The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.212: The Unspeakable Oath Issue 25

The pdf version of issue 25 of The Unspeakable Oath was released by Arc Dream Publshing today - probably the longest running magazine dedicated to the Call of Cthulhu rpg (although it did take an almost decade-long break between 2001-2010). Whilst The Unspeakable Oath started off as something of a Call of Cthulhu fanzine, like the UK’s Dagon, it nonetheless maintained extremely high production values during that period of its existence.

The first copy I laid my hands on was issue 7, which I think I picked up from Leeds Games Workshop in 1992; importantly, that issue contained a scenario entitled ‘Convergence’ which, I believe, marked the very first appearance of Delta Green and ts mythology, and which immediately drew me into its modern and revitalsed, conspiratorial reading of the Cthulhu mythos; in this respect I feel I owe a great deal to The Unspeakable Oath, as I can’t overemphasise the impact that Delta Green and its background has had on the way I have come to view the mythos.

The Unspeakable Oath no. 25 marks something of a point of transition for the magazine, with a dual focus on both Call of Cthulhu 7th edition and Arc Dream Publishing’s new Delta Green ruleset - even so, as there is significant compatibilty between both systems, this is not, perhaps, a major issue; for those with a fondness for Clark Ashton Smth’s contributions to the Cthulhu mythos, it also has something of a thematic focus on Smith’s Great Old One, Atlach-Nacha - arachnaphobes beware!

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.211: Spectral Realms No. 8.

The 2018 Winter edition of Spectral Realms, Hippocampus Press’ twice-yearly publication of weird and Lovecraftian poetry, arrived today -  somewhat in advance of its anticipated season; that said, its appearance is somewhat timely given my intention to immerse myself in weird poetry (both old and new) over the coming months. It also has a very nice cover.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.210: Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace warrants a brief mention here: whilst I’m not a huge fan of horror comedy, Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade’s humorous take on the 1980s - early 1990s British paperback horror boom effectively parodies the work of UK schlock empresarios of the time such as James Herbert, Shaun Hutson, and Guy N.Smth. Whilst not strictly a Lovecaftian show, the final episode of Darkplace - ‘The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth’ - displays something of a Lovecaftian influence both in its title and content: cosmic horror by way of an insidious intrusion of extraterrestrial broccoli. Broccoli, by the way, is quite delicious when barbecued.

Lovecraftian elements were also evident in Netherhead - the second of Holness’ Garth Marenghi live shows (which I had the opportunity to see back in the early 2000s). Notably, both Netherhead and Darkplace starred Alice Lowe, who has since appeared in such British horror/folk horror/genre classics as Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Kill List, Sightseers, and Prevenge.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.209: Babylon 5: Thirdspace

Babylon 5 remains a favourite sci-fi tv show of mine (indeed, I am currently undertaking a complete rewatch of the thing in its entirety) and, whilst in the final analysis it draws more heavily on Tolkein than Lovecaft in terms of its influences, nonetheless creator Michael J. Straczynski incorporated elements of Lovecraftian cosmicism into the series. One of the places in which this is most explicit is in Babylon 5: Thirdspace - a made-for-tv movie whch was linked to, but largely standalone from, Babylon 5’s specific narrative arc.

After encountering a vastly ancient and monolithic alien artefact in hyperspace, the crew of the Babylon 5 space station discover that it opens a portal to another dimension (the ‘Thirdspace’ of the title) inhabited by monstrous, cephalod-like aliens intent on exterminating all life in the galaxy. The film also deals with Lovecraftian themes of forbidden knowledge, and the desent into madness which follows the blind pursuit of such knowledge. Also of note is the fact that the Lovecraftian Thirdspace aliens were designed by Wayne Barlowe, whose work appeared as part of the 2016 Lovecraftian Thing a Day.

