HP LOVECRAFT - A MONSTER OF HORROR (Cosmic Nihilism)
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- A video discussing comic nihilism or fear of the unknown around us and our place in it.
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Start The Wheel of Time here: amzn.to/2IQsnys
2 spooky 4 U?
I believe mihlism is right and wrong because i believe humanity was made with out a purpose but I do beeliefs in a god but I don’t claim a god is good or bad for humanity dust I believe in a god who has no purpose for humanity
Nope
E.A.Poe spookier
Shadow over innsmouth was so inspiring for me to write my own book
You should try Algernon Blackwood.
I found the "color out of space" to be a genuinely unsettling and creepy story.
It is and dunwitch horror and Yig. And Shadow över Innsmouth
color out of space is downright nasty.
@Turtle Anton i was a little disapointed by dunwich horror tbh.shadow over innsmouth was more of a cozy spook to me
"Lovecraft opened the way for me, as he had done for others before me."
- Stephen King
Is that a real quote?
I don't know if that quote is real, but King has definitely said on multiple occasions that he was inspired by Lovecraft, among others. However, he's also criticized Lovecraft for his very lackluster dialogue and for his usually paper-thin characters and characterization and for his outdated views.
But Lovecraft is definitely somebody that inspired King to go into the Horror genre.
@@DanielGreeneReviews @George Daugherty I saw it on a special copy of Necronomicon, so it's probably legit (There's a small chance it was actually Neil Gaiman but I'm pretty sure it was King)
@@thepapa5393 I've seen that Necronomicon, and I'm pretty sure that was a King quote. Neil Gaiman also had a quote on the inside cover so that might be where the confusion is coming from.
@@DanielGreeneReviews its qupted in necronomicon
“Do not call up that which you cannot put down.” (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward)
This is definitely my favorite Lovecraft story.
btw, there are plenty narrations of Lovecraft stories on youtube.
Yuuup horrorbabble is fantastic
I recently read "The Shadow out of Time" and found it pretty disturbing. The incomprehensible magnitude of time and how short human's have existed in it is so truly nauseating a feeling. The story perfectly evokes that feeling of insignificance.
I am about to start wheel of time. Wish me luck 😂
I've just started the audio books because I have so many books to read and a 14 book series will throw that all off
Luck!
Hey, how is it going a year later. Finished it?
I read the first book, read a couple Sanderson books and I am now in a massive reading slump. I've got the great hunt lined up but I just need to actually finish a book to get into the groove
Sean Marshall ah I see. I actually started and finished all of the series between januari and august this year but I can’t say if that really was the best wat to consume it since most of the books are so meshed together in my head now. (Although it did help with character names)
The man was both brilliant in terms of his creativity and INCREDIBLY racist.
yeah I was gonna comment about that. Kinda a shame, but I guess a product of his times.
@@stephenmandelbaum2027 I mean it comes through in his work. Lovecraft was deeply disturbed and incredibly racist. You don't need to separated art from the artist here though because his deep rooted xenophobia is the source of a lot of his horror. It just gives you a better understanding of his mental state when writing. Lovecraft is still worth reading. PS he was even racist by the standards of his day.
@@h.walker1332 We need to cancel him, as soon as possible. I'll organize a book burning tomorrow.
@@h.walker1332 yeah I kinda don't view him as a daily house kitchen garden racist. He was deeply troubled, mentally. So it doesn't feel right to just call him a racist it's too simple. Also, yeah a product of times and poverty as well perhaps. Interesting figure.
Search the RUclips video H.P. Lovecraft's cat
I freaking love H.P.L. I listen to all his works at work and slowly fade into nothing... Its the best! Nice video. Thanks
I think you will enjoy Warhammer 40k because it explore a lot of the HP Lovecraft idea’s. The gods of chaos is inspired from his works
Also, I love how his gods can be malevolent, instead of just benevolent beautiful beings.
I have read everything but Mountain of madness, reading it now... His work is mind warping, you walk away from almost believing it's real.
I'll never see Antarctica the same way man
Haven't read Lovecraft yet...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Keep up the great work.
Daniel looking super fresh, and utterly adorable here.
Fabulous video about an enormously important and influential writer - indeed the grand daddy of the modern horror story. Favourites include The Call of Cthulhu, The Colour Out of Space, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, At the Mountains of Madness and The Whisperer in Darkness.
Keep up the good work 🙏
So stoked you made this video on Lovecraft. I actually just reviewed Dagon on my channel and was trying to get people to recommend me other stories from him to read because I've never been able to get into his work, besides Dagon, freaking love that one, but I plan to read more from him soon. Have you read The Mist by Stephen King? That one is my favorite from King and it feels soooooo Lovecraftian.
