And anyone who played World of Warcraft experienced the very obvious influence of the Cthulhu Mythos on the Old Gods lurking in the dark corners of Azeroth. These themes found their way into the work of popular authors such as Stephen King and Alan Moore, video game designer Kazuhiro Hamatani and manga artist Junji Ito, and is found in the art of HR Giger who was responsible for the the design of the aliens in the Alien franchise.
This is especially present in his stories involving the ‘Great Old Ones’, ancient and monstrous deities that regard humans in the same way we regard microscopic organisms. Themes such as madness, forbidden knowledge, and the insignificance of humanity in the grand scheme of the universe (known as cosmicism) were present throughout his writing, and Lovecraft’s characters are infamous for being exposed to knowledge outside of the realm of their known reality and going ‘mad’ as a result. The Cthulhu Mythos, as it’s come to be called, includes Lovecraft’s own work as well as the work of other authors who took direct inspiration from his stories (think of it as early-twentieth century author approved fanfiction). Lovecraft encouraged writers to use the world and mythology he created to build off his foundation of cosmic horror, or “Weird” fiction. But his contributions to the realm of speculative fiction are so immense that it’s impossible to ignore his continued influence on the genres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Polarising American author HP Lovecraft (1890-1937) wrote some deeply unsavoury things during his lifetime. And with strange aeons even death may die.Ībdul Alhazred, author of the Necronomicon