Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.80: Skull-Face Omnibus

Today's entry is a follow up to yesterday's, and effectively completes my current collection of Neville Spearman editions of the Lovecraft Circle: Robert E. Howard's Skull-Face Omnibus. Whilst in the 1970s I was already familiar with Howard's work via his Conan tales, it was this book - again found upon the shelves of my local public library - which introduced me to his weird fiction. Cracking stuff.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.79: recent Clark Ashton Smith haul

In previous posts I've noted that my earliest encounters with Cthulhu Mythos fiction were via various Arkham House titles which Neville Spearman reprinted in the UK (more of which in a later entry), and which were also available in the local public library library. Whilst these included volumes by Derleth, Bloch, and Howard, my initial recollection was that there was nothing by Clark Ashton Smith on the shelves. Indeed, I recall that my first encounter with Smith was by way of a paperback edition of The City of the Singing Flame. However, yesterday I picked up these two Neville Spearman editions of Smith from a second-hand bookshop in central London (and for a ridiculously low price) - and the covers seem awfully familiar. I now suspect that they probably were on the shelves of said public library, but for some reason I never bothered to read them. In any case, this has awoken a fervent nostalgia for Spearman editions of the Lovecraft circle, such that I'll probably pick up the remaining Smith volumes in the series. Such is the burden of being a collector...

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.78: Ligotti and the X Files - Crampton

As discussed in a previous post, I was an early adopter of the whole Thomas Ligotti thing - largely thanks to Carl Ford's Dagon. Whilst I missed out on some very early Ligotti choice cuts - specifically the Silver Scarab Press first edition of Songs of A Dead Dreamer - I've also managed to acquire a fairly substantial collection of Ligotti rarities. In light of the recently resurrected X Files, today I present the (sadly) unfilmed script of Crampton: an X Files episode written by Thomas Ligotti and Brandon Trenz. Given that this is Ligotti, any meaningful attempt to describe or outline here the narrative of the script would be pointless (or at least beyond the art of the present writer). However, some idea of the theme and content of this speculative episode is helpfully provided by The Unholy City - an accompanying CD soundtrack which you can listen to freely on YouTube, and which is performed by Ligotti himself. Here I include a link to one of the tracks (and what may be my favourite Ligotti piece of all time): Nobody is Anybody.

Nobody is Anybody has a calmingly nihilistic beauty which has, frankly, carried me through some of the bleakest hours of my life - abetted by the revelation that, despite the pretense of the prosaic, coherent selfhood I present daily to the equally well-crafted doll-like visages of those around me (who despite an implicit awareness of the dramaturgical rigmarole in which they participate, nonetheless seem intent on maintaining the muddled illusion - to paraphrase Thomas Metzinger - that anyone is or ever has been a self), the thing which I call myself can never be anything more than an epiphenomenon - a hollow and anonymous shadow dwelling forever and always within the desolate and decrepit limits of the Unholy City.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.77: Yog Sothoth Wall Plaque

This was another item I acquired at NecronomiCon 2015 from Jason McKittrick of Cryptocurium: a wall plaque depicting a manifestation of Yog Sothoth above some standing stones, presumably atop one of the mysterious domed hills of the Dunwich region.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.76: Moonbeast Paperweight

This Moonbeast paperweight was gifted to me a few years ago, and is primarily of interest as it is one of the only pieces of Moonbeast statuary I've so far encountered. I'm not sure of its provenance, although the person who gave it to me claimed that the item appeared mysteriously after they had dreamed of strange cities on the lightless side of Earth's companion orb.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.75: In Memorium

I was unsure as to whether or not to post this lest it be considered disrespectful, but in remembrance of H.P. Lovecraft I present a rubbing from his headstone I made during my first visit to Providence in September 2001. At that time, the member of the Cemetary police who guided me to the grave seemed OK with me doing this, but I think today it would be frowned upon by Swann Point Cemetary. In any case, this is one of my most treasured possessions.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.74: Heavy Metal Lovecraft Special

In October 1979 Heavy Metal magazine celebrated Hallowe'en with a special issue devoted to Lovecraft. Of note (and remaining true to the magazine's French roots) this included a tribute by Phillipe Druillet, whose work was also formative of my early interest in sci-fi, fantasy, and the weird. In fact, I anticipate a return visit to the work of Monsieur Druillet for a later entry in this series.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.73: Balowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials

Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials proved to be one of the earliest fixtures in my collection of things Lovecraftian - the copy pictured here is the very same one I picked up in 1979. The book is, in fact, only minimally Lovecraftian to the extent that it only contains one entry from the Cthulhu Mythos, regarding the Old Ones/Elder Things of Antarctica. Even so, this was yet another volume that proved influential in inducting my younger self into the world of weird fiction.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.72: Is There Anybody/Anything There?

