A Hellnotes Book Review: The Annotated Supernatural Horror in Literature
By William P. Simmons
Originally commissioned in 1925 by W. Paul Cook for the amateur journal The Recluse, Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror In Literature, perhaps the most useful introductory survey of the weird tale of its time, had a history as complex as its author's ideas regarding the craft and aesthetic principles of supernatural fiction. Hippocampus Press's edition of Lovecraft's multi-layered think piece is presented as never before, including in-depth, easily accessible notes and annotations by premier Lovecraft scholar, S. T. Joshi. Valuable as a critical tool for examining supernatural horror as a specialized literary tradition as well as a study of the emotion of fear in general, Lovecraft's study is also an invigorating tool for the appreciation of the foundation and growth of the weird tale as it is defined by the author, traced through the work of dark fantasy specialists whose importance has long been confirmed by critics and fans alike. This annotated volume presents revealing glimpses into the philosophical, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of Lovecraft's personal and artistic life, including his not uncommon racism, taste for antiquity, love of architecture, dislike of crowds, impressive learning, and developing literary theory. Supernatural Horror In Literature may be seen not only as a general story of the growth of a form of literature but, in addition, the story of how a reclusive author moved by the sound of unheard-of spheres partially formed his own theory of craft by studying the accomplishments of others.
Whereas many genre critical analysis of Lovecraft's time limited themselves to studies of the late 18th and early 19th century Gothic, Lovecraft's informatively yet passionately written essay reached back to antiquity, resulting in a comprehensive overview of the origins and importance of supernatural fear in story telling. Lovecraft's oft quoted first lines reflect his understanding not only of a certain fictional form but also an instinctual understanding of the primal urges, conflicts, and needs of the human soul. Fear, the oldest emotion, attached irreversibly to the unknown, is first explored from the oral folklore and mythological systems of belief that constituted the oldest, and in many cases, the only stories of the species to the earliest written religious texts of formal religion. Although brief and hardly comprehensive (as no text of this size could hope to be), Lovecraft structures his ideas with clarity and grace. Much may be learned as Lovecraft guides his discussion to the early Gothic novel, examining Horace Walpole's awful but influential The Castle Of Ontaranto which, despite its uninspired style inspired an artistic movement leading to the diluted mysteries of Ann Radcliffe (herself mirrored by the superior Charles Brockden Brown in America) and early grand guignol viscera splatter-dream excess of Matthe Gregory Lewis, author of The Monk.
Naturally Lovecraft judges the worth of authors through the interpretive lens of his own aesthetic theories, preferring authors and works whose construction, themes, and effects mirror his slightly narrow (though no less fascinating) preoccupation with the horrifying ambiguity and nightmares of what he referred to as "cosmicism," and which he employed to masterful effect in impressive works as "Dagan", "The Dunwhich Horror", "The Call Of Cthulu", and the novella At The Mountains Of Madness. While responsible in the framing and defense of his arguments, there is no doubt that Supernatural Horror In Literature is too personal a document to be considered an impartial study, though this in no way lessons the historical effect or enjoyment of the document.
Concerned primarily with the art of achieving a single, cosmic emotion in fiction, Lovecraft strived to share with readers hungry for dark miracles the alienation and terror evoked by the sudden realization of man's smallness in an infinitely large, horribly unknown universe of pain and isolation. It's interesting to note the scorn and disinterest that Lovecraft shows for the traditional ghost story, preferring the far-reaching, scientifically nihilistic terrors of beings from beyond stars than the more intimate, character-related fears of ghostly tales proper. Although Lovecraft studies the effectiveness of the tales of M. R. James (and to a far lesser extant those of H.R. Wakefield, whose terrors often approached Lovercraft's in terms of cosmic evil if not in construction or approach), and mentions Henry James and other practitioners of what he considered to be a more outdated, homey brand of terror, he offers an indispensable introduction on the work of those authors whose mystical, awe-inspiring nightmares of time and space mirrored his own fictional goals, including Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, and the visionary poet Clark Ashton Smith. Each of these authors is explored with love and insight by Lovecraft, and both the casual fan and professional author could do far worse than bath in his childlike enthusiasm and scholars dissection of the weird tale - a form of fiction that must address not simply the supernatural but in doing so, also suggest half-hinted at mysteries of time, space beyond man's understanding.
Informative, judgmental, and reflective of weird literature's most influential creator, Supernatural Fiction In Literature is most enlightening for the author's remarks on the theory and importance of Poe's fictions, particularly "The Fall Of The House Of Usher" and "Legia," and for the sections "The Weird Tradition In America", "The Weird Tradition In The British Isles", and "The Modern Masters", whereby Lovecraft selects those few authors of importance whose worth would be born out by time. A wealth of information on supernatural horror fiction as a genre as well as an unofficial autobiographical study of its author, Supernatural horror In Literature is an essential reference guide for the student of macabre fiction.