Titan of terror: the dark imagination of H.P. Lovecraft - Silvia Moreno-García

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  • čas přidán 22. 04. 2019
  • Dive into the stories of horror savant H.P. Lovecraft, whose fantastical tales, such as “The Call of Cthulhu,” created a new era of Gothic horror.
    --
    Arcane books of forbidden lore, disturbing secrets in the family bloodline, and terrors so unspeakable the very thought of them might drive you mad. These have become standard elements in modern horror stories. But they were largely popularized by a single author: H.P. Lovecraft, whose name has become synonymous with the terror he inspired. Silvia Moreno-García dissects the “Lovecraftian” legacy.
    Lesson by Silvia Moreno-García, directed by Globizco Studios.
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Komentáře • 2,7K

  • @AnanyaShetty_
    @AnanyaShetty_ Před 5 lety +9994

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    • @AnanyaShetty_
      @AnanyaShetty_ Před 5 lety +245

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    • @TEDEd
      @TEDEd  Před 5 lety +228

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    • @AnanyaShetty_
      @AnanyaShetty_ Před 5 lety +134

      @@TEDEd thank you for that! I shall do that once I'm ready! ❤️❤️ ( I'm on my phone now, well technically it's my mum's phone but now I have emojis!)😊

    • @seanmichaels8060
      @seanmichaels8060 Před 5 lety +32

      H.P. LoveCraft and Nicola Tesla both proved that capitalism doesn't work. If it worked both men would have died wealthy instead of poor.

  • @emirkul3113
    @emirkul3113 Před 5 lety +13843

    The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. HP Lovecraft

    • @devbhadauria2506
      @devbhadauria2506 Před 5 lety +42

      I was gonna comment that 😆

    • @CrazyLife2112
      @CrazyLife2112 Před 5 lety +19

      I have a button with that quote on it :)

    • @RhegianofRhegium
      @RhegianofRhegium Před 5 lety +2

      Sen çok biliyon

    • @HuanjianLin
      @HuanjianLin Před 5 lety +77

      Funny how most of his stories were inspired by his phobias and some specifically about his xenophobia.

    • @ibrahimshah9327
      @ibrahimshah9327 Před 5 lety +86

      Correction: fear lies not in the unknown, but in overthinking about the unknown.
      Think deeply on that.

  • @solepula
    @solepula Před 5 lety +23111

    "Mathematics themselves become a source of horror"
    You got that right.

    • @arfn1973
      @arfn1973 Před 5 lety +255

      Mathematics is love and life!

    • @noxblackanon3396
      @noxblackanon3396 Před 5 lety +72

      @@arfn1973 yeaa

    • @essenceofherbal4125
      @essenceofherbal4125 Před 5 lety +242

      When you struggle in math class.

    • @OXSourCandyXO
      @OXSourCandyXO Před 5 lety +136

      I had the pause the damn video to appreciate this lmao

    • @UrbanistWaldeinsamkeit
      @UrbanistWaldeinsamkeit Před 5 lety +43

      @Zengn Draws He wanted to pursue higher education in math, but didn't have the grades. His "non-Euclidean geometry", for one, is an example of some of the math that was revolutionary in his time.

  • @kh4550
    @kh4550 Před 5 lety +9873

    It is truly sad to know that two of the greatest horror writers (Poe and Lovecraft) died penniless, in misery, and on top of that, relatively young.

    • @rymle
      @rymle Před 5 lety +517

      Their stories live on however

    • @KilliK69
      @KilliK69 Před 5 lety +942

      at least Poe got to be famous during his life. Lovecraft didnt even have that.

    • @kdvr766
      @kdvr766 Před 4 lety +601

      @@KilliK69 wellll lovecraft is really xenophobic so that might be onw of the reasons

    • @thewrustywrench21
      @thewrustywrench21 Před 4 lety +1025

      kaiser der variante No not really, people didn’t care back then. Prejudice was a common thing, he was a nobody because he was way ahead of his time

    • @shepsfield
      @shepsfield Před 4 lety +349

      Lovecraft's isn't sad. Just look at his cat's name or like, the racism in some of his books.

  • @bobbm1
    @bobbm1 Před 4 lety +7410

    He had a pretty dark imagination when he named his cat, too.

  • @SuicideBunny6
    @SuicideBunny6 Před 5 lety +3147

    Man, I thought I was the only one getting scared shitless from impossible geometric configurations ...

