What makes Cthulhu popular?

[MiniPigs]

 I am quizzical why all the mounds of boils and eyes, tentacle faced creatures and fishmen seem to be so universally popular? I can see it has a cult following but what makes it more  attractive than some of the other sci-fi or pulp genres? It seems to be a force of its own but to an outsider, the creatures seem somewhat limited.

I dont think Ive ever read anything by Lovecraft, thus where to start for a beginner? I really dont know much but if it is this popular, then I wouldnt mind poking around some more.

Also, maybe a good set of rules which can be played solo for this genre?

[carlos marighela]

Well, from what little I have read*, it almost certainly isn’t his accomplishment as a narrative author, his command of English, his precise turn of phrase or grammatical construction.

I can only suggest it is post-modern nostalgia for offal, in this case tripe. Something shared with the fans of Sax-Rohmer but with less overt racism.


* Bored and curious one day. His writing style could best be described as obnoxiously poor.

[has.been]

It is a Myth to me.

[Cubs]

Lovecraft wasn't the only author dabbling in the 'Old Gods' and occult style in the 1920's and 30's, and sadly, the racist overtones were only too common in writing from that time (try reading any pulp stories from that time), something which is difficult and unpleasant to read now. His writing style I find overblown and florid (again, quite common for the time) and the pace of his stories is often pedestrian and drags on to an ending that was foreseen waaaay before it arrived.

But for all that, I do like the imaginative nature of the stories, the fact that a lot remains unexplained (leaving the reader's mind to fill in blanks) and chilling nature of otherworldly threats that seem inexorable, like the destruction of our mortal realm by entities without and within, is only being delayed by the best efforts of humanity. I like that the heroes are more likely to be scholars rather than gun-toting champions and the way that the familiar is subtly warped into twisted versions of nature that are all the more disturbing for being close enough to be like a nightmare version of our world, mostly hidden from view but occasionally glimpsed by the curious or unwary. 'The Music of Erich Zann' is one of my favourites that encapsulates this nicely, as is 'The Festival'.

The huge slime creatures of eyeballs and tentacles don't interest me much, but I do like the more subtle horrors, like the human/monster hybrids, the 'sorcerers' using weird sciences to access forbidden powers, or the ever-present threats of beasts living under our feet in subterranean kingdoms. Often it's the 'universe' he and other authors created I enjoy more than the actual stories themselves.

[Pijlie]

His technical shortcomings as a writer ( let alone his character flaws) nothwithstanding Lovecraft is an important founder of modern horror literature. Not just with his writing but also the inspiration and guidance he offered to other and younger writers who created the Mythos genre in concert with him. Many writers these days acknowledge this like Stephen King for example.

Many aspects of the current Mythos were not Lovecrafts intention. For example he had  no belief in the supernatural or good and evil. His stories more suggested than showed the horrors his protagonists encountered.

[Orctrader]

I dont think Ive ever read anything by Lovecraft, thus where to start for a beginner?

I'd recommend The Dunwich Horror as a starting point.  Recent reprints, always available.   

[Sterling Moose]

I dont think Ive ever read anything by Lovecraft

I'd recommend an audio book, great for a car journey or a series of painting sessions.  Dunwich Horror and Shadow Over Innsmouth I downloaded from iTunes.  Earlier this year I listened to BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward' and The Whisperer in the Darkness'. Both were excellent, set in modern times.  Hopefully the series will continue.

[pixelgeek]

I dont think Ive ever read anything by Lovecraft, thus where to start for a beginner?

I wouldn't bother. It isn't really all that novel or frightening because of how much the material has made its way into popular and gaming culture.

I suspect that if I had read the novels and stories when I was younger (like I did with Conan) that it would have had far more of an impact but at this point in time the stories really don't have much effect.

Lovecraft also pales in comparison to modern writers who have 'stood on his shoulders' and expanded the themes he helped popularize.

