Cthulhu on a Post-It Note and John Kenn's Other Horrors

Danish artist John Kenn draws many weird monsters. His style reflects a merger between Edward Gorey, Tim Burton, and other fantastically odd influences. However, it's his medium of choice for his sketches that's really unique. Kenn does all his intricate and monstrous workings on Post-It notes. Naturally, he has done a Post-It note Cthulhu, betraying H.P. Lovecraft's influence on his work, and adapting the Providence writer's most famous entity to office supplies. One can't be sure, but this has probably never been done before...or at least not this well.

Kenn's Blogspot gallery hosts other works with flailing tentacles, ghostly horrors, and well camouflaged beasts in nature. His forest monsters, complete with trees and grass sprouting from their wide mouthed heads, indicate another influence straight from weird fiction. Algernon Blackwood readers can observe glimpses of the immense, powerful, and mysterious Nature that almost all of Blackwood's tales conveyed. Perhaps this is wishful thinking and Keen hasn't read Blackwood at all, but if not, they remain kindred spirits in their depictions of an overwhelming and frightening Nature.

Kenn once again proves that a sharp aesthetic eye is needed for successful visual manifestations of the weird. But his Post-It Note horrors also demonstrate a way open to any Lovecraftian or weird artist. With enough motivation, truly weird terrors can come through on any medium, even the cheap and ubiquitous ones, not just on expensive canvas and marble.

-Grim Blogger

Cthulhu on a Post-It Note and John Kenn's Other Horrors

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I am Providence: The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft by S.T. Joshi Released

After eons of effort, the S.T. Joshi's 1200 page magnum opus on H.P. Lovecraft is officially out from Hippocampus Press and on the shelves of select dealers everywhere. I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft is a two volume set that expands on Joshi's definitive biography first published over a decade ago. While there are no sanity blasting revelations added that might vastly reshape our current understanding of HPL's life, this is easily his most complete sketch yet, offering a time bending window into the odd life of a 20th century weird fiction sorcerer.

More than anything else, I am Providence can serve as a slow acting stake through the heart of many Lovecraftian legends. Over the decades since his death, Lovecraft's life has been subjected to the most unsavory speculations. While those with a passing interest in Lovecraft's work will continue to cling to superstition, buttressed by internet echo chambers that perpetuate old rumors, it can no longer be forgiven in serious scholarship and among true devotees to his dark altar. As Lovecraftian writer Wilum Pugmire rightly says in his review of the book:

Joshi's book shews that, for one who suffered such peculiar upbringing, Lovecraft turned out as normal as any regular Joe. He did not spend his life in shadow, shunning daylight and walking the night. He loved warm weather and did much if not most of his writing out of doors in sunlit parks or sitting on boulders along the Seekonk whenever he could. As for not needing or wanting humanity, his steady social life, huge correspondence, and activity in the amateur press (he often attended gatherings outside of Providence) reveal a man who had an intimate relationship, social and intellectual, with other women and men. He was a ordinary guy with an extraordinary imagination. That imagination, and the daily activities of a very human being, are superbly recorded and understood in this magnificent biography, I AM PROVIDENCE. 

Even after the current edition sells out, Joshi's work will remain a testament to Lovecraft's ghost, almost as much as the bygone weirdsmith's own fiction. I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft is truly the book that probes deeper into his mind than any other. Long may it reign.

-Grim Blogger

I am Providence: The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft by S.T. Joshi Released

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H.P. Legocraft

Lovecraftian modeling in clay, metal, and granite has raged favorably since at least the onset of the online Lovecraft cult. Now, add legos to the mix. Tentacled horrors have successfully been adapted in a few stand out cases to this deceptively simple art form. Brickshelf.com exhibits this gallery, which includes a Cthulhuvian terror bursting from the depths.

More recently, Mr. Xenomurphy's lego page showed off an atmospheric descent into the darkness that can exist with rectangular blocks. Xenomurphy fleshed out his Lovecraftian lego scenes with a mini-story centering around a previously unknown Great Old One and von Juntz's Unaussprechliche Kulte. The exotic appendages tearing through an estate nicely blends Lovecraftian and old Gothic imagery.

