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Lovecraft was born in his family home on August 20, 1890, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the only child of Winfield Scott Lovecraft and Sarah Susan (née Phillips) Lovecraft. Susie's family was of substantial means at the time of their marriage, as her father, Whipple Van Buren Phillips, was involved in business ventures. In April 1893, after a psychotic episode in a Chicago hotel, Winfield was committed to Butler Hospital in Providence. His medical records state that he had been "doing and saying strange things at times" for a year before his commitment and he ultimately died of late-stage syphilis. | Lovecraft was born in his family home on August 20, 1890, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the only child of Winfield Scott Lovecraft and Sarah Susan (née Phillips) Lovecraft. Susie's family was of substantial means at the time of their marriage, as her father, Whipple Van Buren Phillips, was involved in business ventures. In April 1893, after a psychotic episode in a Chicago hotel, Winfield was committed to Butler Hospital in Providence. His medical records state that he had been "doing and saying strange things at times" for a year before his commitment and he ultimately died of late-stage syphilis. | ||
After his father's institutionalization, his grandfather Whipple became a father figure to Lovecraft | After his father's institutionalization, his grandfather Whipple became a father figure to Lovecraft. In his old age, he helped raise the young H. P. Lovecraft and educated him not only in the classics, but also in original weird tales of "winged horrors" and "deep, low, moaning sounds" which he created for his grandchild's entertainment. | ||
Lovecraft's earliest known literary works were written at the age of seven, and were poems restyling the Odyssey and other Greco-Roman mythological stories. Lovecraft would later write that during his childhood he was fixated on the Greco-Roman pantheon, and briefly accepted them as genuine expressions of divinity, foregoing his [[Christianity|Christian]] upbringing. He recalled, at five years old, being told Santa Claus did not exist and retorted by asking why "God is not equally a myth?" | Lovecraft's earliest known literary works were written at the age of seven, and were poems restyling the Odyssey and other Greco-Roman mythological stories. Lovecraft would later write that during his childhood he was fixated on the Greco-Roman pantheon, and briefly accepted them as genuine expressions of divinity, foregoing his [[Christianity|Christian]] upbringing. He recalled, at five years old, being told Santa Claus did not exist and retorted by asking why "God is not equally a myth?" | ||
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==Career as an author== | ==Career as an author== | ||
In 1916, Lovecraft published his first short story, "The Alchemist," in the main United Amateur Press Association (UAPA) journal, which was a departure from his usual verse. Due to the encouragement of W. Paul Cook, another UAPA member and future lifelong friend, Lovecraft began writing and publishing more prose fiction | In 1916, Lovecraft published his first short story, "The Alchemist," in the main United Amateur Press Association (UAPA) journal, which was a departure from his usual verse. Due to the encouragement of W. Paul Cook, another UAPA member and future lifelong friend, Lovecraft began writing and publishing more prose fiction. | ||
Late 1919 saw Lovecraft become more outgoing. After a period of isolation, he began joining friends in trips to writer gatherings; the first being a talk in Boston presented by Lord Dunsany, whom Lovecraft had recently discovered and idolized. In early 1920, at an amateur writer convention, he met Frank Belknap Long, who would end up being Lovecraft's most influential and closest confidant for the remainder of his life. The influence of Dunsany is apparent in his 1919 output, which is part of what would be called Lovecraft's Dream Cycle, including "The White Ship" and "The Doom That Came to Sarnath." | Late 1919 saw Lovecraft become more outgoing. After a period of isolation, he began joining friends in trips to writer gatherings; the first being a talk in Boston presented by Lord Dunsany, whom Lovecraft had recently discovered and idolized. In early 1920, at an amateur writer convention, he met Frank Belknap Long, who would end up being Lovecraft's most influential and closest confidant for the remainder of his life. The influence of Dunsany is apparent in his 1919 output, which is part of what would be called Lovecraft's Dream Cycle, including "The White Ship" and "The Doom That Came to Sarnath." | ||
