Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Duisburg-Essen (Englisches Seminar), course: British-American Short Stories, language: English, abstract: The play of the orchestra strikes up in a dark and sluggish manner. Its compact sonority spreads like milky fog which starts blurring and covering all familiar elements before the human eye. Slowly, an imaginative chill seems to surround the listener. An overture that causes a slight shudder and sharpens all senses... Then, Joachim Kerzel – the German voice of Jack Nicholson - starts off: „Das jene großen Mächte oder Wesen überlebt haben ist denkbar. Ein Überleben aus einer ungeheuer fernen Zeit, als Bewusstsein sich bildete. Vielleicht in Formen, die lange vor dem Heraufdämmern der Menschheit wieder verschwanden. Formen, von denen einzig Dichtung und Sage eine nebulöse Erinnerung bewahrt haben...“ This is the opening sequence of Der Cthulhu Mythos, an audio book published by LPL Records in 2002. It comprises horror stories by Howard Phillips Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce. In 2003 the production was awarded with two prizes: Bestes Hörbuch des Jahres 2003, as well as Deutscher Phantastik Preis 2003. According to the company ́s principle “Gänsehaut für die Ohren”, LPL Records specializes in producing audio books of horror tales. Having five other stories by H. P. Lovecraft in stock, the author from Providence, Rhode Island, can be seen as their primal draw. Just one year later, H. P. Lovecraft ́s novella Der Schatten über Innsmouth was also nominated for Bestes Hörbuch des Jahres 2004 and won the Deutscher Phantastik Preis 2004 again. Among this genre, there is only one author whose horror tales can be considered as almost equally successful: his name is Edgar Allan Poe. In late 2003 Lübbe Audio published four of his short stories to start a new Edgar Allan Poe series. A firstperson narrator and protagonist, who suffers from severe memory-loss, relives the horrors of Poe ́s tales in his dreams. The quest for the narrator ́s true personality and the reason of his amnesia creates the frame-story of this continuing series. Therefore, Poe ́s stories work as a key to his past. Meanwhile, another four stories continue the sequence, and four more will be published in September 2005. This year, Lübbe Audio ́s Poe series is expected to receive an award for more than 250.000 sold copies – an enormous success for audio books, especially of this genre!

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Constance, course: American Literature and Culture II, language: English, abstract: The main purpose of this paper is to trace Edgar Allen Poe’s influence on H. P. Lovecraft, to prove coincidences or expose differences, whether it is of style, topic, literary concepts or biographical respectively personal similarities. As Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s life and work are less known than it is the case with Edgar Allen Poe, the paper is divided into two main parts, one of them exclusively dedicated to Lovecraft, the other one trying to draw the above mentioned comparison.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Constance, course: American Literature and Culture II, language: English, abstract: The main purpose of this paper is to trace Edgar Allen Poe's influence on H. P. Lovecraft, to prove coincidences or expose differences, whether it is of style, topic, literary concepts or biographical respectively personal similarities. As Howard Phillips Lovecraft's life and work are less known than it is the case with Edgar Allen Poe, the paper is divided into two main parts, one of them exclusively dedicated to Lovecraft, the other one trying to draw the above mentioned comparison.

H.P. Lovecraft, one of the twentieth century’s most important writers in the genre of horror fiction, famously referred to Edgar Allan Poe as both his “model” and his “God of Fiction.” While scholars and readers of Poe’s and Lovecraft’s work have long recognized the connection between these authors, this collection of essays is the first in-depth study to explore the complex literary relationship between Lovecraft and Poe from a variety of critical perspectives. Of the thirteen essays included in this book, some consider how Poe’s work influenced Lovecraft in important ways. Other essays explore how Lovecraft’s fictional, critical, and poetic reception of Poe irrevocably changed how Poe’s work has been understood by subsequent generations of readers and interpreters. Addressing a variety of topics ranging from the psychology of influence to racial and sexual politics, the essays in this book also consider how Lovecraft’s interpretations of Poe have informed later adaptations of both writers’ works in films by Roger Corman and fiction by Stephen King, Thomas Ligotti, and Caitlin R. Kiernan. This collection is an indispensable resource not only for those who are interested in Poe’s and Lovecraft’s work specifically, but also for readers who wish to learn more about the modern history and evolution of Gothic, horror, and weird fiction.

