Over the last couple of years, the story of H.P. Lovecraft’s racism–or more accurately, his xenophobia as he hated everyone, including his own people–has almost overshadowed his incredible writing. I’m not sure why that is. I think it’s part of a larger social narrative, but whatever the case, one thing I can say for sure is that it should not prevent people from enjoying Lovecraft, celebrating his work, and celebrating the man. He certainly had his issues, and many of them were serious, but who doesn’t? I find the below article on the subject to be quite incisive, and I hope you enjoy it.
Being a worthy young man, it was an inevitability that you would come into your inheritance, as you hail from a historic family that traced it’s origins in New England all the way back to Roanoke. You receive a letter from an executor telling that your long lost uncle, a thin gaunt New England eccentric, has disappeared, leaving his estate in Providence to you. You’ve never met him, but your grandmother always said he looked just like you, he spoke just like you, before crossing herself and looking away. You had always chalked this up to mere superstition…
Ah, Providence! Both timely and temporal, of rain swept streets and fog enshrouded boulevards, gambrel roofed homes and witch haunted memory! You set out at once to inspect this new addition to your portfolio, and are instantly charmed by it. It feels like home, it feels like a part of you went…
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Beware The Shadows 