The Lovecraft Geek

"The Temple" by H.P. Lovecraft Read by Robert M. Price

"Dagon" by H.P. Lovecraft Read by Robert M. Price

Might the success of “The Colour out of Space” both as one of my favorite stories and as one of the most popular could be due to its relative independence from the other stories, which it barely references, unburdened by the whole mythos? Do you feel that the horror genre is too formulaic? Or does this help the audience play along and enjoy it more? Please tell us about the first time you read the Dream Quest stories and what your initial thoughts were. Would you mind discussing your Necronomicon chapter of your Holy Fable volume IV, what led to your drafting it, and your thoughts on it in general? When did Lovecraft's influence upon English authors begin? Did Lovecraft know French and German, or any foreign languages? Latin , perhaps ? To what extent do you think the death of his father, grandfather, and mother informed his ideas about cosmic indifference and a universe that does not respect human ideas of natural order? In “The Shadow over Innsmouth” why is the Esoteric Order of Dagon dedicated to "Dagon", and not some other fish-man god? Or to one of Lovecraft's unpronounceable invented alien names? After the hero escaped Innsmouth and told the authorities, why did they believe his story? Why not just dismiss him as a nut? After the fish people contacted him later, inviting him to join them, promising immortality and no punishment for all the trouble he'd caused why did he believe them? The most famous quote from the Necronomicon is, of course, "that is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die." Do you have an idea of what a more literal translation of the Necronomicon might have said?

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is also one of my favorite tales, but I am confused about its ending. While exploring Curwen’s underground laboratory, Dr. Willet inadvertently calls up a being that was in jar 118. Who or what was that? Also, he makes a discovery in Charles’ room, and then calls for wood for a fire. My guess is that he found Charles’ body, and then cremated it to obtain its ‘essential saltes.’ He then raised it to find out how to defeat Curwen. Is this correct? Also, Willet mentions to Curwen that his European partners in crime, Orne and Hutchinson, were destroyed or dealt with somehow. Did he call something up to do this? In Robert E. Howard’s writings and worlds how much of the Mythos creeps in? Are there elder gods and unknown horrors at the edges of the worlds of Conan, Red Sonja, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, etc? Do any of these sword and sorcery types ever run up against them? How well do you think REH's horror compares? Did he get cosmic horror? Isn’t it sort of silly that Wilbur Whately, a nine-foot-tall prodigy who stalks about in public with a pistol at the ready, is done in by a dog?

In Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy, Graham Harman argues that Lovecraft's description of the Elder Things is intended to be nearly impossible to visualize. But hasn’t it been done by various artists? Do you know if H.P. ever said something explicit about Poe's influence on him? Perhaps a "Nodens Cycle" book is impossible due to the lack of material, but I wondered if you could help me flesh out his development as a Mythos entity and as a product of Lovecraft's thought-process. Of all ocean gods in human mythology, why would Lovecraft emphasize Nodens in two stories? Was Lovecraft merely honoring Machen by using that name? And why do you suppose Nodens is connected with the Night-gaunts? Two arguments for using Antarctica as the setting for a film version of At the Mountains of Madness. I was wondering if you could discuss John Carpenter's 1982 film "The Thing"? What are your overall thoughts on it, and can you comment on the Lovecraftian elements of the plot, setting, ending etc. Also, what are your thoughts on the prequel film (if you've seen it), also titled "The Thing" (2011).   If HPL lived today, after the discovery of extra-solar habitable planets, would he have changed his belief that there are no alien races out there? Why did HPL, once a fan of Burroughs, turn away from him? Have you ever had a chance to read through HPL's letters? If so did you ever find anything in them that surprised you or altered your basic assumptions and views of the man?

Considering the current political climate, have you ever experienced a professional backlash for not being political correct enough? Where in Lovecraft’s letters does he mention “the Black Seal of Iraan”? Did Lovecraft struggle with depression or anxiety? Was HPL insane? If so, did it affect his writing? In first part of The Lurker at the Threshold, Ambrose Dewart visits the round tower and notes that there is one entrance, which has been bricked shut. He returns later and walks right in! Huh? Did I miss something? Reading “Winged Death” reminded me of a short nonfiction book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, composed one letter at a time by a person with shut-in syndrome who was completely paralyzed except for one eye that he could blink. His nurse realized he could blink, and used her recitation of the alphabet combined with his blinking on the letter of his choosing to compose the book.  Describe a Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast. What is your view of annotated editions of HPL? Was Lovecraft heavily influenced by Poe?