If you liked Dagon you'll probably like The Call of Cthulhu as well as it has a similar story structure. The Nameless City was also one of the first stories I've read and it's a major reason why I got so much into Lovecraft :) but I really treasure the tales from the Dream Cycle in a special place, just make sure you read them in the right order. Generally speaking, reading by publication order will keep you safe.
Thank you for making this video
Thanks man. I've always been biased towards Horror genre because I don't believe in supernatural elements, but I didn't realize there's more to go. PG is a writer I'm looking for, because I also believe in we humans are beautiful but just a random act of creation. Thanks again for introducing me to this legend.
Just got the complete fiction and had to see your opinion on Hp Lovecraft!
He was a deeply depressed xenophobe, and pretty racist, but his writings are prolific. As a person he's all that I despise, as a writer he's a legend.
Thomas Kittock I mean, before the 2 world wars almost everyone were xenophobe and racist, that's just the standard ideology everybody had back then, doesn't mean he's a bad human being
@ Being a product of your times does not mean you have an excuse. We are all bad people, he just manifested it in different ways. As I mentioned he is legendary, but I wouldn't have liked him as a person.
@@thomaskittock2866 Being a product of your time, is absolutely an excuse. It's such a pretentious modern philosophy, that we think we have the right to judge people from literally a hundred years ago. This is amplified with the extremely sensitive society we've created as well. If you grew up being told one thing is correct, and everyone around you kept preaching it, you would believe that thing. Humans are not naturally good people, you can be molded however one wants to. Good and evil are rather limber concepts. What was good a hundred years ago, is evil today. What's evil today can be effective life if times get tough.
@@kjullthedemon The only issue is, we don't know for certain that he grew up totally indoctrinated. I've read at least on biography on him, and read many of his works. I think the existence of one "not racist" individual he may have come across would void the concept he was totally immersed in a society that perpetuated the idea of racism. My stance comes from a more individualistic perspective rather than a societal or systemic one. My belief is one can always choose a different path or believe, but it appears to me that over time he more or less became more staunch in his views rather than attempted to diversify his experiences. Consistently locking yourself up and rarely socializing doesn't help his case either.
In essence, I believe he was responsible for his feelings and views, not the society he grew up in.
Truly, Lovecraft is one of the greatest Horror writers of all time, and his philosophy regarding Humanity and the very concept of Life and the Universe itself is extremely facanating and interesting to me. I love his stories very much as well, and Happy Halloween to everybody!!!! 🎃🎃🎃🎃 :)
Would love to hear your thoughts on E.A. Poe - Lovecraft was influenced by Poe's work
Yup. You can definitely binge his short stories. I read his *entire* fiction in a couple of months. I love Lovecraft, and your video has done him justice, thank you.
Maybe you'd like to read his essay on Supernatural Horror in Literature, I did and it really shed a light on his influences and inspiration.
Btw the ending of your video reminded me specifically of The Whisperer in Darkness, one of my personal favourites.
A glimmer of hope at the end! Excellent articulate discussion! Learning about HPL's fear of other, it's easy to see how that also feeds into his psyche with his quote of the fear of the unknown where there are these unimaginably Old Ones that rule the abyssal darkness and drive madness and insanity. I think a palpable fear is not so much cosmic annihilation by black hole or asteroid in a relative instant but any anthropogenic cataclysm that precedes suffering and agony. It's not so much the extinguishing, it's the pain and misery. Anything cosmic is too fascinating and literally out of this world. Anything man-made or earth-based would be terrifying. A cinematic tsunami would be both, since it's elementally familiar and is able to literally.. wipe us out. 🏄🌊
1:32 Ever heard of William Hope Hodgson?
"Well - as you see, I surely have become a premier Hodgson fan! DO you know anything about W.H.H. and his career? Koenig tells me he was killed in the war. All told, I believe that nobody but Blackwood can equal or surpass him in capturing the exact shades of the cosmic horror mood in all their actual details.
...But the masterpiece, so far as I can see, is "The House on the Borderland." Boy - that dim, brooding air of menace! And that stupefying cosmic sweep! I am all on edge to read "The Night Land.""
~ HPL to Clark Ashton Smith, 30 September 1934, excerpted from Selected Letters.