I picked up this quaint piece of Lovecraftian-occult paraphernalia a year or two ago. Lovecraft's materialistic universe (The Thing on the Doorstep, The Shadow Out of Time and perhaps Charles Dexter Ward aside) does not really admit to the idea of consciousness existing beyond the death of the physical body; thus the idea of a Lovecraftian ouija board seems rather anomalous. Indeed, all my attempts to commune with the Other Side (or perhaps, in this case, the Outside) using this device have only ever met with one reply: the hideous, interminable and unresponsive indifference of the silent, staring void.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.71: H.P. Lovecraft Silhouette Ornament

This is an ornamental piece produced by Arkham Studios as part of their Kickstarter to create a full sized bust of Lovecraft, which was unveiled at the Providence Athenaeum during NecronomiCon 2013. Notably, the item incorporates a version of the silhouette for which Lovecraft sat during March 1925. It is both apposite and an irony that the original silhouette - one of the more famous and enduring artistic representations of Lovecraft - was, in fact, produced by an African-American artist by the name of Perry.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.70: Dwellers of the Forbidden City

Another one from the dungeon vaults: TSR's Dwellers of the Forbidden City scenario for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, published in 1981. Actually less of your standard dungeon crawl and more of a sandbox setting, Dwellers of the Forbidden City was another rare instance where TSR largely abandoned the tired Tolkienesque tropes that had, even at this early time in the hobby, become such an intrinsic part of fantasy roleplaying. Instead we get a Lovecraftian/Howardian set up involving ancient tentacled horrors lurking deep beneath the earth, frog-like humanoids, and demon-worshipping serpent people  - all inhabiting the crumbling jungle ruins of a prehuman city (which, if you look closely at the maps, is replete with Cthulhoid statuary). Nice.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.69: Cthulhu Sex!

I bought these issues of Cthulhu Sex more out of curiosity than out of a salacious desire to indulge in the viewing of seedy tentacle porn. At least that's the story I'm sticking with. I picked these up in Arkham – the long lamented shop in Brighton, UK, of which I've previously spoken. Interestingly Cthulhu Sex has a something of an occult/Chaos magickal/TOPY-like tenor, but is much less exciting and transgressive than it sounds (or indeed tries to make itself out to be). These are without doubt rather odd – as well as slightly embarrassing – additions to my collection.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.68: The Art of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos

The Art of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos is Fantasy Flight Games’ entry into the field of Lovecraftian art books, collecting many of the images and art pieces that have been used to illustrate various of their Cthulhu mythos-themed games. Whilst much of its contents is not what I would consider ‘classic’ Lovecraftian art, this is nonetheless a colourful collection of professionally produced illustrations containing some evocative examples of the genre. A regular go-to for when I want to envelop myself in visual Cthulhuvian weirdness.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.67: Roerich Print

I picked up this print during a visit to the Nicholas Roerich museum in New York post-NecronomiCon 2013. I'm pretty sure this must be one of the Roerich pieces Lovecraft mentions as having inspired At the Mountains of a Madness. It is both weird and sublimely beautiful, and a fantastic visual complement to Lovecraft's tale. If the Plateau of Leng was real, I'm sure it would look like this.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.66: Pimp My Elder Sign!

Something lighter by way of a palette-cleanser after yesterday's overblown weirdness: I'm prone to pimping out my games - even moreso when it comes to Lovecraftian gaming. Typically, I try to ensure that I never leave the house when embarking on Cthulhuvian gaming endeavours without my Elder Sign polyhedral dice and dice bag, along with my Elder Sign dice cup. On which point, my dice cup glows in the dark. Does yours?

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.65: Shoggoth Sculpture

Today I present another original Dave Carson sculpture. This is in fact one of two of Mr Carson's shoggoth pieces which currently reside in my collection (I understand that there are at least three more shoggoth sculpts in the hands of other collectors). I try not to spend too much time pondering this particular object d'art - otherwise my dreams are haunted for days afterward by horrid visions of monstrous mutations and hideous permutations of the flesh.

Indeed, on more than one occasion I've awoken from such a nightmare with the utter conviction that my own body has allowed itself to become the traitorous subject of such awful transfigurations, only to cunningly resume its usual morphology mere moments.before my waking. So convinced had I become of this conceit that, during a certain season of these horrible dreams, I decided to film myself during the hours of my troubled slumbering. After the first night, all that the cheap video camera I purchased for this purpose showed was black static. However, closer scrutiny revealed something more terrible: behind the monotonous hiss of the static, I began to clearly discern the words 'tekeli-li, tekeli-li' chanted repeatedly in an oily, glutinous voice - one that, though weirdly distorted, bore a frightening resemblance to my own.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.64: Realms of Crawling Chaos

More Old School Renaissance gaming goodness today with Goblinoid Games' Realms of Crawling Chaos - a most excellent sourcebook for running Lovecraftian-themed sword-and-sorcery games using OSR systems like Labyrinth Lord or Basic/Expert D&D.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.63: Happy Birthday, Arthur Machen!

In honour of the Welsh visionary's birthday, I present my collection of Machen's autobiographies (recently republished in beautiful new editions by Three Imposters). Happy Birthday, Arthur Machen! Please do also check out The Friends of Arthur Machen (of which I am a proud member) and consider supporting them.

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.62: Ghoulish Netsuke

Like Nightgaunts, statuettes of your common or garden Lovecraftian ghoul turn out to be something of a rarity amongst purveyors of contemporary Lovecraftian material culture - so I was pleased that Gage Prentiss was able to provide me with this rather disturbing piece of ghoulish netsuke during NecronomiCon 2015. I'm not sure what it is about this item, but if I spend too long admiring it I find myself driven by a curious need for the kind of vitals ye can neither raise nor buy...

Lovecraftian Thing A Day No.61: Grafton Nostalgia

Just a quick one for today: the remnants of my Grafton editions of Lovecraft, published in the UK back in the 1980s. These were the first editions of Lovecraft that I owned. As I recall, my Grafton copy of At The Mountains of Madness ending up getting immolated in some bizarre ritual...