Lovecraftian Perfumes: Haunting a Nose Near You

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has just released "The Lovecraft collection." You might think it's another set of DVDs or books at first glance. It isn't. Instead, it has to be one of the most ambitious, unexpected weird marketing experiments to date: Lovecraftian perfumes. Yes, for about $15 US, it's now possible to own an amber vial of one of sixteen madness-inciting odors. What these are intended to attract is less sure. Somehow, I shudder at the thought of Cthulhu worshiping chaos magicians desperately applying these and tossing them around their ritual arena in an attempt to summon Yog-Sothoth.

"The High Priest Not to be Described" variety is the most frightening, in my opinion. Monastic incense, blood musk, cypress, and other ingredients blend together to give the impression of the one of the worst mystery figures in H.P. Lovecraft's mythology. Perhaps others will find the nose-bending "Music of Erich Zahn" scent more to their liking. Ajowan, vetiver, black musk, opoponax, mimosa, and tamarind comprise this one. As a fashionless plebe, you may well not know not know what over half those ingredients are. I know I don't. Hopefully, the exotic materials meld sufficiently to produce an even rarer odor worthy of reflecting blasphemous sounds from spheres beyond. In bizarre terms, however, "Azathoth" gives "Erich Zahn" stiff competition: tangerine, saffron, vetiver, black amber, and cedarwood. Sound like the incomprehensible nuclear chaos, an idiot god, and the daemon Sultan? It seems sharp enough to provide a sensory glimpse of the monstrous entity, possibly searing the nostrils in the process.

Many more scents focus upon Innsmouth, Brown Jenkin, Arkham, and other Lovecraftian standbys. Fortunately, in the case of the Innsmouth-inspired scents and "Brown Jenkin," they sound far more tasteful than rotting, decrepit harbors and a half-human rat would otherwise be. Whether Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab sways huge numbers of buyers is irrelevant (though I imagine they have a steady influx of consumers) for purposes of Lovecraft history. They've effectively seized the niche of weird scents, rounding out the multiple ways to take in Lovecraftian atmosphere. Visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory avenues for taking in the greatness of the Cthulhu Mythos are now covered. What's left? Taste. Perhaps Cthulhu candy bars and Mythos O's won't be far behind after all.

-Grim Blogger