How Cthulhu Works?

When I first saw an entry for Cthulhu on the Howstuffworks.com website, I was beyond skeptical about the quality and intent. Did this stepchild of Wikipedia really intend to unravel the mysteries of H.P. Lovecraft's most famous elder monstrosity? Fortunately, no. It aims at a much more simple task, but one that may be almost as important.

Instead, the Cthulhu entry is actually a well written summary of R'lyeh's sovereign by Jonathan Strickland that touches on other interesting Lovecraftian matters. The piece offers a picturesque tour through Cthulhu's real and fictional existence. It goes beyond mere encyclopedic article, though, by analyzing several modern features connected to Cthulhu: his place in "geek" culture, and the strange phenomena of real Lovecraftians religion like Darrick Dishaw's Cult of Cthulhu and the Simon Necronomicon.

Of course, I suspect most readers here are already very familiar with HPL and his literary output. But what about others? There's a good chance many Lovecraft fans have encountered trouble when trying to impress the significance and wonder of Lovecraft's fiction upon curious friends and family. Now, at least, the Cthulhu entry on Howstuffworks has made things easier as a gathering point for Lovecraftians-to-be.

-Grim Blogger