H.P. Lovecraft on the Encyclopedia Dramatica
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Encyclopedia Dramatica has quite the post on H.P. Lovecraft. The website, a satirical and humorous parody of Wikipedia that's controlled by web warriors from sites like YTMND and 4chan these days, mixes the clever and the moronic (often the norm for many of ED's postings) in its Lovecraft entry. The ED takes jabs at Lovecraft for his racism, intricate literary style, and cosmic horrors. From the biography:
Howard Philips Lovecraft (1890-1937) was an American author of horror fiction and insurance salesman. His parents were completely insane and were therefore sent to an insane asylum. He is probably most famous for three literary inventions: Cthulhu, Necronomicon and the automobile. He has inspired legions of literary followers, whose creations span the gamut from published masterpieces to the rankest of fanfiction. Stories written by Lovecraft and his followers contain interlocking and reinforcing references to Cthulhu and other fictional creations in an attempt to create an air of verisimilitude that increases horror and boners. Collectively, these stories are denoted as belonging to the Cthulhu Mythos, though literary mavens will come to blows when asked to define what makes a story a part of the 'mythos' or not. In addition to fiction, Lovecraft's work has been incorporated into film, music, role-playing games, video games and stuffed animals.
Despite (or perhaps because of) his wife's description of him as an "adequately excellent lover" during their brief marriage, many have concluded that Lovecraft had teh gay. As a child, he had a pair of beloved cats named Niggerman and Jewcat, a dog named Slant-eyes, and a gecko he simply referred to as "that Wop bastard." His occasional fictional and nonfictional rants about furtive, slant-eyed mongrel people are generally viewed as the quaint racism of a more innocent age. He married a Vampire woman, and is also rumored to have fucked a Canadian at least once, and perhaps twice (see the letter written to Walt Disney in February of 1492). Lovecraft's life ended with him dying alone in his aunt's house.
The ultimate source of information on Lovecraft is the HP Lovecraft Archive.
The second part of the entry contains an offbeat glimpse of HPL's influence on "Internets Culture," a humorous reference to Cutethulhu-type phenomena online. As is obvious from this snippet, ED's sort of humor will definitely not appeal to everyone. In many cases, they cross well over the boundaries of political correctness, and even the more extreme forms of underground internet humor. You have been warned. That said, anyone still interested should also check out the ED articles on Cthulhu and the Necronomicon. There's plenty of raw humor in both entries worth a laugh.
-Grim Blogger