    • @ronnickels5193
      @ronnickels5193 Před 5 lety +146

      Its the normal geometry you have to fear. Especially right angles. That's how the hounds get to you.

    • @tobydude7462
      @tobydude7462 Před 5 lety +7

      😂

    • @usagi2934
      @usagi2934 Před 4 lety +27

      I dreamt of it once. Was not a fun dream.

    • @docking9532
      @docking9532 Před 3 lety +4

      Mandelbrot set

    • @whatisbow2865
      @whatisbow2865 Před 3 lety +11

      Non Euclidean geometry is terrifying.

  • @keremdelialioglu2197
    @keremdelialioglu2197 Před 5 lety +4409

    Don't forget that many things Lovecraft feared weren't even dangerous. When the dude came across something he didn't understand, he'd be afraid of it by default. I mean, _he was scared of air conditioning and curved shapes._

    • @AliciaNyblade
      @AliciaNyblade Před 5 lety +708

      And that, to me, is what makes him such a tragic figure. He spent his life being afraid of different people and things and perpetuating that through his stories when, at the end of the day, much of those anxieties and suspicions were unfounded. Fear of the unknown is one thing, but teach someone to fear needlessly and you might as well smash their kneecaps.

    • @itsflyde
      @itsflyde Před 5 lety +294

      Alicia Nyblade I think that’s almost poetic. His works perpetuated his own fear but at the end of the day, like you said, it’s mostly unfounded (or just unnecessary to worry about). You could almost view his works in the same way. There’s somewhat of a persistent, dreadful nihilism present in his works, seeing as we’re all minuscule specks in the cosmos waiting for whatever inevitable end the universe sees befitting of us, but you can find comfort in that.
      TL;DR Old Gods are cool but as a human, why worry about them? Maybe Lovecraft’s works were cautionary, if unintentionally.

    • @aldoushuxley5953
      @aldoushuxley5953 Před 4 lety +51

      also had a massive fear of water

    • @aldoushuxley5953
      @aldoushuxley5953 Před 4 lety +41

      @Bridget Walker might very well be true! Both of his parents died in an insane asylum...

    • @cyclpiancitydweller9517
      @cyclpiancitydweller9517 Před 4 lety +90

      @@aldoushuxley5953 Lovecraft had night terrors. So, his dreams crept into his stories

  • @alexchan7654
    @alexchan7654 Před 2 lety +977

    The fact that people are no longer frightened by fantastical folk lore because they were already traumatised by WWI breaks my heart..

    • @Laocoon283
      @Laocoon283 Před rokem +84

      Don't need to make up horror stories when you can just look around your reality

    • @h.plovecraftn-4307
      @h.plovecraftn-4307 Před rokem +3

      😊👍

    • @cardboardbox191
      @cardboardbox191 Před rokem +6

      I kind of like it a witch turns up cackling
      ex solder ha come and have a go if you think you're hard enough.

    • @BallerDan53
      @BallerDan53 Před 8 měsíci +3

      I think the fascination with horror is only existent when times are good. If the events of your day to day already scare you, you would not be so willing to invite fear as a form of entertainment.

  • @vksherlockholmes
    @vksherlockholmes Před 5 lety +2614

    "A victim of the universe's cosmic indifference", well said.

    • @raphuscucullatus7845
      @raphuscucullatus7845 Před 5 lety +41

      Fancy words for "cancer of the small intestine and malnutrition"

    • @KilliK69
      @KilliK69 Před 5 lety +91

      @@raphuscucullatus7845 cancer caused by his diet consisted mostly of canned food because he couldnt afford anything else to eat. so, yeah, it is a fit description because he lived all his life as a penniless nobody and that eventually led to his premature, painful death.

    • @justaperson324
      @justaperson324 Před 4 lety +1

      Didn’t get a jack.

    • @Gadget-Walkmen
      @Gadget-Walkmen Před 3 lety +4

      @@justaperson324 What's a "jack" what?!

    • @captainobvious9526
      @captainobvious9526 Před 2 lety +1

      @@Gadget-Walkmen We’ll never know.

  • @snaketooth0943
    @snaketooth0943 Před 5 lety +4189

    You know somebody's work is creepy when just a Ted Ed video discussing it is creepy.

