My latest graphic novel I finished reading was H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror. It retells two of Lovecraft’s stories: Dunwich Horror & The Hound. I’m a fan of H.P. Lovecraft ever since my brother introduced me to the board game Arkham Horror. I wanted to write why I enjoy Lovecraft’s work, but also highlight his importance to the horror genre.
D&D Inspired by Lovecraft’s tales
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born in August of 1890 in Providence, Rhode Island. Side note: I did try and drive around Rhode Island in May to find his house and I wasn’t successful. Both of Lovecraft’s parents suffered from mental illness; his father had a breakdown while his mother struggled with depression. This could have easily inspired his stories about untold horrors and losing your sanity.
Spending my 21st Birthday (August 2015) playing Arkham Horror with the boyfriend and my brother.
Lovecraft is considered the inventor of “Cosmic Horror” which combines our world with other worlds with demonic creatures and darkness from the outside. Most of Lovecraft’s stories were short novellas as his most famous story is the “Call of Cthulhu” published in Weird Tales in 1928. Cthulhu is described as a combination of an octopus, dragon and a human. Cthulhu has recruited followers who blindly follow him into the destruction of Earth. Cthulhu is usually found in almost all the board games based off of Lovecraft’s stories including Arkham Horror.
Ultimately like most authors, Lovecraft struggled with financial stress and most of his work became more famous after he died which is rather unfortunate. Stephen King cited Lovecraft as the “twentieth century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale”. This isn’t surprising as when I think of King’s story It, I see lots of inspiration from Lovecraft.
I enjoy reading Lovecraft’s short stories because of how he describes the fear of the unknown. I imagine being in that story trying to get a grip on this creature that has no scientific explanation of why it exists. Humans fear the unknown and Lovecraft delves on that in each of his tales. It’s horrific to think if you saw a creature with no known existence and try to explain that to someone else. They would think you are losing your mind. I would rather go on a roller coaster any day of the week than try and fight Cthulhu.
There’s a downside to enjoying Lovecraft’s work and that’s because of his abhorrent racist values. I’m not qualified into delving into that topic, but Twin Cities Geek posted an article written by Bryan Thao Worra about how Lovecraft held racist values. This article is interesting as it talks about how writers of color can be fans of Lovecraft without forgetting about his views. This is a downside of Lovecraft’s work and I wish this wasn’t the case.
I hope this helps if you have ever wondered what’s with all the Cthulhu references or how Lovecraft’s influence has impacted horror novels. If you have ever considered reading his stories, you can pick up a collection at Barnes & Noble or purchase the IDW Comic The Dunwich Horror which gives you a preview of what Lovecraft’s stories are like. Also I cannot recommend Arkham Horror enough it’s the perfect game to play in October. If you have anything else you would like to add about Lovecraft’s contributions, I would love to hear it in the comments section below.
Bizarre Brunette 
I’ve considered checking out Lovecraft for a while. I think i’ll read one of his stories soon, thanks!
I love Arkham Horror too. My friends and I usually fail miserably and are destroyed by the monsters, but we have fun doing it LOL
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Shauna, I would recommend Shadows over Innsmouth as one of my favourites. Though there are loads of good ones.
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Thanks John!
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Arkam Horror is a superfun game to play…but addmittedly, I like Eldritch Horror even better. If you haven’t played it yet, I highly recommend it 😊😊
I also love the lovecraft mythology and have been really looking forward to reading some of his books myself. Only factor, as always, is time 😊😊
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King in Yellow, King in Yellow! Did you know AH is getting a 3rd edition? Announced at Gencon or something like that.
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There is some things that I try to deny, or ignore….that said…..
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Yes I already heard about it, saw a video from it, and my wallet has heard about it too. Won’t stop me from probably buying it anyway though 😂😂Thank you 😊😊
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YESSSS I must purchase that.
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I have played Eldritch Horror too, it’s still fun. You definitely should!
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Lovecraft is fantastic fiction, and actually I have never read the Dunwich Horror so I might need to pick up the graphic novel. Or go back to the 1300 page tome of his complete works that I found in a book shop a few years back. His work can be hard going at times but it is enjoyable. I always liked the ways in which he distanced the reader from the event, making them seem more and more mysterious or dreamlike. (A person recounts to the shrink in the asylum what they read in journal was one, for instance). I also liked the Monster shaped in the plots of various of his stories. You never quite see the horror, only its wake and effects. I always thought that was really good. His stories are also a good inspiration for rpg…
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I love doing a Call of Cthulhu one shot. Perfect for Halloween
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Aren’t all Call of Cthulhu games One Shots? I certainly don’t remember surviving much longer than that in any game…
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Not necessarily.
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Yeah I was just jesting. I did survive to partway through a second game once before i was affected by the crazy
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The extent f my Lovecraft knowledge was all board game related haha cool to get a little bit more info on him.
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Yeah! There is a lot to learn about Lovecraft
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You can’t appreciate Lovecraft through a comic. The beauty of hpl is encrypting the unspoken terrors and beautifully written descriptions
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I think what’s nice about the comic is being able to fully understand Lovecraft’s stories and have illustrations along side them.
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I can agree – because many stories I had to reread many times in order to understand. I would recommend reading the text first to formulate your own imagination. It’s sorta like reading the book before the movie
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For sure! I read the original tales first.
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Also – H.P. podcract on podcasts has a ton of cool content. Plus hosts are great
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I’ll have to check that out, thanks for the recommendation!
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Podcraft*
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My favourite stories of his keep changing, but one that I’ve always loved is “The Doom That Came To Sarnath.”
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I’m not sure if I read that one, it doesn’t seem familiar to me.
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It’s part of his “dream” sequence. It’s a very short story. There are really excellent readings of it on YouTube if you’re interested? 😊
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I have this game and it’s an amazing play especially with the add-ons, I think it really brings a bit of life to Lovecraft’s work
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It does a really good job at bringing in people who weren’t originally a fan of his work into his universe.
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