Happy Friday, kiddies!
Welcome to another October Pet Spooktacular blog post. In today's post we're going to be discussing Mr. H.P. Lovecraft and his mystical monstrous creation, Cthulhu. I've found the character of Cthulhu quite fascinating for a number of years now, (every since someone made a comparison to "him" with the monster from the movie, "Cloverfield"). After hearing the comparisons, and just by the sheer weirdness of the name "Cthulhu", I just had to find out more about this creature for myself. As far as HP Lovecraft, my first introduction to him came through one of my top 10, 80's horror movies, "Re-animator". Back when I first saw it, I didn't even know the movie was based off of the Lovecraft story, "Herbert West--Reanimator". The movie is pretty campy, but it was certainly effective enough in its horror to freak out a young kid.
For all you horror buffs out there, you're likely already familiar with Lovecraft in your own way; but for those of you not as well versed in this area, just who is H.P. Lovecraft?
HP Lovecraft and Cthulhu information, courtesy of Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft
Now just who or what is Cthulhu?
And what about the Cthulhu Mythos?
So, what are your thoughts on Lovecraft and Cthulhu? Have you already read any of his works? If not, with Halloween just around the corner, it's the perfect time to get started. I think I just might be joining you. To read more about Lovecraft and Cthulhu, click the links above.
That's it for now, join me back here next Friday for another Pet Spooktacular blog post, and tomorrow night for our "Monsters in the Movies" episode at 8pm Central on Google Hangouts.
Welcome to another October Pet Spooktacular blog post. In today's post we're going to be discussing Mr. H.P. Lovecraft and his mystical monstrous creation, Cthulhu. I've found the character of Cthulhu quite fascinating for a number of years now, (every since someone made a comparison to "him" with the monster from the movie, "Cloverfield"). After hearing the comparisons, and just by the sheer weirdness of the name "Cthulhu", I just had to find out more about this creature for myself. As far as HP Lovecraft, my first introduction to him came through one of my top 10, 80's horror movies, "Re-animator". Back when I first saw it, I didn't even know the movie was based off of the Lovecraft story, "Herbert West--Reanimator". The movie is pretty campy, but it was certainly effective enough in its horror to freak out a young kid.
For all you horror buffs out there, you're likely already familiar with Lovecraft in your own way; but for those of you not as well versed in this area, just who is H.P. Lovecraft?
HP Lovecraft and Cthulhu information, courtesy of Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror fiction. He was virtually unknown and published only in pulp magazines before he died in poverty, but he is now regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors in his genre.
Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he spent most of his life. Among his most celebrated tales are "The Rats in the Walls", "The Call of Cthulhu", At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth, and The Shadow Out of Time, all canonical to the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft was never able to support himself from earnings as an author and editor. He saw commercial success increasingly elude him in this latter period, partly because he lacked the confidence and drive to promote himself. He subsisted in progressively strained circumstances in his last years; an inheritance was completely spent by the time he died, at age 46.
Now just who or what is Cthulhu?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu
Cthulhu (/kəˈθuːluː/ kə-THOO-loo) is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft and first introduced in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu",[2] published in the American pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon of Lovecraftian cosmic entities, the creature has since been featured in numerous popular culture references. Lovecraft depicts Cthulhu as a gigantic entity worshipped by cultists. Cthulhu's appearance is described as looking like an octopus, a dragon, and a caricature of human form. Its name was given to the Lovecraft-inspired universe where it and its fellow entities existed, the Cthulhu Mythos.
Cthulhu (/kəˈθuːluː/ kə-THOO-loo) is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft and first introduced in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu",[2] published in the American pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon of Lovecraftian cosmic entities, the creature has since been featured in numerous popular culture references. Lovecraft depicts Cthulhu as a gigantic entity worshipped by cultists. Cthulhu's appearance is described as looking like an octopus, a dragon, and a caricature of human form. Its name was given to the Lovecraft-inspired universe where it and its fellow entities existed, the Cthulhu Mythos.
In "The Call of Cthulhu", H. P. Lovecraft describes a statue of Cthulhu as "A monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind."[10] Cthulhu has been described in appearance as resembling an octopus, a dragon and a human caricature, hundreds of meters tall, with webbed human-looking arms and legs and a pair of rudimentary wings on its back.[10] Cthulhu's head is depicted as similar to the entirety of a gigantic octopus, with an unknown number of tentacles surrounding its supposed mouth. Simply looking upon the creature drives the viewer insane.
And what about the Cthulhu Mythos?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify the settings, tropes, and lore that were employed by Lovecraft and his literary successors. The name Cthulhu derives from the central creature in Lovecraft's seminal short story, "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928.[1]
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify the settings, tropes, and lore that were employed by Lovecraft and his literary successors. The name Cthulhu derives from the central creature in Lovecraft's seminal short story, "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928.[1]
Richard L. Tierney, a writer who also wrote Mythos tales, later applied the term "Derleth Mythos" to distinguish Lovecraft's works from Derleth's later stories, which modify key tenets of the Mythos.[2][3] Authors of Lovecraftian horror in particular frequently use elements of the Cthulhu Mythos
In his essay "H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos", Robert M. Price described two stages in the development of the Cthulhu Mythos. Price called the first stage the "Cthulhu Mythos proper." This stage was formulated during Lovecraft's lifetime and was subject to his guidance. The second stage was guided by August Derleth who, in addition to publishing Lovecraft's stories after his death, attempted to categorize and expand the Mythos.
So, what are your thoughts on Lovecraft and Cthulhu? Have you already read any of his works? If not, with Halloween just around the corner, it's the perfect time to get started. I think I just might be joining you. To read more about Lovecraft and Cthulhu, click the links above.
That's it for now, join me back here next Friday for another Pet Spooktacular blog post, and tomorrow night for our "Monsters in the Movies" episode at 8pm Central on Google Hangouts.
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| H.P. Lovecraft, circa 1934 by Lucius B. Truesdell. |
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