The Lovecraft Geek

"The Temple" by H.P. Lovecraft Read by Robert M. Price

"Dagon" by H.P. Lovecraft Read by Robert M. Price

Might the success of “The Colour out of Space” both as one of my favorite stories and as one of the most popular could be due to its relative independence from the other stories, which it barely references, unburdened by the whole mythos? Do you feel that the horror genre is too formulaic? Or does this help the audience play along and enjoy it more? Please tell us about the first time you read the Dream Quest stories and what your initial thoughts were. Would you mind discussing your Necronomicon chapter of your Holy Fable volume IV, what led to your drafting it, and your thoughts on it in general? When did Lovecraft's influence upon English authors begin? Did Lovecraft know French and German, or any foreign languages? Latin , perhaps ? To what extent do you think the death of his father, grandfather, and mother informed his ideas about cosmic indifference and a universe that does not respect human ideas of natural order? In “The Shadow over Innsmouth” why is the Esoteric Order of Dagon dedicated to "Dagon", and not some other fish-man god? Or to one of Lovecraft's unpronounceable invented alien names? After the hero escaped Innsmouth and told the authorities, why did they believe his story? Why not just dismiss him as a nut? After the fish people contacted him later, inviting him to join them, promising immortality and no punishment for all the trouble he'd caused why did he believe them? The most famous quote from the Necronomicon is, of course, "that is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die." Do you have an idea of what a more literal translation of the Necronomicon might have said?

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is also one of my favorite tales, but I am confused about its ending. While exploring Curwen’s underground laboratory, Dr. Willet inadvertently calls up a being that was in jar 118. Who or what was that? Also, he makes a discovery in Charles’ room, and then calls for wood for a fire. My guess is that he found Charles’ body, and then cremated it to obtain its ‘essential saltes.’ He then raised it to find out how to defeat Curwen. Is this correct? Also, Willet mentions to Curwen that his European partners in crime, Orne and Hutchinson, were destroyed or dealt with somehow. Did he call something up to do this? In Robert E. Howard’s writings and worlds how much of the Mythos creeps in? Are there elder gods and unknown horrors at the edges of the worlds of Conan, Red Sonja, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, etc? Do any of these sword and sorcery types ever run up against them? How well do you think REH's horror compares? Did he get cosmic horror? Isn’t it sort of silly that Wilbur Whately, a nine-foot-tall prodigy who stalks about in public with a pistol at the ready, is done in by a dog?

In Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy, Graham Harman argues that Lovecraft's description of the Elder Things is intended to be nearly impossible to visualize. But hasn’t it been done by various artists? Do you know if H.P. ever said something explicit about Poe's influence on him? Perhaps a "Nodens Cycle" book is impossible due to the lack of material, but I wondered if you could help me flesh out his development as a Mythos entity and as a product of Lovecraft's thought-process. Of all ocean gods in human mythology, why would Lovecraft emphasize Nodens in two stories? Was Lovecraft merely honoring Machen by using that name? And why do you suppose Nodens is connected with the Night-gaunts? Two arguments for using Antarctica as the setting for a film version of At the Mountains of Madness. I was wondering if you could discuss John Carpenter's 1982 film "The Thing"? What are your overall thoughts on it, and can you comment on the Lovecraftian elements of the plot, setting, ending etc. Also, what are your thoughts on the prequel film (if you've seen it), also titled "The Thing" (2011).   If HPL lived today, after the discovery of extra-solar habitable planets, would he have changed his belief that there are no alien races out there? Why did HPL, once a fan of Burroughs, turn away from him? Have you ever had a chance to read through HPL's letters? If so did you ever find anything in them that surprised you or altered your basic assumptions and views of the man?

Considering the current political climate, have you ever experienced a professional backlash for not being political correct enough? Where in Lovecraft’s letters does he mention “the Black Seal of Iraan”? Did Lovecraft struggle with depression or anxiety? Was HPL insane? If so, did it affect his writing? In first part of The Lurker at the Threshold, Ambrose Dewart visits the round tower and notes that there is one entrance, which has been bricked shut. He returns later and walks right in! Huh? Did I miss something? Reading “Winged Death” reminded me of a short nonfiction book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, composed one letter at a time by a person with shut-in syndrome who was completely paralyzed except for one eye that he could blink. His nurse realized he could blink, and used her recitation of the alphabet combined with his blinking on the letter of his choosing to compose the book.  Describe a Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast. What is your view of annotated editions of HPL? Was Lovecraft heavily influenced by Poe?

