His mother was raising him like a daughter, not letting him out: Who is Howard Phillips Lovecraft?

He was born on August 20, 1890, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the only child of his father, Winfield Scott Lovecraft, who was a marketer, and his mother, Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft. His parents were married when they were both in their thirties. In 1893, when Lovecraft was only 3 years old, his father suffered a severe mental illness in his hotel room while on a business trip to Chicago. He was brought back to Providence and admitted to the Butler Asylum. He would stay here until he died of a stroke in 1898 from a nervous breakdown. His father's illness and death had a profound and profound effect on Lovecraft.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of weird, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Continuing to live in the same house with his mother, two aunts, and grandfather after his father's death, Lovecraft was brought up under the intense pressure of his mother. His mother was raising him like a girl and would not let him go out. Over time, this led to the development of psychological allergies in Lovecraft. He couldn't go out in the air above a certain temperature. Growing up antisocial and introverted, Lovecraft began to write his first poems at the age of 6. Supported by his grandfather, the writer became interested in Arabian mysticism and gothic horror stories. The strange stories he wrote worried his mother. Under the pressure of his mother and constantly ill, Lovecraft did not go to school until the age of 8. In the first year, he started school, he had to take a break again. He spent his time at home reading and doing research on astrology and chemistry. After 4 years, he re-entered Hope Street High School.

It was a devastating blow to Lovecraft when his grandfather died in 1904, he was his only surviving friend and supporter. His grandfather left a family on the brink of poverty with many debts behind him. The family had to leave their home and move to a much smaller house. Leaving the house where he was born affected the writer deeply, and therefore he tried to commit suicide. Just before graduating from high school in 1908, he had a nervous breakdown and failed to get his diploma. He wanted to go to Brown University but was unsuccessful due to health problems.

He wrote many science fiction stories between 1908 and 1913. During these years, his relationship with people was limited to his mother. But that changed with his letter to The Argosy magazine. His article caught the attention of Edward F. Dass, president of an amateur publishing association called UAPA. Daas invited Lovecraft to join the association in 1914. UAPA encouraged the author to write many poems and essays. In 1917, he wrote many science fiction and detective stories, especially "Grave" and "Dagon".

During these years, he made many pen pals. His long, literary letters made him the greatest letter writer of the century. His pen pals included Robert Bloch, author of "Psycho," Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian.

After suffering a depression in 1919, Lovercraft's mother also suffered a nervous breakdown and was taken to the Butler Asylum. During his stay here, he wrote many letters to his son. He passed away on May 21, 1921, in urinary bladder surgery. Lovecraft once again faced great destruction. A few weeks after his mother's death, he attended an amateur journalists convention in Boston. There he met Sonia Greene, who came from a Jewish Ukrainian family.

Sonia was 8 years older than Lovecraft. Despite this, the couple married in 1924 and moved to New York. The writer's aunts were not satisfied with this marriage. They did not approve of Sonia being a Jewish and working woman. Lovecraft was fascinated by the glamorous life in New York, but they soon had to face financial difficulties and financial difficulties. Sonia lost her hat shop, and Lovercraft could not find a job. So Sonia moved to Cleveland to work. Lovecraft was left alone in the Red Hook neighborhood which was the subject of his stories.

The author's most productive period began after he returned to Providence during the last ten years of his life. He wrote his best-known short stories, "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" and "On the Peaks of Madness" during this period. He introduced many ghost stories such as "The Diary of Alonzo Typer", "Bump", and "Winged Death" to the literary world. The writer, who became poorer during these years when he was most productive, had to move to a small boarding house with his surviving aunt.

In 1936 the author was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Lovecraft, whose condition worsened due to malnutrition, died in Providence on March 15, 1937.

The name H. P. Lovecraft was immortalized in his 1926 horror novel The Myth of Cthulhu. This novel has inspired many films, compositions, and comics. He inspired many sci-fi writers, including Stephan King, Bentley Little, Joe R. Lansdale, and Neil Gaiman, who are still alive today.

11 Things You May Not Know About H.P. Lovecraft

Who is Lovecraft? The shortest answer to the question might be: Lovecraft is a great master who shaped today's horror literature almost half a century ago and is seen as one of the fathers of weird fiction. However, the American writer, like many of his colleagues, did not receive the respect he deserved. Almost unknown in his lifetime (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937), Lovecraft was barely able to get his writings published in cheap magazines. His life also ended in poverty.

Lovecraft, who gained his deserved fame only after his death, is regarded as one of the most important writers of horror and weird fiction genres today and continues to be an inspiration to many. Even after 80 years, people are still producing, writing, drawing and glorifying films, stories, comics, games, and books based on his works.

