Friday, March 21, 2014

Free Stuff - HP Lovecraft's The Mound

The Mound is a tale ghost written by HP Lovecraft for Zalia Bishop in 1930.  It was not published until the November 1940 issue of Weird Tales, and even then in abdridged form.  The full story was not published until 1989.

My opinion of Lovecraft is similar to mine on George Lucas - I like the mythos, but it's much better when someone else does it.  The Mound is better than most for my taste, and had a lasting influence.  While it did not originate the concept of an advanced underground society (that would be The Coming Race and probably several others), it did clearly influence one Richard Shaver, who had mentioned that he read the piece.  And by read I mean largely lifted the entire concept into his own cosmology.

The Mound has an advanced underground civilization that subjugates other races in a sadistic, depraved manner - definitely proto-dero.  And as Lovecraft begat Shaver, Shaver's moves were bitten in turn by Jack Kirby, who mixed in some Von Daniken (also arguably influenced by Lovecraft) and gave us the Eternals.

I don't know if this is the abridged version or not, but read it here.

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