Best of all, Legocraft presents a very affordable and equalizing avenue for aspiring Lovecraft artists. One needn't have the wealth and experience working with the traditional elements to achieve an interesting effect. Of course, whatever the medium, some artistic ability and imagination is mandatory for successfully generating authentic Lovecraftian horror.

-Grim Blogger

H.P. Legocraft

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Thanksgiving 2010: A Thanksgiving Ghost

This image seems an appropriate compliment to a holiday dedicated to feasting on the delicious nightmare of another species. Also, the myriad old yarns about animal ghosts are well known to most everyone, but I'll bet few have ever thought about a ghostly afterlife extending to turkeys.

-Grim Blogger

Thanksgiving 2010: A Thanksgiving Ghost

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Jamesian Fan Art

Canon Alberic's Scrapbook by Eugene Jaworski

Longtime readers and collectors of M.R. James' work have noticed that his chilling ghost stories have a propensity to inspire excellent art. Many James volumes have carried bewitching illustrations on their covers or between stories, numinous ornaments giving form to horrors beyond life. Today, internet artists are taking over where the book illustrators left off. Of course, online galleries like Eugene Jaworski's represent a modern way of displaying these spectral creations, sometimes to a greater audience than illustrations in limited print runs might ever reach.

Oh, Whistle by Athas

Whistle and I'll Come to You by Mickit

No surprise, but Deviantart.com continues to be ground zero for some shockingly good visual renditions of Jamesian entities. Most entries there are driven by his most popular stories, such as "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" and "The Ash-Tree." Artwork by Mickit and Athas represents very dark and literal translations of the most harrowing incidents in James' tales.

The Ash Tree by Mike Nash

These are nicely contrasted with more interpretive designs such as Mike Nash's take on the Ash Tree. Nash's image plays with symbolism to portray the menacing history behind the archaic tree. James' fiction, like Lovecraft's, yields itself exceedingly well to diverse artistic techniques. The literal and more abstract methods can both succeed when coupled with sufficient talent, resulting in fantastically strange iconography. When stretching across the internet, admirable Jamesian art may actually act as the proverbial "book cover" judged by newbies, who will then go on to pick up story collections, and thereby enter the weird fiction genre forever.

-Grim Blogger

Jamesian Fan Art

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At the Mountains of Madness Graphic Novel from Self Made Hero Publishing

Self Made Hero, an independent graphic novel publishing house that began in 2007, currently has several Lovecraftian items rolling off the illustration line. The most recent is a comic adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's novella, Eye Classics: At the Mountains of Madness,by Ian Culbard. The artist's technique conjures pleasant memories of the adventure comics that used to be seen in the Sunday paper, and adeptly portrays Lovecraft's descent into scientific horror in colors that go with the arctic. If the preview images available at Self Made Hero's website are any indication, Culbard envisions Lovecraft's story unfolding in rich shadows and cool shades.

Meanwhile, the publisher is also at work on a separate book called The Lovecraft Anthology. This collection, due in the near future, will contain other well known Lovecraft tales like "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." Although this sounds a bit like Graphic Classics: H. P. Lovecraft there's still plenty of room for other artists to toy with HPL's horrors. The Providence writer has a lengthy and well respected track record in the comics by now--one that continues inviting new talents to put to print the outre nightmares of his fiction, filtered through their imaginations.

-Grim Blogger

At the Mountains of Madness Graphic Novel from Self Made Hero Publishing

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H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Overtakes South Park

It's official: H.P. Lovecraft is well into mainstream territory, or at least overtaking the most popular animated shows with force. Close on the heels of a Scooby Doo appearance, South Park has now aired a multi-part story arc with Great Cthulhu released by an oil drilling mishap. Clearly inspired by the recent British Petroleum fiasco, South Park blends Lovecraftian imagery with sardonic political commentary. Knowledge man was never meant to know has never seemed so ominous, all joking aside. Cthulhu, Shoggoths, and a score of other exotic monstrosities with eyes, tentacles, and teeth galore are released for a cartoon rampage, drawing in familiar characters from the series to combat them.

