Cosmic Horror 101
“All of my tales are based on the fundamental premise that common human laws and emotions have no validity or significance in the cosmos-at-large.” H.P. Lovecraft
- Cosmic Horror Definition: Horror that emphasizes fear of the unknown over gore or shock. Or, “A naturalistic fusion of horror and science fiction in which presumptions about the nature of reality are "eroded"[1]
- Cosmic horror is interchangeable with the term Lovecraftian horror, as H.P. Lovecraft is considered the father of cosmic horror
- Generally, the characters find themselves up against forces that are so vast, powerful, and alien that they are forced to face the fact that they and the human race are utterly insignificant
- Within the genre of Cosmic Horror, there are some familiar tropes:
- The unknown or alien
- This is probably the most significant indicator of cosmic horror, in my opinion, the fear of the unknown. Characters will often find themselves confronted by beings or forces that defy human understanding and often seem alien if it isn't outright alien, to begin with. When writing cosmic horror, keep this trope in mind as the constant questioning or reality or what is really happening can play well into your story and keep readers turning the page.
- Forbidden knowledge
- Knowledge has a price, and the price is heavy. Think back to the movie, The Evil Dead and the Necronomicon. The book itself is inert; however, once someone opens it up and begins to read from the tome, that's when the bad things happen. Selling one's soul for knowledge plays into this, or scientists pushing the limits to understand whatever it is they are studying all work into this angle.
- Small pieces that seem insignificant on their own, but when put together form a horrifying picture
- This trope is excellent and is showcased in Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu. The protagonist investigates notes left behind from his uncle and then begins to piece together a more significant story when combined with newspaper clippings, interviews, and a strange bas-relief. When the main character finally realizes what he's found, it's too late, and he knows the shocking truth, which brings me to my next point...
- Beings or entities that care nothing about humanity
- This is another crucial trope to cosmic horror. It is terrifying to think that some beings and entities are so powerful that humanity is nothing but ants. This is where cosmic horror steps away from other types of horror because when dealing with possessions, demons, ghosts, monsters, etc...they are generally tied to humans in some way, shape, or form. However, in the cosmic realm, we are so insignificant to these things that our existence isn't even an afterthought.
- Insanity/madness
- When all the pieces are put together, most characters will go insane when confronted with the truth. It is the mind's way of shielding itself from the horror.
- The unknown or alien
- Origins: Romanticism --> Science Fantasy & Weird Fiction --> Cosmic Horror
- Romanticism: late 18th century
- Celebration of nature, spirituality, individual, isolation, melancholy
- From this, we get writers like Poe and an exploration of madness and lament
- Romanticism also springs forth Science Fantasy and Weird Fiction
- Romanticism: late 18th century
- Science Fantasy
- “Distinguishing between science fiction and fantasy, Rod Serling claimed that the former was “the improbable made possible” while the latter was “the impossible made probable.”[1] As a combination of the two, science fantasy gives a scientific veneer of realism to things that simply could not happen in the real world under any circumstances. Where science fiction does not permit the existence of fantasy or supernatural elements, science fantasy explicitly relies upon them”
- Early science-fantasy = Mary Shelley, etc...
- Weird Fiction
- Appeared in the late 19th century
- Spec fic that generally avoids traditional horror tropes and monsters instead replacing them with alien creatures and transgressive ideals
- China Miéville defines weird fiction thus: "Weird Fiction is usually, roughly, conceived of as a rather breathless and generically slippery macabre fiction, a dark fantastic ("horror" plus "fantasy") often featuring nontraditional alien monsters (thus plus "science fiction")
- Lovecraft considered his fiction, Weird Fiction; thus, Cosmic horror is born
- And now we must confront the racist in the room...Lovecraft contributions and his problematic history
- While H.P. Lovecraft is considered one of the forefathers of cosmic horror and his horror has continued to influence horror, he was a racist and anti-Semite. Many of his personal feelings and beliefs bleed through the pages of his stories and are inexcusable. It is up to us to break free from that line of thinking to create new cosmic horror that isn't trapped with such narrow-minded beliefs. Later in this lesson, I'll highlight some modern authors who are bucking the genre and breaking it out from under Lovecraft's influence.
- Early influencers:
- Algernon Blackwood March 14, 1869 – December 10, 1951, “The Willows” “The Wendigo”
- Robert W. Chambers May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933, “The King in Yellow”
- Edward Plunkett (Lord Dunsany) July 24, 1878 – October 25, 1957, The Gods of Pegāna
- Arthur Machen March 1863 – December 15, 1947, “The Great God Pan”
- H.P. Lovecraft March 1863 – December 15, 1947, “The Call of Cthulhu” “The Dunwich Horror”
- Edgar Allan Poe January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849, “The Raven”
- Francis Stevens (Gertrude Barrows Bennett) September 18, 1884 – February 2, 1948, Claimed
- Mary Shelley August 30, 1797 – February 1, 1851, Frankenstein
- Shirley Jackson December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965, The Haunting of Hill House
- The state of cosmic horror today (modern influencers)
- Laird Barron, The Imago Sequence, The Croning
- Mary SanGiovanni, Chills, Cosmic Shennanigans Podcast
- Victor LaValle, The Ballad of Black Tom
- Caitlin R. Kiernan, Agents of Dreamland
- Betty Rocksteady, In Dreams We Rot
- Lucy A. Snyder, While the Black Stars Burn
- Hailey Piper, The King and His Worms
- Cosmic horror in popular culture (this is just a sampling, as there is so much more)
- Movies
- Hellboy “Ogdru Jahad”
- Event Horizon
- The Thing
- Evil Dead
- Underwater
- Color Out of Space
- Video Games
- Silent Hill
- Bloodborne
- Alone in the Dark
- Skyrim (Hermeaus Mora)
- Darkest Dungeon
- Call of Cthulhu
- Sinking City
- RPGs
- Call of Cthulhu
- D&D
- Pathfinder
- Cthulhu everything
- Shirts, Mugs, Merch, plushies
- Television
- Dr. Who Episode, "The Snowmen" features Yog-Sothoth
- Real Ghostbusters, "The Collect Call of Cthulhu"
- Southpark, the Goth Kids, are a Cult of Cthulhu
- True Detective Season 1 references King in Yellow/Carcosa/Themes
- Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 3 references the Old Ones and Eldritch Terrors
- Supernatural had a Lovecraft episode, "Let it Bleed"
- Movies
[1] Horror literature through history: an encyclopedia of the stories that speak to our deepest fears. ABC-CLIO. 2017. pp. 164–5. ISBN 978-1440842023.
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