Celebrating H.P. Lovecraft's 118th Birthday!

If H.P. Lovecraft were alive today, he would be a not so Terrible Old Man. At 118 years of age, he would be one of the oldest human beings on the planet. It seems surreal to talk about a tremendously elongated lifespan for a man who had his life cut horribly short at 46 in 1937. Still, it isn't as if HPL lacked for a sort of fantasy old age. Providence's most zealous Anglophile was well known for signing himself "Grandpa" among his circle of correspondents. At least he had that, though many will still feel a slight note of bitterness this day that Lovecraft did not live to see more than fifty birthdays.

Mourn not. In the terrors and strange beauties of his literary creations, Lovecraft has secured his immortality. Admirers of weird fiction should mark this day with a smile and a celebratory atmosphere. Lovecraft had a short career of short stories, but accomplished exceptionally great things. Greater than even novelists who lived full lives. In life, as well as in death, HPL ended up coming far closer to the titanic success of his tragic idol Edgar Allan Poe than he ever knew. Both men live on as permanent mysterious moons in our dreams and nightmares.

Though H.P. Lovecraft would prefer iced cream on a birthday, the cake above is hard to beat for its Cthulhuvian content. Rather than stressing artistic forms of Cthulhu like many confections have done, this cake centers on clever word play using the title of His quintessential tale, "The Call of Cthulhu." And seeing as how it balances on the line between cosmic horror and Cutethulhu, Lovecraft might have actually been delighted.

-Grim Blogger