HPLHS News & Events Summer 2017

Live Events!

From time to time the HPLHS hosts live events at its global headquarters in Glendale, California. Click THIS LINK or the image above to see the current list of upcoming events.

Featured Member

• September 14, 2017

Our Member of the Month for September 2017 is Timothy Tellier of Pensacola, Florida. Tim says:

"My first exposure to Howard was age nine. Family was visiting my grandmother in Milwaukee, WI. There was a kid, David, who lived across the alley. He was an avid reader who exhorted me to read Lovecraft. That kid is now a professional stage magician.

Over the years I read Lovecraft when I could. Surprisingly, during my high-school years in Zion, IL, there was even a grade B rock band called HP Lovecraft that spurred myself and others to acquaint themselves with his work and others in the genre like August Derleth.

As I have aged (I am now 67), I've found his particular brand of terror philosophy increasingly panic-inducing...the destruction of reality and the reordering of consciousness is not comforting but it is entertaining in a macabre way. The Ancient Ones are incapable of any consideration of our existence."

Advice from HPL

• August 30, 2017

In the wake of this year’s NecronomiCon in Providence, a schism has manifested itself in the Lovecraft community. Lovecraft enthusiasts comprise quite a small slice of humanity, yet HPL’s growing popularity means our community features an increasingly broad range of perspectives. It’s only natural that differences of opinion will arise from time to time, but in a community this small, the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society believes the best way forward is through open engagement and direct dialogue. Boycotts, blacklists and the creation of factions stifle debate and free thinking and rob us all of the chance to learn from each other, something that we feel HPL himself would not have wanted to see. The global Lovecraft community has never been larger nor more vocal, and many issues that surround Lovecraft are hot-button topics in modern society that are not easy to resolve. To disparage one’s perceived adversaries and retreat to the peace and safety of a new dark age yields us nothing. Let us rather embrace our differences, treat each other with patience, respect and charity, and find shared joy in celebrating the creations of a remarkable and complex man. Let us work together to grow the Lovecraft community, not cut it to pieces.

Lovecraft saw similar disputes and rancor arising in the National Amateur Press Association during his own lifetime. We could do well to read what he had to say about it in 1936.

"Good will and a rational attitude cannot be established by force or edict, but widespread pertinent comment can sometimes help to discourage their most senseless and persistent violations… Genuine criticism of literary and editorial work, or of official policies and performances, is one thing. It is a legitimate and valuable feature of associational life, and can be recognised by its impersonal approach and tone. Its object is not the injury or denigration of any person but the improvement of work considered faulty or the correction of policies considered bad. The zeal and emphasis of the real critic are directed solely toward the rectification of certain definite conditions, irrespective of the individuals connected with them. But it takes no very acute observer to perceive that the current floods of vitriol and billingsgate... have no conceivable relationship to such constructive processes. The sabotage, non-coöperation, legalistic harrying, published abuse, partly circulated attacks, and kindred phenomena which have lately cheapened the association and hampered its work are of an all too evident nature... It is impossible to discover any useful purpose behind any example of the recent bickering, notwithstanding the lofty and disinterested motives professed in certain cases... In the present epidemic we ruefully note a great deal of unmotivated savagery from prominent members who are not only capable of better things but who have accomplished and are accomplishing much for the association. That the N.A.P.A. can—or should—attempt to control the private ethics and individual taste of its various members is greatly to be doubted… What amateurdom may well attempt is simply to oppose the use of its own facilities and mechanism—as agents in the exercise of loutish personal rancour and gratuitous small-boy brutality.” —H.P. Lovecraft in an open letter to the National Amateur Press Association, 1936

NecronomiCon

• August 30, 2017

We had a wonderful time at NecronomiCon in Providence, with live on-stage performances of two Dark Adventure Radio Theatre episodes, "The Haunter of the Dark" and "The Brotherhood of the Beast", and another fun Innsmouth Sea Shanty Sing-Along night. It was great to meet so many members, fans and colleagues, and we regret we didn't have more time to take in some of the other fascinating programming and see more of the city.

Our deep thanks go out to our esteemed Shipping Shoggoth, Kevin Stidham, for his indefatigable cheerfulness and artistry, to Sarah Van der Pol for reprising her role as Jenny Alexander live on stage, among other parts, and to the other special guests who took part in our performances: Reber Clark, Darrell Tutchton, Mike Dalager, Courtney Gains, Umberto Lenzi, Greig Johnson, Chris Lackey, Chad Fifer and Heather Klinke.

Our deep thanks also to Niels Hobbs and his team for organizing such a monumental event, again!

