Happy birthday, H.P. Lovecraft!
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear.”- H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)
Despite being a voracious reader, it’s only been in the past year or so, that I discovered the works of H.P. Lovecraft. I have no good excuse as to why it took so long, since once I experienced his wonderfully old-fashioned creepiness, I was hooked. I can’t recommend him highly enough.
But no worries, even if you’re not feeling it; if you’ve watched any horror or thriller or science-fiction media in any form since oh, the ’50s, you’ve already experienced the Lovecraftian provenance. In fact, his influence is so powerful that I suspect younger readers might find him corny, or a walking cliche, perhaps not suspecting that Lovecraft created the majority of those cliches in the first place.
He’s definitely not for everyone–at least once per story, his racism will make me sigh, leaving me disappointed that someone so talented, could also be so stupid–but for me, as a entrepreneur, who necessarily lives a life almost always on the knife-edge of high-stakes success…there’s something very relaxing in reading about things so far removed from reality. If you’re interested in getting a handle on Lovecraft’s oeuvre, this is an excellent choice.
“Who knows the end? What has risen may sink, and what has sunk may rise. Loathsomeness waits and dreams in the deep, & decay spreads over the tottering cities of men.”- ‘The Call of Cthulhu’, Lovecraft
I did say I enjoy Lovecraft, and well-written horror, in general, as a means of escaping, even momentarily, this our daily life, but then again, given the horrific 2016 presidential election cycle, some readers might already be too jaded…
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