H.P. Lovecraft

[Kyyrn]

Anyone else out there a fan of the works of Lovecraft?  I've picked up two of his books and they've been occupying a lot of my time these days.  A lot of interesting horror game ideas in them, not to mention they're just good reads.  Anyone have any particular reccomendations on books by him?

[Setherick]

Although not by Lovecraft, you should read or listen to the audio tape version of Robert Chambers' "Repairer of Reputations."

As far as Lovecraft goes, I think 90% of the board is fan and has read his work closely and repeatedly. What may be interesting is to - when I have time - start threads about individual stories from Lovecraft, Chambers, Poe, etc, and discuss the horror elements and how they can be adapted.

[Kyyrn]

Thanks, and I'll definately check out Repairer of Reputations!  I'm looking to run a CoC one shot with some of my friends around haloween, and I've never really run horror before, so it'll be an interesting experience.  I'm open to any suggestions for ideas.

[clockworkjoe]

have you listened to the rppr horror episodes where we talk about how to run a horror game?

[VilaWolf]

Lovecraft was the man. He's the Telsa of the writing world. He managed to single-handedly invent or shape modern literature as we know it today, all because of a pathological hatred of canned spaghetti, and foreigners. Though there's a strong argument out there that he wasn't so much a racist but a xenophobe. (he married a Jewish woman and wrote many letters later in life supporting the Inuit Tribes of Alaska and lamenting the "corruption" of their culture.) Racism/Xenophobia aside, HP knew his shit.

CoC was the first story I ever read that made me afraid to go to sleep at night. Course I did read it with in ten minutes of trying to go to bed so maybe that had something to do with it. Whats funny about how I got into HP was that my step-dad was a Greek Orthodox priest and it was he who gave me his collection of vintage HP books. I like telling people that I was brought into the "cult of HP" by no less than a Cultist Priest. hehehe I personally like his dreamscape stories a bit more than his full on horror simply because they are just this side of wtfary. The Street is my favorite with CoC in second and The White Ship in at strong third.

There;s a podcast out there, the HP podcraft (http://www.hppodcraft.com/) that likes to try an interpret HPs stories along with excerpts read by one of the guys at the HPHS.

[Kyyrn]

have you listened to the rppr horror episodes where we talk about how to run a horror game?

Oh yeah, and it's a definite leg up, I just didn't think it was appropriate to run a CoC game without reading the fiction on which the game is based.  Not to mention, any place you can pull ideas, derive inspiration for NPC's, and just figuring out how to word things for the biggest suspense a help.  Figured lovecraft was the man as far as that goes.  I honestly haven't read a lot of horror, (with the exception of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski) and was just gathering ideas. 

I tend to put a lot of research into games, (reading novels, going on movie binges, etc.) when I'm getting ready to sit down and start writing out a campaign, most of the time I'm just going for a certain feel, and it just helps keep me on point.

[Setherick]

have you listened to the rppr horror episodes where we talk about how to run a horror game?

Oh yeah, and it's a definite leg up, I just didn't think it was appropriate to run a CoC game without reading the fiction on which the game is based.  Not to mention, any place you can pull ideas, derive inspiration for NPC's, and just figuring out how to word things for the biggest suspense a help.  Figured lovecraft was the man as far as that goes.  I honestly haven't read a lot of horror, (with the exception of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski) and was just gathering ideas. 

I tend to put a lot of research into games, (reading novels, going on movie binges, etc.) when I'm getting ready to sit down and start writing out a campaign, most of the time I'm just going for a certain feel, and it just helps keep me on point.

I read a ton - I'm technically paid to read what I want and enjoy reading - and my one word of advice about pulling ideas from your reading is look for things that are not horror and think of ways to make them into horror. For instance, I found a cellphone at the bus stop today (the dude who lost it, called it while I was standing there so I returned it to him) and I could easily turn that into a horror element, etc. So while reading horror will give you good ideas on the form of a horror game, the more non-horror elements you can convert will keep your game from feeling cliche. The difference from say a good, low budget horror film (cf The Bunker or Session 9) versus a very high budget horror film that is cliche (cf any blockbuster horror film made in the last 10 years).

[Boyos]

[Shallazar]

That is FABULOUS!

[Kyyrn]

--agreed.

[Boyos]

Found it on Will Wheatons website.

http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/

[clockworkjoe]

If you like Lovecraft, you should also look at the work directly influenced by him by great writers - from R.E. Howard's stuff, Robert Bloch's Notebook found in an abandoned farmhouse to new stuff that mixes the cthulhu mythos with other genres. A colder war by Charles Stross is fucking brilliant and if you say otherwise, I will ban you

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

[Kyyrn]

He's good, definately.  Better than most, his bio says he wrote technical manuals, I'd be interested in knowing what systems he was writing for. 

He seems to have some experience in my field of expertise, which is outstanding... I give him major props for knowing how to integrate things like classification of documents and such into his work.  Most people get it wrong, and thus sound like a tool for anyone famaliar with it.

Thanks for the referral!!!

[pwvogt]

How is Howard's Conan stuff? I've never tried to pick up a book, but for some perverse reason I've been having more and more of an interest in it lately, is it worth the time, and how does it compare, in style, to Lovecraft's writing?

[Richard]

How is Howard's Conan stuff? I've never tried to pick up a book, but for some perverse reason I've been having more and more of an interest in it lately, is it worth the time, and how does it compare, in style, to Lovecraft's writing?

It's good. It's no where near as dry and clinical as Lovecraft, and instead it almost feels like you're reading a Greek or Norse myth put down on paper. It's much more dynamic.

If you like Lovecraft, you should read a few of Howard's stories: since the two were buddies (see my rambling on the Age of Masks thread), they reference each others stories from time to time (myths of 'Old Ones' in Hyboria, and I believe the ring of Thoth-Amon makes it's appearance in a Lovecraft story).