DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 6, Spring 1945

Transcribe
Translate

Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 6, Spring 1945

Page 103

The Lord of R'lyeh

A Discussion of the Supreme Contributions of Howard Phillips Lovecraft to the Philosophy of the Weird Tale

by Matthew H. onderdonk

I

To the uninitiated, it may appear a curious fact that the most avid readers of supernatural literature usually have no belief in the reality of the categories of human experience therein described. They peruse it for the unique and untold enjoyment obtained: fundamentally it is a medium for entertainment. A few of the best works in the genre may cause a deepening of the spiritual insight, but generally the net result never directly effects their actions or the daily decisions they must make in carrying out the tedium of existence. 
It seems equally true that among the host of writers in this field a substantial majority admit to an agnostic attitude towards the verity of theso same convictions. These authors are, almost without exception, very sensitive and extremely learned in the lore of the unseen, but they have likewise a strong distaste for the naive and credulous outlook which would accept these credos as the revealed truth.
If we care to seek an explanation for this sometimes perplexing state of affairs, the most likely conclusion that appears would seem to be that those really steeped in the occult, and to whom the nearness of the other worlds is a matter-of-fact daily occurrence, are entirely too close to the whole matter to gain a proper perspective. To these, the supernatural is too real to be a satisfactory medium for mere literary expression. Stories in this domain must of necessity appear insipid and puerile to them; hence, such believers usually have no true critical appreciation of the art.
After all, if you are actually convinced that you can communicate with the deceased via spiritualism, or if you really believe you are able to invoke demons or gods and propitiate them if necessary---all by the use of the proper spells and incantations---it is small wonder that a barley-water version of the real thing provokes only amusement or boredom.
We reach, finally, the rather intriguing paradox that, in the main, the great majority of spectral stories are written by unbelievers for the delectation of other unbelievers---equally fervid in their heretical views. the fundamontal 
problem of why some people since the dawn of time have been obsessed with the unknown and the unseen, and why so many have had such a passionate interest in reciting and listening to spectral ballads and later in history in reading and writing about the supernatural, is a tremendous and profound question. However, since it is clearly beyond the scope of the present article, we regretfully abandon it and concentrate attention directly on the chosen subject-matter.

II

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was a rationalist. There can be little doubt of this, not only from consideration of his own published works, but from the casual testimony of the friends and acquaintances. In view of what has been said above, that alone should provide no barrier to our understanding of why he could also be a writer of fine supernatural tales. When we dig deeper, however, and note that he asserted he was a mechanistic materialist in philosophy, we may again wonder a little. For this same man, not content with works of more conventional form such as the superb shot story "The Outsider," and the magnificent

Saving...

The Lord of R'lyeh A Discussion of the Supreme Contributions of Howard Phillips Lovecraft to the Philosophy of the Weird Tale by Matthew H. onderdonk I To the uninitiated, it may appear a curious fact that the most avid readers of supernatural literature usually have no belief in the reality of the categories of human experience therein described. They peruse it for the unique and untold enjoyment obtained: fundamentally it is a medium for entertainment. A few of the best works in the genre may cause a deepening of the spiritual insight, but generally the net result never directly effects their actions or the daily decisions they must make in carrying out the tedium of existence. It seems equally true that among the host of writers in this field a substantial majority admit to an agnostic attitude towards the verity of theso same convictions. These authors are, almost without exception, very sensitive and extremely learned in the lore of the unseen, but they have likewise a strong distaste for the naive and credulous outlook which would accept these credos as the revealed truth. If we care to seek an explanation for this sometimes perplexing state of affairs, the most likely conclusion that appears would seem to be that those really steeped in the occult, and to whom the nearness of the other worlds is a matter-of-fact daily occurrence, are entirely too close to the whole matter to gain a proper perspective. To these, the supernatural is too real to be a satisfactory medium for mere literary expression. Stories in this domain must of necessity appear insipid and puerile to them; hence, such believers usually have no true critical appreciation of the art. After all, if you are actually convinced that you can communicate with the deceased via spiritualism, or if you really believe you are able to invoke demons or gods and propitiate them if necessary---all by the use of the proper spells and incantations---it is small wonder that a barley-water version of the real thing provokes only amusement or boredom. We reach, finally, the rather intriguing paradox that, in the main, the great majority of spectral stories are written by unbelievers for the delectation of other unbelievers---equally fervid in their heretical views. the fundamontal problem of why some people since the dawn of time have been obsessed with the unknown and the unseen, and why so many have had such a passionate interest in reciting and listening to spectral ballads and later in history in reading and writing about the supernatural, is a tremendous and profound question. However, since it is clearly beyond the scope of the present article, we regretfully abandon it and concentrate attention directly on the chosen subject-matter. II Howard Phillips Lovecraft was a rationalist. There can be little doubt of this, not only from consideration of his own published works, but from the casual testimony of the friends and acquaintances. In view of what has been said above, that alone should provide no barrier to our understanding of why he could also be a writer of fine supernatural tales. When we dig deeper, however, and note that he asserted he was a mechanistic materialist in philosophy, we may again wonder a little. For this same man, not content with works of more conventional form such as the superb shot story "The Outsider," and the magnificent