[Blackwolf]

Have ago at reading them,if you have a Kindle they are dirt cheap. I would suggest Call of Cthulhu,Shadow Over Innsmouth,and as Orctrader says The Dunwich Horror. I think they still stand up against a lot of modern horror fiction,and despite the sometimes purple prose are subtle moody and evocative.
Thankfully we are all different,I find GRR Martins books appalling,a lot don’t. So give Lovecraft a go,if it’s your thing, It is a whole new world to explore ,if not,no harm done
Cheero
Guy

[Cat]

I must confess that I am a fan of the prose purple!  Lovecraft, like Howard and Burroughs, is quite the racist; but nonetheless they were great story tellers and had unquestionably large impacts on the development of pulpy fiction.  Folks working in the Mythos these days are doing a bang-up job of addressing his racism head on.

I've enjoyed reading the originals as well as modern works.

For a really nice cross-wiring of worlds, Shadows Over Baker Street edited by Neal Gaimon is a topflight collection, headlined by one of Gaimon's own stories.

For a delightfully cheekier cross-over, Scream For Jeeves by Peter Cannon is brilliant.  Used copies fetch a dear price these days, but electronic versions are out there.

Despite what miniature manufacturers convey, many of the top stories don't feature tentacled squishy things.  The Rats in the Walls, and Pickman's Model are great horror. 

The Night Gallery did a great TV episode of Pickman:
https://www.nbc.com/night-gallery/video/pickmans-model/3969156

[Dr Mathias]

It's a good question, I certainly never expected the character Cthulhu to go so mainstream. I was astounded by the amount of Cthulhu merch at GenCon several years ago, seemed like every other booth had a Cthulhu plush or some other mash-up version of the character.

I for one love the mythos, I drift away for years and always find myself coming back to it. My first experience was with the RPG around age 12, and I was soon into the books. The whole concept seemed very 'new' at the time I discovered it.

The character of Cthulhu is like any other nerd culture thing that got big enough that people know who he is, whether or not you know the author or overall 'franchise'. Cthulhu even showed up in an episode of the animated "Real Ghostbusters" cartoon in the 80s. Edgy! He's sort of a Godzilla type entity, which people seem to like.

As for modern revisitations and reworkings, there's some good stuff out there. I loved "Deep Roots" and "Winter Tide" by Emrys.

[Sarmor]

the creatures seem somewhat limited.

I'd say the Mythos aren't really about the creatures, but rather about the horror of discovering that we don't know the "truth" about the world we live in, that humanity is insignificant, and that the cosmos doesn't really care about humans (and often that the main character doesn't know his real heritage).
It's just that the creatures are easier to do, so many authors took the monsters only (like the Call of Cthulhu RPG, which often was just pulp adventure with tentacles) - plus you cannot sell "cosmic horror" plushies. 

I dont think Ive ever read anything by Lovecraft, thus where to start for a beginner?

I'd recommend The Colour Out of Space, which IMHO is the best story.

Have ago at reading them,if you have a Kindle they are dirt cheap.

Lovecraft's stories are in the public domain, no need to pay or them.

Lovecraft also pales in comparison to modern writers who have 'stood on his shoulders' and expanded the themes he helped popularize.

Any titles you'd recommend?

[Ballardian]

"Any titles you'd recommend?" Sarmor, I'd recommend a couple of fairly recent collections: 'Black Wings Of Cthulhu' (vols. 1-6) put together by the noted Lovecraft scholar (yes, such a thing exists in thet wonderful world of academia) S.T. Joshi and ' The Book Of Cthulhu' (vols 1&2) put together by Ross E. Lockheart. Both contain stories from a wide variety of contributors, from con contemporaries of Lovecraft (like Pugmire, Robert Howard etc.) to modern writers like Ramsey Campbell and Caitlin Kiernan.

[carlos marighela]

Spoiler Alert.

It can now safely be revealed that HP Lovecraft is the author behind Q Anon.

[Hammers]

"Lovecraft Country"  on HBO Nordic doesn't channel Lovecraft very well, so far. Stranger Things comes much closer, even if it is not directly based on his novels.