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If you’ve ever watched a movie, read a book, or listened to a podcast that had some sort of old, cosmic, or otherwise indescribable terror as the primary antagonist, you have H.P. Lovecraft to thank. Considered to be one of the best science fiction and horror writers of the 20th century, Lovecraft’s novels continue to inspire works today.

Who Was H.P. Lovecraft?

If you’ve been living under a rock, you won’t know that Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an American writer from Providence, Rhode Island. He was born on August 20, 1890, and died on March 15, 1937, at 46 years old.

Before becoming an author, Lovecraft was a writer for the United Amateur Press Association and the pulp magazine Weird Tales, before turning to novels during the last 11 years of his life.

Despite our knowledge of Lovecraft today, his influence spread far in wide in just about every kind of media you can imagine. Lovecraft spent his life as a recluse, never able to fully support himself by writing alone. Throughout his life, he only saw one book published, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, a year before he passed.

Today, we can recognize several of Lovecraft's novels. The Call of Cthulhu, The Cats of Ulthar, Dagon, The Dunwich Horror, The Nameless City, The Alchemist, and At the Mountains of Madness are just a few in his long bibliography.

Lovecraft tended to lean into the weird, fantasy, science fiction, and horror circles, which is evident in most of his writings. His writings, and subsequent inspirations of his writings, are often classified as ‘Lovecraftian Horror’ or under the ‘Cthulhu Mythos,’ and often have a through-line of cosmicism.

Eldritch Horror

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You may have noticed that Eldritch Horror wasn’t on the list above, and that was for good reason. You see, H.P. Lovecraft did not create eldritch horror, but he did popularize it.

The word Eldritch likely comes from the Old English word, æl-rīce, meaning ‘otherworldly,’ and gained popularity in Scotland well before Lovecraft’s time.

Eldritch Horror, specifically, refers to a general horror of the unknown or incomprehensible, often represented through ancient supernatural entities that bring a sense of madness, psychological terror, helplessness, and insignificance to the characters. 

Lovecraft often made use of Eldritch Horror, as the one and only Cthulhu falls under this category. However, he also made use of cosmic horror, which more generally covers the dread and fear of humanity’s insignificance across the universe. 

While one can be used without the other, Lovecraft made use of both, bringing the blended term of ‘Lovecraftian Horror’ to our literary-speak.

Thanks to Lovecraft for creating this terrifying blend of the old and the cosmic, we now have the following media:

• Movies: The Lighthouse, Event Horizon, Alien, Prince of Darkness, Annihilation
• TV Shows: The Twilight Zone, Supernatural, The X-Files, Gravity Falls, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
• Books: The Southern Reach Series, 14, Nightmares Disciple, Southern Gods, The Croning
• Video Games: Alone in the Dark, Amnesia, Bloodborne, The Chant, Conarium
• Tabletop/Board Games: Call of Cthulhu, Mansions of Madness, Eldritch Horror, Elder Sign, Unfathomable
• Podcasts: The Magnus Archives, Malevolent, Archive 81, Old Gods of Appalachia, Welcome To Night Vale