"The Strange Case of Dexter Ward" and "At the Mountains of Madness" are frequently suggested as good starting places. The classic short story "The Call of Cthulhu" isn't to everyone's taste (the reaction is usually "what's the big deal?") although it is essential to the greater mythos. I got into it as a boy via a compilation of "Cthulhu Mythos" writings by writers who weren't Lovecraft himself. As I recall, the best of the Mythos stories were by Lovecraft's acquaintance August Derlerth. Even some contemporary writers like Joanna Russ and Stephen King have elaborated on the mythos, which as I recall, basically has it that there are interdimensional monstrous beings or "old one" whose origins are more ancient than humans can imagine, many of whom "lay dreaming in R'lyeh" until summoned or disturbed, whereupon they tend to drive people mad or just kill 'em, usually with attendant weird panic flute music, flailing tentacles, and much indescribable fear-weirdness. As the mythology has it, documentation and invocations were written up in an ancient text called "Necronomicon" by "the mad Arab Abdul Alhazrad." In the 1970s, a paperback version of Necronomicon was published that has since been republished in various forms. Somehow, many people have accepted this as an actual rediscovered document, rather than the clever publisher's device and hoax that I understand it to be. Some fans will argue with you to the point of ridicule that it really is an authentic document. Whatever ... they way that the general mythos plays out in your mind as you become more familiar with it is perhaps more significant than the quality of the actual writings. Lovecraft was an odd bird, a bit of a racist which sometimes comes through in the writings, prone to overwriting even in very short stories and fragments. You sort of have to get into the spirit of the works rather than the nitty-gritty, if that makes sense.
I see what you're saying. I've read some stuff Gaiman did with Lovecrafts stuff and that got me more interested than movies like Re-Animator (though fun) and Dagon (a sick guilty pleasure.) I'll check it out I ran out of books to read around the house and haven't been very inspired.
I too, devoured most of Lovecraft's stuff in my pre- and early teens, and it made a big impression on me. The french novelist Michel Houellebecq, who's a huge Lovecraft fan, wrote HP Lovecraft: Against The World, Against Life, which is a really great analysis of Lovecraft, and why he's had such a lasting impact on the genre. It's a relatively quick read (actually just a long essay), and could very well serve as a nice starting point for someone who's just diving in.
If you're interested in Lovecraft, this is a pretty cool resource. http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/index.html I haven't read his stuff since high school, but I might have to revisit it.
His paranoid racism was definitely buck-nutty (in his essay, Houellebecq goes a bit into what informed it), and it did rear its ugly head in his writing, at times. He's one of a very small handful of artists whose output I love while finding their personal views abhorrent. Bad Brains would be another example: love 'em to death for their music- changed my life, really- but their (HR's, mostly, tho the whole band is complicit) homophobic bullshit makes me sick.
Trailers are now officially online. Much nicer quality than the pirated versions. http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/11808/large.htm Yeah, ya gotta separate the artist from the art sometimes. Wagner, H.P. Lovecraft, Mel Gibson ...
well said...his homophobia is something I overlook from time to time...until I remember how crazy he is..
Now I am no way making general statements or stereotypes about Jamaicans or rastas but I believe their homophobia is cultural. It's also a form of paranoia similar to Lovecraft's racism. H.R.'s mental illness is something completely different. Don't blow no bubbles, dude.
I can understand the 'shock' of reading some of the writings but its was the times and the culture... I won't hold HP to todays standards and views.
Wow, well, I just wasted bucketloads of time reading this thread at work and now I'm hooked and intrigued. Never really read much Lovecraft, but I borrowed a recent production of Call of the thing I can't spell, which was put together by some Lovecraft fanclub, as a silent black and white old style film. Haven't got around to watching it yet, after reading this thread I may dust the dvd off as well as some of his books. Why did anyone like Host? the monster is amazing, but I thought it was an incredably odd film other wise. This film however has an amazing trailer!!! I'm excited to see more. Kind of a curious release date, if thats what it is, 18 January, post xmas rush just seems an odd time to release something.
I am getting a little bit tired of coworkers/people asking about the new 'godzilla' film as they call it
Maybe I'm completely out of the loop or it hasn't hit the UK yet, but this is the first I have heard of it.
Nobody I know has even seen this thing yet. My wife says she could care less, so I have no outlet but here for my hype-crazed excitment on this.
Don't get me wrong, I am excited about it but a lot of people who have seen the Transformers movie has said "whats up with the new Godzilla film" Hell the preview is all over the net and utube... By far its one of the few movies I am loking forward to besided the Simpsons
This shit looks insane!!!!!! Cannot wait! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3Oh8Msw4SM http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33332 Anyone heard of this Godzilla 3-D? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831387/
did you go to that panel? i was a little disappointed when jj abrams speech was only a minute long and all he did was reveal the poster and said it is in fact a monster movie. oh well, they gave away alot of cool shirts and the poster tubes they gave away has a couple that go for over $50 on ebay
If you haven't already, check this site out: http://www.ethanhaaswasright.com/ The art certainly seems to indicate "monster from space." Whomever got it into their head that this is going to be a Godzilla movie never had any reason to think it was. Just a lack of imagination. Giant monster MUST be Godzilla, right? BTW if you click on the star at the uppper right of the "was right" site, you'll see one of the reasons why some people are thinking of Lovecraft, although again this may be a case of assuming way too much based on little "evidence." Don't drive yourself nuts trying to figure out the space pod puzzle. If you click on the star to the left ... The "Ethan Haas was wrong" site appears to have been abandoned by the film company and is now being used by some huckster trying to cash in on the viral hype. Really stupid t-shirt design. It's not Godzilla and it's not a lion.