Hodgson is most widely known for two works. The House on the Borderland (1908) is a novel of which H. P. Lovecraft, in his long essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature", wrote "but for a few touches of commonplace sentimentality [it] would be a classic of the first water". The Night Land (1912) is a much longer novel, written in an archaic style and expressing a sombre vision of a sunless far-future world; Lovecraft described it as "one of the most potent pieces of macabre imagination ever written". These works both contain elements of science fiction, although they also partake of horror and the occult. According to critical consensus, in these works, despite his often laboured and clumsy language, Hodgson achieves a deep power of expression which focuses on a sense not only of terror but as well of the ubiquity of _potential_ terror, of the thinness of the invisible boundary between the world of normality and an underlying, unaccountable reality for which humans are not suited.
~ William Hope Hodgson Wikipedia, sct: "Most famous works"
I've read around half of Lovecraft's works (mostly early-career short stories) and aside from some of his questionable views on race, I have concluded two points about him:
1. His story ideas, interconnected universe, and themes are unparalleled in classic horror. It is among one of the greatest and influential bodies of work in horror, and my personal favourite writer, Stephen King, is so clearly inspired by Lovecraft, that I have nothing but respect for the writer (not the person, but I'll leave it at that since I don't feel qualified to discuss his flaws).
2. Having said all of that, I struggle to read his books. It's not that they are complex or difficult in a traditional sense, but rather, the execution of these brilliant ideas fall short in the physical writing used. His language is mediocre and pretentious to the point where I want to put it down every time I come across a paragraph (or occasionally page) long sentence, but continue because of the strengths in point 1. It seems like he is trying to replicate the subtle beauty of the best Victorian literature at the time (though, I highly doubt this is the case and can't really support this, personal opinion aside), but instead, reads like bargain bin pulp fiction.
There are moments when his style compliments the story so perfectly, that it shocks me how little it actually bothers me in that particular instance. The best example is The Rats in the Walls, where Lovecraft nails that Telltale Heart-esque horror infused with his own and as a result, is an infinitely re-readable short story. This is a far cry from say, The Alchemist or Polaris, where the concepts are reasonable enough and could make for an entertaining story, but the painfully passive, thesaurus writing just ruins any enjoyment from the books. Note: Rats in the Walls is still guilty of this, but the passive writing works due to its detached antagonist, with zero emotion or need for development due to his mental instability prior to the story's events, rather than progressively deteriorating throughout or recollecting an event, which tends to be his style.
Having said that, I have not yet dived into his most famous works, i.e. Call of Cthulhu, Mountain of Madness, because I'm so familiar with the mythology behind it, I'm concerned that the writing has not improved in his latter-career days enough not to ruin those concepts and respective lore for me. I'm interested to hear whether you would consider Lovecraft to be a good writer in general, you take it with a grain of salt, or is the writing in his most popular stories simply better?
I tend to get a lot of backlash over this one criticism, but it's just an opinion and I would love for someone to argue otherwise, without simply saying "you're wrong, he's the father of horror" or "he's an old writer, they're all like that," which are the only responses I ever seem to get. Like Tolkien, he seems to have produced scriptures for his respective genre, but also like Tolkien, it seems impossible to critique any aspect of his work, even with retrospect and subsequent, arguably better authors, expanding their original ideas (FYI - Tolkien is a strong writer, so that's not a personal criticism of his work, in case anyone dislikes that comparison).
Long-time listener, first-time poster. Keep up the great videos!
As a Lovecraft fan, and as someone who read the entire fiction in publication order, I'm here to tell you: go for it. It does get better. Especially the racism - it gets much softer (although in the Call of Cthulhu and other tales he specifically refers to Portuguese people in a racist way and that made me feel weird when I read it for the first time, because I'm Portuguese and I love his work lol). If you have the opportunity to read The Necronomicon, there's a biographical section at the end that approaches precisely his racism. It appears that even for his time he was particularly racist, but as he aged he deconstructed some of his prejudice.
for me his later works are far more fluid and easy to read. my favorite of his is At the mountains of madness. there is something about that story that i just love.
Try junji ito
I wonder sometimes if he actually wasn't racist, but only holding up a mirror to humanity's inner evil. It seems strange that someone so aware of our cosmic insignificance should accord the concept of race so much attention. His (or his characters'/narrators') racism seems cartoonish, too.
Brilliant explanation of one of the greatest writers of modern time. Yet another amazing video. Keep it up! :)
Oh yeah, it scares the everliving hell out of me. It’s terrifying to think that the world would not be changed enormously if you never existed
, that life is finite and could be snatched from your grasps at any moment. Any book that plays on that fear, must be good because of how fundamental and engrained that fear is in the human psyche.
My favorite is "The Call of Cthulhu." I enjoy the story-within-story structure, accomplished within the linits of a short story.
For a more modern approach to cosmic horror, I'd recommend The Magnus Archive (even though most of you probably have already listened to it, right?) I'm pretty much in love with this podcast
Fuck I didn't expect that ending, actually jumped from the bed.
