Originally published in 1927 in a small-circulation amateur magazine, spanning the period from antiquity until the 1930s, and covering both the Anglo-American world and Continental Europe, Lovecraft’s essay remains unparallelled as a survey of horror literature in our hemisphere. Said literature’s emergence as a genre coincided with the institutional establishment of liberalism, which represents a diametrically opposed worldview. This would suggest that horror literature, even if inadvertently or subconsciously, represents an attempt at escaping the limitations of the secular, materialist, rationalist Weltanschauung of liberal modernity, as well as a desire for meaning in a world rendered meaningless through ‘liberation’ from hierarchies, folk traditions, the occult, and the supernatural. Also of interest is the fact that the aesthetics of Gothic horror are invariably and luxuriantly beautiful (if in a dark way), whereas the logical extreme of rationality (utilitarianism, standardisation) is inherently anti-aesthetic. Would this not indicate, then, that the Age of Reason marked the beginning of a process that concluded in late modernity with the wholesale destruction of beauty, except where it, or the counterfeiting of it, was dictated by economic necessity? If so, we may view Lovecraft’s essay not merely as a resource for those seeking entertainment within a genre of literature, but also a map for those seeking to escape, and begin to transcend, the despair engendered by a worldview that pronounced itself dead when someone spoke of ‘the end of history’.
H.P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft was an American writer known for his influential works in the horror and weird fiction genres. His most notable works include "The Call of Cthulhu," "At the Mountains of Madness," and "The Shadow over Innsmouth." Lovecraft's writing style often featured cosmic horror, ancient creatures, and a sense of existential dread. He is credited with creating the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe of eldritch beings and forbidden knowledge that has had a lasting impact on horror literature. Lovecraft's most famous work, "The Call of Cthulhu," has become a classic of the genre and continues to inspire writers to this day.
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