Whilst Babylon 5: Thirdspace is not a strong recommend if you are looking for full-on Lovecaftian nightmare fuel, it nonetheless constitutes an interesting sidenote with regard to the far-reaching influence of Lovecraft’s work upon popular culture and genre television.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.208: Ito’s Netsuke by Gage Prentiss

One of the things which pleases me greatly - and makes me proud to be, in a very small way, a participant in a wider Lovecraftian and weird fiction community - is the way in which the creative flair exhibited by a significant number of artists contributing to contemporary Lovecraftian art and material culture extends beyond the actual objects d’art they fashion, leading many of them to produce supporting, faux-documentation which frames their work in the context of a wider, Lovecraftian metanarrative. A typical example of this would be the supplementary material included by the HPLHS in their Dark Adventure Radio Theatre cds, such as old newspaper clippings, pages torn fom a diary, or an old photograph, all of whch contribute to an immersive engagement in the story they are telling.

Such is also the case with the work of Providence-based artist Gage Prentiss, whose work has appeared previously on this blog. Today’s offering is the fourth in a series of Lovecraftian netsuke
which Gage has created over the last few years, accompanied by a beautifully-produced docket which appears to contain a catalogue entry for the piece from the archives of the Rumtucket Trading Company. This level of additional detail and verisimilitude (echoing Lovecraft’s own creative modus operandi) which, increasingly, producers of Lovecaftian art and sculpture are including as part of their work, really demonstrates in a positive fashion the dedication and committment exhibited by so much of the Lovecraftian fandom to contributing to, revitalising - and, indeed, reconceptualising - both the Lovecaft mythos and the community which surrounds it.

More of Gage Prentiss’ work can be found here; Gage is also producing a commemorative statue to Lovecraft, which will hopefully be unveiled in Providence for NecronomiCon 2019, which you can support here.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.207: The Last Shore

Last night my Silver Key lead me across infinite tracts of space and time to the edge of a bleak, granite shore, which looking out across a restless black sea under a slate-grey sky. Across the horizon of that dismal ocean stretched the outline of a vast bastion of crooked and terrible aspect, risen from the watery depths in annuciation of the end of all things: this scene, I intuitively knew, depicted a time in Earth’s far distant future, at a point subsequent to the final demise of humanity - and perhaps of all life indigenous to the planet...

I soon realised that, strewn about me upon the scree of that despondant shore, lay the heralds of that monstrous structure, and habinger of Earth’s ultimate desolation: immeasurably ancient carvings depicting, in small shards of some blackish stone, an inhuman cephalopodan monstrosity.

One of these I placed in my trouser pocket - I know not why (out of idle desperation, perhaps?) - only to find it still there the following day, long after I awoke from that bleak yet prophetic dream.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.206: The Idol of the Toad Thing

For reasons I do not yet understand, my Silver Key has remained inactive for the past few months - until last night that is, when my subtle, oneiric form was once again transported to a realm both of strange wonder and horror...

I found myself standing before a great hollow in the side of a gargantuan, snow-strewn peak in some far-distant, boreal clime. Feeling compelled to enter the nameless dark, I was drawn deeper and deeper into a labyrinthine system of caves which bored through the living rock beneath the mountain. Eventually I was drawn into a vast, subterrenean grotto, only partially illuminated by some kind of bluish phosphoresent fungus which had grown upon the walls, floors and ceilings of the place. With that faint light, I could observe deep channels carved in to the ground, along which flowed what appeared to be sentient streams of black slime. In the centre of the cavern stood a huge throne, upon which sleepily rested a bloated toad-like thing - one of the abhorrent monstrosities whose existence had been hinted at in certain scrolls and tomes of prehistoric, prehuman lore.

Arrayed at the feet of the throne were gold trinkets - offerings to the drowsing alien god-beast; one of these I retrived for closer inspection - but upon doing so the monstrous beast shifted lazily in its sleep, and began slowly opening one of its great red eyes...

I remember nothing more. However, on awakening this morning I found clutched to my breast a little golden idol of curious, toad-like demeanour...