Do you think that Lovecraft might have returned to straight science writing had he lived longer? Do you think a story can have a strong dose of humor in it and still be Lovecraftian? Wasn’t HPL’s grandfather quite wealthy? How did Lovecraft wind up dying of malnutrition because he couldn't afford the basic necessities of life? I'm contemplating writing an dramatic staged musical adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu. What aspects of the story do you think most ought to be explored, especially ones that might be done well though music or song such as in an opera? And is there anything about this story in particular that you think many people seem to miss? I am looking for your recommendation on how to accomplish my goal of reading the entire mythos in the proper chronological order. Besides Robert Bloch, what other writers did HPL directly influence/tutor? What are your thoughts on authors weaving The Mythos into a larger “continuity” of real or imagined philosophies and religions in a historical context? Have you come across Japanese cartoon movies on Lovecraftian themes? Like "Mysteries of the Necronomicon"?  In Charles Dexter Ward is supposed to be somehow embodied in the painting, or inhabiting it, until his resurrection? It seems the calling up of Curwen could well take place without it (Charles has the remains; the text implies that he reduces them to ‘saltes’ and then calls Curwen up from them).   I’ve heard you discuss a narrative discrepancy in ‘The Shadow over Innsmouth’ – the narrator’s clear horror and loathing of Innsmouth and the Deep Ones, against the fact that by the end of the tale, he’s pretty much rejoicing in becoming a Deep One himself! I have never seen this as a problem... It’s only in the final two paragraphs that the narrator’s view changes, and it’s quite a drastic shift. I think it’s intentional. I hope you might consider making a Robert E. Howard Geek-podcast or just a podcast about anything related to Weird Tales in general. Could you elaborate a bit on the relationship between HPL and REH? Who contacted who first? What did they talk about? What was their common ground? For how long did they correspond and so on. You mentioned once that even though  S.T. Joshi and Lin Carter were friendly, they were also kinda opposites. Can you elaborate a bit on this?

If we consider the progression of Lovecraft's work over time, how do you think his writing would have evolved? Is the elder sign’s resemblance to a masonic cross purely coincidence? What is your personal Lovecraft action figure wishlist? What are your thoughts on “The Dunwich Horror” radio adaptation from the Suspense radio program in 1945? Do you think John Dixon Carr had anything to do with the production? What was your experience with the “Trap Door Spiders” literary society like? What is your opinion on the ending of the 2007 film Cthulhu? If you could read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? Are you familiar with the 2009 film The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu?

Suppose that a Foundation type civilization encounters some non-Euclidean geometry from which enter Lovecraft's monstrous pantheon. Would such an advanced civilization be affected on the same basic level of sanity as one of Lovecraft's 1920-era protagonists?  Do you feel that the excuse that Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" essentially tackled the same style of story is a sufficient reason not to make Del Toro's "Mountains of Madness" adaptation? Iâ??m curious if you are aware of a Mexican 1959 horror film by Mario Bava entitled Caltiki, the Immortal Monster, I think that is about as Lovecraftian as any non-Lovecraft movie Iâ??ve ever seen. Has anyone figured out and listed which of Nicholas Roerich's paintings, which are so frequently mentioned in "At the Mountains of Madness", were accessible to HPL? Are we to believe the assertions of Satanist Winter Laake that when a young boy Lovecraft encountered a 'spirit guide' and that he denied this for fear of being labeled mentally ill like his father, and that Lovecraft met Aleister Crowley in New York City?   Is there a generally accepted Lovecraft canon?    Is there a concise document or website that effectively lists all the works tied to the Cthulhu Mythos?   Do you know if Lovecraft pioneered the horror trope of people unexpectedly wandering into a cursed town in the Shadow Over Innsmouth?

What would you say the most underrated Lovecraft story is?  What is your opinion of the "unmentionables" where it seems Lovecraft keeps things intentionally vague? What do you think finally happened to the Rue d-Auseil and to Erich Zann himself! Do you feel that Lovecraft's work is in a renaissance of sorts?  What is your favorite way to consume Lovecraft's works? A leather chair by the fireplace during a crisp New England fall air? How prevalent, in your opinion, should a magical element be in lovecraftian fiction? What adaptation of the works of HPL would you like to have seen Christopher Lee in? Do you find it better when filmmakers attempt direct versions of the canon, or a more nebulous influence, like In the Mouth of Madness, Possession, or more recently, The Void? What edition of the letters do you recommend to readers most strongly? Why does S.T. Joshi have such a low opinion of Robert E. Howardâ??s writing?  Do you have any knowledge on Isaac Asimov's views of H.P. Lovecraft?  What are your favorite Lovecraftian-inspired films that are decidedly *not* set in the mythos or based on (however loosely) Lovecraft's works? Have you ever played the Lovecraft board game "Cthulhu Tales"? What is your opinion of the Del Rey "Shadows Over Baker Street"?

