People come upon HP Lovecraft in many different ways.

For some it came with the introduction ofHP LovecraftRPG.

The two most well known of these RPGs are Arkham Horror and Call of Cthulhu.

In any case, welcome.

IfNecronomiCon 2013was any indication, you are in good company.

Joshi writes of Lovecrafts fairly normal childhood.

Otherwise, he lived a fairly normal life.

Joshi talks about how Lovecraft had a few very loyal friends growing up in Providence, Rhode Island.

He loved learning and was intensely curious about the world around him.

He also declared himself an atheist by eight years old.

It was this intense interest and a love of writing that would lead HP Lovecraft to revolutionize American horror.

He began writing for these independent pulp fiction rags in the early 1920s.

He also began great friendships and great rivalries with his fellow writers.

Much of this can be seen in the letters he sent.

He eventually married and divorced.

At one point he lived in New York City but found that he was miserable outside of Providence.

He died at the age of 46 due to untreated cancer.

During his lifetime he never found mainstream success.

He also continued to harbor racial prejudice that can be found in much of his writing.

He would probably have been considered racist even in his own time.

And yet, in other ways he was incredibly progressive.

He was an outspoken atheist and a strong promoter of science.

But alas, we will never know what he could have been in his old age.

Lovecraft was in love with history and it is reflected in his antiquated use of language.

This language was considered old-fashioned even during his life.

Lovecrafts use of this language accentuates the ancient magic that his writings examine.

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But HP Lovecrafts unique style doesnt stem purely from his love of antiquated linguistics.

Lovecraft also had a unique style of description.

He uses a great deal of adjectives without ever painting a clear picture.

Lovecraft often writes about Elder Gods so hideous that a person would go mad if they saw them.

Lovecraft knew that the readers internal imagination was so much greater than the power of words.

In laymans terms, Lovecraft knew not to show the monster.

Showing the monster renders the audience capable of categorizing, compartmentalizing, and dissecting.

Lovecrafts genius is not allowing the audience to do that.

He only gives the audience permission to peak and then takes it away.

And he always implies that he is protecting us from the horrors behind the curtain.

Another major thematic element of Lovecraft is use of madness as a plot element.

Many of his characters that are exposed to various horrors become mad.

From his perspective, ignorance is the only thing protecting the human mind from madness.

And finally, one of the major themes of Lovecraft is the concept of cosmic horror.

In many of Lovecrafts tales, humanity is simply a speck of cosmic dust.

And there are creatures in the universe so old and so powerful that we are nothing to them.

Our existence has no meaning or reason.

And that is the horror of the cosmos.

Diving in, even when youre ready, may be a little daunting.

Here are the five tales you may want to start with in no particular order.

Time after time HP Lovecraft experts citeThe Color Out of Spaceas Lovecrafts best work.

It truly exemplifies the use of cosmic horror in Lovecrafts writing.

And it also refuses us a nice, neat, tied together ending.

It is one that should be adapted into film.

The Call of Cthulhu A strange series of events lead investigators to discover a cult worshipping ancient evil.

Cthulhu is probably the best known of HP Lovecrafts Elder Gods.

Cthulhu has made appearances in RPGs, geeky mash-ups, and in cuddly stuffed elder god form.

This story is really where our love of Cthulhu stems from so it shouldnt be missed.

This tale is incredibly compelling and haunting.

It brings out some of the worst fears regarding marriage, identity, and the occult.

It is a story that lingers with the reader.

This is the one of the longest of HP Lovecrafts tales.

It is a novella that has been adapted into the film The Resurrected.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth Whereas there exists a strange town where people arent quite what they seem.