'll likely soon find that you understand what he's saying. Here are some details about this reading. However, if you're not like me, you may prefer to listen to the Atlanta Radio Theater Company's excellent radio dramatization - which I discovered via Pope Guilty's Lovecraft audio post from two years ago. Or if you don't want audio at all - you just want to read the story - you may read it at Project Gutenberg here. Happy X-mas to you and yours!

The Horse of the Invisible

GenjiandProust — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:35:59 -0800

William Hope Hodgson led an almost fictional life. After trying to run away to the sea as a boy, he eventually had careers as a seaman, professional body builder, personal trainer, public lecturer, and an author of weird fiction (much of it available here). He is also remembered for giving Harry Houdini a hard time. He died toward the end of World War I, having volunteered, received a discharge due to injuries, and volunteered again. Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost-Finder stories mix supernatural and fraud to keep the reader guessing and contain some very stirring descriptions of the experience of fear. His novel The Night Land has been lovingly treated previously. In Supernatural Horror in Literature Lovecraft, while occasionally being harshly critical (especially about Hodgson's attempts at 18th Century language) said "Few can equal him in adumbrating the nearness of nameless forces and monstrous besieging entities through casual hints and insignificant details, or in conveying feelings of the spectral and the abnormal in connection with regions and buildings." Hodgson also got props from Clark Aston Smith. For the enthusiasts: a video made up of pictures of Hodgson and covers and illustrations from his fiction and an essay on time as depicted in The Night Land and how it relates to the Decadents.

You better watch out...

Caduceus — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:16:19 -0800

Close all the drapes, board up the fireplace, watch what might be hiding in that tree, and whatever you do, don't go to sleep, because December belongs to Cthulhu.* This December, Tor.com is running a series of posts on H.P. Lovecraft and Cthulhu. Notable posts include the introduction to Lovecraft, which makes the argument that Lovecraft was one of the first true geeks, an incredible Lovecraftian art thread, in which the blog's readers were invited to share their Lovecraft inspired art, an essay about amateur press associations, and a post by speculative fiction writer Elizabeth Bear about why people still write Lovecraft pastiches (notably, she won a Hugo this year for a Lovecraft pastiche). And there's a lot of month still left. *cf. The Last Christmas

The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft -- a new old time radio production

feelinglistless — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:11:13 -0800

The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft -- a new old time radio production [part one, part two]

The Lurking Fear

Artw — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:13:44 -0800

Lovecraft 101: Get To Know The Master of Scifi-Horror. For more detailed insights into each of Lovecraft's tales in publication order you might want to follow the H.P.Lovecraft Literary Podcast. For another story-by-story guide to Lovecraft you might want to check out Kenneth Hite's Tour De Lovecraft (also available in expanded form as a book). China Mieville on Lovecraft and racism and a lecture at Treadwells by Archaeologist James Holloway which delves deep into Lovecraft and identity. The making of the Call of Cthulhu RPG. The making of Cthulhu (Hipsters! Ego! Madness!). Happy Halloween with H.P. Lovecraft!

For the Love of Craft

kurumi — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:53:59 -0800

For your next shoggoth-hunting trip to Antarctica (or Halloween party), you can arm yourself with authentic-looking props by visiting Propnomicon: contemporary ephemera, pages from the Necronomicon, monster-repelling (or -attracting) amulets, and so on. If your expedition is a bust, bring back a homemade thing in a bottle, or in a pinch, make your own tentacle. Artists offer some props for sale, but there's also a healthy variety of do-it-yourself tutorials, and links to other Lovecraftian, steampunk, and LARP sites. Related, previously: BugMaker

The Necronomicon Files

Artw — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:15:03 -0800

"Necronomicons: The Scariest Book in the World" - A talk given by Daniel Harms, author of the Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, on the history of the Necronomicon(s) - taking in Abdul Alhazred, John Dee, assorted aquaintences of HP Lovecraft, some rather dodgy sounding occultists from the 70s and a man known only as Simon. Previously.

Klaatu. . .verada. . .

