Lovecraftian Tattoos Roundup

Nothing says devotion to a particular idea or figure like having it permanently plastered on your body. Taking into account the towering popularity of H.P. Lovecraft, it's no surprise to see the emergence of Lovecraftian tattoos--and quite impressive ones at that. It's easily arguable that the weird genre generally, and Lovecraft in particular, has often overlapped with other counter-cultural niches. Thus, these stunning examples uncovered online of the intersection between the vibrant world of body art and Lovecraftiana:



Cthulhu, as the most renowned and often terrifying being wrenched from the mind of HPL, is a natural inspiration for skin ink. As on canvass and in clay, the sheer diversity of tattoo Cthulhus is awesome. A stylistic rendering of text with Great Cthulhu's symbolic appendages is poised against an imposing, realistic depiction of the Old One found on Flickr.


From the obviously Cthulhuvian, we move onto murkier depictions still suggestive of deeply Lovecraftian roots This tattoo reveals a unique beast that's a departure from Cthulhu himself, or at the very least, a rather untraditional depiction. As with the Cthulhu further up, this one forwards cosmic terror instead of symbolism.


Not so with this tattoo. Malignant tentacles stretch out of a whirling portal of madness and across the skin. This Lovecraftian design combines symbolism and visceral terror--worse than the realistic Cthulhus in some ways, since it provides an avenue for peering into inner loyalties. This is a glimpse of what Cthulhu cultists would display.


Of course, no overview would be complete without the creeping appearance of Cutethulhu into the mix. This blogger's untrained eye to body art does not allow him to state whether or not this young lady's tattoo is permanent or temporary. Nevertheless, it's definitely a simpler, carefree variant of the ominous tattoos seen above. For every invention of alien horror, there is a counter-reaction usually wrapped up in humor. Doubly so for Lovecraft and the realm of art, even if Cutethulhu isn't yet as prevalent on skin as the phenomena is online.

Grim Reviews isn't the only blog to document these great creations. Head on over to artist Mike Tidwell's gallery for a particularly excellent tattoo of H.P. Lovecraft himself among others, and the tattoo category of "Ectoplasmosis" for a lineup of other fine Lovecraftian and morbid tattoos.

-Grim Blogger