New Photos of Lovecraft's Providence

Eldritch Hobbit recently had the pleasure of taking (and photographing) an extensive tour of H.P. Lovecraft's beloved city, Providence. His Flickr account is packed with photos of HPL's oft visited gravesite, the author's old residences, and his favorite haunts around Brown University and the rest of the city. To walk through Old Providence must be a bludgeoning experience. The houses Lovecraft's spent his later years in look almost perfectly preserved, showing little modern adulteration. One can almost imagine Lovecraft's ghost scribbling away behind one the houses' dusty windows.

Even more impressive are the sites right out of the stories. The photographer has documented recent pictures of the "Charles Dexter Ward" house and the Fleur de Lys Studio, among others. The Cathedral of St. John, Episcopal is also very interesting. An old haunt of both H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, it isn't difficult to imagine Lovecraft pacing through the archaic aisles of stones and conjuring up the disastrous grave robbery from "The Hound."

Additionally, as the above image shows, it appears Lovecraft's resting place has lost none of its shrine-like appeal. In virtually any of these cemetery visits recorded online, one can see all manner of trinkets left at Lovecraft's tombstone. Notes, coins, flowers, and even little idols occasionally turn up. The endless influx of offerings to the master is morbidly fascinating. It's times like this I rue my distance from Providence, Rhode Island. A monthly (or even weekly) photo log of Lovecraft's grave would be a fascinating undertaking for those within range of Swan Point Cemetery!

-Grim Blogger