EarBucket — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:42:02 -0800

It's Friday! Enjoy Necronomicon, a fun little flash-based card game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

The Compleat Musical Lovecraft

absalom — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:01:30 -0800

Innsmouth: The Musical. Carol of the Old Ones. Shoggoth, Shoggoth, Shoggoth. If I Were A Deep One. I Saw My Mommy Kissing Yog-Sothoth. Away In A Madhouse. Freddy the Red Brained Mi-Go. I'm Dreaming of a Dead City. Awake Ye Scary Great Old Ones. The Cultist Song. Byakhee, Byakhee. Bonus Feature: Shoggoth on the Roof - A Play Performed with puppets.

Now available in mint flavor!

clockworkjoe — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:17:08 -0800

Suffering from a bad case of cosmic dread? Have you voyaged too far into the midst of the black seas of infinity? Concerned about invisible abominations stalking you in the dead of night? Fortunately, there's help. (SLYT).

Lurker at the Threshold

Artw — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:49:01 -0800

Today sees the 100th birthday of August Derleth, the man who founded Arkham House and saved the works of HP Lovecraft from falling out of print. Much of the Cthulhu Mythos cosmology we know today was actually the invention of Derleth, such as the distinction between Elder Gods and Outer Gods, and aligning the various Mythos deities along elemental grounds - something not entirely without controversy in Lovecraftian circles, as were Derleth's posthumous collaborations and Arkham's ownership of Lovecraft's work. Regardless opinions on his work, his impact is indisputable, and his home state of Wisconsin has honoured him by making Febuary 24th August Derleth Day.

Where in the world is H.P. Lovecraft?

Caduceus — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:28:18 -0800

Lovecraft is Missing. If you like reading Lovecraft, you might enjoy this comic about his unexplained absence, as well. Make sure to check out the Lovecraft related links on the left.

Fantastic art by John Jude Palencar

mediareport — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:04:24 -0800

Just some cool dark fantasy art by John Jude Palencar, including covers for Lovecraft, de Lint, Tolkien and other popular books.

A Terrifying Narrative Experience

Caduceus — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:41:32 -0800

Night of the Cephalopods Shoot eldritch floating squid monsters with a shotgun as a horrified narrator describes your every move. Requires download, and is Windows only, I'm afraid. via

Mad artist in ancient sinister house draws things. What were his models? Glimpse.

Artw — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:10:13 -0800

"Mirage in time—image of long-vanish’d pre-human city." - "Ancient and unknown ruins—strange and immortal bird who SPEAKS in a language horrifying and revelatory to the explorers." - "A very ancient colossus in a very ancient desert. Face gone—no man hath seen it." - Images based on the commonplace book of HP Lovecraft. "As dinosaurs were once surpassed by mammals, so will man-mammal be surpassed by insect or bird—fall of man before the new race." - "The Italians call Fear La figlia della Morte—the daughter of Death." - "Death lights dancing over a salt marsh." - "Daemons, when desiring an human form for evil purposes, take to themselves the bodies of hanged men." (2) - Talking rock of Africa—immemorially ancient oracle in desolate jungle ruins that speaks with a voice out of the aeons". - "Azathoth, hideous name." - "Shapeless living thing forming nucleus of ancient building." - (2, 3) - "Life and Death Death--its desolation and horror--bleak spaces-sea bottom-dead cities. But Life-the greater horror/Vast unheard-of reptiles and levia-thans-hideous beasts of prehistoric jungle-rank slimy vegetation-evil in-stincts of primal man--Life is more horrible than death." - "An sint unquam daemones incubi et succubae, et an ex tali congressu proles nasci queat?" - "A very ancient tomb in the deep woods near where a 17th century Virginia manor-house used to be. The undecayed, bloated thing found within." - "A monstrous derelict—found and boarded by a castaway or shipwreck survivor." - "Monsters born living—burrow underground and multiply, forming race of unsuspected daemons."

..and when Pickman suddenly unveiled a huge canvas on the side away from the light I could not for my life keep back a loud scream

Artw — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:35:37 -0800

Tentacles and Cosmic SF - Ann and Jeff VanderMeer on the art of Lovecraft. - More of the book - No, I don't know what's become of Pickman, and I don't like to guess.

