OK, I've been saving this one for a special occasion, and posting's been kinda slow 'round these parts the last few weeks, soooooo. . .
Which individual do you yhink has had the most influence on horror as a genre? There's a lot of likely candidates; Edgar Allan Poe, for influencing so many that came after him, and writing horror stories that are taught in school as honest-to-God , "respectable" Litt-ra-chure? Stephen King for writing books that have sold millions and millions of copies and (arguably) bringing more people to the genre than anyone before him? George Romero for directing "Night of the Living Dead" and its sequels, spawning the zombie craze that has permeated movies and books ever since, and shows no signs of slowing down? John Carpenter for (among other things) inventing the slasher flick as we know it with "Halloween"?
Personally, I think the title has to go to H.P. Lovecraft. I read an intro to a graphic novel called "Lovecraft" that was written by John Carpenter, wherein he says the same thing, pointing out that it's sort of a rite of passage for young horror writers to write a Lovecraftian story, as many do. He goes on to say that the very fact that we have the word "Lovecraftian" in our cultural lexicon is amazing in and of itself. How many other authors do we have that that can be said about? Shakespeare, Dickens, and - more narrowly - Orwell? No one else leaps to mind. And when someone says "Lovecraftian" in reference to horror fiction, we know exactly what they mean.
But looking a little deeper, we see that the homage paid to HPL isn't just a few scattered stories by other authors trying out their supernatural chops. Arkham House Publishing was started by friends of HPL after his death, not only to publish his work in a more mass market way than it had been previously, but as a showcase for those founders and others to openly write stories FIRMLY in the Lovecraftian style. And there are still works like this coming out today. Again, how many authors can boast such a thing (and remember, to many, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery)?
looking deeper still, we can see HPL's fingerprints all over other authors' work in less obvious ways. Sure, "Crouch End" by Stephen King was overtly Lovecraftian. But one could argue (and I don't think Steve would disagree) that the concept of other dimensions and dimensional beings of great power seeking to exert influence over the multiverse he based his magnum opus "Ginslinger" series on was heavily influenced by Lovecraft. Dean R. Koontz actually has written a (very) few decent novels. Among them is "Phantoms" (I kinda liked the movie, too; sue me). The central theme of the Ancient Enemy, an amorphous, incredibly ancient and undying, psychically powerful and malevolent being tormenting man from his earliest pre-history can be said to have echoes of the Cthulhu Mythos reverberating thru it. I even read a sword and sorcery yarn by Clifford Simak called "Where the Evil Dwells", wherein early on in their quest, the band of heroes that are the book's central protagonists encounter an ancient temple, and after entering are almost overcome by an incredibly powerful, incredibly old, and incredibly evil force that they can sense moving into our world from somewhere else, filling their minds with twisted, terrifying images. The priest in the group manages to banish the entities before anyone comes to harm, and explains that these things are "The Old Ones", powerful evil beings that ruled the world in the time before man. Sound familiar?
There's a fake version of "The Necronomicon" that appears in the religion (!) sections of bookstores, alongside "The Satanic Bible" (I know this because I worked in a bookstore as a teen, and stocked it there myself). Metallica has written songs about his work ("Call of Ktulu" , "Creeping Death" and "The Thing That Should Not Be"). Old School RPG enthusiasts will recall there was a chapter in the 1st printing of "Deities and Demigods" providing stats & descriptions for the gods and beings of the Cthulhu mythos. As a DM, I myself based a years long campaign on them. And if you've ever played Palladium Books' games, they call the unseen and powerful, ancient and long banished old gods of their Palladium Fantasy RPG "The Great Old Ones". Again, does that sound familiar? And if you've ever read any of their sourcebooks, you can't TELL me Vampire intelligences and Splugorth lords (as well as a host of other evil entities from other dimensions) don't look like something HPL would dream up, with all the eyes and tentacles. And of course, thee's the "Call of Cthulhu" RPG and CCG themselves.
And, according to a blurb on Shocklines.com, HPL made more money while he was alive revising the work of other authors for publication under their names & not his, further spreading his influence in perhaps an insidious manner.
Carpenter says that Lovecraft's themes were revolutionary, and have influenced almost all who have come after him. To be sure, there are other authors who have written supernatural horror stories, before or contemporaneously with HPL that dealt with similar themes, William Hope Hodgson being a good example. But (and be honest now) how many of us have heard of him? I actually had to go pull a short story collection off the shelf to recall his name. And if you've ever read any of his stuff, while it is very creative, it's kind of annoying and. . . tentative . . . ? (read "The Hog" if you don't believe me) in its style. It's little wonder HPL outshines him and his other contemporaries, for the sheer brilliance, clarity and audacity of his style. These were tales with massive, awesome (Cyclopean, if you will; I just LOVE that word! Only ever saw one other author use it besides HPL) implications. Few dared to undertake such grand schemes before HPL paved the way.
So, for paving that way, thrilling and terrifying millions directly and indirectly for almost a century, My vote goes to HPL.