He was adding unexpected frames and distortions every minute or so, very lovecraftian!
Hey Daniel, great video! In response to my (or the general public's) response to nihilism, I would be totally right with you in the great fear and angst that a meaningless humanity and personally, a meaningless life would bring. What allows me to avoid that is my belief in the Judeo-Christian God, who gives me both promise of a well-lived life and hope for my own and humanity's eternal destiny. It would be great to hear what your thoughts are on that.
Anyway, I'm definitely subscribing, I like what you do here!
There is a great documentary about Lovecraft's life and works on RUclips called "Fear of the Unknown". That is a great place to start understanding the monumental scope of his work.
I have never been a big horror genre fan but have thought about reading Lovecraft for a while. As an aspiring author I feel I need to read sooo many books I haven't had time to read, but this video inspired me to at least read Call of Cthulu (think i spelled that right lol). I would love to see a review on The Illustrated Man although I'm not sure what about this review made me think of that. I guess the universal nihilism stuff. But love everything you're doing on this channel and I will be joining both Wot talk and Cosmere talk duscussions soon. Thanks for all the hard work you put in even with all the things you have going on!
Dude, just write some shit. You don't need to read a bunch of stuff before you start to write. Just write. But yes, you should find time to read stuff while you're at it at the same time. Reading while in the process of writing a story can give you inspiration and ideas. Don't plagiarize, but don't be afraid to steal storytelling techniques or devices that your favorite authors use to improve your own writing. For example, I read a James Patterson book once and in the middle of the story, he changed the perspective for two chapters. That kept the suspense going and made sure you didn't see the twist coming. I applied that to my story even though Patterson's book and mine weren't similar stories at all.
That's where the reading really helps you.
the universe does not even know humanity exist we are just here like a grain of dust in your room.
when we walk outside and step on ants without knowing it we dont think about it nor care that is what we are to the universe, we exist or not does not change a single thing.
Fun fact about Lovecraft for those who don't know: he was friends with Robert E. Howard. For those who have no idea who that is, his most famous character is Conan The Barbarian, a character no film adaptation has ever gotten right. Momoa came closest.
Also Cthulhu isn't a god, he's a high priest to the actual gods of the setting.
And speaking of Robert E. Howard, they did a collaboration with three other authors(including CL Moore) called The Challenge From Beyond. In Lovecraft's section the MC gets sent to an alien planet and his mind transferred into the body of an alien worm thing, he proceeds to freak out and have a mental break down. This is immediately followed up by R.E.H's section where the MC calms down and decides that his little freak out was due to his human mindset, a mindset that had caused him to exhaust all earthly sensations when he was human. So he decides to conquer the alien worms. This is followed by the last writer who had to write a conclusion to that.
Cosmic horror has pretty much always been my favorite branch of the genre. If you imagine being stalked by a murderer, that's frightening. If your entire species is the equivalent of an ant colony unknowingly sitting in the path of a wildfire, that grabs my interest first every time.
You ever read Poe? I still believe his stories are some of the best horror stories along with Lovecraft.
@@Jason-sr8rv Examples of good ones? That are well written?
@@Jason-sr8rv So just *oh jump scares* and *oh thats creppy* like every other horror fiction made in EVERY other culture. Sure man Asain horror da best lmao.
@@VentraleStar The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher, (two of what are widely considered two of the best horror short stories ever written and they also cover Poe's obsession with being buried alive.)
The Black Cat, (an unforgettable story of obsession and also a satire on the virtues of abstaining from alcohol.)
The Pit and the Pendulum, (Poe's story of a man condemned by the Spanish Inquisition.)
The Tell Tale Heart, "VILLAINS! I ADMIT THE DEED!"
October is my favorite month of the year, and in honor of the best part of it -Halloween- i read through several books of the horror genre throughout the course of the month. Lovecraft's influence was very apparent in the books i read, cause no less that 3, by 3 different authors, basically took Lovecraft's mythology and expanded upon it, crafting their own unique stories of interest. These were Brian Lumley's The Burrowers Beneath, a horror story anthology by Robert E Howard (who is a GREAT classic horror writer in his own right, as well as being another heavy influence on Stephen King), and Brett J Talley's He Who Walks in Shadow. They are great reads. The thought that there might be Dark Gods and Primordial Elementals immortal and asleep deep in the ocean or deep underground, just waiting to be woken once again, can be a terrifying thought. I too, can't imagine what Lovecraft's dreams must have been like.
