# Dear Lord, H.P. Lovecraft was one freaky looking guy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325 "2008-10-30T21:25:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/1 "2008-10-30T21:25:03Z")
It being Halloween week (the time of year when one should naturally consider the strange, the frightening & the ghoulish), and partly hoping to find some insipiration for a brilliant NaNoWriMo project, I googled H.P. Lovecraft to find out something about him. I’ve read most of his stories several times, knew a lot of the background about his life, but had actually never seen a [photograph](http://alangullette.com/lit/hpl/gent.jpg) of him. Whew. If he happened to be walking down the sidewalk in my direction, I think I’d cross the street the instant I saw him coming. You know the old trope about guys who write thrillers / horror books (Stephen King, James Patterson, etc.) look like nerdy doofus-es, while children’s book authors (like Shel Silverstein) looks like ex-cons? Well, it doesn’t apply in this case. Lovecraft certainly looks like someone who, when asked at a cocktail party what he did for a living, could answer “I scribe strange & unnatural tales of maleficient creatures hailing from the realms beyond mankind’s understanding,” and nobody would be surprised that he would say such a thing. Most likely, folks would think to themselves “Figures.” When somebody asked what he did for fun, people were probably surprised when he did NOT state “I stalk random strangers in the dead of the night, until I corner them in dark, unsuspecting places, where I mercilessly butcher them in cold-blooded fashion.” Lovecraft looked as if he’d had been staring at non-euclidean architecture for a tad bit too long. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/2 "2008-10-30T21:37:46Z")
You know, for some reason I always envisioned facial hair. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![ThisOneGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@ThisOneGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisOneGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/3 "2008-10-30T21:39:18Z")
Dude looks just like pictures of my grandfather from the 30’s, before he went totally bald. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/4 "2008-10-30T21:42:40Z")
He doesn’t look THAT strange…that’s just a bad picture. It has lousy contrast, so he has a gaping hole where his lips should be. Here’s another: [![](https://sacred-texts.com/nec/hpl/hpl.jpg) ](https://sacred-texts.com/nec/hpl/hpl.jpg) and another: [![](http://swordofgryffindor.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/h_p_lovecraft.jpg) ](http://swordofgryffindor.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/h_p_lovecraft.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/5 "2008-10-30T21:44:44Z")
Looks almost exactly like I imagined him, except my mental image has him wearing spectacles. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/6 "2008-10-30T21:50:39Z")
He was born on Easter Island. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/7 "2008-10-30T21:54:42Z")
Stand-up comedian was definitely out. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/8 "2008-10-30T22:02:27Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > Looks almost exactly like I imagined him, except my mental image has him wearing spectacles. Check my first link. And he was born in Providence, Rhode Island. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/9 "2008-10-30T22:04:22Z")
Why the long face? Actually, I think he was kinda cute in a quirky, world-destroyer way. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/10 "2008-10-30T22:05:53Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > He doesn’t look THAT strange…that’s just a bad picture. It has lousy contrast, so he has a gaping hole where his lips should be. Here’s another: > > [http://www.sacred-texts.com/nec/hpl/hpl.jpg](http://www.sacred-texts.com/nec/hpl/hpl.jpg) > > and another: > > [http://swordofgryffindor.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/h\_p\_lovecraft.jpg](http://swordofgryffindor.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/h_p_lovecraft.jpg) Still looks like someone who lured stray children away from the park with promises of candy. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/11 "2008-10-31T18:59:30Z")
To me he looks like THE quintessential, stereotypical New Englander. If I was going to pick somebody to play a New Englander in a movie I’d pick him. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/12 "2008-10-31T19:06:30Z")
Not really seeing the freakiness. He’s got a long face, but so what? I voted for Kerry. A lot of '30s photographs look rather grim; it was a more formal time. His hair is slicked down which may not look right to us now but was the fashion of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/13 "2008-10-31T19:10:31Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > His hair is slicked down which may not look right to us now but was the fashion of the time. “I was wearing an eldritch onion on my coruscating brown belt, as it was the style of those non-euclidean, insane times.” ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/14 "2008-10-31T19:15:57Z")
Another vote for not looking terrible–he has a slightly odd mouth and a big jaw, but that’s really it. I wouldn’t run screaming in eldritch terror or whatever. As a kid, he looks [completely normal](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Howard_Phillips_Lovecraft_-_circa_1900.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/15 "2008-10-31T19:23:12Z")
What happened to his mouth between childhood and adulthood? It looks like he has a big wad of chew behind his lower lip. I just tried jutting out my jaw (yeah, you make faces at the computer too and don’t deny it!) and I don’t get that effect. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/16 "2008-10-31T19:32:11Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > What happened to his mouth between childhood and adulthood? It looks like he has a big wad of chew behind his lower lip. A tentacle in there, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/17 "2008-10-31T19:33:42Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > What happened to his mouth between childhood and adulthood? It looks like he has a big wad of chew behind his lower lip. I just tried jutting out my jaw (yeah, you make faces at the computer too and don’t deny it!) and I don’t get that effect. It makes me think it’s a good thing he’s got his mouth closed, because he must be like Jaws when he opens that pie hole. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/18 "2008-10-31T19:38:22Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Stand-up comedian was definitely out. On second thoughts! [Peter Cook](http://swordofgryffindor.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/h_p_lovecraft.jpg) [HP Lovecraft](http://www.mediastorehouse.com/image/Peter-Cook_62355.jpg?mediatype=2&mediaid=62355&fitfill=fit&pvw=705) [_Now_ you are talking odd looking!](http://bluehydrangeas.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/edgar-allan-poe-1max.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/19 "2008-10-31T19:45:55Z")
I have to agree – I’ve long thought that Lovecraft looks weird. But he’s not the only one. As **Ivan Astikov** points out, Poe looks pretty damned weird, too. So, for that matter, does **stephen King**. They tried to hide it by having him angle his head and cup his chin in his hand for the dust jackret photo for **The Shining** , but King’s face looks a bit odd. Of course, so does mine. I’ve written a few horror stories in my time. Evidence for both assertions: [http://www.saugus.net/Contests/Halloween/1998/Results/Adult/First/](http://www.saugus.net/Contests/Halloween/1998/Results/Adult/First/) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325/20 "2008-10-31T19:51:12Z")
Agreed **Cal**. I certainly wouldn’t like to meet you in a dark pirates cave. If you’d had an eye-patch, you could have settled in there. No offense intended!😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-lord-h-p-lovecraft-was-one-freaky-looking-guy/470325.md?page=2)