Recognized as a major innovator in the weird story, H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) was an author whose influence was felt by nearly every writer of horror, fantasy, and science fiction in the second half of the twentieth century. Considered one of the leading writers of gothic horror, Lovecraft and his work continue to inspire writers today. In Lovecraft and Influence: His Predecessors and Successors, Robert H. Waugh has assembled essays that are vast in scope, ranging from the Bible through the Edwardian period and well into the present. This collection is devoted to authors whose work had an impact on Lovecraft—Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Lord Dunsany—and those who drew inspiration from him, including William S. Burroughs, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, and Stephen King. A fascinating anthology, Lovecraft and Influence will appeal to aficionados of classic horror, fantasy, and science fiction and those with an interest in modern authors whose works reflect and honor Lovecraft’s enduring legacy.

Lovecraft was considered a talented writer, an authority in storytelling and a highly respected erudite, a walking encyclopedia of ancient and modern knowledge. His passion to horror and science fiction was dated back from his childhood, where he used to have a lot of nightmares of monsters, demons and fears. He used them to facilitate his stories and writing later on. H.P. Lovecraft is known as a “future writer.” That’s because Lovecraft lived quite a difficult life through severe poverty, illness caused by self-neglect, his wife left him because of financial issues, and all of this despite his talents. Lovecraft was never recognized as a successful writer during his lifetime, because he never published any of his work. He was known only to local communities. However, Lovecraft was more than just a writer, but a mentor to many successful horror and science fiction writers we know today. Without Lovecraft, people like Ramsey Campbell, Neil Gaiman, Robert Bloch, Clive Barker and Stephen King would never be the same. In fact, Stephen King himself claimed that Lovecraft was his top literary influence among many others. Thirty years after Lovecraft's death, the writer hit the first peak of his posthumous popularity, because his friends formed a publishing company of his work. Critics compared Lovecraft to Edgar Allan Poe himself, giving credit to his influence on the world of horror fiction decades after his actual death. Unfortunately, H.P. Lovecraft did not enjoy any of the material abundance and fame this life has to offer despite his talents for reasons already mentioned. H.P. Lovecraft’s work was adopted and taken by tabletop game, metal songs, Hollywood movies where some writer’s stories remained virtually unknown in mainstream for a decade. The writer’s stories were like some buried treasures, hidden gems, or a gold mine of some sort to folks on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, because they were considered as interesting plots for movies. However, one thing will always stand out: without Lovecraft, the modern horror wouldn’t be what it is today. If you want to learn more about Lovecraft's life, the father of Cthulhu, Innsmouth, Escherian alien, Nyarlathotep and many others... grab your copy now!

One of the most influential practitioners of American horror, H.P. Lovecraft inspired the work of Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker. As he perfected his mastery of the macabre, his works developed from seminal fragments into acknowledged masterpieces of terror. This volume traces his chilling career and includes: IMPRISONED WITH THE PHARAOHS--Houdini seeks to reveal the demons that inhabit the Egyptian night. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS--An unsuspecting expedition uncovers a city of untold terror, buried beneath an Antarctic wasteland. Plus, for the first time in any Del Rey edition: HERBERT WEST: REANIMATOR--Mad experiments yield hideous results in this, the inspiration for the cult film Re-Animator. COOL AIR--An icy apartment hides secrets no man dares unlock. THE TERRIBLE OLD MAN--The intruders seek a fortune but find only death! AND TWENTY-FOUR MORE BLOOD-CHILLING TALES