Thee Most Aweful Livelyness

One of the most common descriptions applied to the works of H.P. Lovecraft—especially by those seeking to refute the claim he was recounting ancient secrets—is that the magic is advanced science, that the gods are only powerful aliens. However, Herbert West: Reanimator shows, something survives death so the Mythos has some species of afterlife. Ironically, …

Lovingly Crafted Fictions?

H.P. Lovecraft at all times presented as a rationalist (albeit potentially drawing upon now-discredited science), and described his creations in terms of a universe with principles we could not understand populated with beings that are alien rather than divine. So—barring a deep and sustained deceit—he didn’t believe he was writing about occult truths in the …

Stonefish by Scott R. Jones

Jones summons forth abstruse theology in the language of dystopian thriller, creating the thinking person’s visceral cosmic dread. Years ago, tech mogul and futurist guru Gregor Makarios disappeared completely from public record. However, Den Secord, a journalist for a minor virtual reality publication, finds a fragment that somehow escaped the purge. Following a hunch that …

Macabre

I found this animated film both tense and aesthetically pleasing, with echoes of Poe or Lovecraft; and at just under twenty minutes, ideal for taking a short break. https://youtu.be/TcDs-CzOKXE

Call for Submissions: Outsiders Within

After years of reading cosmic horror and publishing books, I'm fusing the two like some eldritch phenomena. I'm looking for tales of cosmic dread about people with embarrassing secrets, hobbies they don't mention, and other things that make them different from what those around them believe. Full details here. If you know someone else who …

Pitch Black Gnosis

Theories disagree on why exactly cultists might embrace the worship of Lovecraftian beings, but a common thread is forbidden knowledge, insight into a greater truth beyond normal human understanding. But what if the opposite were true? What if true cultists actively sought the oblivion rather than arrogantly assuming they will avoid it? The gospels of …

The Call of the Void

Rather enjoying the cosmic dread in The Call of the Void podcast. Set in modern day New Orleans, the story follows Topher, a young man trying to save his father from a mysterious condition affecting him physically and mentally, and Etsy, a young woman who must confront a dark past and overcome the destructive forces …

Caterwinning

This struck me as a slightly different take on Lovecraftian audio books: a female narrator reading in modern voice. https://youtu.be/A6hBiue2q-o One of the biggest barriers to immersion I experience listening to audio versions of Lovecraft stories is Vincent-Pricing; while I love the performances of Vincent Price and can see the similarity in archaisms, the slightly …

Harlem Smoke by James Champagne

Champagne blends psychogeography and philosophy with pop culture and torture-porn to create a post-modern collage of Lovecraftian dissonance. Nearly a decade ago, Isaac Grimalkin (under the name of the Reznorian pseudo-group ‘Dunwich Posse’) released “Harlem Smoke”, a Lovecraftian horrorcore hip-hop album. Abandoning his burgeoning music career when murderers and suicides cited his work as “inspiration” …

Casey Douglass: Dark Ambient Review: Hastur

Those of you who've read Bloody Red Nose will already be familiar with Casey Douglass. However, what you might not have gathered from his deliciously distilled tale is that he shares my taste for Yog-Sothothery. So, it seemed a public service to ease you into the new arbitrary time division by mentioning his review of …