Oh hell yes! Today is the 71st anniversary of the death of H.P. Lovecraft. This genius is one of my favorite authors. He even had his own literary movement, Cosmicism:

“The philosophy of cosmicism states that there is no recognizable divine presence, such as God, in the universe, and that humans are particularly insignificant in the larger scheme of intergalactic existence, and perhaps are just a small species projecting their own mental idolatries onto the vast cosmos, ever susceptible to being wiped from existence at any moment. This also suggested that the majority of undiscerning humanity are creatures with the same significance as insects in a much greater struggle between greater forces which, due to humanity’s small, visionless and unimportant nature, it does not recognize.”

I don’t necessarily agree with Cosmicism, but find it fascinating. Sometimes I see it as a metaphor for human civilization playing with immensely powerful emerging technologies beyond our ability to control, like nanotech and AI. 67 Lovecraft stories are available at the Gutenberg Project. Some of my favorites are The Colour Out of Space, The Dunwich Horror, and Beyond the Wall of Sleep. I’ve read about half of these and hope to read them all.

Lovecraft was much more than just a horror writer. He was a philosopher, a poet, an occultist. His goal was not merely to scare you, like thousands of trashy horror movies, but to make you think. Some of the concepts he presents are utterly amazing, and he is never afraid to inject his own personal quirks into the characters of his stories. And now, something extremely mysterious, and rarely seen… a picture of H.P. Lovecraft… smiling!!!