The creep of Lovecraft's entities into two iconic TV series proves HPL's fortification in American pop culture. Denials from those who have sought to keep Lovecraft the best kept secret in literary horror will only look desperate. While Lovecraftian themes, creatures, and story lines continue to exhibit a mostly humor bent, the fact that they are increasingly prominent in the public sphere is undeniable. At this rate, Lovecraft stands to surpass Edgar Allan Poe in fluid media (television, internet, etc.). Who really sees frequent references to "The Raven" in comedies and cartoons anymore?

However, Lovecraft may well share a symbolic trajectory with Poe. While his predecessor is forever bound to the image of a dour black bird, Lovecraft's name seems inescapably linked with Cthulhu, and the elder horror is always his chief representative in these popular appearances. It should be noted that South Park shows off other nightmares that arrive on Cthulhu's coat tails: Shoggoths, Mi-Go, and star-headed beasts resembling Elder Things. This may offer a glint of hope that Cthulhu won't be the only element to conjure Lovecraft's name for millions of non-weird fiction readers.

Unfortunately, the present widespread outburst of Lovecraftiana draws primarily on only two stories he wrote. "The Call of Cthulhu" and "At the Mountains of Madness" are at the vanguard of what "Lovecraftian" means for those who come to him through second hand media sources. Mentioning tales like "The Color Out of Space" or "The Music of Erich Zann" to viewrs who just saw the tentacled pseudo-god on South Park is almost certain to reap blank stares. This is an irritating challenge for Lovecraft enthusiasts steeped in a broader knowledge of weird fiction. Yet, Lovecraft's burgeoning cultural empire still offers hope to seasoned fans who fear his philosophical pessimism and more abstract works will be eclipsed by Cthulhu's Cyclopean shadow.

At some point, statistics come into play. If even 1% of South Park viewers end up reading a story collection or two, then thousands more are exposed to Lovecraft, almost all of whom wouldn't have encountered him at all in a different context. This poses a potential, but far from guaranteed, influx of people who might find weird fiction's mysterious call for the first time. For some, the first time certainly won't be the last. There's little to fear in Lovecraft's cultural boost, and much to gain, like a more robust genre that can only enrich all weird aficionados.

-Grim Blogger

H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Overtakes South Park

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Thomas Ligotti's Revised Grimscribe on the Market

Subterranean Press just put their latest Thomas Ligotti item on the market, a revised edition of Grimscribe, due in early 2011. Right now, pre-orders for the limited edition are only open to those who have already bought the previous revised volume. The slightly less spectacular trade hardcover is available to all buyers. Like the definitive Songs of a Dead Dreamer released earlier this year, Grimscribe will contain highly polished versions of the book's original contents. According to Thomas Ligotti, the four revised volumes planned by Subterranean Press will together collect his most celebrated stories in their final form. Grimscribe contains the following pieces: "Introduction";  The Voice of the Damned:  "The Last Feast of Harlequin";  "The Spectacles in the Drawer";  "Flowers of the Abyss";  "Nethescurial";  The Voice of the Demon:  "The Dreaming in Nortown";  "The Mystics of Muelenburg";  "In the Shadow of Another World";  "The Cocoons";  The Voice of the Dreamer:  "The Night School";  "The Glamour";  The Voice of the Child:  "The Library of Byzantium";  "Miss Plarr";  The Voice of Our Name:  "The Shadow at the Bottom of the World".

By the time the revised Noctuary and Teatro Grottesco appear in the next few years, a revolution in Ligottian availability will have occurred. Assuming Subterranean continues to release one book annually, all of Ligotti's oeuvre--save for a few vanished pieces in obscure journals--will be back in print. Virgin has already reprinted Teatro Grottesco and My Work Is Not Yet Done in paperback.

Of course, Subterranean's Ligotti books do sell out. Yet, even if all the revised volumes are snatched up by collectors, it's not difficult to imagine paperbacks or perhaps even something on the order of The Nightmare Factory (a massive out-of-print paperback that collects nearly all Ligotti tales) appearing after all the revised versions have been released.

