Happy Birthday you Crazy Bastard!

H.P.Lovecraft would have been 122 today, and probably still kind of an asshole.  But, I love him. I also love this:

Making my reservations soon for NecronomiCon-Providence August 23-25 2013.  Check out more info here.

ZAM Book Review: The Spectre Bride

I may be pushing it to call this a book review since The Spectre Bride takes about 10 minutes to read.  I downloaded to my Kindle, although you can find it all over the net for free.  Also, check your ghost story anthologies: I bet it's in there.  Turns out I had two copies in my house!  Luckily, the $1.99 download is not going to bankrupt me!  I was turned on to The Spectre Bride by Noel Carroll in his book The Philosophy of Horror.  I can't get through The Philosophy of Horror because I keep stopping it to read his suggestions.  It was a lovely passage Carroll quoted about worms and corpses and brides that made me want to read The Spectre Bride.

 Poor girl, I am leading thee indeed to our nuptials; but the priest will be death, thy parents the mouldering skeletons that rot in heaps around; and the witnesses to our union, the lazy worms that revel on the carious bones of the dead. Come, my young bride, the priest is impatient for his victim.' As they proceeded, a dim blue light moved swiftly before them, and displayed at the extremity of the churchyard the portals of a vault. It was open, and they entered it in silence. The hollow wind came rushing through the gloomy abode of the dead; and on every side were piled the mouldering remnants of coffins, which dropped piece by piece upon the damp mud. Every step they took was on a dead body; and the bleached bones rattled horribly beneath their feet. In the centre of the vault rose a heap of unburied skeletons, whereon was seated, a figure too awful even for the darkest imagination to conceive. As they approached it, the hollow vault rung with a hellish peal of laughter; and every mouldering corpse seemed endued with unholy life. The stranger paused, and as he grasped his victim in his hand, one sigh burst from his heart - one tear glistened in his eye. It was but for an instant; the figure frowned awfully at his vacillation, and waved his gaunt hand.

William Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882) was a writer (and friend of Dickens) who dabbled in the Gothic.  The Spectre Bride was written when he was 19 (there is a question of authorship, but most seem to agree that Ainsworth is responsible.)  It is a classic Gothic ghost story that features "The Wandering Jew", grisly catacombs, rotting corpses, the Devil, and a ruined girl.  If it sounds a bit like The Monk by Matthew Lewis you are right on the money.  The Monk is my favorite Gothic novel.  It is a cornucopia of Gothic-y goodness. 

You can read The Spectre Bride and other great short horror stories at my new favorite website:

The Road To Great Cthulhu

 The Road to Great Cthulhu has the complete text of H.P. Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature.  Not only that, but it also has links and complete texts to every author and story referenced by Lovecraft.  This is why I haven't been watching any films lately! 

The Call of Cthulhu 2005

Who knows the end? What has risen may sink, and what has sunk may rise. Loathsomeness waits and dreams in the deep, and decay spreads over the tottering cities of men.

H.P. Lovecraft "The Call of Cthulhu"

Damn I love H.P. Lovecraft! When I read his stories I always feel as if I am slipping into a fever dream.  I can't read too much at once, in case I wake up in the middle of the night chanting in some ancient, unknown language.  One of his most famous stories is The Call of Cthulhu, and understandably so.  I mean, who doesn't love Cthulhu?  Regarded by many as "unfilmable", this story, published in 1928, features the great and powerful Cthulhu in his first major appearance.  Director Andrew Leman and the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society decided the best way to film it was as if it was being made in 1928.  Hence we have a black and white silent film that looks like it could have been made by F.W. Murnau.

There are a few reasons that I really love this film.  I have always loved silent films.  I love the look, I love the history, I love that they forced you to use your imagination. Plus, they look so damn cool!  Another reason I love this film is that it is perfect for Lovecraft's story.  What he writes is almost too horrible to imagine, much less see on the big screen.  The simple special effects, the emphasis on atmosphere, and the other worldliness of silent cinema just seem to fit Lovecraft.  I don't want to see this CGI'd to death and starring Shia LaBeouf.  I want to be left unsettled.  This short film was unsettling, but in that warm and fuzzy good way that horror hounds love.

The Call of Cthulhu is on Netflix instant play (best invention EVER.)  Do yourself a favor and carve out 40 minutes to watch it.  Just be careful that you don't carve out your eyes afterwards.  Lovecraft does have a tendency to drive one insane.......



Happy Birthday HPL!

When I read your stories my waking hours feel like a fever dream.  HP Lovecraft would have been 120  years old today, and still a cranky a-hole.  One of the most difficult writers to "like" but one that once you have read him, you will never forget him. 

More ATMOM!

I can't pick a favorite!  They all give me the warm and fuzzies.  Kill some time over at this site: LOLTHULHU

I love Lovecraft humor.

Lovecraft: fear of the unknown

Finally, the excellent documentary by Frank H. Woodward entitled Lovecraft: fear of the unknown is out on DVD. I have been waiting to see this since I first heard about it a year ago. The film gives you what you would expect: the facts of Lovecraft's life and his influences. But more to the point it give you interviews with Authors and Filmmakers who have been influenced by Lovecraft, including Neil Gaiman, John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon, Peter Straub, and my personal favorite, Guillermo del Toro.

I was particularly interested in Guillermo del Toro's take on Lovecraft since he is set (one day) to direct At the Mountains of Madness, a film I am sure is going to be so awesome that I already nominate it for "Best film of the Year" for whatever year he gets around to making it.

These Artists are not shy about expressing their love for Lovecraft, nor do they shy away from the more troubling aspects of his life including his xenophobia and anti-Semitism, issues that Lovecraft detractors love to bring up and Lovecraft fans continuously have to deal with. There is little "defending" of Lovecraft here, except pointing out the obvious fact that he was a product of his time. The film also delves into Lovecraft's involvement with "amateur journalism," which introduced him to a whole new world of like-minded individuals (reminds me of our blogging community) and his relationship with his Jewish wife, Sonia H. Greene. Interspersed throughout this timeline are in depth examinations of Lovecraft's work, including Dagon, The Outsider, Herbert West: Reanimator, The Rats in the Walls, and At the Mountains of Madness.

Add to this a collection of Lovecraft inspired art by the likes of Lee Moyer and Tom Sullivan and you have a pretty complete primer on all things Lovecraft.

I find myself, with great regularity, falling into what I call my "Lovecraft Obsessive Phase." For a good amount of time I will read, devour, buy all things Lovecraft until I find that I have to pull myself out before I lose all sanity. For me reading Lovecraft is like having a terrible fever. The hallucinations are fun but when you start to feel better you go "what the hell was I thinking?" But I love the crazy guy.

By the way, one of the best parts of the film is a section where all of the talking heads argue on how to pronounce Cthulhu. I am still not sure how to say it.