While some figures would be happy to criticise the fact that Stephen King has sold so many copies of his books, leading to the idea that their literary merit is compromised, it’s undoubted that King has consequently established himself as a master of modern horror fiction.
After all, some of King’s works are true classics of the genre, and the cinematic medium has also profited greatly from his most popular stories. Whether in The Shining, Carrie or Pet Sematary, King’s mind has conjured up some of the most fearful narratives of all time.
Still, even the master of American horror fiction has his own personal heroes and influence. In the eyes of King, there are few writers who manages to perfectly capture the tension and fear expected of the horror genre quite like the legendary author H.P. Lovecraft, whom King is indebted to for sparking his interest in the genre.
In an interview with Scraps from the Loft, King said that his love for horror fiction was piqued when he found “a number of 1940s paperback editions of Lovecraft that I found in an aunt’s attic.” Lovecraft was known for his significant contributions to the weird, science fiction, and horror literary genres. His most notable works are The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow over Innsmouth, and At the Mountains of Madness.
“Lovecraft struck me with the most force, and I still think that for all his shortcomings, he is the best writer of horror fiction that America has yet produced,” King gushed. At the centre of Lovecraft’s fiction is the idea of cosmicism, the belief that humanity is insignificant in the wider scope of the universe and the possibility that there are omnipotent gods that lie beyond the realms of human perception.
In another interview with American Heritage, King again offered his thoughts on the impressive qualities of Lovecraft as a master writer, noting, “Now that time has given us some perspective on his work. I think it is beyond doubt that H. P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the 20th century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale.”
King first discovered Lovecraft when he came across a copy of his short story collection, The Lurking Fear and Other Stories. This proved to be an important moment not only in the young future writer’s life but also in his eventual career and emergence as one of the most successful writers in the history of the horror genre.
Writing beautifully of the deep mark that Lovecraft left on King, the Carrie and The Shining author noted, “Lovecraft opened the way for me, as he had done for others before me. It is his shadow, so long and gaunt, and his eyes, so dark and puritanical, which overlie almost all of the important horror fiction that has come since.”
Indeed, horror fiction would simply not be what it is today were it not for the imaginative and seminal writings of Lovecraft. Capable of striking fear into the hearts of his readers, whether by providing gruesome descriptions of strange beings or leaving things open to interpretation, Lovecraft remains one of the most significant authors in history. He has inspired countless writers to pick up the fear-inducing pen for the first time, most notably Stephen King.