H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), an American writer of weird fiction for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and 30s, created a body of work that has the touch of genius. Himself a materialist and atheist, he believed that modern readers could no longer be touched by traditional ghost stories. Therefore, he created stories that were given enough "scientific" language and explanation to aid the reader in the suspension of disbelief, in which the monsters were alien to earth, some even alien to our dimensional universe. These monsters were fit into a mythos, a cosmic story of great power.

The being that seems to have the greatest hold on the imagination of readers, and other writers who added stories set within the Lovcraftian mythology, is Cthulu. Cthulu is a sort of water elemental, living partly in our universe, while perhaps existing simultanously in other dimensions beyond our own. At the present time Cthulu is imprisoned within the sunken city of R'lyeh beneath the sea where he lies dreaming. His dreams can touch certain of the "weak minded" of the human race, who create a cult to worship and free their "god." When the stars reach proper alignment, Cthulu will rise again, ending humanity and reality as we know it.

Lovecraft's writing was rescued from oblivion by two friends, August Derleth and Donald Wandrei, who founded Arkham House to publish Lovecraft's work, and that of other writers of weird fiction.

H. P. Lovecraft biography.

List of Lovecraft's fiction.

Lovecraft also wrote a respected critical history of weird fiction, Supernatural Horror in Literature

The Cthulu Myth in song. While it is a parody of another song, it presents a good summary of Lovecraft's most famous creation.

Metallica: The Call of Cthulu.

Cradle of Filth: Cthulu Dawn

Septic Flesh: Lovecraft's Death