The H P Lovecraft Code

[Allegra]

The H P Lovecraft Code - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia

'A conspiracy theory revolving around the idea that Lovecraft's vision's of a world ruled by unearthly, ancient beings known as the Great Old Ones is in fact true. Not only this, but their worshippers persist as a highly organised and powerful cult including many notable historical figures, including Leonardo da Vinci. The theory is described in a novel, abridged below. As you read, do not think too hard on it because the only thing to save your sanity once you are aware of the facts is "the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents". ......'

 

[Nesacat]

Of course it's true. I always thought it was at any rate. Maybe the only way he could tell it was to write it as fiction. Maybe in this way people would read it and some of them would remember when there was a need for such a remembrance.

Perhaps that is why the books draw some people and not others.

 

[Randolph]

I think the idea would either be appalling or quite amusing to Lovecraft. Maybe even a bit of both.

 

[mogora]

There were some people during Lovecraft's life, notably a William Lumley (no relation to a current writer), who thought Lovecraft was writing the truth.

In his letters, Lovecraft did seem a bit amused by it.

(Oh, how I wish for a searchable collection of HPL's letters...)

 

[mogora]

Here we go! (Selected Letters IV):

"He is firmly convinced that all our gang—you, Two-Gun Bob, Sonny Belknap, Grandpa E'ch-Pi-El, and the rest—are genuine agents of unseen Powers in distributing hints too dark and profound for human conception or comprehension. We may think we're writing fiction, and may even (absurd thought!) disbelieve what we write, but at bottom we are telling the truth in spite of ourselves—serving unwittingly as mouthpieces of Tsathoggua, Crom, Cthulhu, and other pleasant Outside gentry. Indeed—Bill tells me that he has fully identified my Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep . . . . . . . so that he can tell me more about 'em than I know myself! With a little encouragement, good old Bill would unfold limitless chronicles from beyond the border—but I like the old boy so well that I never make fun of him. "

 

[j d worthington]

mogora: If you can track it down, S. T. Joshi did an index to the Selected Letters -- there's a revised edition, as well as the original, which corrected some few errors. I'm not sure if you can find one out there, but it's worth a look.....

 

[mogora]

Thanks JD - I'll take a look.

 

[j d worthington]

Also... if you're into his letters, Hippocampus Press has put out two volumes of his letters, one to Rheinhart Kleiner and one to Alfred Galpin, both of which also have writings by each of these, respectively (poems and essays -- including several on HPL -- published in the amateur magazines of the period); Night Shade Books has put out Adventures in Time and Spirit, the correspondence between HPL and Donald Wandrei, and Letters from New York, which has the majority of his correspondence from that period ... well over 80% of which has never been published before. And George Willard Kirk's letters to his fiancee about his experiences with HPL and the Kalem Club in New York has also been published by Hippocampus Press:

Lovecraft's New York Circle: The Kalem Club, 1924-1927 - Hippocampus Press

H. P. Lovecraft: Letters To Rheinhart Kleiner - Hippocampus Press

H. P. Lovecraft: Letters to Alfred Galpin - Hippocampus Press

Night Shade Books - Books

Night Shade Books - Books

And there was a volume edited by Joshi and Schultz from his letters, Lord of a Visible World, which has been put together as an autobiography, covering different periods and aspects of his life:

HPLA - Lord of a Visible World: An Autobiography in Letters

You may know about these but, if not, you may find them of interest, as (with the exception of Lord, they are generally the full texts of the letters (or at least, what still exists of them), unlike the often highly-edited Selected Letters volumes....

 

[Lobolover]

So,did HPL ever ask good ol' Bill about the details ?