I agree with Daniel, a life with a Destiny or an especific purpose sounds awful... The most pure joy come from the reasonless activities, the things you do just because, without a goal or a motive
Great video. You should read The Three Body Problem by Cixiun Liu. Its one of the best sci-fi novels I have ever read.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even Death may die.
well one day hopefully we will get a at the mountains of madness movie
that will be amazing if well directed and with the right budget.
The Thing by John Carpenter is like 50% Mountains of Madness.
Currently working my way through the complete Lovecraft works 😊
Love your videos.
Cosmic Nihilism is terrifying and I am glad it’s not true. Nihilism in my opinion is not beautiful at all but inconsistent with life as we see it. No one lives like a Nihilist in their lives in any automatic or practical way. It is interesting to read about but it shouldn’t be taken as true in my opinion. What I mean by that is it’s evident we don’t actually believe it’s true in any meaningful fashion because we appeal all of the time to the meaning of life and humanity and dignity that nihilism strips us from. Its a very morbid and dark outlook on life that is never taken to its logical conclusion to the day to day; at least from what I’ve seen. I am definitely not saying it’s impossible to see value and beauty in life whilst claiming to be a nihilist but I am saying that being that way is just inconsistent with the foundations of that worldview vs the reality that we live in. I guess a little redundant but that is the main issue. People don’t live that way. Especially when I see the reactions of myself and others when truly evil things happen in the world or good things too. Pointless existence doesn’t get to have good or bad. There is no such thing just stuff. The inherit value and dignity of human life is just that inherent and clearly evident to everyone especially when they talk about things having beauty in a universe that is supposed to not have them in mind. Its supposed to be an accident but the contradiction is in the life lived. It isn’t right saying that Nihilism is true to then start talking about the beauty of humanity or life or whatever. No one should logically go there. You don’t get to do that if you are an accident and life is meaningless. Repeating I know but anyone I talk to that appeals to this kind of thinking doesn’t seem to see that. We don’t act like accidents because we know we aren’t.
Not a big fan of nihilism to say the least haha but that’s what I have to say.
Sounds to me like you are exactly the type of person which would be horrified by Lovecraft's themes.
thewallofsleep wouldn’t mind reading them but I don’t agree with nihilism. Which I did say btw
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ARE YOU NOT MUCH MORE VALUABLE THAN THEY?"
Matthew 6:26 NIV
From what i remember, could be wrong, humans were a mistake. We were created as tools, slaves. The ones who created us meant to destroy us, however, we were ignored and prospered when the old ones and ancient ones went about their schemes. Love Lovecraft's work, all the inspired movies and stories have brought many hours of entertainment.
Remember everybody, join him, so you can die first.
Lovecraft didn't really found Cosmic Horror, so much as popularize it because he wrote in that mode more often than his predecessors. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood and The King in Yellow by Chambers both predated Lovecraft and were big inspirations for his work. The Horla by Guy de Maupassant also counts and that came out in 1887.
Honestly I was thinking about this earlier today, about what freedom is. Freedom, for humans means the ability to take meaningful action, or actions that are perceived as meaningful. It is not simply the ability to make choices. If you are free to wear shirts with extra buttons on the inside or ones with only essential buttons that would not strike you as freedom. The choice has absolutely no meaning to you. However, what determines what is meaningful?
I think when you get down to it, a meaningful choice is one that is reinforced by some outside force. Whether that is society, nature, or god, a human must believe thier action could be rewarded in order to believe it is meaningful. They must be free to choose this reward and not punished for it by a force which they consider illegitimate. A person cannot consider his freedom valuable if his choices have no meaning. Meaning is derived from outside reinforcement. Therefore, if we take it Humanity has no purpose and we define our own purpose, we really will be defining those purpose based on outside reinforcement from coincidental sources. That is, unless you have a real objective purpose, you are at best just reacting to your environment, not choosing anything. The choices you make are really determined for you anyway, just not by any legitimately beneficent party.
Basically, meaning is necessarily logical, and logic is defined by relationships. It cannot be self-determined. Therefore the value of freedom exists only because others define our understanding of the world. Since the outside will always decide what is good and meaningful, we will not consider ourselves free unless we are able to actively submit to nature and social opinions. That’s is the nature of freedom and what it means to define your purpose in a nihilistic world. That is to say, freedom is voluntary slavery and you cannot desire a purpose unless it has been decided for you. No matter what purpose you decide, it will have no meaning or value to you unless the outside world reinforces it
Nothing can hurt cthulhu.... apart from a small fishing boat
I find nihilism to be an emancipation of the mind. I'm more of an absurdist, taking a lot of influence from Albert Camus, and likewise I view it as the rejection of philosophical suicide. The miracle of subjective experience may very well be a random gift from the universe and it is up to the individual to choose whether or not they accept it and appreciate it. I have chosen to accept it and my goal has become to influence my society so that the greatest number of individuals will also choose to accept and appreciate the gift of life. If we are to experience heaven, it will be here, on earth, in the realities that we manifest ourselves through every decision we make. Hell is a reality that far too many have experienced on earth already.
