Considered the most iconic story from H. P. Lovecraft, “The Call of Cthulhu” is a short story published in Weird Tales in 1928. As mentioned before, I won’t be directly addressing Lovecraft’s personal beliefs of race or immigration; I don’t think they’re really pertinent aside from a possible xenophobic bend to his mindset. Besides, ancient aliens that are far more powerful than “civilized man” doesn’t seem to fit that idea.
The works Lovecraft published are solidly in the “weird” genre of early pulp stories, specifically they have elements of both horror and science fiction. They’re remembered fondly and elevated above the work of other pulp authors from that golden age, but I suspect it’s more so to do with Lovecraft’s incredible vocabulary. His work and stories are comparable to Robert E. Howard or Clark Ashton Smith (and he was friendly with both), and I find the stories of any of these authors to stand on their own even today.
Getting into the actual text, Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos changed horror forever, and solidified the idea of “cosmic horror”. There are dark things, ancient things, in the distant reaches of space. In Lovecraft’s work, these things cause insanity and are grotesque monstrosities alien to human intelligence.
The story concerns the investigation by Francis Thurston into his late uncle’s work. The first section is about a disgusting clay idol he finds, the second concerns a voodoo cult, and the third describes a creature observed in the ocean. There’s an overall mystery involved, specifically starting with what the idol represents, then moving into the various cults surrounding the idol. Once the name Cthulhu is explored, there’s a mystery about what it is.
The investigation is at the center of the story, and the plot revolves around these mysteries. Already knowing who or what Cthulhu is, the mystery rang a bit hollow to me. Again, though, that’s because of the modern exposure that Cthulhu has had in pop culture.
As a character, Thurston takes the initiative to investigate most of the story. However, because of the various perspective shifts (he reads an article at one point), he drifts into the background in most cases. Even many of the major revelations about Cthulhu, because Thurston isn’t the one directly experiencing them, doesn’t hit as hard as it could have.
Lovecraft’s descriptions are incredible. His use of language is indomitable, as exemplified by this description of the Cthulhu idol:
Above these apparent hieroglyphics was a figure of evidently pictorial intent, though its impressionistic execution forbade a very clear idea of its nature. It seemed to be a sort of monster, or symbol representing a monster, of a form which only a diseased fancy could conceive. If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which made it most shockingly frightful. Behind the figure was a vague suggestion of a Cyclopean architectural background.
This image would stick with Lovecraft the rest of his life. Cthulhu is more than a literary figure these days, having appeared in television and movies; he is, unfortunately, mainstream.
Overall, the story is worth reading. Lovecraft is a good author, and his work still holds up. It isn’t perfect, obviously, but is is a great story that set a legacy of cosmic horrors in the minds of readers.
This was written as part of my post concerning my October Reading List.
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You may like some of my reviews:
- Story Review: Queen of the Black Coast by Robert E. Howard
- Book Review: The Ship of Ishtar by A. Merritt
- Story Review: Black God’s Kiss by C. L. Moore
- Story Review: The Dark Eidolon by Clark Ashton Smith
You may also like some of my other work:
Frank Ormond 