Today’s the day when horror fans around the world celebrate what would have been the 130th birthday (what’s that in shoggoth years?) of horror master Howard Philip Lovecraft, creator of the Cthulhu Mythos and whose works have an inspired generations of writers including Stephen King, Alan Moore, F. Paul Wilson, Matt Ruff (whose acclaimed novel Lovecraft Country is now an equally acclaimed HBO series) and many others—including me.
Yes, he was also a “problematic” person (as the saying goes today): a xenophobe and a racist who disparaged African Americans, Jews, Irish, Asians—and Canadians (so…blaming Canada decades before South Park?). He was outspoken in his letters, and even some poetry, about the lower status of other races, expressing the same amount of hatred and disgust normally reserved for outer space gods looking to subjugate humanity. He was also terrified of things like shellfish and air conditioners, so…yeah. “Having issues” only scratches the surface. “Asshole” would probably be the best way to describe him.
And yet it can’t be denied that he was a gifted horror writer. Extremely wordy at times, fairly pompous and purple prose-y, with a habit of describing the horrors his literary victims experienced but rarely the monsters that caused those horrors, and an approach to world-building filled with characters that reflected his constant dread of “the other” (in his works, ancient monsters; in his real life, immigrants), but a gifted writer nonetheless.
Speaking of Lovecraftian inspiration, I’ve taken a cue or two from ole H.P. (not the racism, I’m talking about the Elder God stuff) in a pair of projects I wrote that you can still purchase:
Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which Lori battles a cult of Elder God worshipers attempting to unleash hell on Earth. Basically a love letter to the Cthulhu Mythos and 1970s horror comics like Vampirella, Tomb of Dracula, and Ghost Rider, it’s written by yours truly, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (Vengeance of the Mummy, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk), and Neil Vokes (Flesh and Blood, Fright Night). It also features a cover by legendary artist Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna, Lady Rawhide) and a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night). It’s available in print and digital formats, so visit its product page for ordering information.
And the short story “Sects and the Single Girl”—not a Lorelei sequel—appeared in the anthology Urban Temples of Cthulhu, published in 2016 by the First United Church of Cthulhu. It involves a woman named Shitaki Cumberbatch, a member of the Church of Starry Wisdom—an Elder Gods–worshipping organization introduced in Lovecraft’s short story “The Horror at Red Hook”—who wants to become high priestess. When she’s denied because of her refusal to sleep with the old white guy who’s the current high priest, she files a lawsuit—but is it possible to break the stained-glass ceiling and sue a church for sexism when you participate in its rituals, which are based on hedonism and human sacrifice? Urban Temples is still available in print and Kindle versions from Amazon.
So, happy birthday, H.P. We still love your work (if not you, yourself), troubling warts and all.
