How Cthulhu Transcended its Creator, H.P. Lovecraft | Monstrum

The tentacle-faced creature Cthulhu is H.P. Lovecraft’s most enduring eldritch creation. But while Lovecraft may be Cthulhu’s inventor, this monster has outgrown its creator, impacting both horror fiction and the real world in significant and unexpected ways.

The world is full of monsters, myths, and legends and Monstrum isn’t afraid to take a closer look. The show, hosted by Emily Zarka, Ph.D., takes us on a journey to discover a new monster in each new episode. Monstrum looks at humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film and digs deep into the history of those mythologies.

For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive.

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Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor/Animator: P.W. Shelton
Illustrator: Samuel Allen
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Additional Footage: Shutterstock
Music: APM Music

Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program

Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.

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Bibliography

Bauer, Patricia. “Cthulhu.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2020.

Bolton, K. R. “The Influence of H. P. Lovecraft on Occultism.” The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, vol. 9, 2011, p. 2–21.

Joshi, S. T. A Dreamer and a Visionary : H P Lovecraft in His Time, Liverpool University Press, 2001.

Kneale, James. “From Beyond: H. P. Lovecraft and the Place of Horror.” Cultural Geographies, vol. 13, no. 1, 2006, pp. 106–26.

Laycock, Joseph P. “How the Necronomicon Became Real: The Ecology of a Legend.” The Paranormal and Popular Culture, 1st ed., Routledge, 2019, pp. 184–197.

Lovecraft and Influence: His Predecessors and Successors, edited by Robert H. Waugh, Scarecrow Press, 2013.

Lovecraft in the 21st Century : Dead, but Still Dreaming, edited by Gonzalez, Antonio Alcala, and Carl H. Sederholm, Taylor & Francis Group, 2022.

Ralickas, Vivian. “Art, Cosmic Horror, and the Fetishizing Gaze in the Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft.” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 19, issue 3, 2008.

Saler, Michael. “Modern Enchantments: The Canny Wonders and Uncanny Others of H. P. Lovecraft.” The Space Between, vol. 2, no. 1, 2006, p. 11–32.

Smith, Philip. “Re-Visioning Romantic-Era Gothicism: An Introduction to Key Works and Themes in the Study of H.P. Lovecraft.” Literature Compass, vol. 8, no. 11, 2011, pp. 830–39.

Ward, Rachel Mizsei. “Plushies, My Little Cthulhu and Chibithulhu: The Transformation of Cthulhu from Horrific Body to Cute Body.” The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, issue 12, 2013, pp. 87–106.

Wilson, Eric. “When the Monstrous Object Becomes a Tremendous Non-Event: Rudolf Otto’s Monster-Gods, H.P. Lovecraft’ s Cthulhu, and Graham Harman’s Theory of Everything.” Diseases of the Head: Essays on the Horrors of Speculative Philosophy, edited by Matt Rosen. Punctum Books, 2020, pp. 163–180.

Zeller, Benjamin Z. “Altar Call of Cthulhu: Religion and Millennialism in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.” Religions, vol. 11, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1–17.

[anthonywheeler]

Horror has always helped us see our place in the world more clearly. Cosmic horror doubles down on that idea, and expands it out into bizarre, terrifying dimensions.

[stefanlaskowski]

I was a huge Cthulhu Mythos geek in high school, and read every Lovecraft, Derleth, or Robert E. Howard story that I could find. I still have the collected works on Kindle, but I haven't read any in decades.

It was fun seeing this review of the phenomenon.

[richardwilliams]

It "transcended" Lovecraft mainly because he (Lovecraft) during his lifetime freely encouraged his letter writing circle of "weird tales" contemporaries to use his mythology in their own works. Also, sidenote: characters DID SEE Cthulu in "person" in Call of Cthulu. Namely, Norwegian sailor Gustaf Johansen and his crewmates...

[Vox-Multis]

I think one of the most interesting things about Lovecraft is the fact that were it not for his xenophobia, his stories probably wouldn't have had nearly the same impact, if indeed he'd have written them at all. His mythos is essentially based on the fear of something alien and "other", and it's almost certain that, consciously or otherwise, he channeled his anxieties about real-world racial and cultural divides into his fictional writing.

To my mind, that makes it a little harder to separate the artist from the art in this instance, as some might be inclined to suggest. Certainly it can be done, but I wonder if something is lost in doing so. I think it's important to remember that the Cthulhu mythos was written from a very dark place by a man who certainly had his own inner demons - ones we may find unsettling look at dead on (much like his cosmic horrors), but whose existence and influence shouldn't be forgotten entirely.

[johnnyrepine]

I'm surprised it's taken this long to cover this topic.

Dr Emily Zarka certainly sounds like a name out of a lovecraftian story 💙

[dasamont]

I'm pretty sure Lovecraft was considered quite xenophobic even for his own times, but there are letters or memoirs from the last years of his life where he shows regret for his anti-Semitism and xenophobia. He was very much a scarred and damaged man with a great fear of many things.

