HP Lovecraft

[Neya]

Ive debating posting a thread on Lovecraft for a day or two now but cant seem to write up anything Im happy with, maybe this one will work out. Lovecraft is one of my favorite authors but I cant really nail down why exactly, it's hard to put into words. His stories and novellas involving what was later coined the "Cthulhu Mythos" are so expansive and epic, he makes all the otherwordly creatures and myths so grand and significant as compared to his human protagonists, and indirectly, the reader.

Lovecraft himself was a responsible part in the evolution of horror writing. While his stories may not have the emotional or psychological impact now that they did when they were originally written decades ago (1900-1935), at their time, they were very outlandish. His characters tend to be as realistic as they could be with their regards to the situations Lovecraft wrote about. When his characters lay eyes on one of the creatures he's created, instead of jumping into action to fight it or masterminding a plan of escape, most just go insane, pass out, or go into hysterics, which is likely what I'd do, but then again, Im a wuss, I do the same with snakes, spiders, and pretty much anything with more than four legs.

Most of Lovecraft's stories are considered public domain and can be found, downloaded, or read straight off the internet. A good site with numerous Lovecraft stories, although the sites colors make my eyes bleed, is : http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft

If youre interested in reading some classic, and different horror, check out some of the following stories:
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Whisperer in the Darkness
Beyond the Wall of Sleep
The Dunwich Horror
At the Mountains of Madness
and of course, The Call of Cthulhu

[doglips]

So Adam, are you going to propose or what.......

[Adam Balm]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I'm impressed Neya. I'm a big time Lovecraft fan, though I haven't read the stuff in years. Nice to have you here.

[Carolian]

It's funny, considering how much I love horror, that I never read more of Lovecraft's stuff. I read "Pickman's Model" when I was a young'n, and I dug it. Good stuff.

I'll have to check out those stories, though.

[thomasgaffney]

Even though Adam's sig has Peck with a rifle, I have to admit that I haven't read any Lovecraft yet. (I have seen bad Sci-Fi movies loosely based on hsi work though).

I will check out his stories once I'm done what I'm currently reading.

[jgraphix]

I just saw Lovecrafts adaptation of some witch story on Masters of Horror. I think it was the witch one. Was pretty good. Not too scary though.. just a great ambience of spooky and wierd.

[Adam Balm]

The biggest turn off for people trying to read Lovecraft is his intentionally purple prose. He has pretty much the densest literary style of anything outside of Finnegans Wake. It can get annoying at times, but it also has this hypnotic quality which is what makes his stuff such a mindfuck. I'd say to start with his short stories.

[thomasgaffney]

Thanks, Adam!

[Adam Balm]

And I'd just like to call everyone's attention to the newest edition of Cthulhu Sex, out this month:



Cthulhu Sex, Vol. 2, #22, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: C.J. Henderson, Lynne den Hartog, Sean Kilpatrick, Jeffrey M. Somogyi, David Williams, Chris Ringler, G. Allen Wilbanks, John Sunseri,Adam P. Knave, Patrick Thomas, and others.

[Neya]

holy sweet jumping ninja jesus...

words fail me.

[burlivesleftnut]

And I'd just like to call everyone's attention to the newest edition of Cthulhu Sex, out this month:



Cthulhu Sex, Vol. 2, #22, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: C.J. Henderson, Lynne den Hartog, Sean Kilpatrick, Jeffrey M. Somogyi, David Williams, Chris Ringler, G. Allen Wilbanks, John Sunseri,Adam P. Knave, Patrick Thomas, and others.

I love this magazine for the interviews.

[Adam Balm]

And I'd just like to call everyone's attention to the newest edition of Cthulhu Sex, out this month:



Cthulhu Sex, Vol. 2, #22, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: C.J. Henderson, Lynne den Hartog, Sean Kilpatrick, Jeffrey M. Somogyi, David Williams, Chris Ringler, G. Allen Wilbanks, John Sunseri,Adam P. Knave, Patrick Thomas, and others.

I love this magazine for the interviews.

I read it for the hard core MILF action:

[Neya]

haha

Check this out. Now you, yes you can have a plush, fuzzy elder god on your desk or one adorning your feet!

http://www.entertainmentearth.com/hitlist.asp?searchfield=cthulhu&x=0&y=0

I actually want that figure of Cthulhu (The Nightmares of HP Lovecraft thing), that is by far the best figure rendition Ive seen.

[DorkmanScott]

Lovecraft is great. I tried to read it when I was young (around 8 years old) and, as Adam said, the "purple" prose made it pretty much impossible for me to get any sense of what the hell was going on.

But now I've gone back, having found Dagon Bytes a few months ago in my search for classic works I don't have to pay for in a bookstore, and I love his work. Absolutely brilliant stuff, and some of it still quickens my heartbeat. I can't imagine the terror his work would have been able to create among contemporary readers.

