Rereading Lovecraft

Status
Not open for further replies.

Bartholomew

Comic guy
Kind Benefactor
Poetry Book Collaborator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
8,507
Reaction score
1,956
Location
Kansas! Again.
I just finished rereading Shadow over Innsmouth and holy mother of pearl, I'd forgotten how hard some of that story was to get through.

I'm gearing up to make a series of videos about it, and I just thought I'd see what the rest of you thought about the story.

The main theme of the story is that other is bad, scary, and evil. And it taps this button almost every paragraph. The entire plot of the story is relayed through two layers of first person voice, as if Lovecraft wanted desperately to capture some essence of Heart of Darkness, but it ultimately becomes tiresome and, frankly, a little silly, because every character the narrator talks to has a twenty-minute soliloquy about how creepy the town is. And the framing for the story is just... oof. We start by learning that he's traveling through Innsmouth on what is essentially an accident and has never heard of the place, and end by learning that he's descended from fish-frogs, is acquiring the dreaded "Innsmouth Look" and somehow manages to skip taking the oaths of Dagon to go live forever under the ocean.

And yet.

And yet, I got to that final line, where the narrator's overwritten voice suddenly works, where we get a sense of this insane blood-bound cultist slowly turning into a murloc, and walked away mostly happy about what I'd read.

The story has strange power. Almost nothing about it works, but that final line ties together the story, holes and pitfalls all, so nicely that reading about adjective-shadowed Innsmouth becomes a mostly pleasant memory.

How the hell does that even work?
 

Amadan

Banned
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
8,649
Reaction score
1,623
I just started reading the New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft - I hadn't read most of these stories since I was in high school.

Lovecraft gets a bad rap for prose style, but he really did have a knack for conveying existential dread that few later authors working in his universe have managed.
 

Calla Lily

On hiatus
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
39,307
Reaction score
17,489
Location
Non carborundum illegitimi
Website
www.aliceloweecey.net
Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn!

HP was a God-awful bigot and a snob. He clung to certain words ("eldtirch", gah) like the newest of noobs in love with their own cleverness. He overwrote. He fell back on plot devices that wouldn't fool a middle-schooler.

And yet I love his work. He is one of the few writers to scare me in broad daylight, and he does it by creating a creeping sense of "don't look behind you" that ramps up and ramps up until you jump straight out of your chair at the least noise.

Plus, he achieved my deep-seated goal: He created a character so enduring that 100 years (ish) later it's still being written about and pastiched.

HPL was one of the true greats, despite his many flaws.

<--eternal fangirl
 

Lhowling

Mischief Witch
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
295
Reaction score
17
Location
Connecticut
Ugh... I never was able to get into Lovecraft. It's not like I tried reading and I didn't finish. For just some reason, it hasn't worked out.

Is there a good story to begin with or does it not matter?
 

Calla Lily

On hiatus
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
39,307
Reaction score
17,489
Location
Non carborundum illegitimi
Website
www.aliceloweecey.net
I recommend any one of these:

The Colour Out of Space
The Dunwich Horror (Made into a laughably bad movie starring... wait for it... Sandra Dee. I think it's still on Nexflix. It has little to do with the story.)
The Lurking Fear
Pickman's Model
 

Okelly65

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Messages
134
Reaction score
5
Location
Tennessee
I am like Lhowling, It may be Sacrilege.. The horror, oh the horror. But other than one or two stories, I never really liked Lovecraft. I know, I know, the stoning will start at dawn.

let me add that the two stories I did like, creeped me out.
 
