“The
oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest
kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” –
H. P. Lovecraft
Born in Rhode Island on this date in 1890, Lovecraft was virtually unknown during his lifetime with his writing almost exclusively published in pulp magazines before he died in poverty at age 46. But today he is regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors of supernatural horror fiction and a major influencer on writers ranging from Stephen King to William S. Burroughs.
Among his most celebrated tales are The Call of Cthulhu and The Shadow Out of Time, inspiration for numerous games, drawings, horror movies, and psychedelic and heavy metal music. Lovecraft's earliest known literary works began at age seven with poems restyling the Odyssey and other mythological stories. By age 13 he was editing and publishing the Rhode Island Journal of Astronomy, reflecting his fascination with the Universe and Earth’s place within it.
“Toil without song is like a weary
journey without an end,” he wrote. “(But) I fear my enthusiasm flags when real
work is demanded of me.”
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