HP Lovecraft Eldritch Tales

There are some writers whose vision is so powerful that they become the foundation for a whole genre. Walpole, Tolkien, Richardson, Poe, Shelley, Lovecraft. Many contemporary authors owe Lovecraft a huge debt for these stories.

They can be repetitive. Too often, the ending is, “…and then I went insane.” But the thing making the protagonist go insane is always interesting. Or deeply weird. Or would be terrifying if it actually happened.

These stories have something in them of what Kant might have called the ‘sublime’. You look out from some small space into a much bigger one; and what you see there isn’t friendly. Bigger ponds have bigger fish. Like a goldfish watching dimly as a blue whale goes by.

Frankenstein’s monster is a monster, sure. Dracula is a monster. A serial killer is a monster. They’re dangerous. But what about the monster that could destroy your entire world by accident?

I think Lovecraft wants to remind us that the world is real by reminding us that the world isn’t safe. Think about it. Are you living a rose-colored, solipsistic illusion? Are you sure? How can you be sure?

Well, if there’s something hunting you by night — something so weird you could never invent it in your wildest dreams — that’s a sign.

Imagine giving these stories to an ancient Greek. And mixing in among them some stories involving contemporary real-life science. I don’t think she’d be able to tell which was which. We’ve discovered and invented such weird things in the last hundred years! And terrifying things, too. Is there a shudder or a thrill at the strangeness of a Lovecraft story? You ought to feel the same about your own life, which is fully as fearsome and thrilling.

These stories have value in being able to make you feel that your own life is real and wonderful. Not despite their horror and strangeness; but because of it.

I should also mention the fabulous essay on Supernatural Horror in Literature. To go through from the beginning and read all the books he mentions would be a real education in horror literature. A fantastic guide to the genre, and a very interesting theoretical perspective.

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The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a fun, quickly-told entry in whatever the genre is that’s to Lovecraft as high fantasy is to Tolkien. In fact I think Lovecraft himself makes an appearance. The academic in me wants to mention the Anxiety of Influence.

The character of Tommy Tester is super well done. I particularly like him in fey mode at the end, full of eldritch power and uttering mysteries.



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