1. Both His Parents Were In The Same Mental Hospital

Lovecraft's father, Winfield Scott Lovecraft, was admitted to Butler Neurological Diseases Hospital with the diagnosis of mental balance disorder when the author was only three years old. Five years later he passed away. Although Winfield's claim to have syphilis persists to this day, neither his son nor his wife showed similar symptoms.

Lovecraft's mother, Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft, was also admitted to the same hospital in 1919 when the author was 29 years old. She kept in touch with her son by correspondence with her son, but she passed away two years later due to the complications she had after the surgery.

2. Inspired Batman

Even if you're not a Batman fan, you've probably heard of Arkham Asylum in the city where the comic takes place. This hospital, where the hero often sends his enemies, takes its name from the famous city of Arkham, created by Lovecraft, as you can imagine. It is also possible to see Lovecraft-inspired enemies and locations from time to time in the comics.

3. Lovecraft Never Called His Corpus the “Cthulhu Myth”

Lovecraft is referred to as "the creator of the Cthulhu Myth" whenever he is mentioned, as the majority of his fans know him for The Call of Cthulhu and other works set in this universe. However, he never used the term during his lifetime. The name he chose for his interconnected stories is different: Arkham Cycle.

4. Lovecraft Actually Wanted to Be an Astronomer

When Lovecraft was little, he dreamed of becoming a professional astronomer. However, being a sick child, he could only go to school occasionally, never finish high school, and eventually self-taught. Although he was a vigorous amateur astronomer throughout his life, he did not pursue this dream any longer. His first published article, however, was a letter he wrote "on astronomical matters" to The Providence Sunday Journal in 1906.

Let us remind you that the terrifying creatures in the Cthulhu myth always come from outer space, other planets, and distant stars.

5. Lovecraft Was Racist

We don't want to dwell on this too much, but looking at his letters and some of his writings, it seems that Lovecraft was heavily racist. Unfortunately, we have no excuse for this aspect; The evidence on this subject is overwhelming, as he wrote hundreds of letters throughout his life. On the other hand, considering the period in which he lived and how widespread racism was at that time, perhaps this should not be surprising.

6. Lovecraft Would Prefer Cats To Dogs

Or we could say he wrote an essay about it. However, when you read that article, you realize that it is very similar to other articles written by Lovecraft. It offers an interesting reading experience. We recommend this article called 'Cats and Dogs', sir.

Likewise, in the famous short horror story "Cats of Ulthar", he again featured cats and described them as noble and mysterious creatures. Finally, he has often stated that this is his favorite story in his writings.

7. Lovecraft Suffered from Nightmares

Yes, from the nightmare you know. You know, the nightmares that suddenly wake you up at night, don't let you move, leave you out of breath, sometimes even screaming… And that inspired much of what he wrote. Around the age of six, Lovecraft began having uncontrollable nightmares associated with his parents' illness.

8. Lovecraft Was a Nocturnal Person

Due to the disorder, we mentioned in the previous lines, Lovecraft began to become a nocturnal person. He would not leave the house when the sun was shining. However, when the sun went down, he would go out and study astronomy and write his articles. He routinely spent his days sleeping and considered himself a recluse. This is exactly the reason for his extremely pale skin, which is one of the most striking aspects of his photographs.

9. He Was The Ghost Writer Of Harry Houdini

In the days when Weird Tales was in financial difficulty, the founder of the magazine wanted to include the stories told by the stage magician Harry Houdini in order to benefit from his reputation. Of course, the ghostwriter chosen to write the story was Lovecraft.

Our writer accepted this job only because he would be paid in advance. After hearing the story of Houdini claiming that he was abducted by a tour guide during an Egypt tour, thrown into a pit under the Great Pyramid of Giza, where he met a real god, and that all this was completely true, he came to the conclusion that the man was bullshit and got the permission of his editor to tell the story he knew. He wrote like. Thus, “Under the Pyramids” was born. Despite this, Houdini loved the story and continued to work with Lovecraft in the following years. They even wrote a thesis together called The Cancer of Superstition.

10. Lovecraft Died “Twice”

There was a very close friendship between Lovecraft and Robert Bloch (Writer of Psycho). Bloch, who is also a Weird Tales writer and sees Lovecraft as his teacher, has made invaluable contributions to the Cthulhu Myth.

He even once took things a step further and wrote a story called "Shambler from the Stars" and killed Lovecraft. Lovecraft later responded to "this gesture" in the same way and killed Bloch in the story "The Haunter of the Dark". This must be what they call friendship to death...

11. He Hated Seafood

One of the most well-known characteristics of Lovecraft's creatures is that they have been dormant for years in a city under the sea. Cthulhu, Dagon, and others always emerge from the sea. People who worship them turn into hideous, half-fish-like creatures that can breathe underwater. One of the highlights of The Shadow Over Innsmouth story is the smell of fish. A disgusting fishy smell… Do you know why? Because Lovecraft hated everything that lived in the sea all his life…