-Grim Blogger

Thomas Ligotti's Revised Grimscribe on the Market

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Cthulhu Poker Cards

These new Casino R'lyeh cards, courtesy of Arkham Bazaar, offer an eldritch flavor for the poker table. I'll leave the cross-pollinating jokes about tactical bluffing and cosmic blasphemies aside for now. This 54 card deck is definitely one of the more unique items to propagate the Lovecraftian this year. Moreover, they offer a chance for gamers to enjoy poker and many other traditional card games under Cthulhu's malevolent gaze, an alternative to arguably more complicated games incorporating Mythos elements. A Cthulhuvian poker deck is also something H.P. Lovecraft would quickly recognize, were he mysteriously resurrected.

Though Lovecraftian themes are far from simple, adapting them as old favorites may be a hit. There will always be Call of Cthulhu RPG cultists and video gamers. Yet, in the end, Cthulhu cards may extend their Lovecraftian tentacles further than other pursuits into gaming land.

-Grim Blogger

Cthulhu Poker Cards

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The Old Man & The Goblins

This highly enjoyable short film used to be featured on one of the Lurker in the Lobby: The Best of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival VHS tapes, an early exercise in promoting Lovecraftian cinema. Luckily, it seems to have been back for some time thanks to Youtube. While it better reflects weird, rather than overtly Lovecraftian, imagery, this picture is an outstanding example of how puppetry may be used to communicate outre terror.



-Grim Blogger

The Old Man & The Goblins

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Christopher Barker's The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes Reviewed

For the longest time, specters that are irredeemably malevolent and inhuman have populated weird fiction's ghostly tradition. Now, however, the familiar effectiveness of the demon-like spirit is being challenged by writers like Christopher Barker, a longtime weird fiction commentator and owner of Haunted River Press. In his tale "The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes," a selection from Tenebrous Tales, newly published by Ex Occidente, Barker sews an emotionally mesmerizing narrative by introducing a ghost who is equally human, threatening, and eerie. Nicholas Parkes is also exceptionally believable, a product of Barker's decision to base this phantom and the entire tale around the tragic downfall of British musician Nick Drake.

"The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes" opens in a typically oppressed office, where a narrator named Chris (possibly based on the author himself) seeks to unravel the troubles of a young colleague, Robert Gulliver. After escaping the "Machiavellian malcontents" who leer over their careers with a grim presence, the two settle in at a bar, where Gulliver relates his febrile obsession with the obscure Parkes and the supernatural consequences it has wrought. From the office to Parkes' home and grave site, Barker brings a colorful cast onstage, but none so convincing and intricately sketched as young Parkes.

Nick Drake's rise from nonentity to cult following seems perfectly mirrored in Parkes, while his downfall at the hands of noncommittal, profiteering managers and misfortune crosses the reality-fiction border as well. Barker recognizes the importance of providing generous background passages, and they are sufficient for making the story easily understandable and interesting for readers with zero knowledge of Drake and his music. There is nothing dry about Parkes' history either. Barker's musician is presented as a sensitive, dreamy man who drifts into a dark and phantasmal mindset before his physical demise. More than anything, Parkes himself becomes haunted by his unrealized talent and perhaps something worse, flinging open the door to his posthumous existence as a stricken and vengeful entity.

Unlike Robert Aickman's work, which Christopher Barker has extensively studied and commented on prior to embarking on his own fiction, the supernatural element in this piece is very clear. However, Barker uses Nicholas Parkes' spectral presence to explore several other themes resonating a nearly Aickmanesque aura and strangeness. For instance, the relationship between the obsessive Gulliver and deceased artist--including physical and psychological traits they uncannily share--is left to the reader's imagination. The same may be said about suicide, which functions as a shadowy demon, a recurring curse throughout the story that seems as otherworldly as Parkes at times, and taints the broken artist, as well as those he comes into contact with. Although the content of his work differs from contemporaries like Reggie Oliver and R.B. Russell, Barker's knack for establishing harrowing mysteries with several possible interpretations is competent and comparable to both Oliver and Russell.

