The Concepts Behind Lovecraft
Lovecraft was an author who was very different. His horror fiction was unlike anything we'd ever seen. Well, almost. His works were rooted in the myth and the occult, with obvious nods to different supernatural beliefs. He had written about the Cosmos, and his version of God-like beings, the elders, or old Gods. They had taken many shapes and forms, and had a connection to both humanity and the shape of our very reality itself. Lovecraft believed that the supernatural world and the everyday world had an intimate connection, and each moved the other in a sort of yin-yang.
Lovecraft was not a popular writer when he was alive, as he could not even pay his bills with his earnings. He had started at a young age, and was considered both xenophobic and weird, much like what he wrote. He did not engage in sexual activity, and did not have any children. Many writers and creative individuals mimicked and added to his work. The cosmic beings, or great ones of Bloodborne, a video game inspired by Lovecraft, could not reproduce themselves. Whether Lovecraft was insane or legit in his ideas, did he believe he had became a celestial kin, and could not reproduce? In his mythos, beings such as Azathoth are asexual, and merely reproduce in a form of cell division. This shows how our lives as writers shape what fiction we write.
It's interesting to note that Lovecraft had a sort of fetish for his mother. Being raised individually by her, he gained a sort of unhealthy attachment for her. He stated that she was a "don't touch me" sort of individual, and the woman he married later on in life was much of the same way. This is also in line with Freudian theory, that men want to marry and have coitis with woman who are similar to their mothers. I'm sure there is truth to all of this, but it perhaps states that the early twentieth century of America had beliefs within it that we would find taboo here in the twenty-first century. Lovecraft, after death, gained much success, as readers began to see the merit of his works. Had Lovecraft indeed reproduced himself in death, becoming a new creature, be it spiritual, helping people see the light of his rather dark works?
The sexual themes were all over Lovecraft's works. Who can forget his story The Shadow Over Innsmouth, where people bred with fish, creating demonic hybrids? In Bloodborne, crossbreeding is all over the place, including the implantation of the alien kin into human hosts. Surrogates and hosts are a recurring theme in all Lovecraftian works. Perhaps serving as the host to another being is a way of reproducing yourself, as his Mythos did. (In more ways than one!) I admire Lovecraft's dedication to his works, but I can't but help believe he was unhappy in his life. His vision blinded him, and to forfeit a family and die early on in life at 46 is a cruel fate. His research of the arcane and his countless works is overshadowed by his untimely death with no heir to speak of. His wife must have been unhappy, too, which makes me feel utter sorrow for her. I'm glad she moved on after his death. Even now, I merely feel I am making confessions on his behalf, serving as a sort of willing host for him. He wasn't wrong with what he had written, as far off base from traditional reality it was. May we all sing a requiem for him, and remember one of the greatest writers of all time. His concepts were truly bizarre and eye-opening.
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