"He makes Gozer look like little Mary Sunshine."

JHarris — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:29:57 -0800

Back in the 80s DiC produced a cartoon, aired in syndication and on ABC Saturday Mornings, called "The Real Ghostbusters." Based on the popular action-comedy movie, it more-or-less continued the adventures of Ray, Egon, Winston and ~~Garfield~~ Peter through seven seasons of supernatural shenanigans. It could have been a mere cash-in, but there was something more to it. It aspired to realism, at least as much as possible. It was story-edited by J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5. (He also worked on He-Man and Murder She Wrote!)
This may explain the second season episode, written by Michael Reaves and rife with Lovecraft references, in which the Ghostbusters face down the Cthulhu cult. Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

The master of black and white

aldurtregi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:44:00 -0800

An introduction to the works of Alberto Breccia, 'often referred to as "The master of black and white."' A brilliant comic artist little known in the english-speaking world, his works have mostly been published in italian, french and spanish. In the '70s he and writer Norberto Buscaglia adapted nine H.P. Lovecraft stories, available here in ebook form (in spanish, but the art speaks for itself).

Hairbeast from the watery deeps

BlackLeotardFront — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:33:30 -0800

The partially decomposed sea monster has 4 paws, a tail, and long fur. Is that you, Dagon?
Other famous sea-monster bodies (known as "globsters") include
The St. Augustine Monster ^
The New Zealand globster
Several more recent blobs
And here's how to tell a blob from a sea monster

Management cannot guarantee the sanity of the listener.

Pope Guilty — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:51:17 -0800

You desire to listen to "The Shadow Out of Time". You may also desire to listen to adaptations of The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Colour Out of Space. Possibly you desire to listen to Neil Gaiman's Lovecraftian Sherlock Holmes pastiche A Study in Emerald, the text of which is available in a fetchingly formatted PDF. Or maybe it's all academic, and you'd rather just listen to some lectures about Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

Y'ha N'thlei is deeper than they know.

JHarris — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:08:59 -0800

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fish-Men. Brought to you by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society

Gelatinous red semi-immensity

BlackLeotardFront — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:06:01 -0800

I think we all know what this "squoctopus" thing should be named. After vigintillions of years baby Cthulhu is loose again, and ravening for delight.

Weird Tales: The Strange Life of HP Lovecraft

Kattullus — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:33:02 -0800

Weird Tales: The Strange Life of HP Lovecraft is a 45-minute BBC radio documentary: "Geoff Ward examines the strange life and terrifying world of the man hailed as America's greatest horror writer since Poe. During his life, Lovecraft's work was confined to lurid pulp magazines and he died in penury in 1937. Today, however, his writings are considered modern classics and published in prestigious editions. How did such a weird, wild and ungodly writer get canonised? Among the writers considering his legacy are Neil Gaiman, ST Joshi, Kelly Link, Peter Straub and China Mieville." ST Joshi, a biographer of Lovecraft, has an essay up on The Scriptorium. Wikisource has an extensive collection of his writings, including not only his most famous novels and short stories, but also essays, letters, poetry and legal documents. He is buried in the city of his birth, Providence, Rhode Island, where he does eternal lie, even though someone made an unsuccessful attempt to exhume him in 1997.

Nightmare In A Jar

jonson — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 23:43:08 -0800

Alex cf is a young British artist, fresh off of a series of extremely creepy visualizations of Alice in Wonderland characters. His current project is creating amazing looking HP Lovecraft inspired nightmares in specimen jars, which he is more than happy to build on commission.

The Eldritch Dark: The Sanctum of Clark Ashton Smith

mediareport — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 21:05:37 -0800

The Eldritch Dark. No, not about Mr. Lovecraft, but a sprawling site dedicated to Clark Ashton Smith, a friend and frequent correspondent. Along with Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, Smith is an early contributor to Weird Tales whose stories stand the test of time (his work directly inspired Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison). He thought of himself primarily as a poet.