Featured Member

  • September 1, 2020

Our Member of the Month for September, 2020 is Brandon Berry of Surprise, Arizona.

Brandon says: "My name is Brandon Berry and I'm 26 years old. Originally from Waterford, Michigan, I've lived in Surprise, Arizona for the past 2 years. I initially got into Lovecraft in middle school with the story "The Rats in the Walls". Already a huge fan of Poe and other horror masters, I instantly fell in love with Lovecraft's atmosphere and style. Every fall, I read through his collected works with my cat Abner purring in my lap. During this period, my long suffering girlfriend of 6 years patiently listens to me rattle on about Elder Gods and the Dreamlands for the umpteenth time.

My Lovecraftian collection includes a slowly growing selection of Chaosium publications, the HPLHS radio shows, and the fabulous Eldritch Horror game along with its expansion packs. I feel very lucky to be living in a time where there is no end to literature, games, and collectibles based on Howard's work, as I know this wasn't always the case.

I'm honored to be a member of the HPLHS and I hope they never stop creating wonderful Lovecraftian goodies for me to devour. Thank you guys and gals for all the great work you do and keep it up! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn!"

Johannes Mattsson

Our Library

  • August 4, 2020

The catalog of the HPLHS library is now viewable online! It's not complete, and probably never will be, but you can now go take a look at the vast majority of titles the society keeps in its collection. It's the ultimate shelfie!

Our sincere thanks to HPLHS member Kevin Miller, who works at the Huntington Library, for making us aware of Library Thing and for patiently guiding us through the initial stages of setting up our own catalog there.

The HPLHS library is a research collection, amassed over the course of decades. Three of the founding members, Sean Branney, Andrew Leman and Darrell Tutchton have contributed most of the volumes, but we have quite a number of contributions from other members as well. We are proud to include three books that were the personal property of H.P. Lovecraft himself, plus one handwritten Lovecraft letter, as well as Arkham House first editions from the library of Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire and Call of Cthulhu gaming supplements from the library of Larry DiTillio. We have lots of interesting material on Lovecraft, weird fiction and nonfiction, gaming, the history of the 1920s and '30s, and graphic design. We do not lend books at the present time, but society members and the general public are welcome to pay a visit to headquarters and check out the library in person!

We are still adding to the catalog. The society has a collection of emphemera that has only begun to be included, so check again in the months ahead to see the additions!

Johannes Mattsson

Featured Member

  • August 1, 2020

Our Member of the Month for August 2020 is Arnaud Duroy of Paris, France.

Arnaud says: "I am 48 years old, I live in Paris and I have been an avid reader of Lovecraft since my earliest childhood. I discovered it in the middle of the '80s through The Colour Out of Space published by Denoël. I have never stopped reading it and rereading it.

The first French translations were, shall we say ..., at least fairly loose and several passages of the text were quite simply deleted. It took me many years of learning English and sleepless nights to be able to read it roughly in text. I am still very far from getting there, as the text can sometimes be outdated and complex.

I have also been a roleplayer for over thirty-five years and have discovered a certain idea of the Myth through the prism of role-playing. This approach is very different from that of Lovecraft and ultimately quite far from the author's vision. The Myth has completely overtaken it to the detriment of the author.

I was delighted and very happy to discover the HPLHS of which I am a life member. The approach to Lovecraft's writings and the quality of the company's projects is simply stupendous! I congratulate you on that. I hope, on occasion, to drop by and say hello to you in Glendale, CA!"

HPL to CME

A Letter from HPL

  • July 9, 2020

The HPLHS is very pleased to have acquired our first actual handwritten letter from HPL. It was written on November 20, 1924 to his friend and sometime collaborator Clifford Martin Eddy, Jr. We'll cover it on an upcoming episode of Voluminous!

Featured Member

  • July 1, 2020

Our Member of the Month for July, 2020 is Brad Ferris of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Brad says: "My first encounter with Lovecraft was in 2008 in the form of Stephen King’s novella “N.” In an interview about the story King talked about finding inspiration in the works of Arthur Machen and H.P. Lovecraft, and he described, in brief, the Cthulhu Mythos and the idea of a universe filled with indifferent monsters. I was intrigued. I dropped into my local library and found a copy of some of Lovecraft’s stories and devoured them quickly. However, as I was in college at the time and had many competing priorities I had to set Lovecraft aside and didn’t revisit him for almost ten years.

