Was H. P. Lovecraft inspired by stories of sea monsters?

Submitted by Sttocs t3_11bccgb in books

I’m watching a mini-doc on H. P. Lovecraft (“Was H. P. Lovecraft a Bad Writer?”) and the presenter mentions many times that H. P. Lovecraft was the first cosmic horror writer. Emphasis on first. So being the first, where might a young Lovecraft — obsessed with his prized telescope and constantly imagining life on other planets — might draw inspiration from? Where would a bookish young boy go to lean about life, but not quite as we know, get ideas?

Especially living in New England, where the maritime rules, might he have gotten some ideas from written and verbal accounts of “sea monsters” — octopuses, squid, whales, etc.? And stories of journeys unimaginable distances or extreme isolation that tests your mental fortitude, with unknown horrors possibly lurking unseen?

Combine the burgeoning but still-not-wholly-formed science fiction genre with a bit of gothic horror a la Poe and sailors’ stories of creepy thing lurking beneath the surface, and does that give you Lovecraft?

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LG03 t1_j9xip6h wrote

If you really want to learn more, I'd suggest reading one of ST Joshi's biographies about Lovecraft.

I Am Providence is the biography by which all others are judged. Some people find it a bit too detailed and/or dry but I'm not sure what some expect.

Lord of a Visible World is a curated selection of letters by Lovecraft, effectively an autobiography.

Nightmare Countries is a bit lighter weight than I Am Providence, some find it more palatable.

Additionally you may be interested in the Voluminous podcast by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. They go in depth on select letters.

More to the point, you are not going to get good answers from youtube, twitter, reddit, etc on Lovecraft. The video you mention in particular is one example of a poorly researched essay that seems to pull more from popular (not necessarily factual) talking points on social media.

Lovecraft was inspired by many things and writers. Specifically when it comes to his monsters such as Cthulhu, the Deep Ones, Dagon, etc, you might say that his distaste for seafood had some influence. Some people will take that statement and hyperbolize it into 'Lovecraft wrote about things he was terrified of and he was terrified of fish!', that's nonsense, he simply didn't like eating it. Lovecraft was an avid enjoyer of aquariums. Unfortunately that blog's suffered from a couple migrations and the images are gone but the gist is there.

Bottom line though is if there's something you want to know about Lovecraft, you need to read a biography (and select ones at that).

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Sttocs OP t1_j9zhnuf wrote

I added a link to the video essay in my original post, so you can judge for yourself how good (or bad) it is. The essay focuses on the merits and demerits of purple prose -- such as Lovecraft's -- and compares/contrasts it with sparse prose -- such as Hemingway's.

Wondering whether Lovecraft draws from stories of sea monsters in an absence of what we would know now as well-worn sci-fi tropes (flying saucers and little green men) was a thought I had while watching it, so you can judge me for that.

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HugoNebula t1_j9xxvm6 wrote

Other than his New England background, Lovecraft was probably most influenced to this end by the supernatural novels and stories of William Hope Hodgson, many of them maritime in theme and setting.

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Immediate_Area9178 t1_j9z054h wrote

I found out recently H. P. Lovecraft was best pen pal buddies with Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian. There’s two books floating out there with letters the two wrote back and forth to each other. I’ve gotten into Lovecraft’s stuff off and on and keep meaning to read those books to gain a better insight into the writer. You should definitely start there and I’m sure you’ll get some solid answers.

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bhbhbhhh t1_j9ym8dd wrote

Before Lovecraft, there were Algernon Blackwood and Robert Chambers, of King in Yellow fame.

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Responsible_Craft568 t1_j9xlzdr wrote

I’ve not watched the documentary you mentioned but I object to the idea that Lovecraft really founded any genre. Sure, his mythos has a cool aesthetic which has been used by others but the idea of a that wisdom/knowledge is linked with madness. Just look at the Odyssey. Odysseus has himself chained to his mast to gain knowledge of what the siren song.

You’re totally right. Many of his stories fixate in the horrors of the ocean. I’d go as far to say that’s his defining aesthetic, though hardly and original one. See monsters are as old as time.

Basically, imo Lovecraft is a hack who is only famous because other artists drew Cthulhu to look cool.

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Sttocs OP t1_j9zi7p6 wrote

I've linked the mini-doc in my OP.

Well, let's say he didn't found cosmic horror, but he wrote in the days before little green men and flying saucers were staples of sci-fi.

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