# Initiate me into the world of H.P. Lovecraft **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212 "2003-12-01T06:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/21 "2003-12-02T00:11:07Z")
> [@](#): > > I think I’m particularly interested in this Cthulhu bloke. How do I know which stories he’ll appear in? The only Lovecraft story Cthulhu makes a personal appearance in is “Call of Cthulhu”. He is mentioned in passig and his statue, portrait, carving etc seen in most of Lovecraft’s other stories. Not surprising really. The return of Cthulhu should technically be the end of the world. ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/22 "2003-12-02T00:30:37Z")
Seince it has already been mentioned I will simply add my recommendation to _The Shadow Over Innsmouth_ which displays his talents. I have recently met a lot of people who actively dislike Lovecraft, mainly for his use of language, but suspect that may be because they have some difficulties in understanding his somewhat archaic terminology. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/23 "2003-12-02T02:40:40Z")
\*\* UnwrittenNocturne \*\* would you be so kind as to tell me those who actively dislike Lovecraft? I have some “associates” I would like them to meet. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/24 "2003-12-02T02:50:57Z")
I have no problem understanding his language. But I do find him actively boring. Strangely (much like JRR Tolkien) I find people inspired by his witting very good but the original source tiresome. And before anyone trots out that old “you just don’t have patience or you want to have everything jammed in your face” Line of argument give me a break. It’s not unreasonable to expect something interesting to happen before the first 100 pages and have the climax more then “they went inside lights flashed they came out all crazy…nobody knows what they saw for they never could remember, but they could never fully forget” crap. Having said all of that though I have to admit I only read Dexter Ward all the way through. I started another Lovecraft but never finished it. So if there’s one you think might be a better fit for me I’m willing to give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/25 "2003-12-02T03:02:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* > \*\*And oddly enough, one of the ones that comes closest is probably “Ghostbusters” (with the exception of the happy ending) \*\* I thought that _Dagon_ was doing pretty good until the last half hour to 15. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/26 "2003-12-02T03:15:13Z")
A lot of people aren’t wild about his hyperactive use of adjectives and his fondness for archaisms and British spellings, particularly considering the man never visited England. His ideas are quite good, though. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/27 "2003-12-02T03:21:34Z")
Thanks for giving Robert E. Howard some mention. Conan, Kull, Cormac and Solomon Kane. The Puritan Kane may approach the civilized person vs. mythical horrible evil. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/28 "2003-12-02T03:22:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Darkhold \* > \*\*I have no problem understanding his language. But I do find him actively boring. > \*\* YOU FIND HIM BORING!!! :mad: :mad: I WILL SEND DEEP ONES TO EAT YOUR CHILDR . . . curses, you live in Wyoming. You wouldn’t happen to be planning a vaction to the coast anytime soon? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/29 "2003-12-02T03:22:30Z")
Oh, and get used to the word “eldritch”. HPL loves it and the Lovecraft knowers like to drop it as kind of a password, as in “The eldritch leftovers waiting in my fridge to devour me!” ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/30 "2003-12-02T03:28:02Z")
And don’t forget “cyclopean.” ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/31 "2003-12-02T03:34:37Z")
> [@](#): > > **DreadCthulhu** > YOU FIND HIM BORING!!! > I WILL SEND DEEP ONES TO EAT YOUR CHILDR . . . curses, you live in Wyoming. > You wouldn’t happen to be planning a vaction to the coast anytime soon? Well I am planning a trip to Brazil in July. Can the deep ones take down a plane? I really wouldn’t worry about driving me insane/torturing/killing me living in Wyoming is a version of insanity/torture/death all in it’s own. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/32 "2003-12-02T03:40:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DreadCthulhu \* > \*\*\*\* I have some “associates” I would like them to meet. \*\* I would like you and your associates to meet Conan the Cimmerian on a professional basis. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/33 "2003-12-02T03:45:03Z")
AIP did three Lovecraft films of uneven success- DIE MONSTER DIE with Boris Karloff, from THE COLOUR FROM OUTER SPACE- not too good THE HAUNTED PALACE starring Vincent Price, w/ support from Lon Chaney Jr & John Carradine, from THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD- better THE DUNWICH HORROR starring Dean Stockwell, Sandra Dee (and PERHAPS a flash of her breasts), Sam Jaffe, and Ed Begley Sr, and perhaps the first screen appearance of Talia Coppola (Yo, Adrian!)- a personal favorite a late 1980s version of WARD starring Chris Sarandon titled THE RESURRECTED was damn good! ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/34 "2003-12-02T03:53:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*I would like you and your associates to meet Conan the Cimmerian on a professional basis. > 🙂 \*\* Sure - a nice snack that comes with its own metal toothpick. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/35 "2003-12-02T03:59:27Z")
**DreadCthulhu** In lost R’lyeh… You want phone numbers or addresses? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/36 "2003-12-02T05:23:46Z")
I recommend starting with The Festival. It contains the proper New England setting, dark practices from a vanished and evil age, and hints of unspeakable horrors. It also runs under 20 pages. It’s an excellent introduction to HP and the Mythos. One of these days, I’ve gotta post my ceremonial mask, the 2 Cthulhu statuettes I’ve made, and my Cthulhu Is Coming! pamphlet. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/37 "2003-12-02T05:51:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > Also, it’s worth mentioning that while Lovecraft has been mined for movies quite often, there isn’t a single film that successfully captures what Lovecraft is about, in my opinion. Stuart Gordon’s _Dagon_ comes close (but falls flat in some respects), and John Carpenter’s _In the Mouth of Madness_ is an interesting sideways look at some of Lovecraft’s themes, with a legitimately creepy ending. Still, the bottom line is, don’t bother with any of the various movies if you’re looking for a “Cliff’s Notes” version of the stories. Guillermo Del Toro is supposedly working on an adaptation of _At the Mountains of Madness_ that might be promising, but with Lovecraft you’ve got to go to the source. Incidentally–in case you’re a glutton for punishment–I believe there’s an annual [H. P. Lovecraft film festival](http://www.hplfilmfestival.com/home.htm) held in Portland Oregon. I went to this year’s showing (a friend of mine did some work on the soundtrack of one of the films), and the entries ranged from “not too bad” to “bloody awful”, with most of the films falling toward the latter end of the scale. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/38 "2003-12-02T05:51:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DreadCthulhu \* > \*\*\*\* UnwrittenNocturne \*\* would you be so kind as to tell me those who actively dislike Lovecraft? I have some “associates” I would like them to meet. \*\* Deepone Maifisos? [Tessio] “It’s a ediritch message. It means that the fishes are sleeping with him” [/Tessio] ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/39 "2003-12-02T06:28:29Z")
Back to the OP, I’ve got an anthology called Cthulhu 2000: A Lovecraftian Anthology that’s quite delightful - a fairly sizable group of modern writers exploring the of the Cthonian mythos. [Link](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345422031/103-8565524-9135064?v=glance) ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212/40 "2003-12-02T06:34:51Z")
Grrr. Now I’m digging out my “Best of Lovecraft: Black Seas of Infinity” to see if I judged this guy too soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/initiate-me-into-the-world-of-h-p-lovecraft/216212.md?page=3)