My deep dive into the Mythos came recently. It began after a conversation with one of the fine people at Chaosium at GenCon in 2016. I was encouraged to purchase the 7th Edition Quick Start rules for the Call of Cthulhu RPG and the rest, as they say, is history. I’ve now read most of Lovecraft’s stories, and have taken a roleplaying group through the first few portions of Masks of Nyarlathotep

.

I’ve really enjoyed my time with the HPLHS. It’s fun to be able to say hello to Andrew, Sean and crew every year at GenCon, and it will be sad not to have that pleasure in 2020. Another of my favorite parts of being a member is actually this, the member of the month board. It’s fun to read other member’s stories and to know there are other people out there whose interests align with mine.

When not contemplating the indifference of alien gods in the far cosmos, my earthly interests tend a little closer to home. In my free time I can often be found wandering the nearest available wilderness with a backpack. I also have a passion for space and space exploration, particularly the history of crewed missions, and I’m currently in the research phase of what will eventually become a book about the International Space Station."

Shadow of Miskatonic

Shadow of Miskatonic

  • June 29, 2020

HPLHS Member George Husted has developed a new Lovecraftian game that can be played with an ordinary deck of playing cards, some poker chips, and a regular six-sided die. And if you don't happen to have any poker chips on hand he's got you sorted out! It's called Shadow of Miskatonic and you can find the rules and some printable playing pieces available for free download at Board Game Geek! He's released it under a Creative Commons license for all to enjoy. Bravo, George!

MU Pin

Miskatonic Spirit

  • June 26, 2020

We've added a couple of new products to our online store for fans of Miskatonic University. To go along with our already extensive collection of M.U. varsity pins, we've added a new design. The previous pins in this collection all feature an extra-long 12mm post so they can be attached to the thick red chenille "M" on our Miskatonic varsity jacket. The new pin will have a more standard length 8mm post, which means it can be attached comfortably to other garments, including the varsity jacket, but it won't go on the red chenille "M". The original plan was to have a shiny silver pin, but we discovered that it was almost impossible to read under all but the most forgiving lighting conditions, so we changed the design to black metal. As a result the shipping has been slightly delayed, but the black ones are now in production.

MU Pennant

Also in production is a Miskatonic University pennant. Made of wool felt here in the USA, the design will be screen printed, with a sewn-on band and ties. The pennant is 7 x 21 inches. We hope to be shipping both new products by mid-July! Go Myrmidons! Rah Rah Rah!

On Recent Events

  • June 12, 2020

Recent events have painfully reminded us that the HPLHS celebrates the works of an author whose opinions regarding race have no place in the modern world. We grapple constantly with the challenge of reconciling apprehensions about the man with appreciation for his artistic creations. We strive to recontextualize those creations for a new era. We fully agree that Black lives matter. We can’t change Lovecraft, but we can help change our world. We must evaluate the past unflinchingly, see the present honestly, and embrace changes to create a future that brings justice and equality to everyone. To pursue that change, the HPLHS is donating a portion of its profits to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Further, we’re redoubling our efforts to work with a diverse team of artists to ensure that the products we make are inclusive and welcoming to all.

DART Whisperer Cover

Whisperer

  • June 12, 2020

The most recent episode of Dark Adventure Radio Theatre is here! The CDs/props are now shipping, and downloads are available.

This very special episode was produced under COVID-19 lockdown conditions. We had our table read via Zoom. During recording, we never had more than one person in a room at any one time. Some members of the cast recorded themselves at home. Some scenes were recorded over the phone. The character of B-67 was played by an actual synthesized voice. Thanks to everyone on the team for rolling with the punches and rising to the occasion.

Featured Member

  • June 1, 2020

Our Member of the Month for June, 2020 is Kathleen Dawson of Gypsum, Colorado.

Kathleen says: "I first found Lovecraft at 16, while sitting on the floor in the fantasy/scifi/horror section of the used bookstore near my high school. I grabbed one of his books off the shelf thanks to the creepy but awesome illustrations on the cover. I was hooked from then (I even spent my bus money for the next two days to buy the book. Luckily, my destination was only a couple of miles.) My favorite stories are At the Mountains of Madness and any of the Randolph Carter stories.

A few years later, I found the HPLHS through random internet browsing. The Dark Adventure Radio Theatre productions have been a constant companion ever since. The Dreams in the Witch House rock opera is also a perennial favorite!

I live in Colorado with my husband, cats, and dog. Someday I hope to convince my D&D friends to let me run a CoC campaign. I'm also an avid photographer and I hope to get back to New England to shoot a number of places. I'm sending a picture of bare trees that always put me in mind of The Color Out of Space."

You can see some more of Kathleen's photos in the Member Sanctum.