Do you think that Lovecraft might have returned to straight science writing had he lived longer? Do you think a story can have a strong dose of humor in it and still be Lovecraftian? Wasn’t HPL’s grandfather quite wealthy? How did Lovecraft wind up dying of malnutrition because he couldn't afford the basic necessities of life? I'm contemplating writing an dramatic staged musical adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu. What aspects of the story do you think most ought to be explored, especially ones that might be done well though music or song such as in an opera? And is there anything about this story in particular that you think many people seem to miss? I am looking for your recommendation on how to accomplish my goal of reading the entire mythos in the proper chronological order. Besides Robert Bloch, what other writers did HPL directly influence/tutor? What are your thoughts on authors weaving The Mythos into a larger “continuity” of real or imagined philosophies and religions in a historical context? Have you come across Japanese cartoon movies on Lovecraftian themes? Like "Mysteries of the Necronomicon"?  In Charles Dexter Ward is supposed to be somehow embodied in the painting, or inhabiting it, until his resurrection? It seems the calling up of Curwen could well take place without it (Charles has the remains; the text implies that he reduces them to ‘saltes’ and then calls Curwen up from them).   I’ve heard you discuss a narrative discrepancy in ‘The Shadow over Innsmouth’ – the narrator’s clear horror and loathing of Innsmouth and the Deep Ones, against the fact that by the end of the tale, he’s pretty much rejoicing in becoming a Deep One himself! I have never seen this as a problem... It’s only in the final two paragraphs that the narrator’s view changes, and it’s quite a drastic shift. I think it’s intentional. I hope you might consider making a Robert E. Howard Geek-podcast or just a podcast about anything related to Weird Tales in general. Could you elaborate a bit on the relationship between HPL and REH? Who contacted who first? What did they talk about? What was their common ground? For how long did they correspond and so on. You mentioned once that even though  S.T. Joshi and Lin Carter were friendly, they were also kinda opposites. Can you elaborate a bit on this?

If we consider the progression of Lovecraft's work over time, how do you think his writing would have evolved? Is the elder sign’s resemblance to a masonic cross purely coincidence? What is your personal Lovecraft action figure wishlist? What are your thoughts on “The Dunwich Horror” radio adaptation from the Suspense radio program in 1945? Do you think John Dixon Carr had anything to do with the production? What was your experience with the “Trap Door Spiders” literary society like? What is your opinion on the ending of the 2007 film Cthulhu? If you could read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? Are you familiar with the 2009 film The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu?

If we consider the progression of Lovecraft's work over time, how do you think his writing would have evolved? Is the elder sign’s resemblance to a masonic cross purely coincidence? What is your personal Lovecraft action figure wishlist? What are your thoughts on “The Dunwich Horror” radio adaptation from the Suspense radio program in 1945? Do you think John Dixon Carr had anything to do with the production? What was your experience with the “Trap Door Spiders” literary society like? What is your opinion on the ending of the 2007 film Cthulhu? If you could read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? Are you familiar with the 2009 film The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu?

Suppose that a Foundation type civilization encounters some non-Euclidean geometry from which enter Lovecraft's monstrous pantheon. Would such an advanced civilization be affected on the same basic level of sanity as one of Lovecraft's 1920-era protagonists?  Do you feel that the excuse that Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" essentially tackled the same style of story is a sufficient reason not to make Del Toro's "Mountains of Madness" adaptation? Iâ??m curious if you are aware of a Mexican 1959 horror film by Mario Bava entitled Caltiki, the Immortal Monster, I think that is about as Lovecraftian as any non-Lovecraft movie Iâ??ve ever seen. Has anyone figured out and listed which of Nicholas Roerich's paintings, which are so frequently mentioned in "At the Mountains of Madness", were accessible to HPL? Are we to believe the assertions of Satanist Winter Laake that when a young boy Lovecraft encountered a 'spirit guide' and that he denied this for fear of being labeled mentally ill like his father, and that Lovecraft met Aleister Crowley in New York City?   Is there a generally accepted Lovecraft canon?    Is there a concise document or website that effectively lists all the works tied to the Cthulhu Mythos?   Do you know if Lovecraft pioneered the horror trope of people unexpectedly wandering into a cursed town in the Shadow Over Innsmouth?