Miskatonic University: Mythos 101 – HP Lovecraft appreciation month

I looked at my calender and realized an important person will be celebrating his birthday this Friday – now, he is dead, but I doubt that sould stop us having a good time.

HP Lovecraft

Since the age of seven – when Mother Metal brought me my first Goosebumps book – I’ve been a fan of horror literature. Having lived through one of the golden ages of horror films (the late 80s/early 90s) it’s no wonder I’m also a huge slasher film fan. I can’t explain why except to suggest there’s something positively DELIGHTFUL about escaping to a world more terrifying than your own.

When I discovered Metallica and started reading up about my favoirte album Ride the Lightning, one name kept coming up “HP. Lovecraft”. Cliff Burton spoke of him with revered tones, and Lovecraft provided the inspiration for Call of Ktulu – then one of my favorite pieces of music of all time. You’d better believe I wanted to read some, but alas, HP Lovecraft was not a name among the books at my school library. I requested a volume be brought in forthwith but the librarian had the malice of forethought to read some reviews and I was informed books of that nature were not appropriate for the library’s collection.

It wasn’t until my first year of university that I had my first taste of Lovecraft – a second edition of “At the Mountains of Madness and other tales” from the darkest depths of the university library. I devoured that book. And I understood what every horror writer I’d read previously had been lacking.

If you read a lot of horror novels, especially by the more celebrated authors, you’ll become familiar with the formula, and you’ll notice the point in the book when the characters feel the most fear is actually when you feel the least. The truly frightful prose – the chapters that creep you out the most – occur when the protagonist does not know the nature of that which assails him. Be it ghost, demon, warewolf or vampire, the book is terrifying UP UNTIL THE POINT when the assailant is revealed, and then it is no longer frightening – then it’s just a matter of time until the hero triumphs against this now quite silly enemy. When the creature is cast in the light of day, it suddenly seems less deplorable than the nameless, shapeless fear that it had once been.

HP Lovecraft is one of the few horror writers who creates the most terrifying moment at the point the creature is revealed, and the terror just rockets up from there – he manages to evoke something so horrifying its revealed presence actually adds to the fear, rather than subtracting from it. This skill alone makes him, in my humble opinion, one of the best horror writers of all time.

Although he died a pauper and wasn’t celebrated in his own time, Lovecraft left an unquestionable impression on modern pop culture. His influence pervades everything – from books, movies and RPG games to comics and computer games and geek subculture, and – most important to me – in music.

Cliff Burton wasn’t the only metal musician to embrace Lovecraft’s bleak outlook and otherworldly entities. Cradle of Filth, Behemoth, Morbid and Celtic Frost have all written material based on his mythos. Many metal bands have even embraced the Cthulhu mythos as an overarching theme, such as Necronomicon and the sci-fi metal hybrid Bal-Sagoth. Lovecraft is as much an influence on modern metal music as Black Sabbath.

In honour of one of my favorite authors, to celebrate the birthday of an incredible influence on horror writing, horror cinema and heavy metal music, and the fact that Steff Metal is now 1 year and over 250 posts old, I’m writing a special two-week series of posts all about HP Lovecraft, Cthulhu, Shoggoths and Mad Monks. I’m calling it “Miskatonic University: Mythos 101″.

Starting tomorrow, a new, tentacle-bedazzled article awaits you. Don’t miss any of the madness. I’ve got some real Eldritch treats in store!

Shoggoth Kisses for all!