Acknowledging nihilism cannot be the same as adopting the ideology of nihilists. They adhere to the lack of objective purpose as justification for ignoring subjective purpose, but that only serves to reject the nature of their own being. Humans can behave as though they do not subjectively value anything, but that only contradicts their personal experience on the grounds of what? Presupposing that they ought not to act In accordance with their values? That too is a commitment to philosophical suicide.
"There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present.” - Master Oogway
Combining Camus and Master Oogway into one? *chef's kiss*
@@eliasbischoff176 precisely. I actually find Absurdism to share much of the same foundations of philosophical Daoism and Zen Buddhism. These ideologies work with the ever changing state of nature and oppose any constructions of truths predicated on presuppositions. They institutionalize going with the flow lol
Cosmic horror doesn't really frighten me all that much. After all, I've already fully accepted and embraced the meaninglessness of life, humanity, and myself years ago.
To better explain where I'm coming from, let me give you an example:
To people back when Copernicus first proposed the heliocentric model, it was essentially a work of horror. But to modern peoples, the heliocentric model is not only not the slightest bit frightening, but entirely accepted! To me, cosmic nihilism is the same. When I read cosmic horror, I just think, "So what?"
Thought my youtube player was on slow motion or something. 😂
Honestly, speaking from a nihilist perspective, it's just something I strive accept and build upon everyday. Not sure what I'll end up doing with it, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. Also, there are some modern writers of this type, for example, my play on "Nihilism and Technology" by Nolen Gertz cover in my prof pic. Either way, H.P. Lovecraft is very influential and his writings are worth looking into.
My favourite are his sonnets - Fungi from Yuggoth
Don't Google HP Lovecraft's cat's name
Both of us seem to agree with his sentiments. But then ... why would his writing scare me ?
I'm working my way through a book of Lovecraft short fiction right now (which includes the famous ones, CoC, shadow over innsmouth, Dunwich Horror etc.) and so far I'm honestly quite disappointed. His descriptions of mad old gods like Nyarlathotep are awesome but stuff like 'Arthur Jermyn and His Family' are a bit crap as they amount to "this guy looked in a box and was so scared of what he saw that he went mad and/or killed himself" and the constant falling back on "I would describe it to you but it's TOOOO SPOOOOKY!" is beginning to feel like a cop-out for skirting around the issue of what's being described as not being that spooky at all. I'm holding out hope for the longer stories which I have yet to get to though. I'm just concerned at this point that I like the ideas of HP Lovecraft way more than his actual work.
He's a monster alright.
You are my favourite booktuber
wonder if The Thing (1980s original) would be considered Lovecraftian
It's very Lovecraftian. Something from outer space, completely outside humanity's control. The Thing is my favorite horror movie of all time, it's amazing.
Some people literally go to therapy bc of believing that we are not special and we will be wiped out someday. It's a very serious paranoia. I would love to read a book like that but man people definitely go pretty far with their thoughts. But I am too a nialist but I have come to terms with it lol. But I do believe we are very beautiful specimens but with that said I think its completely random and maybe we will never be able to meet anyone else out there (I desperately hope so tho!)
Happy Halloween! 👻💚🎄
Happy Halloween 👻 have a great day!!
What’s with the glitches in this video? Is this some inception level deception?
I am a fan as well. The World Fantasy Awards used to be a bust of Lovecraft. Unfortunely in 2015 the award was re-designed because of a few complaints about Lovecraft being a racist. I don't want to come across as defending racism, but he was a product of the age he lived in. By comparison, I do not see anyone complaing about Walt Disney.
Yup. Exactly how a feel about it. An unfortunate aspect of genius writing.
Matt Cole just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean people don’t complain about Walt Disney, I definitely see it and have seen it my entire life.
H.P. Lovecraft has something in common with Vincent Van Goh. He didn’t become a media defining celebrity until he’d been dead for several years.
Which Outer God did those men have to offer their souls to make it happen.
HP Lovecraft's brand of horror has interesting elements, but the problem with Cosmic Nihilism has always been, to me, "Why should I care? Either it's wrong, and Nihilism is a poor decision, or it's right, and believing in destiny is similarly pointless. But here's the thing: if belief is pointless, then what it does is pointless ,and we should strive towards our goal regardless of whether or not it matters in the grand scheme of things. So Cthulhu exists, there's nothing anyone can do about it. Okay, fine. I can still do what I want, pursue the life I desire, live by the moral code that I believe in, and pray to the god that I worship. Pointless as it may be, I give it purpose, which is valuable in and of itself.
