H. P. Lovecraft

"'The most merciful thing in the world... is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.'"Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 - March 15, 1937) was an American writer born in Providence, Rhode Island. His works cover the genres of horror, fantasy and science fiction. During the course of his life he didn't achieve fame, but his works were recognised mainly among his friends who, after his death, published many of his works.

Early life:
Lovecraft was born August 20, 1890. His father, Winfield Scott Lovecraft, was a travelling salesman; his mother Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft was from a family whose ancestors can be traced to the first colonists in America. During his trip to Chicago, his father had a psychotic brake and was committed into a Butler Hospital in Providence. He would die from syphilis in 1898.

Because of his father's death, his mother (nicknamed Susie) and his grandfather Whipple Van Buren Phillips mainly took the responsibility of raising young Howard. It soon became clear that he was very gifted and intelligent; he would recite poems at the age of two, and write his first ones at the age of six. At the very young age he read classics like Odyssey, Iliad and One Thousand and One Nights. His grandfather also acquired him short stories of "gothic horror"; his mother was concerned that it might cause trauma for the young boy.

As a young boy he was often sick and didn't attend school up until the age of eight; after only a year he was retired but would later return. He had a fascination with writing and chemistry, spending much time studying both.

His family unfortunately wasn't very happy, and the series of many bad financial decisions of his grandfather (he died in 1904) led the family to move out of their old family house. They now lived in a much smaller place, this left a huge effect on Lovecraft and he would even think about committing suicide. This would eventually result in him suffering a mental breakdown; because of this he was never able to finish high school.

After that he experimented with essays and poetry, only to return to fiction with his short stories "The Tomb" and "Dagon". Dagon achieved his first success and was published in the magazine The Weird Tales in 1923. He also at that time developed a large connection of many corespondents such as: Robert Bloch, Forrest J. Ackerman and Robert E. Howard.

New shock would hit Lovecraft after his mother, after problems with hysterics and depression, was committed into the same institution as his father. He remained very close to her up until her death in 1921.

Marriage:
Soon after his mother's death, Lovecraft would meet Sonia Haft Greene. The two soon fell in love and Lovecraft was blossoming in love, declaring his love to Sonia and the two soon got married. They moved to Brooklyn (New York), but soon faced many difficulties. Sonia soon lost her job and Lovecraft was unable to find any. It seems he at that time developed certain racist sentiment. He soon believed in the superiority of Anglo-Saxon culture and had very bad feeling towards African Americans, Latino Americans and Italians.

Sonia managed to find a job in Cincinnati, but Lovecraft didn't follow her. She would then move across the USA, while simultaneously financing Lovecraft. The two would eventually divorce and Lovecraft moved back to his aunts in Providence.

Return to Providence:
During his time in Providence he would return to writing, making the best of his works. Unfortunately he became increasingly poorer. He was forced to move from place to place and was not able to earn a living from his works. In the early 1937, he was diagnosed with cancer of the small intestine. He died in March of that year.

Pop culture:
Lovecraft is considered as one of the greatest writers of 20th century horror. In the past few decades he has gained great recognition and his works inspired many authors (such as Stephen King) and many other game developers.

Quotes:
"'The most merciful thing in the world... is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.'""'The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind.'""'If religion were true, its followers would not try to bludgeon their young into an artificial conformity; but would merely insist on their unbending quest for truth, irrespective of artificial backgrounds or practical consequences.'""'Life is a hideous thing, and from the background behind what we know of it peer daemoniacal hints of truth which make it sometimes a thousandfold more hideous.'""'But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the secret lore of ocean.'"