April 30, 2019 ▸ History, Myth & Folklore, People

Episode 382: H.P. Lovecraft: The Stars are Aligned

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In this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we check to see if the stars are aligned, chant Cthulhu Fhtagn, and explore the life, mind, and worlds of H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft was one of the most prolific and influential horror writers of the last century. Even some guy named Stephen King thinks so. However, Lovecraft’s horror is not typical, and it is often hard to follow and utterly alien, which is what makes it so amazing. If you’ve seen anything about the Old God Cthulhu, you’ve seen Lovecraft. That, and many other horrors of extra dimensions were dreamed up in his fevered mind.

Howard Philip Lovecraft was born to a moneyed family Providence, Rhode Island. However, when he was only three, his father went insane and was committed to a mental hospital for the rest of his life. This brought Lovecraft in orbit of his cold mother and aunts, and this didn’t do him any favors. In fact, he himself developed mental problems that kept him from graduating high school or attending Brown University where he was accepted.

Lovecraft was thought to be a writing prodigy, reciting poetry he memorized at two and reading at three. He wrote stories and studied astronomy by the age of six, and by eight or nine, he created his first alter ego, “Abdul Alhazred,” who would later become the fictional author of the nefarious Necronomicon. Eventually, his mother went mad, his grandfather died, and Lovecraft found himself in a strange marriage that his family didn’t approve of and broke, living in a bad apartment in Brooklyn.

Eventually, he got involved with a national writers group where he fostered the careers of several other authors (including August Derleth). He wrote thousands of letters and dozens of short stories, but he could never find a popular audience since his themes of madness and dense prose proved inaccessible to a general audience. He died (penniless) of cancer, and his friends pitched in to get his work published, so it would survive. So, from Dagon to Nyaralathotep, the Deep Ones to the Dagon, his visions are the most unique in all of horror.

What was his relationship to Harry Houdini? What drove his father mad? Why do we know he was a hardcore racist and white supremacist? How did Lovecraft say you actually pronounce Cthulhu (hint: you’re saying it WAY wrong)? Why does Brad say his rap name is Two Chins? Listen, laugh, learn.

Thorough if not ugly website: http://www.hplovecraft.com/

Good Summary of Major Works With Links: https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/23/17762378/hp-lovecraft-books-cthulhu-necronomicon-stories

Lovecraft for KIDS: https://kids.kiddle.co/H._P._Lovecraft