    • @snaketooth0943
      @snaketooth0943 Před 5 lety +20

      Wow this might even beat my most liked comment on this video: czcams.com/video/ka5pYUSkgHI/video.html

    • @TEDEd
      @TEDEd  Před 5 lety +280

      We're flattered! ;)

    • @muhammadnabil3390
      @muhammadnabil3390 Před 5 lety +15

      I opened my bed--side lamp while watching this video,freaked me out a little bit too.

    • @wu1ming9shi
      @wu1ming9shi Před 4 lety +3

      Well creppyness is in the yese of the beholder. It is on you how creepy something can be. That's what I like about HP Lovecrafts stuff. It's only creepy when you want to be scared.

    • @wu1ming9shi
      @wu1ming9shi Před 4 lety +2

      @@imnotreallysure5155 I just regret having bought all his stories in the way he wrote them. aka old english mixed with american dialects. I regret my choice...

  • @riaelyna
    @riaelyna Před 5 lety +1739

    "And as long as humans feel a sense of dread about our unknown future, Lovecraftian horror will have a place in the darkest corners of our imagination."
    I seriously loved the topic and the idea that you brought upon us today, and, thank you for inspiring students like me to continue our own stories ❤

    • @robertkennedy4114
      @robertkennedy4114 Před 6 měsíci

      Correct I have a special Spot reserved For the great old one.

  • @maxschechter4156
    @maxschechter4156 Před 4 lety +2721

    He was kinda scared of everything, too. Immigrants, the ocean, air conditioning, things he couldn’t comprehend. And when you take things he can’t comprehend and have us look at them through his eyes, then we start to become a bit more afraid of it.

    • @cbhv4321
      @cbhv4321 Před 3 lety +64

      uhhhhh... air conditioning?

    • @summerbreeze9576
      @summerbreeze9576 Před 3 lety +143

      @@cbhv4321 read his story “cold air”

    • @guywhochangeshisprofilealo7163
      @guywhochangeshisprofilealo7163 Před 3 lety +207

      @@cbhv4321 He didn’t have a good understanding of science as a kid. I’m pretty sure he wrote about how he was scare of colors and non-euclidian surfaces too.

    • @MethLord
      @MethLord Před 2 lety +112

      That explains his racism.

    • @misterminutes4504
      @misterminutes4504 Před 2 lety +39

      I'm afraid of the fridge (jk) it's just... Demonic. The way you don't see the light turn off 😖😖

  • @brickwall7723
    @brickwall7723 Před 4 lety +487

    _"If I am mad, it is mercy. May the gods pity the man who in his callousness, can remain sane to the hideous end." H.P. Lovecraft_

  • @Jonasanoj
    @Jonasanoj Před 5 lety +3294

    Those anymations, the narration and the music...so good!

    • @warrenkeystone5195
      @warrenkeystone5195 Před 5 lety +27

      JJ NotToday *animations

    • @Jonasanoj
      @Jonasanoj Před 5 lety +37

      @@warrenkeystone5195 Yeah I also saw that too afterwards but didn't want to correct my comment because the heart gets lost if you do...

    • @Ragnarockalypse
      @Ragnarockalypse Před 5 lety +33

      These aren't just any mations

    • @arniecalang4583
      @arniecalang4583 Před 5 lety +5

      Yes! I was in constant awe from beginning to end!

    • @AlizerLeHaxor
      @AlizerLeHaxor Před 5 lety +2

      *animatoins

  • @ericxue3244
    @ericxue3244 Před 5 lety +4293

    1:20 "Mathematics themselves becomes a source of horror" Aren't they already horrors?

    • @wrongfulhermit
      @wrongfulhermit Před 5 lety +116

      Math:*exists
      Problems: It's free real estate..

    • @theseeker7194
      @theseeker7194 Před 5 lety +19

      Math is interesting😉

    • @noxblackanon3396
      @noxblackanon3396 Před 5 lety +6

      @@theseeker7194 yep i love math its fun ●w●

    • @nucleargoofball8043
      @nucleargoofball8043 Před 5 lety +37

      If you consider how many people go crazy in the US Navy's Nuclear Power program, you would see that yes, mathematics do cause madness.

    • @Astromaniac8802
      @Astromaniac8802 Před 5 lety +6

      I think it’s because Cthulhu is based on the concept of infinity

  • @alfredbandoni5139
    @alfredbandoni5139 Před 3 lety +364

    Is it just me or is the fact that he died young and pennilessness add another layer of horror to reading his work.