(idol courtesy of Joe Broers)

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.205: Punktown rpg

Recently released for the Call of Cthulhu rpg (albeit for the 6th edition of the game) is Punktown, a setting based upon the novels and short stories of Jeffrey Thomas documenting the (many Lovecaftian) happenings in the city of the same name

Originally a settlement on the human-colonised planet of Oasis, but increasingly inhabited by a vast array of other alien species, ‘Punktown’ is the nickname of the vast, dystopian urban spawl officially known as Paxton, where murder, serial killings, and other hoffific crimes are part of the everyday social fabric - and often the least of concerns for the city’s inhabitants, who stand in the shadow of other worlds and dimensions inhabited by Lovecaftian monstrosities.

Whilst the far-future, cyberpunk (and occasionally splatterpunk) high weirdness stylings of Punktown  may not be to everybodies taste, this is definitely worth a look; as are Jeffrey Thomas’ original tales about the city - the earliest of which represent some of the first forays into what has since been labelled ‘the New Weird’. In this respect, Punktown is Mieville’s New Crobuzon mixed in with Clockwork Orange, and turned up to eleven. Needless to say, as an rpg setting, Punktown is not for the faint of heart (and recommended for a mature audience).

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.204: NecronomiCon 2017 Gaming Programme

I’m currently travelling to Finland, so today’s entry must, by necessity, be rather brief: more NecronomiCon ephemera by way of the gaming programme from Necronomicon 2017. Whilst I’ve yet to participate in any of the rpgs or boardgaming at the past three NecronomiCons, I have, nonetheless, had the opportunity at that esteemed event to meet and chinwag with some key figures in contemporary Lovecraftian gaming, including: Sandy Petersen (the creator of Call of Cthulhu), Mike Mason (current Call of Cthulhu line developer at Chaosium), and who has written for some of my favourite rpgs (including Call of Cthulhu, and the Black Library/Fantasy Flight Games range of Warhammer 40K rpgs), Paul McLean of yog-sothoth.com, and Scott Dorward of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias podcast (to name but a few). Good times.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.203: Robert E. Howard Bust

Unfortunately my poor photography skills don’t do justice to this wonderful bronze-effect bust of Robert E. Howard, produced by the extremely-talented Joe Broers. This is one of a series of busts Joe has created portraying the Weird Tales triumvirate of Lovecraft, Howard, and Smith. You can purchase your own bust - and view the entire range of Joe’s work - here.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.202: The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales

The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales, edited by Justin Everett and Jeffrey Shanks, turned up in my work office a few days ago - along with a bunch of other academic books which I had bought in the rush to use up my annual research stipend before the end of the departmental fiscal year.

Alas, I haven’t yet had the opportunity to do more than peruse the contents; however, the middle section of the book - with essays by Bobby Derie, Jeffrey Shanks, and Justin Everette on sexuality, race, and eugenics in Lovecraft and Howard - look like they will be especially useful for my purposes.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.201: The Theatre Bizarre

The Theatre Bizarre is a low budget portmanteau-style horror films (the likes of which seem to have become rather popular again in recent years), notable for the inclusion of Richard Stanley’s adaptation of Clark Ashton Smith’s (somewhat notorious) short tale, The Mother of Toads - an adaptation which incorporates additional and significant elements of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos.

Stanley was one of the guests of honour at NecronomiCon 2017, and the presentation he gave documenting the process of getting an adaptation of  Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space onto the big screen was one of the standout events for me. Apparently The Colour Out of Space should go into production next year and, based on his presentation, if Stanley manages to get his final vision of the tale on to film, we might be anticipatng something truely weird and cosmic in scope.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.200: The Fortean Times

The August edition of the Fortean Times contains a great article by James Holloway on Lovecraft and archaeology, importantly touching upon the politics of archaeology and history in relation to how those disciplines have often shored-up notions of racial, cultural and national identity: issues not only of central concern to Lovecraft, but which also toxically underpin many modern forms of occult- and conspiracy-inflected revisionist history and pseudo-archaeology - and which, more widely, continue to inform expressions of ethno-nationalistic chauvenism and supremacy in the contemporary, post-colonial world.