Intellectual mazes aside, the fullest draw of "The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes" rests in its ability to form a distinctive, enveloping atmosphere via potent imagery. Barker's alternating excursions through reality and fiction by re-telling Drake's course enlivens certain scenes with a nearly cinematic authenticity. Readers can well imagine Parkes' descent into artistic purgatory and borderline poverty, and sense the immense strain of his fallen hopes. Later, when Parkes' haunting becomes literal, he manifests as a baleful and sad horror, frightening in his lingering humanity and unearthly power. Barker offers truly memorable and disturbing glimpses of Parkes as a distant, mysterious figure, accompanied by cohorts from hell. Even his music is unsettling. Not in the same way as, say, H.P. Lovecraft's Erich Zann, where the chords themselves take on an alien quality. Barker's lyrics, though elegant on the surface, grow increasingly uneasy once the full context and manner of Nicholas Parkes' manifestations are known. Certain phrases become a background score that accents the story's most anxious and phantasmal moments, lending the full narrative a rich and weird atmosphere.

All in all, Christopher Barker's ability to construct, control, and distort the fearful atmosphere so crucial to successful weird fiction, combined with his breach of traditional horror and fiction telling conventions, makes "The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes" a necessary target for supernatural literature readers. Regrettably, it may be some time before this piece and the larger Tenebrous Tales collection are accessible. Stock is reportedly low at Ex Occidente, and this publisher's inability to always keep its promises means readers are better suited seeking out a copy from a third party dealer (for some mark up), or waiting for the e-book edition. If all of Tenebrous Tales is half as satisfying as this lengthy tale, however, everyone can rest assured that Barker's fiction will be back in record time. For a substantial review that examines the full collection, see D.F. Lewis' worthwhile Real Time Review. Barker's work shows depth and sincere craftsmanship, and online commentary is sure to be but the tip of the spear in pinning down this newly illuminated author.

-Grim Blogger

Christopher Barker's The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes Reviewed

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Weird News: Dinosaur Skull Embedded in Church

The discovery of a dinosaur's skull embedded in an old Italian church's marble balustrade suggests many strange connotations. While in practice there's probably nothing sinister going on, even thinking about the legions of worshipers, who must have wondered about the dragon-like phantom in their temple over the centuries, leaves a chill down one's back. This discovery is a legend weaver, and not just in the conventional scientifically awesome sense. The odd intersection of Medieval atmosphere, prehistoric monster, and religion at work here aligns well with weird fiction's finer elements. Who would dare suggest the strangest hauntings are confined to the pages of ghost stories?

Dinosaur Skull Found in Church

-Grim Blogger

Weird News: Dinosaur Skull Embedded in Church

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Weird Fiction and the Great War Fire Bath

The passing of the armistice agreement that ended the First World War should not go unnoticed by folks today, but especially those who enjoy weird fiction, classic and contemporary. The horrors and glories that sprang from Europe's bygone conflagration left a profound mark on weird scribes now acknowledged as masters. While it didn't consume their output, wartime impressions are easily found in stories by H.P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, and many others. One need only look at stories like Lovecraft's "The Temple," or Machen's "The Bowmen," to uncover specimens directly based on WWI.

The conflict did more than fire the fears and awesome imaginations of early twentieth century horror writers. A tiny handful were taken into the blackness, unable to escape the grim statistics hanging over several generations alive during 1914-1918. Britain's strangest able bodied authors followed a drum beat that led them into some very hot and very modern steel jaws. Lord Dunsany suffered a serious combat injury in 1916. Worse, William Hope Hodgson lost his life at Ypres during the war's last year. On the other side, Hanns Heinz Ewers directly participated in the conflict, placing his intellectual faculties in the Kaiser's service as a spy and propagandist.

The war had titanic consequences for weird fiction and the world, probably more than can be realized by today's scholars, who are increasingly segregated from the trenches and gas clouds by time's veil. The breakdown of older aesthetic models that occurred in the conflict's wake opened a trajectory for this era's supernatural literature. Thomas Ligotti, Robert Aickman, D.F. Lewis, and other ultra-modern innovators would not have emerged without studying the direction Western literature stomped off in after the dust settled. Weird fiction, like most literary legacies, is today a bastard child of the Great War, with participants (present company included) who happily gnaw on the dark, psychic fruits sewn by a real world bloodbath.



