If you’re a fan of the stranger, more supernatural aspects of the fantasy genre, you probably have already encountered the work of H.P. Lovecraft.
Born Howard Phillips Lovecraft, the author made enormous contributions to the world of fiction in the 20th century. His best known creation is the extensive Cthulhu Mythos, along with supernatural horrors like The Shadow Out of Time and At the Mountains of Madness.
If you’ve encountered references to the “Necronomicon”, “The Great Old Ones” or images of gargantuan tentacled creatures – you have Lovecraft to thank.
Despite the author’s later fame, he was virtually unknown during his lifetime and unable to support himself from writing. It wasn’t until decades after his death in 1937 that his work began to be rediscovered.
Recently there’s been a boom of Lovecraftian interest, ranging from the acclaimed TV series Lovecraft Country to the Call of Cthulhu video game.
His stories feature recurring themes of cosmicism, which is a sense that ordinary human life is a thin veneer over a true reality unknowably alien and overwhelming.
Now that time has given us some perspective on his work, I think it is beyond doubt that H. P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the Twentieth Century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale.
Stephen King
The ancient, otherworldly beings that make up so much of Lovecraftian horror have proved a rich source of artistic inspiration. While the tentacled behemoth Cthulhu might be the most famous, there are many other Lovecraft creatures that deserve a chance in the spotlight.
The art below shares a selection of art inspired by the creatures from the Lovecraftian Bestiary. Each piece includes a link to the artist, where you can check out more of their work.
Azathoth
Described as an “amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the centre of all infinity” Azathoth is the ruler of the Outer Gods in the Cthulhu Mythos.
It’s pretty hard to nail down exactly what a “monstrous nuclear chaos beyond angled space” looks like, but we appreciate the efforts of the artists below.
Chaugnar Faugn
A ghoulish blend of human, elephant and vampire, Chaugnar Faugn is described as having the body of a man with the head of an elephant. At the end of his trunk is a mouth the beast uses for sucking blood. 😬
Dagon
Dagon is an example of a deity that exists outside the works of Lovecraft and has roots in ancient Mesopotamia. The Lovecraftian version describes the creature as an enormous overseer of the Deep Ones, a race of amphibious humanoids that live in the ocean.
Nyarlathotep
AKA The Crawling Chaos, Nyarlathotep is a son of Azathoth and appears in Lovecraft’s stories several times. Unlike the other Outer Gods, Nyarlathotep frequently walks the Earth in the form of a human man. Don’t be fooled however – that is just one of endless sanity-shattering forms he can take.
Yog-Sothoth
Yog-Sothoth is perhaps one of the more ‘cosmic’ of the cosmic deities, described as a conglomeration of glowing orbs, tendrils and eyes.
Yog-Sothoth literally knows all and sees all – a perk of existing outside our reality – and also exists throughout all of our universe’s time and space.
Are there other Lovecraftian creatures you’d like to see featured? Let us know in the comments!