Last edited:

M.N Thorne

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 28, 2013
Messages
321
Reaction score
12
Location
California
Actually,

I never really enjoy Lovecraft as much as I enjoyed other writers such as Stoker. Lovecraft's stories are quite stalked in their racist and sexist content. However, I must say that I am interested in his monsters more than his viewpoints. Unlike most people, I believe that readers should read all of Lovecraft's works in order to understand him more. As someone of African descent, reading his mind-blowing racist poem "Creation of N-words" help me understand how he thought about non-white and non-Anglo-Saxon people. However, his racist views are no different than those of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Bram Stoker. If you read either " Lair of the White Worm" by Stoker or any story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, then you will see deep racist and colonialist view points that were typical in their day. However, Lovecraft, took it one step forward by being bold and daring in his racism. He did not back down from his beliefs. He even called his cat "n-man" and most of his non-human characters are often based on his racist views of non-whites. Think about that goddess "Shub-Niggurath" in his stories seems to be his views of black Americans and their spiritually. He seems to think that everything that is "black" is evil. At least, he was honest and truthful about his racist beliefs.
 
Last edited:

Haggis

Evil, undead Chihuahua
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Messages
56,217
Reaction score
18,303
Location
A dark, evil place.
Lovecraft gets a bad rap for prose style, but he really did have a knack for conveying existential dread that few later authors working in his universe have managed.
The Lily knows I'm not a Lovecraft fan, yet we manage to coexist. So far. Right, Lily?

Put down the knife.

There are lots of reasons not to love Lovecraft. But he does what Amadan says he does. His writing conveys the feeling of horror far better than most others I've read. It's exceptional, really. Then there are his plots and his stories. Plus the damn cats. Can't stand the damn cats.

I guess to my mind, he was one of those rare wordsmiths you see only every so often, but he couldn't tell a story to save his life.
 

Calla Lily

On hiatus
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
39,307
Reaction score
17,489
Location
Non carborundum illegitimi
Website
www.aliceloweecey.net
What the Chihuey said.

HPL was, I can't say it enough, deeply flawed. Yet his stories creep me out despite all their OMGWTFBBQ racist, sexist, head-up-the-ass moments. In much the same way, I still like Christie's And Then There Were None, despite several places where I have to put it down for a moment when I read certain sentences.
 

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 26, 2005
Messages
23,708
Reaction score
10,657
Location
In a world of my own making
Website
shadowferret.wordpress.com
I tried. I really did. I knew I was supposed to love and revere Lovecraft in the same way as Poe or Stoker, but I couldn't. His stories read like outlines. The characters seem one-dimensional. And his dialog, what little there is, seems stilted. He was more of an idea man, with a great imagination, but didn't strike me as a good storyteller. Lovecraft's best stories were written by others as the Cthulhu Mythos.
 

Bartholomew

Comic guy
Kind Benefactor
Poetry Book Collaborator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
8,507
Reaction score
1,956
Location
Kansas! Again.
I am like Lhowling, It may be Sacrilege.. The horror, oh the horror. But other than one or two stories, I never really liked Lovecraft. I know, I know, the stoning will start at dawn.

The only Lovecraft fans I've ever met who'd stone you for that were what I call tertiary fans--they liked Lovecraftian stuff, but they hadn't actually read any of his stuff.
 

Haggis

Evil, undead Chihuahua
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Messages
56,217
Reaction score
18,303
Location
A dark, evil place.
I tried. I really did. I knew I was supposed to love and revere Lovecraft in the same way as Poe or Stoker, but I couldn't. His stories read like outlines. The characters seem one-dimensional. And his dialog, what little there is, seems stilted. He was more of an idea man, with a great imagination, but didn't strike me as a good storyteller. Lovecraft's best stories were written by others as the Cthulhu Mythos.
What Ferret said.

Except I didn't really care for the Cthulhu Mythos either. I don't like Russian novels or names I can't pronounce. So sue me.

Going back to what M.N. said, you'll find other bigots in literature. Most of them are a product of their time. I can deal with them. To my mind, HPL lagged way behind the pack. That has nothing to so with his writing ability, of course, just his standing as a human being.
 

C.bronco

I have plans...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 3, 2006
Messages
8,015
Reaction score
3,137
Location
Junior Nation
Website
cynthia-bronco.blogspot.com
In The Mouth of Madness was an awesome cinematic tribute to H.P., btw, and scared me silly. We all gravitate to different things, but I can't pick a single Lovecraft work that did't give me the willies. I love the concepts of his work, and he is an original who paved the way for many.
 