On a lighter note, James also hosts Monster Man, an excellent weekly podcast surveying classic D&D bestiaries (I’m hoping that when he’s done with D&D, he’ll move on to Runequest and Call of Cthulhu). Monster Man can be found on iTunes and here, you can support James’ podcast here, and you can find his Gonzo History blogs - both standard and gaming editions - here and here. If that wasn’t enough, you can also purchase a Kindle edition of James’ Lovecraftian historical novel of vikings encountering the Cthulhu mythos, The Barest Branch, for only two of your finest British pounds from Amazon.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.199: The Quietened Bunker

I’m not sure whether this qualifies as ‘Lovecraftian’ in a strict sense of the term, but A Year in the Country’s audio release, The Quietened Bunker, certainly resonates with some of the Cold War-related Lovecraftiana discussed in previous posts - and with similar tropes which were interwoven into last year’s slice of daily Lovecraftian folk horror, The Horsingdon Transmissions. 

The Quietened Bunker is an eerie aural exploration of the many abandoned underground installations whose presence throughout the British landscape continue to evoke the spectre of nuclear apocalypse - hollow, hauntological signifiers of a very particular class of nihilistic Cold War dread which afflicted the UK from the 1950s until the early 1980s, shaping popular forms of Lovecraft-inflected speculative media in the UK from Quatermass to classic-era Doctor Who. 

Aside from which, the CD upon which The Quientened Bunker is recorded is a lovely, glossy black - which makes for a great scrying mirror. Although you might not like what you see within.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.198: The Blasphemous Tome, Issue 2.

There has been a delightful resurgence in fanzines in the last few years - in particular within the tabletop rpg community. Back in the day, these constituted a kind of pre-internet, grassroots form of social networking amongst gamers, and could be purchased by mail-order, directly from the producers at gaming cons, and even from Games Workshop stores (indeed, gaming zines used to be advertised in White Dwarf back in the day). Titles of these classic rpg zines variec from the sublime to the weird, with perhaps my favourite being Tempestuous Orifice.

The new breed of ‘zines, whilst representing a return to the DIY mentality, tend to be of a more professional cast (as a result of the virtual ubiquity of desk-top publshing software these days), and ate often tied to forms of digital media such as podcasting (which I think is, in many respects, the digital descendants of the ‘zine mentality).

Indeed, today’s offering - issur 2 of The Blasphemous Tome - is the analogue, hardcopy offspring of one of the Ghooroc Zone’s favourite podcasts, The Good Friends of Jackson Elias. Whilst the Blasphemous Tome takes the Call of Cthulhu rpg as its prime focus, it also engages (as with its parent podcadt) more widely with Lovecraftian media - and in this respect is reminiscent of the now-legendary Lovcraftian ‘zine, Dagon. Whilst The Blasphemous Tome is only available to patreon backers of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, you can pick up annual edition by backing said podcast for the paltry sum of $1 a month. Go on you know you want to!

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.197: Dr Chuck Tingle’s Guide to the Void

‘Throughout history, philosophers, scientists and artists has all attempted to quantify The Void in a way that can be understood by the limited brains of human beings, bigfeet, dinosaurs and unicorns...In fact, any attempts to fully grasp the complex nature of The Void should be done so under extremely limited circumstances...Those who’ve gotten too close to fully reckoning The Void have had their minds collapse in a devastating moment of cosmic horror, consumed but the existential darkness of this supernatural abyss’.

Thus begins Dr Chuck Tingle’s Guide to The Void - simultaneously a cosmological travel guide, a bestiary, a philosophical disquisition, and a self-help book delineating the wonders and terrors of the zone of nihilistic Lovecaftian horror which exists outside of the multilayered timelines of the Tingleverse, and which is antithetical to all that is represented by the Tingularity (the conceptual centre of the Tingleverse).

Here we find the realm of Void Crabs, Worms, Shrieking Masses (of which the best known example is Domald Tromp), Bubbling Horrors, Greater Cosmic Horrors, and other monstrous beings; notably, Dr Tingle reveals that devilmen also have their origin in The Void - needles to say, I have now come to the conclusion that Chuck Tingle’s neighbour, devilman Ted Cobbler, is most likely a manifestation of one of Nyarlathotep’s Thousand Forms.

