TIL H.P. Lovecraft, who was born in 1890, was a racist. Shocking!

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[–]Vigte 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (6 children)

Spent 10 minutes reading some of his story summaries a few months ago, to get a grasp on the pop culture references and now this guy won't stop showing up in my fucking life.

Goddamnit.

Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, True Detective, Under the SilverLake.

Go away Cthulu, you rayyyycist!

[–]sawboss[S] 7 insightful - 2 fun7 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 2 fun -  (5 children)

HPL was very influential, in part because he was one of the most prolific letter writer of the 20th century. He maintained correspondence with many authors of his time. He died in poverty, relatively unknown outside his circle of friends. It took decades for him to be rediscovered and appreciated anew, which would not have been possible without the work of a small group of devotees.

And yes, he was a racist.

[–]Vigte 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (4 children)

Yeah, he's definitely a huge part of a lot of today's literature - not saying that's a bad thing, but I've noticed a lot of people incorporating elements of his work into their "conspiracy research" - either intentionally or ignorantly, either way it's frustrating!

[–]sawboss[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Which of his stories have you read, if any?

[–]Vigte 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I read the Colour from Out of Space VERY quickly, to get a feel for a trope that another author was incorporating, but that's all to be honest.

[–]sawboss[S] 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Here are some recommends from his shorter stories:

If you like those I can recommend more from his medium and long works

[–]JasonCarswell 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I read 3/4 of a fat greatest compilation in highschool. I think I borrowed it from a friend. I always meant to finish it, buy it if I had to, but a few years later I forgot about it and now a few decades later I couldn't care less. I got enough of the pop culture knowledge.

It was weird but not scary.

Reading Dawn Of The Dead was addictive and was one of the only books to ever freak me out (in highschool).