    • @FimbongBass
      @FimbongBass Před 2 lety +45

      Yep you can really feel the paranoia, depression and other emotions in his works which really adds a lot more to his stories, I believe without lovecrafts deep rooted character flaws, his stories wouldnt have been anywhere near as good, luckily he took advantage of his fears and wrote about it with unique storytelling

    • @Napoleonwilson1973
      @Napoleonwilson1973 Před 2 lety +8

      So what does that have to do with genius, success in material usually leads to blandness.

  • @corn7472
    @corn7472 Před 4 lety +1684

    “Mathematics themselves become a source of horror.”
    Ah yes , facts.

    • @idigamstudios7463
      @idigamstudios7463 Před 2 lety +21

      The more I *LEARN* about math the more I'm convinced it's an outergod.

    • @Tylendal242
      @Tylendal242 Před 2 lety +6

      In case you were unaware, Euclidean geometry is geometry on a flat surface. So, non-Euclidean architecture includes bridges, pipelines, and particularly large buildings.

    • @Cheema-zarwa48fg
      @Cheema-zarwa48fg Před 2 lety +1

      What is 1+1?

    • @Cheema-zarwa48fg
      @Cheema-zarwa48fg Před 2 lety +1

      11 right

    • @alisharai3299
      @alisharai3299 Před 2 lety

      yeah felt that real hard in my maths test😃

  • @MrWolfsmusic
    @MrWolfsmusic Před 5 lety +776

    Favorite horror writer. His mind is one that we may never see again.

  • @andreastsestidis5060
    @andreastsestidis5060 Před 5 lety +994

    He died poor and unknown. No matter what you do, do what you love and you never know the impact it will have on humanity. Always be a force of good and the best version of yourselves even if that is not the "best" in the eyes of others.

    • @aldoushuxley5953
      @aldoushuxley5953 Před 4 lety +82

      that is true, but he did not get any of that posthumus recognition. He still died completely alone, with the thought, that his lifes work, the thing he had sacrificed so much for, would be completely forgotten.
      He almost starved himself to death, because he was so poor, and barely was able to afford canned food.
      In his last years, he was also in considerable pain, because of his cancer, and his mind started to slip (which was no doubt quite scary, because both his parents went insane in the end).
      So while I agree, always follow your dreams, your path will not necessarily be a pleasant one, if you do so, and you have to understand that before hand, or be hit by life unbearibly hard, again and again.

    • @raydnite2421
      @raydnite2421 Před 3 lety +21

      @@aldoushuxley5953 this hit hard

    • @Peanutjello
      @Peanutjello Před 3 lety +2

      Wait so he made cthulhu and people worshipping it as if it was real?, awesome.
      Correct me here is i say something wrong (might do a little more research)

    • @ZombiefreakPrincess
      @ZombiefreakPrincess Před 5 měsíci

      The most wonderful and empowering thing ever said ❤

  • @geraldmerkowitz4360
    @geraldmerkowitz4360 Před 5 lety +2393

    3:34 "Lovecraft's infamous blend of dragon and octopus"
    THE OCTOGON !!

    • @MrMeme2006
      @MrMeme2006 Před 4 lety +93

      More like "Octagon", eh?
      Ight imma head out

    • @anjali6050
      @anjali6050 Před 4 lety +70

      Dragtopus

    • @qazxwecvr
      @qazxwecvr Před 4 lety +52

      They did say that mathematics became part of his horror, so it's not far off. XD

    • @alibolink0719
      @alibolink0719 Před 4 lety +8

      @@qazxwecvr This is the greatest comment thread and you made it so much worse

    • @lightscameras4166
      @lightscameras4166 Před 4 lety +4

      AliboLink_ 07 The greatest comment section is the “Come Together” animated video on the Beatles’ channel. Thank me later.

  • @kykise1395
    @kykise1395 Před 3 lety +571

    I think H.P. Lovecraft also did drugs. In his story “Dagon” the narrator says that drugs are the only thing that makes life bearable. Keep in mind that Lovecraft included things in his own personal life into his works. Very sad.

