Lovecraft's 'Supernatural horror in literature', first published in 1927, is a historical survey of horror literature, with insights into the nature, development and history of the weird tale. Lovecraft discusses horror writing in the Renaissance, the first Gothic novels of the late 18th century, the revolutionary importance of Edgar Allen Poe, the work of figures such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce and William Hope Hodgson and the four 'modern masters' of the time - Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood and M.R. James. In this annotated edition, S.T. Joshi has provided commentary on many points.

Originally published in 1927 in a small-circulation amateur magazine, spanning the period from antiquity until the 1930s, and covering both the Anglo-American world and Continental Europe, Lovecraft’s essay remains unparallelled as a survey of horror literature in our hemisphere. Said literature’s emergence as a genre coincided with the institutional establishment of liberalism, which represents a diametrically opposed worldview. This would suggest that horror literature, even if inadvertently or subconsciously, represents an attempt at escaping the limitations of the secular, materialist, rationalist Weltanschauung of liberal modernity, as well as a desire for meaning in a world rendered meaningless through ‘liberation’ from hierarchies, folk traditions, the occult, and the supernatural. Also of interest is the fact that the aesthetics of Gothic horror are invariably and luxuriantly beautiful (if in a dark way), whereas the logical extreme of rationality (utilitarianism, standardisation) is inherently anti-aesthetic. Would this not indicate, then, that the Age of Reason marked the beginning of a process that concluded in late modernity with the wholesale destruction of beauty, except where it, or the counterfeiting of it, was dictated by economic necessity? If so, we may view Lovecraft’s essay not merely as a resource for those seeking entertainment within a genre of literature, but also a map for those seeking to escape, and begin to transcend, the despair engendered by a worldview that pronounced itself dead when someone spoke of ‘the end of history’.

"Supernatural Horror in Literature" is a 28,000 word essay by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, surveying the development and achievements of horror fiction as the field stood in the 1920s and 30s.

"Supernatural Horror in Literature" is a 28,000 word essay by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, surveying the development and achievements of horror fiction as the field stood in the 1920s and 30s.

Supernatural Horror in Literature is a 28,000 word essay by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, surveying the development and achievements of horror fiction as the field stood in the 1920s and 30s. The essay was researched and written between November 1925 and May 1927, first published in August 1927, and then revised and expanded during 1933-1934.

SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE is the seminal essay by Horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. This work is arguably the best exposition ever written for the Horror genre of Literature, and is a must-read for anyone even remotely interested in studies of the all dark literature.

From the Pest zone: Stories from New York.