The Lovecraft fandom, Lovecraftian fandom or Cthulhu Mythos fandom is an international, informal community of
fans of the works
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 ...
, especially of the
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 ...
and the
Lovecraftian horror
Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is na ...
.
Lovecraft fandom emerged around the mid-20th century.
It includes dedicated events such as the fan convention
NecronomiCon Providence and publications such as ''
Crypt of Cthulhu'' as well as numerous other media, such as the role-playing game ''
Call of Cthulhu''.
In 1988, an
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
Lovecraftian
Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is na ...
magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
, ''Midnight Shambler'', was published by David Barker, and later revived by
Robert M. Price, alongside the publication of ''
Crypt of Cthulhu''.
published the magazine from 1996 on, with Robert M. Price
and later
Joseph S. Pulver as editors.
It published original short stories by such writers as
W. H. Pugmire and Gary Lovisi. Illustrations were provided by artists like
Richard Sardinha, Darrell Tutchton, and Carole Wellen. Issues were published in 1988 and from 1996 to 1999.
The magazine was headquartered in
West Warwick, Rhode Island
West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census.
West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the s ...
.
described the ''Midnight Shambler'' as "a good little magazine for Lovecraftian fiction fans".
In 2010, a community writing project was held online to produce original stories based on Lovecraft's unfinished notes and ideas. The book, ''Commonplace Book of the Weird'', formed the first publication of
Commonplace Books, which went on to release the absurdist supernatural fiction podcast ''
Welcome to Night Vale
''Welcome to Night Vale'' is an absurdist supernatural fiction podcast created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. It is presented as a community radio show in the fictional American desert town of Night Vale, with the eccentric local radio ho ...
'' in 2012.
See also
*
Lovecraft studies
*
Fantasy fandom
*
Horror fandom
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
''Midnight Shambler''at the
Internet Speculative Fiction Database
The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...
Fantasy fandom
Lovecraftian horror
Cthulhu Mythos
Horror fandom
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