    • @enverpasa8567
      @enverpasa8567 Před 3 lety +25

      i do not remember which but there are many stories with drugs, and no i dont think he did drugs considering that in his stories he also wrote drugs as a bad thing

    • @n.s.mcmahon6180
      @n.s.mcmahon6180 Před 3 lety +89

      The narrator of Dagon did opium to calm himself of his paranoia. In the 1910s and 20s, when the story was written, doctors threw morphine and opium at everything they could, leading to massive crippling addiction on a national scale. Lovecraft witnessed this first hand and incorporated into some of his stories, all which I've read so far, paint the drug in a negative light.

    • @FimbongBass
      @FimbongBass Před 2 lety +6

      The whole dreamcycle stories of lovecraft involve using drugs to get to another world, Celephais is a good story that shows this

    • @ningningwonderpets4773
      @ningningwonderpets4773 Před 2 lety +6

      If you think about it, during his time, science and mathematics are not as progressive as today's era. There are still alot of things that needs to be discovered, even doctors and scientists during that time don't know what they were doing and even cause death among people. I think him being scared of almost everything kinda makes sense to me. It is truly horrifying when you can't comprehend things that are unknown.

    • @kevin080592
      @kevin080592 Před 2 lety +1

      Awww...

  • @warrenkeystone5195
    @warrenkeystone5195 Před 5 lety +4673

    His name shouldn’t even be “Lovecraft”
    It should be “NoSleepForTheNext5MonthsBecauseOfMyCrafts”

    • @heinhtutaung306
      @heinhtutaung306 Před 5 lety +129

      👁️👃👁️
      👄
      🖕. 🖕

    • @sendoh7x
      @sendoh7x Před 5 lety +112

      First time I came to know that these kind of horrors is "lovecraft", I was like totally confused. "Love" and "Horror" doesn't really match....

    • @addy7464
      @addy7464 Před 5 lety +41

      @@sendoh7x one sided love is pretty horrible😂😂😂

    • @christophergrillo410
      @christophergrillo410 Před 5 lety +16

      He called them "night gaunts," a lot classier that your term...

    • @goofyahhh254
      @goofyahhh254 Před 5 lety +2

      Eery juxtaposition, I guess.

  • @radekseky4571
    @radekseky4571 Před 5 lety +985

    And Bloodborne still holds one of the most truthful interpretations of it.

    • @demonetization4960
      @demonetization4960 Před 4 lety +3

      @@pvtbx4198 its realy cool

    • @mr.awesomereacts2533
      @mr.awesomereacts2533 Před 4 lety +50

      Radek Seky Darkest Dungeon is more truthful to Lovecraftian Horror.

    • @radekseky4571
      @radekseky4571 Před 4 lety +6

      @@mr.awesomereacts2533 Haven't played it.

    • @TheKrieg45
      @TheKrieg45 Před 4 lety +76

      Oh, great Kos. Grant us eyes, GRANT US EYES!!

    • @HandsomeGamerGuy
      @HandsomeGamerGuy Před 4 lety +63

      @@mr.awesomereacts2533 Both are, Bloodborne uses the Aspect of Humans being greedy, immortality etc. but in the end, turn insane and dead.

  • @mgsgamer8340
    @mgsgamer8340 Před 3 lety +942

    “mom it’s a curved shape im scared”
    -H.P Lovecraft

    • @flrs5858
      @flrs5858 Před 3 lety +39

      Honestly, seeing a triangle have internal angles greater 180° or parallel lines collide/part is pretty goddamn scary. Non-Euclidean geometry man.

    • @DarkJak
      @DarkJak Před 3 lety +6

      They aren't curved, the angles are just too small for you to see.

    • @user-iq7mk3gb9w
      @user-iq7mk3gb9w Před 3 lety +6

      @@flrs5858 Me after seeing a triangle on the surface of a sphere : [terrified screaming]
      (a curved 2D surface has non-Euclidean geometrical properties, such as a triangle on such surface can has the total of 3 angles greater or smaller than 180).

    • @johnwickinyt3017
      @johnwickinyt3017 Před 3 lety +1

      try to imagine a 3 right angle triangle, pretty scarey right?

    • @jayoctopus8832
      @jayoctopus8832 Před 3 lety +3

      @@user-iq7mk3gb9w you might notice, that since we live on a globe, all of our geometry is non eucldidan

  • @AlexCruz-fm6fe
    @AlexCruz-fm6fe Před 5 lety +2050

    If you Love Craftian horror I recommend reading Junji Ito’s Work.