What was HPLâ??s opinion of Great Britain and its culture? Of the Empire? Or World War 1? Was he an advocate of America joining the war against Germany, or was he of a more isolationist tendency? Any comments on Stephen Kingâ??s very Lovecraftian story â??Nâ??? What did Lovecraft himself regard as his best works of fiction, and his worst? Arenâ??t there enough parallels between the Cthulhu Mythos and Godzilla films to consider the latter a species of the former? Check out the short films on YouTube by "bluworm", especially his adaptation of â??Tthe Shadow Out of Time.â?? What is your opinion on the fiction universe of Warhammer 40k and the very Lovecraftian Chaos Deities? A tour guide on Providenceâ??s HPL walking tour stopped us at a yellow and black building with strange aquatic carvings on it, and told us that one of the creatures carved in it was Lovecraftâ??s inspiration for Cthulhu. Is that so? Any opinion on Donald Tysonâ??s novel Alhazred? Later this year there is a Call of Cthulhu game coming out for the playstation 4 and xbox. See the trailer on youtube if only to see the visuals and atmosphere. Isnâ??t the Necronomiconâ??s cosmology & word-view very similar to Epicureanism? A defense of L. Sprague de Campâ??s pioneering bio of Lovecraft. And â??Have you seen the new bio, In the Mountains of Madness, by W. Scott Poole? Not bad!)â?? Did Lovecraft know any languages besides English?  Have you ever thought of starting a Patreon for The Lovecraft Geek? More episodes? I'd even be down with The Lovecraft Geek riffing on the work of other weird, horror, or sword and sorcery authors, etc., e.g., Lin Carter. Could you talk a little (or a lot!) about your thoughts on Arkham House, your favorite titles, the ones you own, the ones you'd like to own, etc? In "The Dunwich Horror," we read about "decayed" and "undecayed" branches of families in Dunwich. Does this actually have any meaning besides those who, like HPL, kept up a pathetic pretense of remaining "gentry" and those who no longer went to the trouble? Have you ever heard the adaptation of â??The Dunwich Horrorâ?? on the famed radio program "Suspense," featuring the great Ronald Coleman as Prof. Henry Armitage, who in this adaptation becomes the narrator. It can be heard at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRTsJnsrS_M

Do you think that the Necronomicon, a holy book known as the "Dead Name Image," is meant to be an homage/parody of Jesus as â??the Wordâ?? who bears the â??Nameâ?? that is above every name? Is the racist name of Delaporeâ??s black cat perhaps intended to hint at the manâ??s slave-holding heritage from Virginia and before that Exham Priory? Could you direct me to scholarly works discussing the possible origins of HPLâ??s creations? Could you recommend other lexicons, dictionaries, timeline texts to help me as a new writer in the Mythos?  What is the relationship between Cthulhu and Dagon? What genre was Lovecraft writing in--and what genre (or genres) did he help spawn?

Why is â??Herbert West Re-animatorâ?? held in such low esteem? Should I feel guilty for enjoying Lovecraftâ??s fiction, since he was a racist? How come Lovecraft seems to have such a big following in Spain? Possible Hebrew roots of the name â??Shub-Niggurath.â?? Octavia E. Butler is now the face of the World Fantasy Award in place of that of the Rotten Old Racist from Providence. But sheâ??s not a fantasy writer! Rather SF. The Lovecraft influence in Andrea Pearsonâ??s novels.

Iâ??ve heard you mention that you've spent some time visiting different parts of Lovecraft's New England and was wondering what kind of experiences or comments you had relating to the settings.. What are some of the things you can gain, or miss out on, by experiencing HPL through audiobooks? Am I the only person who has noticed that L. Sprague de Camp's Al Azif is 4 pages of Syriac text, turned upside down, and repeated? I haven't tried to identify the text, but the New Testament seems a good guess. It's definitely the Serto or "Jacobite" script of the Syriac alphabet. and not the Arabic alphabet, as some say. I recently re-read 'At The Mountains Of Madness' but found some difficulty accepting how much Dyer and Danforth accomplish in a short time.  We're told they're away for 16 hours. They leave at 09.00 and land at the city at 12.30.  Being generous and saying the return trip is one and a half hours, because they know where they are going, that leaves them 10 hours.  I find it hard to accept you could put together such a story, spanning hundreds of thousands of years, from wall relief carvings.  How would you determine the sequence of such images?  Where would you get the confidence to decide which is the classical style of an alien culture and what is the debased style?  I am compelled to ask you to elaborate on your falling out with the Lovecraft eZine. What are your thoughts on the World Fantasy Award abandoning the Lovecraft bust as their official award statue? Do you think the Lovecraftian community can survive political correctness if their constant bashing of our beloved Uncle Howard continues? In your February 15th Lovecraft Geek cephalopodcast, you talked about Bible-inspired Lovecraft stories.  One that you did not mention is "The Doom That Came to Sarnath."  I think this is clearly a parody of the tale of the lost ark in 1 Samuel 4-6.  Both stories have the same plot elements presented in the same order.  There is the massacre, the capture as a prize of war, the tussle in the temple, the curse, and the miraculous return.  The difference between the two is that in the Bible story the aquatic idol (Dagon) is vanquished, whereas in Lovecraft's story the aquatic idol (Bokrug) is victorious. Exodus 33:18-23 must have been the source for the climax of Robert E. Howard's story "The Fire of Assurbanipal, right?

