fear and hp lovecraft
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is Fear of the Unknown. – H.P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft was the forefather of modern horror fiction. His guiding literary principle was what he termed “cosmic horror”, the idea that life is incomprehensible to human minds and that the universe is fundamentally alien. Lovecraft’s protagonists usually achieve the antithesis of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality and the abyss. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity.
But what led an Old World, xenophobic gentleman to create one of literature’s most far-reaching mythologies?
LOVECRAFT: FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN is a documentary that chronicles the life, work and mind of the man. I haven’t watched the whole thing yet because, to be honest, it’s been a long day and Lovecraft just doesn’t sit well with long days.