It may be that it took a truly scientific age to fully appreciate Lovecraft’s ideas - and his fears. Lovecraft wrote in his 1926 story, The Call of Cthulhu, “The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents… some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”

Or, more accurately to Lovecraft’s style, the inability of one’s mind to protect him sufficiently from the horrors of true reality. What can be truly terrifying on a completely different level is the crumbling of reality. While zombies and madmen with chainsaws can surely be daunting if presented correctly, a certain amount of suspended disbelief is always necessary. His brand of terror is more subtle and profound than the typical psycho-killer or monster tales that the word “horror” generally brings to mind. Lovecraft’s “insanity horror” has been immensely influential among contemporary writer of both horror and non-horror fiction alike. Batman fans should be familiar with the name “Arkham”, which was taken from the name of the fictional town where many of Lovecraft’s stories were set. A prolific writer, it is Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos that have earned him the greatest fame. Lovecraft was all but unknown during his lifetime in the early 20th century, but today he is practically a household name among fans of horror fiction, role-playing, and even video games.

The tale of cthulhu