Is there any way to get ahold of your old Crypt of Cthulhu stuff, and/or has any of it been reproduced elsewhere? Have you considered self-publishing your annotated Lovecraft set? Zadok Allen seems to be a known drunk and babbler. The folks at innsmouth appear to have no trouble scaring out or killing any other outsider or insider that threatens their dangerous game.  Why would they bother to let him live?  I'd be interested to hear some of your thoughts on Lovecraft in comics, maybe broken into several categories, such as direct adaptations, strong influence ('Hellboy' by Mignola and 'Zenith' by Morrison would be examples) and  personal appearances, such as in 'Providence' by Alan Moore or 'Necronauts' by George Rennie and Frazer Irving. Do you think Kipling's tales had any influence on weird pulp fiction? I don't believe you mentioned the Hay Necronomicon in your Necronomicon collection, though I admit I was looking for Colin Wilson, since I'd misremembered him as the author of the entire work. You did briefly on an earlier episode, but only to dismiss it, if I recall correctly. Could you give us a little background on this work? Is it worth re-reading? What are the problems with it? In talking about Burroughs, I got the impression you thought that evolution, as it improves life forms, would tend to create life forms that were similar enough to be sexually compatible on different world's.  I don't think that would be the case, although I'm only basing that on my reading of Steven Jay Gould and Richard Dawkins, not any deep study. Most HPL-based movies fall short of the mark. Could this be due to the fact that HPL's reliance on atmosphere makes his work difficult to translate into a plot based medium? Does his lack of female characters mean that screenwriters have to take liberties with the story in order to inject the obligatory love interest? Is Hollywood just too commercial and "Square" to "Get" what Lovecraft meant?

What is the mysterious Sign of Koth? Regarding the recently found Lovecraft text "The Cancer of Superstition," is the manuscript for public consumption, or because it was never published the collector has no obligation to disclose the tale? With the new troves of Lovecraftian writers joining the scene in the past decade, are there also new critics on the scene who review Lovecraftâ??s works in a new light? Besides Lovecraftâ??s parody of the Nativity in â??The Dunwich Horror,â?? are there other elements of Biblical lore in any of Lovecraftâ??s other works? Might â??The Color Out of Spaceâ?? be a modern retelling of the story of Job? Did Lovecraft have any specific favorite story from the Bible? Are there any obscure fictional universes that are non-fantastical that could pose metaphysical questions? Do you think Lovecraft (in â??The Horror at Red Hookâ??) actually knew about Yazidis in Brooklyn or simply took note of their reputation as devil worshipers in other pulp stories?

"How do you understand 'blasphemies' in a Lovecraftian context?"

What you think is the most satisfying Lovecraftian crossover work with an established franchise character? Is there any link to or mention in Lovecraft to Arthur Conan Doyle's work? What about with Burroughs or Howard? What is your opinion of the Sherlock Holmes stories? If one were to pick one of the ancient Christian-offshoot cults to use as the basis for a Cthulhu Mythos cult, which cult would you pick and why? What entity would the cult be dedicated to? I recently watched John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness, which is clearly an homage to HPL but while the movie uses several of the tropes you find in HPL stories it just isn't effective in communicating the existential cosmic horror that I feel is the hallmark of Lovecraft's work. Do you think that this type of storytelling, this type of horror can only be effectively done in the printed word? Are there any movies that have been able to convey the alien-ness that we find in HPL's works? Do you feel that HPL's type of horror is dead? Is anyone doing work that is as different and new as HPL's was back when he was originally writing? Do you see the same type of fan involvement, organizing, and speculation in the fandomâ??s of the Sword and Sorcery genre and comic books or is it unique to HPL? Evil deities are common in horror fiction, and in fantasy literature. Has there ever been a real world example of a evil deity that is worshipped? Besides Bride of Frankenstein what other Universal Monster movies do you particularly enjoy? I ponder; if there was an unknown metaphor in Lovecraft's time that he was afraid of politically?

Episode 23 - Murder House