Oh thank you, you weird looking, oddly racist new englishman! For we probably wouldn´t be here without you!
In 1927 you published the story The Colour Out Of Space a story about a strange meteor that inspired Stephen King in 1977 to write the short story Weeds which in 1982 was made into a movie which has been cited by the makers of Maniac Mansion as a direct influence for including the mind controlling Meteor in their game.
Another film influential in the creation of the mad scientist character has been cited by Ron Gilbert as being Stuart Gordon´s 1985 cult film Re-Animator which was based on your 1922 serialized story Herbert West - Reanimator. The story revolves around a Doctor who for strange experiments “carries these bodies into the basement at night” which I´m sure sounds familiar.
Those writings all very heavily influential on pop culture in the 1970s and 1980s one product of which we all know and love, a little game called Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders where the Ancient Astronauts idea was an important plot element.
So many of our movies, books and games wouldn´t be the same without you Howard Phillips Lovecraft, so thanks so much, because without you we all probably wouldn´t be here discussing creations that were more or less influenced by you!
I read only one book by Lovecraft when I was a kid and completely forgot the story, but these correlations and influences that you pointed out made me interested in his works again and I’m currently having a look at “Call of Cthulhu”, which seems to me a story short enough to be quickly consumed in my spare time.
That´s funny I read that one only recently. I find the idea of vast ancient subterrenean worlds that could be discovered just anywhere fascinating. Those stories are all tailor made for adventure games, as they are more often than not about explorers and discovering age old hidden mysteries. Even though usually it doesn´t end well…
still people like Guiliermo Del Toro look beyond that and enjoy what he contributed to the genre. I don´t even think he was much of a storyteller but very creatitve in suggesting ideas.
I found it ironic that it was that same chase scene that made me give up the game that already made me give up Chronicles Of Innsmouth. I know that part is from the book but still somehow game designers and movie makers (it is also present exactly like that in the movie “Dagon”) always put so much emphasis on that part with the doors and the bolts.
Ooh, lunchtime reading, thanks I hope this doesn’t involve anything about hurting cats as I’m very (overly) sensitive about that. Yes, even zombie cats, rabid cats, ghost cats and evil robot cats.
