Love Craft and Cosmic Horror


               

                   Lovecracft wrote horror with the themes of making the reader feel small and insignificant, like every thing in their lives was so short and worthless that it lacked all meaning. He wanted the reader to feel this way in the face of something lurking in the shadows of space and the darkness of the ocean, an unseen un knowable horror that thoughts, motivations and existence are beyond comprehension. I love his writing even if the dude was a bigoted prick, he really popularized the fear of the unknown in horror and created the genre of cosmic horror. Though I feel like some of his writings definitely serve these themes stronger then others. For example i find Call of Cthulu, even though its one of his most famous stories, to be one the weakest because of how much information is given in the final part of the story about Cthulu, his home, his motivation, the exact aspects of his summoning, the fact that you can injure him with a boat, or that a bunch of sailors can release him, can kind of ruin the sense of suspense and horror. Where I think Shadow Over Innsmouth is one of his most effective stories, not only is the suspense and build up excellent, and does it give your imagination a chance to create the disturbing truths and horrors about the strange town and who its demented fish like denizens might worship, but that it attacks the characters and the viewers individuality. By the end of the story the protagonist does manage to escape the terrifying town of cultish fish people, how ever he does eventually go mad and starts thinking like they do and returns to the town to become one with them. Despite his personality, is physical strengths, his logic and other mental capabilities, becoming one the cult was in his DNA he never had a choice, he never had a life, all aspects of his individuality meant nothing and were brushed aside so he could complete his true role of serving a darker being. I find aspects of his stories like that far more terrifying then giant squid men, and doomsday prophecies, the fact the one dear aspect of out lives that we hold on to simply doesn't exist when we come in contact with forces we can not possibly begin to comprehend.