[Chairman Kaga]

I love....er.....Lovecraft but I can't stand the film adaptations of his work.

[Shane]

Shadow over insmouth is one of the best he wrote. I love that story

[DorkmanScott]

Also, his work is available at Wikisource, with colors that are easier on the eyes.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

Neya iffa you over 40 there's a no way we gonna to be able to a hold Adam a responsible for a his actions, eh?

[Vegeta]

Always been a huge Lovecraft/Cthulhu mytho's fan. Always strange wild stuff. Did anyone else think the hell creatures in Hellboy are very Lovecraft based?

[Adam Balm]

Neya iffa you over 40 there's a no way we gonna to be able to a hold Adam a responsible for a his actions, eh?

[Neya]

Did anyone else think the hell creatures in Hellboy are very Lovecraft based?

Very much so, the future scenes had a very Lovecraftian feel to it.

Neya iffa you over 40 there's a no way we gonna to be able to a hold Adam a responsible for a his actions, eh?

[The Vicar]

Always been a huge Lovecraft/Cthulhu mytho's fan. Always strange wild stuff. Did anyone else think the hell creatures in Hellboy are very Lovecraft based?

Oh hell ( hah hah hah) yes. Very cool renderings as well. The images of a ruined earth with these tentacally thingys dangling down was pretty frakking spooky.

Always loved the version of Pickman's Model that Night Gallery did, with Bradford Dillman. And the Last Statement of Randolph Carter? Cool as well. Its a shame Lovecraft's stuff doesn't seem to get decent screen treatments... although Maria Ford hopping around naked in that one ( can not remember its name) was worth seeing. Schwiing.

[DorkmanScott]

"In the Mouth of Madness" was the most well-done Lovecraftian screen treatment I think I've ever seen. It's not based off any particular story, of course, but it nailed the tone of his stuff perfectly, I think.

[Shane]

they did good I thought on masters of horror but I never read that story

[CENOBITE]

I think the best part about Lovecraft is not so much what he writes, but what he leaves out. This leaves our own imagination to fill in our own horrors.

BTW, check out one of my Cthulu-inspired works here: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25018273/

[doglips]

That is BADASS Cenobite........

The tentacles are very cool.......

Anymore?

[CENOBITE]

Well, here is my gallery (if you are a member, sign in to see the nudie art) That's the only 'Cthulhu' inspired one, but feel free to check out the rest.

http://aopaul.deviantart.com/gallery/

[doglips]

Well, here is my gallery (if you are a member, sign in to see the nudie art) That's the only 'Cthulhu' inspired one, but feel free to check out the rest.

http://aopaul.deviantart.com/gallery/

Amazing!, Lesion is seriously good Dude.

So Giger, and McCaig? ( Cyber 'Nessa ) You like?

[CENOBITE]

Yup. Love Giger as well as many others. My bookshelf is overflowing with artbooks. Sorayama, Nirasawa, Bosh, Beksinski, Simon Bisley, Michael Manning, Katsuya Terada, Brom, Masamune Shirow, Range Murata... these are just the books I can see (alot are in Japanese).

[Neya]

That's good stuff! I actually ran across it when i was looking through deviantArt last week at some Lovecraft inspired stuff.

This guy's work blew me away: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/23238550/

He has another shoggoth pic of one crawling through Innsmouth, and links it to a "how i did it" forum post thats really awesome too.

[Azathoth]

I've tried to read Lovecraft. But i couldnt get into it because of all the ridiculous names

[bluebottle]

I've tried to read Lovecraft. But i couldnt get into it because of all the ridiculous names

zing!

I loved Lovecraft in high school, but i gotta confess, i didn't know what i was reading half the time. I've been meaning to go back to it, but i've got such a long reading list.

I agree that all the film adaptations have been pretty weak, but did anyone see the episode of Real Ghostbusters where they have to stop Cthulhu from being called up? It was awesome... They really followed the lore.

[CENOBITE]

I've tried to read Lovecraft. But i couldnt get into it because of all the ridiculous names

*rimshot* Did you join just for that joke?

[Azathoth]

*rimshot* Did you join just for that joke?

No, Azathoth is the only screen name i've ever used. But that was just a joke (and a really crappy one).

[Chairman Kaga]

I agree that all the film adaptations have been pretty weak, but did anyone see the episode of Real Ghostbusters where they have to stop Cthulhu from being called up? It was awesome... They really followed the lore.

That's the Collect Call of Cthulhu episode..pretty good. There is also another Lovecraft one where they got to Russia and in the end Peter has to throw their packs (set to explode) into a gaping pit of horrors he must not look at.

As for Hellboy Mignola's work is heavily Lovecraft influenced.

[DorkmanScott]

I think the best part about Lovecraft is not so much what he writes, but what he leaves out. This leaves our own imagination to fill in our own horrors.