Backlog!

• August 30, 2017

Releasing a major new product while simultaneously attending a convention on the other side of the continent has resulted ina bit of a backlog here at global headquarters. Now that we're all back at our desks, we are working hard to ship out all the pre-orders of The Complete Fiction — An Audiobook as quickly as possible. Each thumb drive is loaded by hand, and each "library book" box is hand-assembled, but we're working hard every day to get them to you. Thank you for your patience while we get caught up, and thank you for your enthusiasm.

Complete Fiction Boxes

• August 11, 2017

An enormous flatbed truck delivered pallets of the custom-designed boxes that will hold the Collector's Edition of our new audiobook, The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. Thanks to our helpful neighbors who used their forklift to transfer the shipment into our shop, where we will be consumed for days in assembling the boxes, designed to look like an old library book!

Visiting Dignitary

• August 11, 2017

HPLHS global headquarters was graced today with a visit from Michael O'Brien, Vice President of Chaosium Inc. He was passing through Los Angeles on his way to GenCon, where Chaosium is going to have some exciting announcements. Sean and Andrew were very glad for a chance to meet him in person and talk about a number of fun projects. Thanks MOB, and good luck in Indianapolis! We look forward to meeting with more of the Chaosium team in Providence!

Sanity Assessment Night

• July 29, 2017

HPLHS global headquarters was briefly converted into Arkham Sanitarium for an evening of sanity assessments. A number of brave souls submitted themselves for examination by Doctors Branney, Camp and Leman, and most endured all three of the diagnostic instruments: the Intake Assessment Questionnaire, the T.A.M.I.P.s inkblot exercise, and the Traumgedanken dream analysis board game. After more than a little therapy, only one was confined in a straitjacket, a few were institutionalized in solitary confinement, and several were released without restrictions. Thanks to all who participated! We look forward to continuing to develop the Arkham Sanitarium Sanity Assessment Kit for release to the public as soon as possible.

Complete Fiction

• July 20, 2017

We are in the final phases of manufacturing for the insane Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft project. Above is a video of the custom-made box being prototyped at Smurfit Kappa in Carson, CA, a company that specializes in custom packaging. We are finalizing audio edits and listening (again) to all of the stories. We are on target to release the Collector's Edition in Providence at NecronomiCon and we hope to see you there!

Lovecraftian Board Game Night

• July 11, 2017

A good time was had by all who attended the Lovecraftian board game night at HPLHS global headquarters on July 8. Sean Branney ran a session of The Doom that Came to Atlantic City, and Kevin Miller ran a simultaneous session of Eldritch Horror. We just received our copy of the new Titan Forge game Lobotomy, so maybe we'll try it out at the next game night!

Featured Member

• July 9, 2017

Our Member of the Month for July 2017 is Chad Redding of Dunedin, Florida. Chad says:

"Hello ! fellow Lovecraftians, I am Chad Redding, proud member and follower of the Cthulhu Mythos! I am a history major at USF in central Florida, and avid creepy tales aficionado. I enjoy reading anything Lovecraft, my favorite but not limited to is of course The Call of Cthulhu!. A great honor to be the member of the month!!"

Visiting Dignitary

• July 5, 2017

HPLHS global headquarters was graced by a visit from former Shipping Shoggoth Mike Dalager. Mike has been very busy working with the US Coast Guard down in San Diego, and this was his first trip to see the new home of the HPLHS. He approved of the new shop! Mike is currently working on a new CD EP of songs from Dreams in the Witch House: A Lovecraftian Rock Opera, and you should check out the show's website!

Haunter Listening Party

• July 1, 2017

A wonderful crowd of cast and fans gathered in the front room of HPLHS global headquarters to be among the very first to hear the new episode Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Haunter of the Dark. The thunder rumbled ominously through the big speakers and the assembled audience enjoyed a unique listening experience.

The Haunter is Released!

• June 28, 2017

Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: The Haunter of the Dark is now complete and downloads are available! The CDs are now in replication and we expect to ship them along with the bonus props within a week or so. Thanks to all who have patiently waited for this episode. We're proud of it and hope you enjoy it!

Rest in Peace

• June 29, 2017

The HPLHS mourns the passing of David Leman, elder brother of Andrew Leman, who died just one week shy of his 54th birthday.

Happy Solstice

• June 20, 2017

As the temperature here at Global Headquarters hits 100 degrees Fahrenheit, we wish our members, customers and friends a very happy solstice, winter or summer. We hope this little solstice carol will help you enjoy the season, or forget the heat!