It was later in 1920 that Lovecraft began publishing the earliest Cthulhu Mythos stories. The Cthulhu Mythos, a term coined by later authors, encompasses Lovecraft's stories that share a commonality in the revelation of cosmic insignificance, initially realistic settings, and recurring entities and texts | It was later in 1920 that Lovecraft began publishing the earliest Cthulhu Mythos stories. The Cthulhu Mythos, a term coined by later authors, encompasses Lovecraft's stories that share a commonality in the revelation of cosmic insignificance, initially realistic settings, and recurring entities and texts. Following in early 1921 came "The Nameless City," the first story that falls definitively within the Cthulhu Mythos. In it is one of Lovecraft's most enduring phrases, a couplet recited by Abdul Alhazred; "That is not dead which can eternal lie; And with strange aeons even death may die." | ||
===Move to New York and ''Weird Tales''=== | ===Move to New York and ''Weird Tales''=== | ||
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==Influence on occultism== | ==Influence on occultism== | ||
[[File:HP Lovecraft Figure.jpg|350px|thumb|Wax sculpture of H.P. Lovecraft on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] | [[File:HP Lovecraft Figure.jpg|350px|thumb|Wax sculpture of H.P. Lovecraft on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] | ||
Several contemporary religions have been influenced by Lovecraft's works. Kenneth Grant, the founder of the Typhonian Order, incorporated Lovecraft's Mythos into his [[ritual magic|ritual]] and [[occult]] system. Grant combined his interest in Lovecraft's fiction with his adherence to [[Aleister Crowley]]'s [[Thelema]]. The Typhonian Order considers Lovecraftian entities to be symbols through which people may interact with something inhuman. Grant also argued that Crowley himself was influenced by Lovecraft's writings, particularly in the naming of characters in ''[[The Book of the Law]]''. Similarly, ''The Satanic Rituals'', co-written by [[Anton LaVey]] and Michael A. Aquino, includes the "Ceremony of the Nine Angles," which is a ritual that was influenced by the descriptions in "The Dreams in the Witch House." It contains invocations of several of Lovecraft's fictional gods. | Several contemporary religions have been influenced by Lovecraft's works. | ||
Kenneth Grant, the founder of the Typhonian Order, incorporated Lovecraft's Mythos into his [[ritual magic|ritual]] and [[occult]] system. Grant combined his interest in Lovecraft's fiction with his adherence to [[Aleister Crowley]]'s [[Thelema]]. The Typhonian Order considers Lovecraftian entities to be symbols through which people may interact with something inhuman. Grant also argued that Crowley himself was influenced by Lovecraft's writings, particularly in the naming of characters in ''[[The Book of the Law]]''. | |||
Similarly, ''The Satanic Rituals'', co-written by [[Anton LaVey]] and Michael A. Aquino, includes the "Ceremony of the Nine Angles," which is a ritual that was influenced by the descriptions in "The Dreams in the Witch House." It contains invocations of several of Lovecraft's fictional gods. | |||
There have been several books that have claimed to be an authentic edition of Lovecraft's ''Necronomicon''. The ''[[Simon Necronomicon]]'' is one such example. It was written by an unknown figure who identified themselves as "Simon." [[Peter Levenda]], an occult author who has written about the ''Necronomicon'', claims that he and "Simon" came across a hidden Greek translation of the [[grimoire]] while looking through a collection of antiquities at a New York bookstore during the 1960s or 1970s. This book was claimed to have borne the seal of the ''Necronomicon''. Levenda went on to claim that Lovecraft had access to this purported scroll. | There have been several books that have claimed to be an authentic edition of Lovecraft's ''Necronomicon''. The ''[[Simon Necronomicon]]'' is one such example. It was written by an unknown figure who identified themselves as "Simon." [[Peter Levenda]], an occult author who has written about the ''Necronomicon'', claims that he and "Simon" came across a hidden Greek translation of the [[grimoire]] while looking through a collection of antiquities at a New York bookstore during the 1960s or 1970s. This book was claimed to have borne the seal of the ''Necronomicon''. Levenda went on to claim that Lovecraft had access to this purported scroll. | ||
He directly inspired several grimoires written by [[Travis McHenry]], including: ''[[The Grimoire of Dark Souls]]'' and ''[[The Grimoire of Heaven and Hell]]''. | He directly inspired several grimoires written by [[Travis McHenry]], including: ''[[The Grimoire of Dark Souls]]'' and ''[[The Grimoire of Heaven and Hell]]''. Additionally, ''[[The Boschian Bestiary]]'' includes a Cthulhu-like creature chanting a Lovecraftian invocation. | ||
==Copyright status== | ==Copyright status== | ||