    • @lvcrimosv
      @lvcrimosv Před 4 lety +146

      ah, the madman. he's great

    • @n11ck
      @n11ck Před 4 lety +179

      Junji Ito works are basically Lovecraft works but with cool drawings!

    • @ShamsunNahar-nf1ty
      @ShamsunNahar-nf1ty Před 4 lety +61

      I actually got to know about Lovecraft after reading his mangas.

    • @calvinpanini
      @calvinpanini Před 4 lety +6

      Truth^^

    • @sarvjeetkaur470
      @sarvjeetkaur470 Před 4 lety +12

      Weeb

  • @Alex_K221
    @Alex_K221 Před 5 lety +545

    This came out on my birthday.
    A fan of H.P Lovecraft and subscribed to Ted
    The stars have aligned.

  • @mrk6254
    @mrk6254 Před 3 lety +816

    His imagination was so dark that he gave a *special name* to his cat

  • @aldoushuxley5953
    @aldoushuxley5953 Před 4 lety +325

    You guys should read his books :)
    They are relatively short, so if you have 1-2 hours before bed, you could get through one.
    They are not only well written, but also thought provoking. To Lovecraft, we are not the centre of the universe, but mere ants in relation to higher powers, we don't understand. Powers, that are neither good, nor bad, but indifferent.
    My favourites are At the mountains of madness or the color out of space.
    Color out of space also gets a movie adaptation very soon, that looks pretty good!

    • @Primus-kz3ri
      @Primus-kz3ri Před 3 lety +2

      @Rotom Channel same it’s super underrated

    • @egoichitosama1970
      @egoichitosama1970 Před 2 lety +5

      You don't see Huxley recommending Lovecraft's books every day ahahaha ; )

    • @DarkAngelEU
      @DarkAngelEU Před 2 lety

      Mandy is easily one of my favourite movies. Thanks for the inspiration, Lovecraft.

    • @BM5556
      @BM5556 Před rokem +1

      Please help! I´ve been wanting to start reading lovecraft, but I just don´t know where to start! I really want to get into the whole Cthulhu story, should I start with The Call of Cthulhu?

    • @aldoushuxley5953
      @aldoushuxley5953 Před rokem +2

      @@BM5556 Cthulhu only appears in a few short stories. The call of cthulhu and especially at the mountains of madness are probably his best stories.
      But if you just want a taste to see if you like it, some good shorter stories are the dunwich horror, the rats in the walls, from beyond, the shadow over innsmouth...
      Those are quite short, and you can find good audiobook versions on youtube, so you can listen to them instead of buying the books :)
      Thats how I got into lovecraft
      tl;dr:
      for longer stories, call of cthulhu and at the mountains of madness are good starting places, for the short stories I would start with something like dunwich horror

  • @rishikesav5523
    @rishikesav5523 Před 5 lety +598

    "The oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown.."- HPL
    His death was similarly dreary and mysterious as his inspiration Edgar Allan Poe.. sounds CREEPY..

    • @nelsonvenema3614
      @nelsonvenema3614 Před 5 lety +26

      Coincedence!?.... probably. Cool to think about anyway? Yes

    • @actualgorilla5573
      @actualgorilla5573 Před 5 lety +14

      Nah he died of stomach cancer

    • @jhair5453
      @jhair5453 Před 5 lety +10

      He knew too much :)

    • @schwany6703
      @schwany6703 Před 5 lety +1

      Edger allen poe died cause he commited voter fraud for some alcohol then got drunk and got himself killed.

    • @judeorbe3948
      @judeorbe3948 Před 4 lety

      @@schwany6703 that theory is still contsested

  • @kapilthevkanapathipillai6424

    He died pennyless not knowing the thriving future of his creations.

  • @charlietoloza3233
    @charlietoloza3233 Před 4 lety +162

    Fascinating, Isn't It? Lovecraft gets more and more recognised as time passes on. He is indeed an important part of the literary canon and popular culture

  • @mikaylamcfadden7866
    @mikaylamcfadden7866 Před 2 lety +31

    Love craft took his ever persistent anxiety in regard to pretty much anything he considered foreign was a large inspiration for his horror. He truly suffered during his lifetime which is tragic

  • @albertamalachi3560
    @albertamalachi3560 Před 5 lety +423

    "Festering fear consumes the mind."
    "In time, you will know the tragic extent of my failings."