Lhowling

Mischief Witch
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
295
Reaction score
17
Location
Connecticut
What Ferret said.

Except I didn't really care for the Cthulhu Mythos either. I don't like Russian novels or names I can't pronounce. So sue me.

Hahahahaha! I feel the same way! I still want to try reading one of the books Calla Lily recommended (thank you for that, btw). Ugh. But this whole Cthulhu thing is a turn off. Nevertheless I will give one of his stories a try... maybe...

Sidenote to those of you who have read Lovecraft, I was checking darkmarkets.com for next year's submissions and there were at least two or three that were all about Lovecraft themed. :evil
 

Okelly65

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Messages
134
Reaction score
5
Location
Tennessee
ah yes, russian novels, 12 thousand pages filled with people whose names you can't pronounce doing nothing of consequence till some one's aunt dies five pages before the end. Truly classic horror. Death by tedium. "the pit and Tolstoy":D
 

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!
Kind Benefactor
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Messages
9,907
Reaction score
1,834
Location
Hiding in my writing cave
Website
www.cathyclamp.com
LOVE Lovecraft! My favorites:
The Rats In The Walls
At the Mountains of Madness
The Colour out of Space
The Dunwich Horror

Lovecraft is an acquired taste. He's very wordy in our current era of much tighter writing. But I do love to loll among his images. :)
 

Calla Lily

On hiatus
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
39,307
Reaction score
17,489
Location
Non carborundum illegitimi
Website
www.aliceloweecey.net
Hahahahaha! I feel the same way! I still want to try reading one of the books Calla Lily recommended (thank you for that, btw). Ugh. But this whole Cthulhu thing is a turn off. Nevertheless I will give one of his stories a try... maybe...

Sidenote to those of you who have read Lovecraft, I was checking darkmarkets.com for next year's submissions and there were at least two or three that were all about Lovecraft themed. :evil


They're all short stories. No long commitments. :)
 

Jamesaritchie

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
27,863
Reaction score
2,311
ah yes, russian novels, 12 thousand pages filled with people whose names you can't pronounce doing nothing of consequence till some one's aunt dies five pages before the end. Truly classic horror. Death by tedium. "the pit and Tolstoy":D

Now that's sacrilegious. I haven't found a Russian novel that I didn't love.
 

Jamesaritchie

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
27,863
Reaction score
2,311
For me, Lovecraft is a lousy writer, even by standards of his time, but one who tells wonderful stories. Sometimes saying the right thing is more important than how you say it, and I think this is the case with Lovecraft.

I think there's good reason he wasn't widely recognized while still alive. Every other writer of the time was better, and I think most of his reputation now is based not on his writing, but on what others have pulled from his stories.

But there is no doubt he's very good at the "creep out" factor, and because of this, he's still well worth reading, as long as you don't let his "style" interfere with your own.
 

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
Messages
3,732
Reaction score
669
Location
Canada
Website
www.williammeikle.com
ah yes, russian novels, 12 thousand pages filled with people whose names you can't pronounce doing nothing of consequence till some one's aunt dies five pages before the end. Truly classic horror. Death by tedium. "the pit and Tolstoy":D

Ah yes, American novels. 100 pages of people lighting cigarettes and spitting using words you can't pronounce before getting shot and somebody's sister gets pregnant before the end. Death by tedium. "The Old Fart of the Sea" :)
 

Okelly65

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Messages
134
Reaction score
5
Location
Tennessee
Ah yes, American novels. 100 pages of people lighting cigarettes and spitting using words you can't pronounce before getting shot and somebody's sister gets pregnant before the end. Death by tedium. "The Old Fart of the Sea" :)
yes, but you dont suffer as long reading ours :D
 

Haggis

Evil, undead Chihuahua
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Messages
56,217
Reaction score
18,303
Location
A dark, evil place.
Ah yes, American novels. 100 pages of people lighting cigarettes and spitting using words you can't pronounce before getting shot and somebody's sister gets pregnant before the end. Death by tedium. "The Old Fart of the Sea" :)
*steals idea and begins writing the next great American novel*
 
Status
Not open for further replies.