The old gentleman from Providence

[Foxbat]

Just thought I'd stick my oar in
Whilst not being a great lover or reader of the horror genre, I have read one or two Lovecraft stories in the past.
It seems to me that, while his prose was not the most accomplished in the world, he has had a pervasive influence on many writers. Take, for example, Nigel Kneale (creator of Quatermass amongst other things). I don't know if he was influenced by HP or not but I certainly get the impression that he was (check out The Stone Tape - TV play about a house which eventually reveals an ancient and malevolent force that bears a distinct resemblance to Lovecraft).
It just seems such a pity that some writers seem to remain anonymous to the world in general - and yet leave a distinct and indelible mark on that world.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Indeed.


I've always thought 'Mountans' would make a great movie. it has the most visually compelling locale of all HPL's stories, and all that meandering about in caves , not to mention the aerial scenes, would make for some awesome eye-kicks.

Apparently, HPL was inspired by two things for this tale - Poe's 'Hans Pfaal' which this is a sort of sequel to, and Russian artist Nicholas Roerich's paintings of the Himalayas, both of which are referenced in the story, by the way.

OK, here are the details on that marriage of HPL's I've been talking about : she was calld Sonia Haft Greene, and they met 1921, shortly after HPL's mother's death, at an amateur journalist's convention in Boston. They seemed to have a lot in common, and finaly decided to marry in 1924. Their marriage was short-lived though - financial problems and HPL's family's discomfort with Sonia (who was a Russian Jew and several years his senior) seemed to lead to them being estranged, if not officially divorced. Sfter only ten months of living together, HPL moved into a single room in Brooklyn, as his wife left to seek employment in the Midwest; she thereafter returned only intermittently to New York.

Actually, the events do seem to parallel those in 'Doorstep' - the death of Derby's mother, his feeling of relief and the sudden unexpected courtship and marriage. However, it would seem that the story is as much a reflection of HPL's mixed feelings towards his mother as it is a rather bitter look back at his marital fiasco. In the story, Derby's bride Asenath who is actually posessed by her father's spirit, attempts to posess Derby. In the end, Derby is destroyed, but the narrator manages to thwart Asenath's evil designs. Perhaps for HPL, his marriage was as claustrophobic as his realtionship with his mother?

Anyway, we'll never really know, I guess.


Its interesting, by the way, how many of HPL's protagonists reflect his own character- withdrawn, bookish and frugal.

The Colour out of Space is one of my favourites, too, by the way - that atmosphere of cryptic, unrelenting horror is one of his finest achievements.

[Incognito]

Sincere thanks for that information, knivesout - I simply don't remember anything about his being married, but it brings "Thing..." so much closer to perspective.

[retroauro]

"That is not dead, which can eternal lie...
Yet with strange eons, even death may die."

I ll put in my two bits worth about Lovecraft.Hes an amazing writer and Pickmans model along with the the rats in the walls are my fav stories.And heres some trivia,The Necromicon is not a Lovecraft invention .There is actually a book called the Necronomicon by Abdul Alhazred and that is where the idea of the Outer Ones is derived from. You can actually buy an English translation off Amazon for 8 bucks .


Cthulhu fhtagn

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Heh, sorry. Any Necronomicon you may have bought is a hoax.

Consider:

There was no mention of this grimoire anywhere in the esocteric literature PRIOR to HPL's tales

HPL himself quite clearly says it is an invention

Some of the Necronomicons around have even been avowed as hoaxes by their creators, after the fact

I'd get into more details, but here's a cool link :

http://www.necfiles.org/dialogue.htm

[retroauro]

Hi,
I didnt buy the book.I just searched for it on Amazon and found some matching entries.I based my reply on some info i got off the web.Just check out this site http://www.digital-brilliance.com/necron/necron.htm.

Since the veracity of the source cannot be known,It might be a lot of drivel.But it looked intresting,so check it out .

[Incognito]

I remember the rats in the walls. In one of the houses I used to live in, it sounded like there were indeed rats in the walls. I kept thinking of the story.

Btw - a couple of times, when I was drunk, and people came round, I would make them sit and listen to me read "the Outsider" aloud. I don;t think I would try that nowadays.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Whoa. That must have been a supremely harrowing experience for them. Actualy, I've always felt HPL stories would be really good for reading aloud - when my eyesight goes, I should hire one of those TV voice-over guys to sit by my deathbed and read HPL stories to me.

[Incognito]

I'm sure that Partick Stewart could do a proper job of reading them - not Bri drunk late at night in his student days.

[SDNess]

Is Call of Cthulhu a literary novel? Would I be able to read it for English class?

I recently found out about Lovecraft and have obviously never read any of his works.

[I, Brian]

Call of Cthulhu is actually a short story/novella - but as for literary - really, that depends upon your criteria for definition.

I know one of my English teachers in school absolutely enthused about HP Lovecraft - but I'm not sure that other would have.

What sort of definition would you use for "literary"?

[SDNess]

Tons of books...but I will name the ones I've read this year:

1984
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Killer Angels
The Trial
The Stranger
The Pearl
The Old Man and the Sea
Frankenstein
Catch-22
A Tomb for Boris Davidovich
The Dispossessed

Basically, novels that have an agenda - something they want to say to the world - and can be analyzed. They are not just telling a story.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

http://www.themodernword.com/scriptorium/lovecraft.html

This link ought to help. It's a detailed article on HPL from a literary site called the Modern Word. It also has articles on Marquez, Calvino, Eco, and so on, so I guess that would suggest HPL's work can also be considered as literature.

I don'y know how much of an agenda HPL had, but he did have a very distinct vision of the world, a rationalist, atheist vewpoint and an idea of the ultimate horror of existing in a universe that really does not care about your existance. He embodies this feeling in the form of vastly creepy monsters from the interstellar voids. it might be a bit of a leap to say that, Cthulhu, say, is really a symbol for the indifference of the universe, but it is a possible interpetation. Anyway, the article in the link is written by someone far more qualified than I am to speculate on this, I hope it's useful to you.

[Yvienn]

Actually, I've read two books of HPL's novels, but I can't remember English titles. But I think it suffice to read even few of them and they will convey an idea of his works. For there are no original plots, complicated characters or vivid dialogues. I think the one thing that makes his novels attractive is the atmosphere. I can feel the atmosphere of the story very easily and after reading the book "observators out of time" (it may not be the right title, I just translate it from the Polish one) of over 500 pages, I was feeling, how to say, strangely. Like not in my own skin.

I don't know exactly if I like his novels. They seem very alike - and after having read many of them I had the impression that they actually ARE the same - and after some time one can be bored by them, but undoubtfully they have the specific atmosphere. And I think that in this matter HPL is the master.

There's no big gnarly monsters - just a disturbing uncertainly. Superb work.

That's why my favourite novel is "Dreams In The Witch's House" (or sth like that). There were no monsters in it.

Because I read Lovecraft when young, in those days when I read for fun and the acclumulation of knowledge, I can't comment on his technical aspects.

I AM young and am reading it for fun, but I'll comment on his technical aspects. It's not bad, but... the current repetitions of some expressions don't make a good impression. Perhaps he should have worked on his style, but it seems that style was not the most important think for him.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Atmosphere, definitely.

As to style - at least in English, I'd say he had a very marked and distinct style, even if it is not one that I'd recommend others to use. Perhaps this is something that does not come through in translation?

Could 'Observators out of time' be 'The Shadow out of time'? Here it is in English: http://www.templeofdagon.com/mythos/...woutoftime.htm