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Although his work was not widely celebrated during his lifetime, H.P. Lovecraft nevertheless made his mark on American literature and the genre of horror fiction. He took his personal interests in the sciences and beliefs about the universe and imbued them into his works, challenging readers to confront the realities of their existence. As a result of these dark and overwhelming themes, Lovecraft became synonymous with the concept of cosmicism, a philosophy that emphasizes the insignificance of mankind relative to the broader universe. He also developed what writer August Derleth termed “the Cthulhu Mythos” throughout his body of work, using similar characters, places, and lore to connect individual stories. While Lovecraft’s fiction has taken on a life of its own in the decades since his death, his biography offers insight into circumstances which allowed for the creation of such distinct and frightening tales.
H.P. Lovecraft was born on August 20th, 1890 in Providence, Rhode Island to a well-off but somewhat unstable family. His grandmother passed away in 1896, and his father spent five years in the hospital before dying of syphilis in 1898. As these tragedies descended on his family, Lovecraft’s grandfather, Whipple Van Buren Phillips, became the central male figure in his life and inspired his love for storytelling. Lovecraft gravitated toward classical literature, including works such as The Arabian Nights and the Odyssey, as well as gothic fiction at the encouragement of his grandfather. He also became fascinated with scientific disciplines like astronomy and chemistry, but a series of misfortunes that befell him during his adolescence prevented him from finishing school and pursuing these subjects professionally.
In the wake of his own illnesses, his grandfather’s death, and the family’s financial decline, Lovecraft isolated himself and focused purely on his writing. He began writing poetry and publishing essays in 1908, and throughout the next decade, he became more involved in amateur publications through the United Amateur Press Association. These smaller outlets emboldened Lovecraft and gave him the opportunity to return to fiction writing in 1916. As Lovecraft emerged from his self-imposed isolation, his mother became ill and eventually died in 1921. He refused to let this tragedy stop him, however, and he continued working and connecting with other writers, including his future wife, Sonia Greene. Their 1924 marriage, which brought Lovecraft to New York, was short-lived as Greene lost her money, fell ill, and relocated to Ohio without him. The despair Lovecraft felt in the wake of these events and his time in New York manifests itself in some of his most famous works, including “The Call of Cthulhu” which he wrote in 1926.
Lovecraft returned to Providence alone in 1926 and lived there for the remaining eleven years of his life. He continued to write his own short fiction, publishing many pieces in the pulp-fiction magazine Weird Tales, in addition to his work as a ghost writer. Notable stories from this period of his life include The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Shadow over Innsmouth, and At the Mountains of Madness. By the mid-1930s, however, Lovecraft’s physical and mental health declined so much that his career virtually came to an end. He was diagnosed with cancer and died on March 15, 1937, leaving behind a complex legacy. While many celebrate Lovecraft for his genre-defining works, he was also a highly problematic figure, holding racist beliefs throughout the entirety of his adult life. White supremacy and xenophobia permeate Lovecraft’s fiction just as much as any of his other philosophies about the world, complicating current interpretations of his life and career. It’s worth considering the ways in which Lovecraft’s support of assimilation and his staunch opposition to multiculturalism impact thematic elements in his works such as fear of the unknown and the decline of Western civilization.