What say you all?
Which individual do you yhink has had the most influence on horror as a genre? There's a lot of likely candidates; Edgar Allan Poe, for influencing so many that came after him, and writing horror stories that are taught in school as honest-to-God , "respectable" Litt-ra-chure? Stephen King for writing books that have sold millions and millions of copies and (arguably) bringing more people to the genre than anyone before him? George Romero for directing "Night of the Living Dead" and its sequels, spawning the zombie craze that has permeated movies and books ever since, and shows no signs of slowing down? John Carpenter for (among other things) inventing the slasher flick as we know it with "Halloween"?
Personally, I think the title has to go to H.P. Lovecraft. I read an intro to a graphic novel called "Lovecraft" that was written by John Carpenter, wherein he says the same thing, pointing out that it's sort of a rite of passage for young horror writers to write a Lovecraftian story, as many do. He goes on to say that the very fact that we have the word "Lovecraftian" in our cultural lexicon is amazing in and of itself. How many other authors do we have that that can be said about? Shakespeare, Dickens, and - more narrowly - Orwell? No one else leaps to mind. And when someone says "Lovecraftian" in reference to horror fiction, we know exactly what they mean.
But looking a little deeper, we see that the homage paid to HPL isn't just a few scattered stories by other authors trying out their supernatural chops. Arkham House Publishing was started by friends of HPL after his death, not only to publish his work in a more mass market way than it had been previously, but as a showcase for those founders and others to openly write stories FIRMLY in the Lovecraftian style. And there are still works like this coming out today. Again, how many authors can boast such a thing (and remember, to many, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery)?
looking deeper still, we can see HPL's fingerprints all over other authors' work in less obvious ways. Sure, "Crouch End" by Stephen King was overtly Lovecraftian. But one could argue (and I don't think Steve would disagree) that the concept of other dimensions and dimensional beings of great power seeking to exert influence over the multiverse he based his magnum opus "Ginslinger" series on was heavily influenced by Lovecraft. Dean R. Koontz actually has written a (very) few decent novels. Among them is "Phantoms" (I kinda liked the movie, too; sue me). The central theme of the Ancient Enemy, an amorphous, incredibly ancient and undying, psychically powerful and malevolent being tormenting man from his earliest pre-history can be said to have echoes of the Cthulhu Mythos reverberating thru it. I even read a sword and sorcery yarn by Clifford Simak called "Where the Evil Dwells", wherein early on in their quest, the band of heroes that are the book's central protagonists encounter an ancient temple, and after entering are almost overcome by an incredibly powerful, incredibly old, and incredibly evil force that they can sense moving into our world from somewhere else, filling their minds with twisted, terrifying images. The priest in the group manages to banish the entities before anyone comes to harm, and explains that these things are "The Old Ones", powerful evil beings that ruled the world in the time before man. Sound familiar?
There's a fake version of "The Necronomicon" that appears in the religion (!) sections of bookstores, alongside "The Satanic Bible" (I know this because I worked in a bookstore as a teen, and stocked it there myself). Metallica has written songs about his work ("Call of Ktulu" , "Creeping Death" and "The Thing That Should Not Be"). Old School RPG enthusiasts will recall there was a chapter in the 1st printing of "Deities and Demigods" providing stats & descriptions for the gods and beings of the Cthulhu mythos. As a DM, I myself based a years long campaign on them. And if you've ever played Palladium Books' games, they call the unseen and powerful, ancient and long banished old gods of their Palladium Fantasy RPG "The Great Old Ones". Again, does that sound familiar? And if you've ever read any of their sourcebooks, you can't TELL me Vampire intelligences and Splugorth lords (as well as a host of other evil entities from other dimensions) don't look like something HPL would dream up, with all the eyes and tentacles. And of course, thee's the "Call of Cthulhu" RPG and CCG themselves.
And, according to a blurb on Shocklines.com, HPL made more money while he was alive revising the work of other authors for publication under their names & not his, further spreading his influence in perhaps an insidious manner.
Carpenter says that Lovecraft's themes were revolutionary, and have influenced almost all who have come after him. To be sure, there are other authors who have written supernatural horror stories, before or contemporaneously with HPL that dealt with similar themes, William Hope Hodgson being a good example. But (and be honest now) how many of us have heard of him? I actually had to go pull a short story collection off the shelf to recall his name. And if you've ever read any of his stuff, while it is very creative, it's kind of annoying and. . . tentative . . . ? (read "The Hog" if you don't believe me) in its style. It's little wonder HPL outshines him and his other contemporaries, for the sheer brilliance, clarity and audacity of his style. These were tales with massive, awesome (Cyclopean, if you will; I just LOVE that word! Only ever saw one other author use it besides HPL) implications. Few dared to undertake such grand schemes before HPL paved the way.
So, for paving that way, thrilling and terrifying millions directly and indirectly for almost a century, My vote goes to HPL.
What say you all?