-Grim Blogger

Weird Fiction and the Great War Fire Bath

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Kids Draw Cthulhu

David Milano's blog contains a fantastic post of Lovecraftian creations imagined by an unlikely artistic niche: children. Milano's kids, who drew select cosmic obscenities and scenes from H.P. Lovecraft tales like "The Call of Cthulhu" and "At the Mountains of Madness," have a definite imaginative advantage over their seniors. His Flickr galleries house more abstract looking Cthulhus, Elder Ones, and Shoggoths than you're likely to find elsewhere. These are, after all, minds not yet weighed down by aesthetic mores or the drive to depict Lovecraft's horrors exactly as they appear in text. This contributes to a highly original freedom in visualizing cosmic nightmares.

-Grim Blogger

Kids Draw Cthulhu

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Sarob Press Returns from the Grave

Sarob Press, which originally closed down in 2007, has returned to the supernatural literary scene. The publisher was known for nearly a decade for producing some limited, but highly coveted books of contemporary ghost stories in small print runs. Today, older Sarob books regularly fetch prices on the second hand market ranging from $50 to hundreds.

Despite being closed for several years, their reputation appears to have stayed in intact. Their first new release, Seven Ghosts and One Other by C.E. Ward, has already sold out. This is Ward's second collection filled with Jamesian ghost tales. If this book's popularity is any indication, then Sarob Press should have little trouble getting back on its feet.

-Grim Blogger

Sarob Press Returns from the Grave

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Site Index Online

After a slight delay, the review and article index is now online, and viewable by using the "Article Index" navigation tab at the top. Want to see more reviews added, or your article forever linked in? Then check out the guidelines on the submissions tabs right next to the index button.

-Grim Blogger

Site Index Online

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Weird Winter Tales at Reading Central Library

The Supernatural Tales blog reports on a Lovecraftian event scheduled for early December, just as the environment in many places is already shrouded in a ghostly hue. Weird Winter Tales at the UK's Reading Central Library will consist of selective Lovecraftian readings followed by a showing of The Call of Cthulhu film. Further details are as follows:

December 4, 2010

Reading Central Library, 12:00-6 PM.  £3 (members £2).

Contact Info at readinglibrary.org.uk

-Grim Blogger

Weird Winter Tales at Reading Central Library

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Del Toro Talks Secret Lovecraftian Game

It seems Guillermo del Toro's push to create a cinematic version of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" is not the only project he has in mind inspired by the writer. Comments harvested by GiantBomb.com have confirmed that the director is working in concert with THQ to release a Lovecraftian video game (or possibly multiple games) sometime around 2013. Details about the game are extremely limited, with neither del Toro nor THQ elaborating on the game. This may mean it's in a very early stage of development, or being kept tightly concealed by THQ and del Toro.

-Grim Blogger

Del Toro Talks Secret Lovecraftian Game

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Zalgo Infects American Politics!

Although the Zalgo front has been relatively quiet in the last few months, the Lovecraftian meme is not dead, but dreaming. Today, mid-term elections are being held for federal and statewide offices across the United States. Whatever the result, few will notice the conspiratorial blackness seething around the angelic faces of America's leaders.

While the best paranoid researchers are off blaming oil tycoons, Masons, and Reptoids for infiltrating government, it seems that H.P. Lovecraft and his most ubiquitous digital emissary to date are ignored. You can't blame them, though. Who would think to look back at the Necronomicon rather than, say, Project Paperclip or Bilderberg Group documents for nefarious corruption? And would anyone seriously forego following the latest money trails from BP and Halliburton to examine the black tendrils trailing from the $1000 sleeves of Democratic and Republican leaders?

Change is coming again, but it won't be issuing from Obama or Tea Party stalwarts this time. There is only one phenomenon that can seize on the quasi-apocalyptic mood settling over early 21st century politics. It is a bipartisan and otherworldly enterprise called Zalgo, and it will happily consume our hopes and horrors, immeasurably better than any party or politician could dream of doing.

-Grim Blogger

Zalgo Infects American Politics!

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