Lovecraft Influences in Games Options

[Renee]

I finally sat down the other day and really read a Lovecraft story, Mammoth Cave, also known as The Beast in the Cave. Was surprised to learn he was only fourteen when he wrote this tale! So I decided to make a thread listing a variety of Lovecraft influences in Bethesda games, and here it is. I'm sure these influences can be found in other games, as well as other media altogether, so feel free to add these as you'd like as well.

It struck me though. The Beast in the Cave features a pale-skinned creature with snow-white hair, which the protagonist kills toward the end of the tale. Before he killed this creature, he could only hear its footfalls (he was in total darkness), and apparently the creature alternated between walking on two feet, and walking on four feet. After killing it, he managed to find the tour guide he'd gotten separated from. He and the guide were then able to return to the creature, and were able to see it with a torch.

At the very end of the tale, the protagonist describes the creature he'd killed as having once been a MAN!!! ... There is an implication that this MAN once lived aboveground, perhaps. Because it's impossible for him to have been born underground.

And to me, this sounds like a reference to the falmer of Skyrim, who also once were an aboveground-living race, called snow elves.

[SubRosa]

I recently started listening to the HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast, or Podcraft. It is pretty good. The two people doing it are indie filmmakers, who among other things worked with The Hp Lovecraft Historical Society - or HPLHS in their movies Call of Cthulhu and Whisperer in Darkness. I remember them from the behind the scenes features (which are in some ways more fun the the actual films!). They have also done some of their own stuff.

I went back and started with their original podcasts, and have been working my way forward. They are examining all of Lovecraft's stories in they order they were written. I don't recommend doing it that way for someone new to Lovecraft, because his earliest works were pretty rough. It takes a while to get to the real gems. But as someone who is already familiar with Lovecraft's writing, it is really fascinating. It has given me a whole new appreciation for his work, as I am not only noticing the firsts (like the first time the Necronomicon is specifically mentioned), but also I am seeing common threads in his writing I never noticed before.

Each podcast takes one or two of Lovecraft's stories and basically walks through them, with a guest reader narrating certain parts. They talk about what is going on, tell some bad jokes, and sometimes have some really clever and insightful remarks. They also add in background like when the story was written, what was going on in Lovecraft's life at the time that might have influenced the story, and things like that. It is this latter stuff that has really added a whole new dimension for me.

Some of the readings are dodgy (not the best voice actors). Some are outstanding, especially when Andrew Leman from the HLPHS is doing them). I find I really enjoy the female readers. That in itself adds a whole new dimension to the stories, as Lovecraft was far from female friendly (there are almost never any female characters in his stories!). The stories they picked for a female reader were good choices though, as in these the protagonist is not named, or given any background or history (he does that a lot). So they could be anyone. I am sure Lovecraft would be rolling in his grave. But considering who he was, I think he would enjoy rolling in his grave...