However, I think it's safe to assume horror writers spend a lot of time thinking about things; pondering the world and its ever present ills. That's where I have found reading about H. P. Lovecraft's life enlightening. Without delving into finer detail (which anyone can do quite easily), it has occurred to me that H. P. found the main thrust of his genius as a result of his discomfort with the world. He was a misfit, a trait largely fuelled by his difficult family life. He was uncomfortable with people, contemptuous of other races; only finding any real contentment for minor periods of his all too short life.
He died young by today's standards, unrecognised, and almost penniless. Ironically, he would probably have been a genre megastar today, high on the rich list, regularly mobbed by the countless fans who have come to appreciate his work as a horror fiction pioneer. The worlds he has created are on a scale opposite to those laid out in any book of scripture or scientific manual. His vision is rather the stuff of nightmares, of monsters so huge and hideous to behold, they would send an enquiring mind into incredulous insanity. Lovecraft's world is one of paranoia, of no inner peace, of existing with the perpetual Damoclean sword of impending destruction. Sounds kind of familiar doesn't it? Personally I have only yet dabbled in Lovecraft's work, but I intend to go deeper, and herein to record my excursions into the New England madness he describes so eloquently.
I suspect some would have found the man quite distasteful. Paranoia and racism play big parts in his work, often in the guise of the monsters he has created. Lovecraft describes himself as an outsider - also an atheist, which is quite interesting considering the thread of many of his written horrors lead toward encounters with god like creatures, far removed from any benevolent relationship with mankind. These are the 'old ones' - hideous and huge tentacled beings languishing just outside of our own reality. They are waiting for opportunity to punch through and destroy the insignificant species called mankind. These deities have their own followers of course; misguided, insane, ritualistic worshippers who seek to invite them back to reclaim control. It seems there is little room for non believers in Lovecraft's world.
In all this, I admit I am very much a Lovecraft amateur. I started my excursion into horror reading with more contemporary fare, like Stephen King, James Herbert etc, so I am going to have to adjust the literary palette somewhat for this work. Whereas Mr. King has used character and dialogue to create a realistic vista, H.P. relies on reams of dense description for effect, with hardly any dramatic speech employed at all. Pick up a Lovecraft story collection and skim through it to see what I mean. You are tempted to groan if you're not used to such rich prose; pages and pages of unbroken text lay before you. In this world of fast food, multiple distraction and quick fixes, it could seem like a daunting challenge.
Well, we are going to start with 'The Dunwich Horror'. I've no special reason for this choice, but I'm sure it will be a favourable one. This tale was written in 1928 and first published in the April 1929 edition of 'Weird Tales'. I am giving out the no synopsis here. I will reserve any comment until I have visited the terror of Dunwich for myself. Feel free to join along, if you've a mind. However, if you're of rather more cynical mind, maybe sampling a little Lovecraft might increase your creeping darkness . . .
next - 'The Dunwich Horror' review.
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