Ascending the Mountains of Madness: the Language and Psychology of H.P. Lovecraft

Abstract: The horror of Howard Philips Lovecraft’s writing lies within the mentality and psychology of his characters. Since he first became prominent, the main criticism against Howard Philips Lovecraft has been that his writing uses too many adjectives, and that his creatures and monsters are vague. This essay aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion of Lovecraft’s horror whilst countering the valid criticisms against his writing. By focusing on Lovecraft’s use of first-person narration and applying the theory of Weird Realism and the idea of the sublime, this essay details the reason of psychological horror in Lovecraft’s narratives. The focus of the argument is that the horror of Lovecraft is not in the creatures and monsters, but in the mental reactions of his characters and in the traumatized aftermath of the characters that survive in the three tales, Dagon, At the Mountains of Madness, and The Call of Cthulhu.