© Pierre Maré,
2004 - 2007
Offbeat 109
Aside from being chased around a seedy hotel by a couple of inbred maniacs wielding meat cleavers and shotguns, my birthday was a wonderful day. I had some difficulty pushing the cupboard in front of the door and couldn’t make it to the window in time, so I picked up a couple of ugly wounds. It was incredibly frustrating.
The game I was playing, a much appreciated gift from my wife, is called ‘Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth’. It is based primarily on HP Lovecraft’s novella, ‘The Shadow Over Innsmouth’. It also references his short story, ‘The Call of Cthulhu’. The game has a very cinematic quality, with a good storyline that can be followed from beginning to end through various plot points.
‘Call of Cthulhu’ adds to
the gaming genres: instead of rushing around shooting, it is easier to
play through by hiding and / or running away. Game critics have named
the new genre ‘horror survival’. And as if that is not enough
it features really innovative insanity effects. If you look too long at
a corpse or induce vertigo by staring over too high a balcony, the screen
visuals blur and mouse movement becomes erratic. In these instances, you
need to maneuver to a place of safety in order to regain control of your
senses. Wow!
But best of all, it draws on HP Lovecraft.
There is a mistaken belief that Edgar Allen Poe and Ambrose Bierce fathered the modern horror genres. And it is also easy to believe that Steven King is the greatest horror writer of all time, if only based on his presence in bookstores. But actually HP Lovecraft fathered the modern horror story, and there has been no self-respecting horror writer who has been willing to accept any challenge to Lovecraft’s widely acknowledged status as ‘the greatest horror writer’.
HP Lovecraft lived a short life, from 1890 to 1937. He never had any major successes, and was not widely acknowledged as a great author. He was prolific though. Aside from his many short stories and letters, he was ghost writer for a number of other writers, and his output of letters is estimated at a remarkable 87,500 letters.
He is best know for the Cthulhu ‘mythos’, a group of stories that developed their own mythology. Aside from the ‘Deep Ones’ and ‘The Elder Gods’, beings that included Cthulhu, an octopoid like being and Yog Sothoth, luridly described as ‘the goat with a thousand young’, he is also extremely well known for his creation of Abdul Alhazred, and the book, ‘The Necronomicon’ which drove its readers mad.
Only after his death did recognition come to him. Today the Cthulhu ‘mythos’ is used as a setting for plots by virtually all horror authors. It has also inspired movies, rock bands, artists, and makers of games. In fact, with the exception of the more traditional themes such as vampires, werewolves and zombies, much of the horror genre stems from his ideas and themes. Remember the movie, ‘Alien’? That too. And you can find references to Lovecraft in the first Star Trek series, ‘The Simpsons’, Terry Pratchett, and a large number of Steven King’s works.
What more is there to say about HP Lovecraft? Perhaps that if you want to know what horror writers read when they want to be scared, you need look no further than Lovecraft. There’s the fun thought for the week.
Beyond that, this column is a probably a needless tribute to a writer who has been eulogized by just about everybody. But I get a sense of satisfaction from recognizing the things that are important to me. And a sense of justice in repeating the fact that, though unrecognized in his lifetime, he is the greatest of the horror writers to date.
What’s in it for you? If you are a horror fan, make sure to get hold of his works. Due to a messy will, his works can be read in their entirety all over the web.
As for me, I have a game waiting, and it is late enough to call it a night as I write this. Time to put aside my more mundane fears about work and life, and spend a few more minutes on the game.
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