Hey Daniel, I think you mentioned you like comic books, are you also interested in manga or manhwa? if so, I would really recomend Tower of God in case you aren't reading it. I think it has really amazing characters and universe, and beautiful art!
Really loving your chanel!
You're ignoring one HUGE aspect of Lovecraft's writing.
One thing people commonly ask is "why would any rational person join a cult intent on bringing about the end of civilization?"
Well, from Hates Progress Lovecraft's perspective, the reason all these people are joining death cults is because they're non-white and thus inherently evil and incapable of rational thought.
A lot of his stories are super racist like that.
Let's take a look at "Shadow Over Innsmouth." The terrifying twist at the end is the main character finding out he's part fish person. It doesn't take a genius to realize this is a metaphor for the fear tons of white supremacists have that their ancestry is "impure," IE: not completely white.
Lovecraft rocks
Lovecraft is not SO scary, his books and ideas are actually very funny and hilarious.
Stanislaw Lem and Philip Dick are much more serious writters/philosophers.
I love this video-I really do-yet I think you missed a terrific opportunity to talk about the social Darwinism of the time, its opposition to the nihilistic ideas of Lovecraft yet surprisingly justifying of his blatant racism. And no, I’m not here to tell you that we should judge a piece of art through the artist who composed it, but in Lovecraft’s case racism populated (and was a key component of) his work. This isn’t Orwell’s homophobia, which comes sporadically every so often, for Lovecraft, cosmic horror was tied with his xenophobic and racist believes and would come forth through racial impurity and pseudo shamanic religions.
Daniel, check out the channel "Horror Babble". Simple the best channel for horror, and science fiction. He covers material not ofter heard of. Do yourself a favor, and check out Horror Babble.
Often, authors are inspired by other authors, but not in the way one would expect. Gordon R. Dickerson, was author who was human chuavinist. Dickerson thought humans were just the best of all possible species, and he wrote this in his work. My favorite story of his, possible my favorite short story entirely, is "The Three Part Puzzle" In the story, the human race is making it first steps in galatic space. We, the humans, run into another space faring species. We greet the other specie with, "We come in peace. We can live in mutual harmony, and cooperation. Blah, blah, you get the picture. The other species, interupt us, and they say, "Ah, let me explain how things work. There are three types of species in the universe. One type is so advanced, they hide behind their technology, and we no nothing of them. The second type are Conquerors, they are strong, and aggressive. The last type is the submissives, they are weak, and passive. With all your talk of peace and cooperation, your are clear passives, and it's our function as conquerors to dominate species like you. This alien species attacks our colonies, and in no time we drive this Conqueror species to the edge of extintion. The Galatic federation of Conquerors send an ambassador to a human world to explain that Conqueror species don't fight among themselve, and humans should adapted, and only attack the weak. The ambassador, studies the human society, and finds there is something wrong with humans. He tries to explain how things are, but humans just don't seem to understand what he is explaining to the humans. The ambassador is also confused by human history. It seems that we have spent our entire existence, fighting endless wars. We should have gone extinct long ago. It's all very strange. The ambassador speaks to the species we almost drove extinct. This former Conqueror tells the embassador, "They are not a species, they are monsters, they are demons. You have not fought them, but you will, and nothing will save you." Tha ambassador feels pity for the former Conqueror, it must have lost it's mind to say this. To the ambassador, the human seem harmless, but he studies them. Then he figures out what's wrong with humanity, they are insane. The bad part is, this insanity, is infectious. This insanity is the belief in good, and bad. Who could believe something so insane. What so bad about that? If you believe in there something called good, you can also believe in something called evil. So, how does this relate to Lovecraft? Basically, the human race is one of the dark forces in in the universe. Great story.
REMAKE THIS
Inheritance Cycle: Great if you haven't read similar or typical fantasy series before; not great otherwise
what about the answers in buddhism /enlightenment /spirituality....
(research first before you form a conclusion)
Have you ever read anything by Ursula K leguin?
If anybody likes h.p Lovecraft check out junji ito mangas
I enjoy the stories of H.P.L. For those who don’t know, he was racist and some of that racism leaked in to his stories. I don’t nor will I endorse or defend racism, but if you can ignore the sprinkling of it in his stories than give them a try.