Totally. Instead of describing what the characters see or what the creature looks like (which he still does enough for people to get an idea), he describes the effect it has on them and the horror it invokes.

I'll reiterate that if anyone hasn't seen it, check out In the Mouth of Madness. They handle this aspect of Lovecraft brilliantly.

EDIT: Also, I find it interesting how often, Lovecraft's creatures show evidence of almost human behavior (the Old Ones in At the Mountains of Madness, for example) in terms of the societies they erect and what they do with their lives. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest, but it is interesting.

[MacGuffin]

In case you're interested, here's a link to a trailer for a new adpatation of "Call of the Cthulhu":

http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/trailer.html

It was just selected for next year's Slamdance Film Festival, and it's done in the style of an old silent horror film. Pretty cool looking if you ask me.

[Neya]

In case you're interested, here's a link to a trailer for a new adpatation of "Call of the Cthulhu":

http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/trailer.html

It was just selected for next year's Slamdance Film Festival, and it's done in the style of an old silent horror film. Pretty cool looking if you ask me.

That trailer was great. According to the website you can snag the dvd of it for 20 bucks, think I have found an early Christmas present to myself.

I loved the last question in the faq

Q: Your Cthulhu puppet looks pretty cool. Can I have it?

A: No.

dammit.

Their online store is pretty cool too. The "A Shoggoth on the Roof" full length Broadway musical soundtrack is kinda scary though.

[Adam Balm]

Neya ever listened to Neil Gaiman's reading of Shoggoth's Old Peculiar?

[bluebottle]

who was the first artist to draw pictures of the old ones?

[Neya]

Neya ever listened to Neil Gaiman's reading of Shoggoth's Old Peculiar?

No sir

[TheBaxter]

hey HP, i love The Craft too... fairuza balk is HOTT!

wait, i think i missed something...

[Adam Balm]

I'll see if I can find it. It's hilarious.

[austenandrews]

I've been a Lovecraft fan since the late 70's. His work is equal parts creepshow and pulpy indulgence. I'm glad that he's gaining popularity again, though admittedly I lament that Cthulhu has become a one-word punchline. And I think the recent trend of "Lovecraft scholarship" is beyond hilarious.

[DorkmanScott]

What I'd like to see is some more "original" films that use the so-called Cthulhu mythos as a basis. Something like Clash of the Titans or, as I keep mentioning, In the Mouth of Madness (I think I'm secretly obsessed with that movie).

You know, a story that's original to the extent that it's not an adaptation of any specific Lovecraft story, but uses the basic principles of the Great Ones, the Old Ones, Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, Cthulhu "him"self, whatever, as the central concept. Using Cthulhu mythology the way a lot of filmmakers have used Greek mythology.

Hellboy sort of does that, blending Lovecraft and Christianity in a weird but interesting way. But I'd love to see a Hunt for Red October or Abyss-type movie with the characters discovering sunken R'lyeh.

[bluebottle]

But I'd love to see a Hunt for Red October or Abyss-type movie with the characters discovering sunken R'lyeh.

I'm stealing that.

[austenandrews]

But I'd love to see a Hunt for Red October or Abyss-type movie with the characters discovering sunken R'lyeh.

You mean, sort of like a modern adaptation of "The Temple?"

I'm okay with modern works referencing Lovecraft (Hellboy was a great flick) but mostly I'm hungry for a well-done version of an actual Lovecraft story. Hasn't been done yet, in feature length anyway.

[DorkmanScott]

But I'd love to see a Hunt for Red October or Abyss-type movie with the characters discovering sunken R'lyeh.

You mean, sort of like a modern adaptation of "The Temple?"

I see you've discovered my terrible secret: there's still a lot of Lovecraft I haven't yet read.

Can I still be part of the fanclub?

[CthulhuKid]

Sorry to revive a thread on near life support, but...

HOW HAVE I MSSED THIS THREAD???????

I hang my cephalopodic head in shame...

The Statement of Randolph Carter is my litmus test to people who claim to "Love" horror fiction. Just as Adam said (I think it was Adam) it's not what he gives you, but what he leaves up to your imagination. When I was in college we did a show written by Theater X out of Milwaukee Based on the Haunter in The Darkness. I believe it was called "The Unammed." I have NEVER been so scared by a play in my life.

I've spent the last 10 years of my life trying to figure out how to write a similar show based on the life and creations of H.P. Lovecraft(maybe this should cross reference the Cinematic Theater thread?). He is an incredible chracter in American Literature, and his haunting creations. WOW!

I'm sorry... I just... How have I missed this conversation???



Now to fly the geek flag high... anyone here play the Call of Cthulhu RPG?

please don't hurt me...

[Chairman Kaga]

I used to play CoC long long ago. I had looked forward to Dark Corners of the Earth but the PC release is still on hold supposedly.