I became aware of H.P. Lovecraft at a fairly young age, a discovery that was inevitable for me as someone who has always held a fascination for horror and all things spooky. As a kid, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! was a cartoon that I never missed. I also loved The Munsters, and my favorite episode of The Brady Bunch was the one where Vincent Price appeared in The Tiki Caves, part of the Hawaii trilogy. 
Saturday afternoon was spent eating Count Chocula cereal in front of a B&W Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) television watching the Creature Double Feature, a syndicated horror show that ran back-to-back classic Universal Horror movies, or Hammer Studios pictures, even some Roger Corman films. Most memorable were the Toho Studio monster movies, which featured creatures such as Rodan, Mothra, as well as Godzilla, and many others. We won’t get into my later discovery of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. These are all fun things for kids, but how do you begin to explain the appeal of Howard Phillips Lovecraft to older people who don’t share a fascination for the dark side, especially to people who live in the author’s own hometown but know little or nothing about him?
We all know that H.P. Lovecraft is considered the father of supernatural horror, a blend of science fantasy and horror that is also known as “weird fiction,” “Lovecraftian horror,” or “cosmic horror.” He was born in Providence on August 20,1890 and died in relative obscurity on March 15, 1937, after succumbing to advanced cancer of the small intestine that was diagnosed too late because of his fear of doctors. What he accomplished during this short period of time set him apart from other writers, but to many Rhode Islanders, Lovecraft remains a mysterious and largely misunderstood literary figure who a century earlier traveled on many of the same streets they do today. While living in a much different time, a lot of the stately homes on Providence’s east side and the buildings in the downtown district are unchanged, so there is a real connection between Lovecraft and the citizens of the state, who share something with the author that is at the very least topographical and architectural. For others, like me, there is a bond that is more substantive.
Every year on the anniversary of Lovecraft’s birthday in August, fans visit his gravesite at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence to remember and honor the late author. The number of attendees may vary from year to year, but they still come. Some dress in mourning black or gothic attire. In the past, devotees have burnt “ghost money” as a symbolic offering for overdue royalties owed to Lovecraft for the posthumous sales of his fiction. Some leave coffee or ice cream – two things that Lovecraft most enjoyed – by his tombstone. There are also gatherings on the anniversary of his death in March.
Just who is H.P. Lovecraft and why does he continue to capture the imagination of people not only from across the state but around the country?
As a boy, Lovecraft lived in a comfortable home in Providence that was considered a mansion. The Angell Street estate was owned by his wealthy maternal grandfather. However, when the old man’s fortunes changed, and he later passed away, young Lovecraft moved into a small apartment nearby with his mother. By this time, his father, who had suffered from mental illness and was prone to violence, had been committed to Butler Hospital, a local mental health facility, where he soon died. His mother would later suffer from mental illness herself and become institutionalized when Lovecraft was a young man. He attended the local Hope High School, though he dropped out because of various physical and mental ailments, and never graduated. Poverty, isolation, and ill health would plague Lovecraft for the rest of his life.
A voracious reader, he began writing at a young age, though the bulk of his early output consisted mainly of correspondence letters to friends and fellow writers. The editorials he composed and the works of fiction that he produced in his lifetime generated little income or notoriety. Sadly, for Lovecraft, his work would not be introduced to the masses until after his death when fellow writers had his stories published. His anthologies and books quickly drew an eager readership that continued to grow over time. Today, his books have sold in the millions, and he is considered a master of horror fiction. Although a deeply flawed man, bound by many crushing fears and limitations, including intolerance and bigotry, his fiction has inspired countless writers in the genre, from Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro, and Neil Gaiman, as well as myself, among others.
Lovecraft’s fascination with the macabre and speculation about the supernatural marked his fiction. His narratives emphasized mood and atmosphere, and the setting of his stories predominated character. He used dialogue sparingly, and the action in his stories has been described as spare and cerebral. What made him a grounds-breaking horror writer was how he broke from traditional gothic horror themes and extended its scope by giving his fiction a unique cosmic context. The horror in Lovecraft’s tales is often abstract, and the ancient gods and creatures he envisions consider humanity insignificant, much the same way a child would dismiss a colony of ants underfoot at a playground. His use of the supernatural is original as well as chilling because the natures of these entities are not bound by evil but by indifference, and this is something that is more frightening. That sense of detachment is not something you can run from or defeat.
By examining humanity through the lens of this cosmic perspective, he charted new territory for popular fiction, particularly science fiction, where before him most contemporary authors portrayed aliens as humanoid in form with equally recognizable emotions and passions.
Lovecraft is arguably the most significant literary figure Rhode Island has ever produced. He lived practically his entire life in Providence, with many stories either set in the capital city or inspired by it, most notably in “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,” (written in 1927, but not published until after his death) a story in which he evokes a nostalgic sense of history and antiquity, along with the dual nature of luxury and squalor that Providence embodied at the time.
For Lovecraft, Providence was more than just a place he called home and an inspiration for the setting of some of his fiction. In one letter, he famously said, There is no other place for me. My world is Providence, and Providence is a part of me. I am Providence.
If you visit his grave at Swan Point Cemetery, you will find “I am Providence” carved into his gravestone. The epitaph was added in 1977 through the efforts and funds raised by some of his fans. He’s still in Providence, and his work lives on, so there is no excuse for my fellow Rhode Islanders not to discover more about this favorite son. If August 20 slips by, it’s not a worry. Lovecraft fans and the curious can explore the writer’s life all year round through the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council, a nonprofit organization that serves as a networking center for scholars, authors, artists, and fans of the weird literary world inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.
A small storefront, where themed merchandise, “weird” art, and books are available, is located in the historic Arcade Building in the heart of downtown Providence. The council also organizes public educational events through their flagship NecronomiCon Providence, which hosts a biennial, four-day convention that explores and celebrates any of the creative arts that fit into the genre known as “the weird” via talks, panel discussions, readings, and workshops. This event typically hosts thousands of guests and attendees from over twenty countries. NecronomiCon, which began in 2013, got its name from a fictional book of arcane knowledge that appears in several of Lovecraft’s stories, which he called The Necronomicon. The group presents various events throughout the year, including lectures, art exhibits, film screenings, and a walking tour, where guests can visit the sites frequented by Lovecraft, such as the Ladd Observatory, the John Hay Library, and the First Baptist Church.
You don’t necessarily have to be a horror fan to appreciate H.P. Lovecraft, but Providence is one of the best places to be a horror fan. I know how lucky I am.
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