H.P. Lovecraft in Popular Culture: The Works and Their Adaptations in Film, Television, Comics, Music and Games [Paperback]

Don G. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2005

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born late in the 19th century, but it was not until after his death in 1937 that he became a worldwide icon of horror and supernatural fiction. Influenced largely by Lord Dunsany and Edgar Allan Poe, Lovecraft's stories are known for their unique assimilation of gothic themes into science fiction. Lovecraft's influence has stretched far beyond literary horror, as a number of his works have been adapted for feature films, television episodes, comic book tales and, in recent years, video games.

This scholarly study highlights Lovecraft's profound impact on 20th century popular culture. Early chapters introduce his complete writings, providing an annotated bibliography of the author's horror and science fiction tales. The works are discussed in the context of the Cthulhu Mythos, an invented mythology centering on ancient and alien beings interacting with the terrestrial world. Later chapters provide a filmography of motion pictures that credit Lovecraft or are identifiably adapted from his works, as well as a discussion of the works that have been adapted for television, comic books, role-playing video games, and music. The book concludes with a close examination of the Lovecraft legacy, commenting on his specific social and metaphysical ideologies and placing the author in context among such notable literary personalities as Mary Shelley, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Don G. Smith, an associate professor in history and philosophy of education at Eastern Illinois University, is the author of Lon Chaney, Jr. (2004), The Poe Cinema (2003) and H.G. Wells on Film (2002). He has written for numerous publications, including Filmfax, Scarlet Street, Movie Collector's World, Color Collector's Guide, and Midnight Marquee. He lives in Charleston, Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company; annotated edition edition (November 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078642091X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786420919
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,502,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for cross-reference, December 25, 2008

By 

David A. Plouffe (West Covina, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: H.P. Lovecraft in Popular Culture: The Works and Their Adaptations in Film, Television, Comics, Music and Games (Paperback)

The real glory of this book is the introduction of movies and authors that are Lovecraftian in nature that one may not have been familiar with. In the case of movies, these are adaptations from Lovecraft stories, such as Re-Animator. But the author, Don G. Smith, also allows us the other side of the coin and gives us a glimpse of authors that influenced Lovecraft himself. All-in-all this was a very good book, a quick read of 180 pages, and quite scholarly, though I do believe the author could have delved deeper in many of the chapters.

The book is divided up into Nine chapters: One: is a quick synopsis of Lovecraft's stories. Two: Focuses on the Cthulhu Mythos. Three: Films based on Lovecraft's work with much focus given to the Poe/Corman-esque films. Four: More films that were influenced by Lovecraft's writings. Five: Lovecraft on television, containing a few references to Night Gallery. Six: Lovecraft in comic books. The weakest of the chapters as this is more of a list. Seven: A look into the music group H.P. Lovecraft. Eight: a three-page chapter on a roleplaying game. Nine: explores authors past and present that influenced and were influenced by Lovecraft, such as Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Lord Dunsany, Robert Bloch, and Stephen King.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 2, 2006

By 

Timothy Evans - See all my reviews
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This review is from: H.P. Lovecraft in Popular Culture: The Works and Their Adaptations in Film, Television, Comics, Music and Games (Paperback)

A sloppy book. Not at all scholarly, although the author is a professor - basically this book consists of lists of pop culture items (films, TV shows, comics, etc.) with some Lovecraft connection. Some of the items are reviewed, but the reviews are very uncritical. The lists are arbitrary and leave out many obvious items. For example, the section on music goes on at some length about the late 60s/early 70s group H. P. Lovecraft, but that's the whole section.

The author's understanding of Lovecraft seems to derive from August Derleth - he shows no signs of being conversant with recent Lovecraft scholarship. Lovecraft enthusiasts may find some pop culture references with which they were unfamiliar, but otherwise I can think of no reason to buy this book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A survey and critique of pop culture phenomena derived from the horror stories and mythos of author H.P. Lovecraft, May 1, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: H.P. Lovecraft in Popular Culture: The Works and Their Adaptations in Film, Television, Comics, Music and Games (Paperback)

H.P. Lovecraft In Popular Culture is a survey and critique of pop culture phenomena derived from the horror stories and mythos of author H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft was especially well-known for creating inhuman fiends such as Great Cthullu that slept for eons and periodically awoke to torture and enslave humanity; his vision of a merciless universe and the near-omnipotent, diabolically cruel entities that ruled it has provided inspiration for role-playing games, television shows, comic books, movies, varieties of music, and more. Numerous individual pop culture works are succinctly summarized and critiqued, in this handy, easy-to-use reference for casual Lovecraft fans and serious literature students alike.