Also, don't google the name of his cat.

[Uulfinn]

Even though he divorced his wife, the two kept in contact with each other through mail and stayed relatively close. The reason for the divorce was that Lovecraft found living in New York unbearable while she wanted to remain there. She was also very important for introducing him to other writers who were interested in his monsters and worlds.

[kennyhagan]

Long haired freaky person from Texas here, I discovered Mr Lovecraft at the age of twelve. I had just finished The Lord of the Rings, and was visiting my grandfather in East Texas. My uncle heard that I'd read the Tolkien so he turned me on to two old paperbacks of Lovecraft short stories. Been hooked ever since. Lovecraft was almost as wordy as Poe, but he also had a way of getting things going rather swiftly in his stories. I personally have a hard time believing that he is still underrated as an author, and I attribute that to people still not respecting the authors who made their names in pulp fiction magazines like FANTASTIC STORIES or TRUE DETECTIVE. Remember, Edgar Rice Burroughs, the guy that wrote TARZAN, kept a roof over his head and food in his belly by writing a lot of detective stories before his fantastic stuff became popular. This was before Mr Lovecraft even started writing...
Slenderman and Sirenhead owe their existence to Mr Lovecraft and the way that his crazy stories have been able to become more "mainstream " in the decades since they were published. Cthulhu is the poster-boy for "alternative "culture....Metallica even did a song (instrumental) called THE CALL OF CTHULHU, of course.
I believe that Mr Lovecraft would be very pleased to know that people are more interested in his work than ever. Too bad he couldn't have enjoyed some of the revenue that his creations are generating nearly a century after they were put to paper.

[GrayNeko]

Lovecraft, for me, is to modern horror what Black Sabbath is to heavy metal. He got there first, and he did it so well that everyone after him followed in his footsteps.

[CrazyStu]

Love Monstrum and Dr. Z, but not using the portmanteau "cutethulu" was a sorely missed opportunity :D

[Pleasestoptalkingthanks]

HPL was a good writer and had some awesome concepts, though his longer works tend to be super dry and repetitive when being read on a first read through. And now that technology and society has progressed so much since his time, it opens up the avenue for even greater Cosmic horror.

[benmason]

He did have letters he wrote toward the end of his life regretting his xenophobia. It's often not mentioned because the regret came late in his life.

[MemphiStig]

If you like Lovecraft's style, you should check out Clark Ashton Smith, particularly The Averoigne Chronicles, set in a fantastically imagined area of France. His stories are much more earthly than cosmic, but they are equally dark and horrifying, and play upon Lovecraft's mythos. And HP himself was a big fan, dubbing him Klarkash-Ton, even writing a poem in tribute. Also, Metallica were Lovecraft fans, with at least two songs inspired by him, the instrumental "Call of Ktulu" and "The Thing That Should Not Be."

[orendungan]

One big redemption arc for the creation, if not necessarily for the man himself, is the enormous list of Lovecraftian short story collections. The diversity of authors and the characters they weave into the newer generations of the mythos is astounding. Most of these anthologies are definitely worth a read, particularly those edited by Paula Guran or Ross Lockhart, and most especially anything with a story by Caitlin R. Kiernan. 'Andromeda Among the Stones' is one of the very, very best. It haunted me for days.

[julietfischer]

Had Lovecraft created a tight, organized, Mythos-universe, he might not be so well-known today, and a number of writers either would not be known at all, or their work would have taken a different direction. There might not have been a novel titled _Psycho, _ or Marvel Comics adaptations of Robert E. Howard's works, the _Dark Tower_ series by Stephen King, or the television series _Babylon 5._ Lord Dunsany and Robert Chambers would appear in Amazon omnibuses along with other relative unknowns. By encouraging and participating in the borrowing and inventing and sharing of ideas and concepts, he gave us cosmic horror and permission to go big in horror fiction.

[danilooliveira]

I think one aspect that can't be ignored about cosmic horror, at least Lovecrafting cosmic horror, is that its not simply that we are insignificant for the superior beings, but also that their influence can't be denied. their dream can change or reality, seeing them can make us insane, or simply existing under their shadow can turn an entire city into deformed monsters. its like you burning an entire ant colony because you accidentally dropped a drop of your hot sauce on it without even realizing they were there, except here humans are the ants. the idea is probably best illustrated by Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic, since that is the central theme of the book.

[cosmobane]

We might forget that Lovecraft never truly pass the fame of an amateur fanfic writer in his time.

[brohamerer]

To me, HP Lovecraft is the most tragic writer to me. Because he was so close to greatness, and yet his own interpretations of life and people destroyed him

[ValerioRhys]

HP's fear of the unknown, the fear of those who are different from us, fear of outsiders and the fear of the strange beings we cannot understand is also apparent in his politics and worldview.

[Googledeservestodie]

"I would love to see how the author would view cute Cthulhu"
The author: THERE WAS A WHAT PRESIDENT????!!!!