Optimistic nihilism ftw! :D
Just me or does the guy on the thumbnail look like mark zuckerberg
It might raise the question or pose the question but unless you're referring to a logical fallacy based on circular logic, it's not begging the question.
I love Lovecraft's works and he was a huge starting point into my love of horror. But, I think any real discussion about his worldview is problematic if his blatant racism is not at least addressed. His level of racism was beyond 'product of his time' excuses.
Well uhm what about his ahem questionable *cough* views on people of cOLouR
An unfortunate aspect of an otherwise brilliant writer. Shitty result of his time.
Daniel Greene considering how frequently it informs his stories I think it was much more than just a shitty result of his time; rather a really shitty aspect of a vast and fascinating imagination.... I love Lovecraft, his influence, and cosmic horror, but his racism and xenophobia are as much a part of his work as his philosophies... there were tons of writers during his time who would not have considered me a “mongrel race”
W'rntthmnchrctrs If it helps there’s evidence that near the end of his life he became less bigoted in general. His bigotry kind of makes me feel bad for him if you look at his life as it’s just not a happy one and he was surrounded by toxic people which did not help a lot of the mans mental illnesses
Not really a result of his time though, he was considered racist by people of his time. Also he wrote The Shadow Over Innsmouth when he learned that he had Welsh ancestry, last I checked, the Welsh are very white.
If we couldnt seperate the art from the artist,we'd have a lot less masterpieces in the world...hell,even ibm aided nazi germany,does that mean you'll stop using a computer?
You sound more like an existentialist, but asides from that. I don't think Lovecraft is all that great. To paraphrase the great Michael Moorcock, he was a bad writer with big ideas.
I do like some of his more personal horror stories like Color Out of Space or Cool Air, but I feel authors like Stephen King has surpassed him as well as authors like Poe that have outclassed him.
Hated the slow intro! It was just wrong...
I find it very difficult to remove Lovecraft from his antisemitism and other forms of racism... and while I enjoy some of the stories, reading him always makes me feel uncomfortable - and not in the intended way.
What a horrifying worldview. Nobody can live that way. (Well, without going insane.) And that's the biblical description of life apart from Christ.
I am living it and I think I am doing pretty ok!
@@DanielGreeneReviews I feel the same. There's no reason to suppose the universe cares about us, but that's not a reason to be apathetic ourselves. We humans can give ourselves all the purpose and meaning that we need, and I mean, that's what we do regardless. Attaching that purpose or meaning to an illusory world view doesn't make that illusion more real in the objective sense, even if it gives that individual a heightened sense of meaning in his or her personal life*. In my view, 'meaning' and 'purpose' are overrated and kind of narcissistic. Why does the universe have to revolve around us for our lives to have 'meaning'? Why must we be the end product of evolution/creation/insert philosophy here? Why do we have to be more than we are to be 'worthwhile'? Life is worth living because it's what we have. We get to experience the universe for a few brief moments, and that's enough. One can savor a meal and enjoy it thoroughly, but eventually we have to put the fork down. That doesn't make the meal any less amazing. But so many people subscribe to the notion that the only things that are worthwhile are things that never end. Well...spoiler alert...
I personally find the knowledge that we aren't special or tasked with some cosmic itinerary to be very liberating. My life is wholly mine, and I can do whatever I want with it, whether the universe ever remembers me or not. I don't have to carry water for some philosophy or other on the off chance that they have the right idea out of the thousands of options available. I can just...be. It's kind of great. I don't understand why people find the concept depressing or horrifying.
* And to clarify, if a person's well-being is heightened by subscribing to a belief system, that's not a bad thing, generally speaking. It only becomes toxic when the belief system requires the individual to seek to deprive other people of the same freedom to choose. 'Live and let live' should be the guiding principle that harmonizes all of these world views, but it's not what we see in practice.
oh... the guy in that FANFICTION of Jewish Mythology that got himself executed for blasphemy, sorcery, and attacking tax collectors? Whats he got to do with anything?
Stick to the original main Lore dude. Characters like Samson and Jacob. Jacob's pretty cool. He climbed a staircase to heaven and wrestled an angel for days so he could get a blessing. Guy knows how to have fun.
Also, I dont like that your Pope can just Patch out Purgatory, deleting all them unchristened babies. Is the Bible still in Early Access??? Is it still in Beta? Its an unsanctioned, unoriginal work unshamely based on Jewish Mythology, and youre all still changing things. Who can get in to that??? Your protagonist suck, and your world building lore keeps changing! Fix your lore, fix your story, dont make your protagonist both a Mary Sue and useless, and then finish it. and maybe people will get into it.
Please post a video review of "12 Rules for Life: an Antidote for Chaos" by Dr. Jordan Peterson.