The
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Born in Provi ...
Historical Society or HPLHS is the organization that hosts Cthulhu Lives!, a group of
live-action roleplayers for the ''
Cthulhu Live'' version of ''
Call of Cthulhu''. Founded in
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
in 1984, it is now based in
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles.
As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
. Their motto is ''Ludo Fore Putavimus'' ("We thought it would be fun").
HPLHS produces a number of
Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...
films, including the eponymous ''
The Call of Cthulhu
"The Call of Cthulhu" is a cosmic horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in February 1928.
The story is a founding document of the Cthul ...
'', as well as sound recordings, under its Mythoscope and Mythophone labels, respectively. They also offer props, both for sale and for free download.
Originally a hobbyist group, HPLHS has become a for profit company dedicated to creating content faithful to the spirit of the Gothic 1920s source material but leavening it with some humour.
The HPLHS is the world's largest organization of Lovecraft enthusiasts, with members in more than fifty countries.
Productions
Printed work
*''Strange Eons''** (1986-1990)
*''The Spirit of Revision - Lovecraft's Letters to Zealia Brown Reed Bishop'' (2015)
*''Miskatonic Missives''
*''A Shoggoth on the Roof Libretto'' (2005)
*
Miskatonic University Monographs
**''Archeological Interpretations of Myth Patterns in the Iconography of the Codex Beltrán-Escavy''
**''The Curious Sea Shanty Variants of
Innsmouth, Mass.''
**''The Discovery of Fragments of Kitab Al-Azif at Harran''
Audio
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has created music based on the writings of HP Lovecraft.
[''The Strange Sound of Cthulhu: Music Inspired by the Writings of H.P. Lovecraft'' Gary Hill, 2006](_blank)
/ref>
*'' A Shoggoth on the Roof'' (2005)
*''A Very Scary Solstice'' (2003)
**"Carol of the Old Ones"
*''An Even Scarier Solstice'' (2006)
*''Live at the Gilman House'' (2011)
*''Dreams in the Witch House: A Lovecraftian Rock Opera'' (2013)
*''The Curious Sea Shanties of Innsmouth Massachusetts'' (2016)
Dark Adventure Radio Theatre
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has produced a series of Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...
-style radio dramas entitled " Dark Adventure Radio Theatre".
Currently produced episodes:
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: At the Mountains of Madness'' (2006)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Dunwich Horror'' (2008)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Shadow Out of Time'' (2008)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Shadow Over Innsmouth'' (2008)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Call of Cthulhu'' (2012)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'' (2013)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Colour Out of Space'' (2013)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Herbert West - Reanimator'' (2013)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Dreams in the Witch House'' (2014)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'' (2014)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Horror at Red Hook'' (2015)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Dagon - War of Worlds'' (2015)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: A Solstice Carol'' (2015)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The White Tree'' (2016)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Thing on the Doorstep'' (2016)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Brotherhood of the Beast'' (2016)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Haunter of the Dark'' (2017)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Rats in the Walls'' (2018)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Bad Medicine'' (2018)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Masks of Nyarlathotep'' (2018)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Lurking Fear'' (2019)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Mad Science'' (2019)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Whisperer in Darkness'' (2020)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Curse of Yig'' (2020)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Horror in the Museum'' (2021)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Black Stone'' (2023)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Shunned House'' (2023)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Temple of Jupiter Ammon'' (2023)
*''Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Iron Maiden'' (2024)
Film
*''The Testimony of Randolph Carter''The Testimony of Randolph Carter
retrieved 26/2/10
*''A Shoggoth on the Roof'' - a short mockumentary film about a failed attempt to stage a musical that set the works of Lovecraft to the music of
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...
(2001).
*''
The Call of Cthulhu
"The Call of Cthulhu" is a cosmic horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in February 1928.
The story is a founding document of the Cthul ...
'' (2005) – Directed by
Andrew Leman and described by one reviewer as the most successful adaptation of this story, this
silent movie
''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...
was filmed in black and white.
[''The Call of Cthulhu: A Genuine H.P. Lovecraft Adaptation'' Review by David Austin, 31 October 2006, accessed 1 March 2010](_blank)
It was created over the course of two years on a very small budget. The DVD version allowed the viewer to watch the movie with the
intertitle
In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...
cards translated into any one of 24 languages.
[''The Call of Cuthulhu [2005]'' Dr Freex, ''Attack of the 50 Foot DVD'', 28 July 2007, accessed 1 March 2010](_blank)
*''The Whisperer in Darkness (film)">The Whisperer in Darkness
''The Whisperer in Darkness'' is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in ''Weird Tales'', August 1931. Similar to '' The Colour Out of Space'' (1927), it is a blen ...
'' (2011) – Some filming for this production was undertaken at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.