There is wisdom here too, especially regarding the call of the lonesome train - which we must all board one day - and which those who dwell in close proximity of The Void are more likely to hear:

‘Usually arriving late at night, the call of the lonesome train is what keeps us up and worried...it is also a normal part of life. The fear that we feel when we hear the train’s call is part of what motivates us to accomplish, build, and love throughout our timeline. Unfortunately, there are many buckaroos who find the call of the lonesome train arriving earlier and earlier in the evening, until eventually it is pulling up to the station throughout their day. This is a devastating way to live, and any buckaroos who finds themselves in this situation should seek professional help immediately...although it may seem hopeless at times, there are a few proven ways to make slight adjustments to the train’s schedule. Sometimes being with your friends and loved ones can cause the call of the lonesome train to drift by much fainter than before, and sometimes it won’t even cruise past at all.’

Nice.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.196: Some Notes on a Nonentity

Sam Gafford and Jason C. Eckhardt’s biography of Lovecaft - presented in graphic novel form (and inspired by Lovecraft’s own autobiographical piece, Some Notes on a Nonentity) - was first made available by PS Publishing at NecronomiCon 2017. Unfortunately there were only a limited number available at the event, and I wasn’t able to secure a copy then - but picked one up directly from PS shortly afterwards.

This is a charming, poignant piece - even if it does occasionally gloss over some of the less savoury aspects of Lovecraft’s character - and Eckhardt’s artwork does a wonderful job of illustrating Lovecraft’s inner, visionary life. A strong recommend, and deserving of a place in the library of dedicated Lovecraftians.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.195: Shotgun Dude vs Deep Ones and Shoggoth

This group of Deep Ones, accompanied by a Shoggoth, were painted by me a good few years ago in anticipation of using them in a Cthulhu mythos-themed game of Chain Reaction (Two Hour Wargames’ solitaire-friendly miniatures wargame); indeed, rules for incorporating mythos entities into games of Chain Reaction were included in issue 45 of Ragnarok: The Journal of Fantasy and Science Fiction Wargaming. Facing the Deep Ones and Shoggoth is a lone dude with a shotgun - seems like a fair fight....

Sadly, I have yet to utilise these miniatures in said game.

The Lovecraftian Thing a Day (2018) No.194: Faunus and Machenalia

It is always a pleasure and delight to receive Faunus and Machenalia - the journal and newsletter which the Friends of Arthur Machen produce twice-yearly; the Spring 2018 editions landed on my doorstep ths morning. This edition of Faunus has a lovely orange cover, and contains both a republication of Aleister Crowley’s review of Machen’s The Terror, as well as a piece by James Machin on Crowley and Machen.

As always, if you have an abiding intetest in Machen, please do join the Friend of Arthur Machen - which you can do here for a meagre twenty-five of your finest pre-Brexit British pounds.

The Lovecaftian Thing a Day (2018) No.193: Dreams of Fear - Poetry of Terror and the Supernatural

I consider Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth sonnet cycle to be one of the great works of weird fiction, and my admiration for it has subsequently engendered a desire to delve more deeply into the strange and solemn waters of what is, perhaps, one of the least appreciated and popular modes of literary expression: weird and supernatural poetry. As a result, over the past few years I’ve been collecting as much weird and Lovecraftian poetry as I can l lay my hands on - most of which sits on my shelves unread and gathering dust.

In order to set to rights this unruly state of affairs, I have decided to undertake a systematic reading of the field of weird poetry over the Summer and running up to the Hallowe’en period. To this end, I have found Dreams of Fear: Poetry of Terror and the Supernatural, edited by Joshi and Mariconda, to be a useful (although at times rather dry) primer, offering a selection of weird poetry spanning the history of Western literary traditions.

I’m currently about halfway through this, and I must admit my preference tends towards the contemporary end of the spectrum; even so, Dreams of Fear is a stolid trail guide to some of the more remote, unfamiliar and less-explored territories of the literary weird.