    • @khai96x
      @khai96x Před 5 lety +40

      Ruin has come to our family

    • @ARKumalarkey
      @ARKumalarkey Před 5 lety +40

      "We are not the flame. We are but moths. And we are doomed."

    • @azamkhizir3628
      @azamkhizir3628 Před 5 lety +24

      "The wounds of war can be healed, but never hidden"

    • @toobig7150
      @toobig7150 Před 5 lety +16

      With enough ale, maybe they can be inured against the horrors below.

    • @bhniratta6721
      @bhniratta6721 Před 5 lety +20

      "Welcome home, such as it is. This squalid hamlet, these corrupted lands, they are yours now, and you are bound to them"

  • @-4subscriberswithahammerad521

    That thumbnail is when I look into the fridge and see only kale

    • @PTNLemay
      @PTNLemay Před 5 lety +45

      This is the horror you chose. You bought too much kale.

    • @ladyscholastica3176
      @ladyscholastica3176 Před 5 lety +8

      -4 Subscribers with a hammer addiction
      Saute it in butter to defeat it !

    • @ZBreezee-nb2rl
      @ZBreezee-nb2rl Před 5 lety +3

      That is me when homework is due today

    • @adankmeme651
      @adankmeme651 Před 5 lety

      You mean the image at 1:24

    • @millianarakuzen
      @millianarakuzen Před 5 lety

      @@ladyscholastica3176 but you need to humble it first

  • @Astro_weeeeee
    @Astro_weeeeee Před 3 lety +34

    "the world is indeed comic but the joke is on mankind" is such a raw line

  • @wrldoverheaven803
    @wrldoverheaven803 Před 4 lety +2275

    Meanwhile Japan is here sexualising Lovecraft's works into cute girls.

    • @thebigskub4319
      @thebigskub4319 Před 4 lety +14

      WRLD OverHeaven whats the trend called?

    • @dafaqu694
      @dafaqu694 Před 4 lety +95

      @@thebigskub4319 try watch haiyore nyaruko san
      The main heroine nyarlatothep or smtg I forget the pronunciation

    • @drakashrakenburgproduction5369
      @drakashrakenburgproduction5369 Před 3 lety +56

      @Brandon Booth which is why I'm not a fan of anime

    • @jacobsomner9485
      @jacobsomner9485 Před 3 lety +139

      @@drakashrakenburgproduction5369 I am a fan of anime and I still didnt like it

    • @666kingdrummer
      @666kingdrummer Před 3 lety +8

      And?

  • @boser2562
    @boser2562 Před 5 lety +1118

    2nd edit:This was probably me miss reading it so the following is unlikely
    In one of his final letters to his family he showed signs of regret realizing his prejudice.
    Edit: I've been Iooking for it but can't find the letter online, I came across it in one of the collection his letters books in the library

    • @henriktamminen7438
      @henriktamminen7438 Před 5 lety +31

      Is it available online

    • @milesupshur9869
      @milesupshur9869 Před 5 lety +225

      It’s such an interesting tidbit to me that he showed these signs and then died soon after. I wish he had gotten the chance to be a better man.

    • @dirtworld6000
      @dirtworld6000 Před 5 lety +8

      Henrik Tamminen
      Could someone find a link to this letter online? I can’t find it

    • @TheFunwichHorror
      @TheFunwichHorror Před 5 lety +138

      Miles Upshur He died right as he started to make a name for himself too. I'm sure if he had lived he would have been a household name in horror writing(even more so than today), and it would have been interesting to see how his possible change of heart may have affected his works.

    • @nicohanke9051
      @nicohanke9051 Před 5 lety +96

      I don't even think that his prejudices are relevant when it comes to his work, because it is important to seperate the artist from his art. I was kind of the status quo back then, and people who try to drag the attitudes of the past into the present and use this as a basis of judgement do neither know how to differenciate and how linear time works.

  • @elsalee5794
    @elsalee5794 Před 5 lety +474

    Mind-bending animation as always... George RR Martin is one of those inspired by Lovecraft

    • @lordvisserys9187
      @lordvisserys9187 Před 5 lety +53

      Stephen King also draws a lot of his inspiration from Lovecraft.

    • @pierrecurie
      @pierrecurie Před 5 lety +50

      "The night is dark, and full of terrors"

    • @angryyordle4640
      @angryyordle4640 Před 5 lety +50

      Lovecraft inspired tons of people. The influence of Lovecrafts work can be found as far as in movies like Indiana Jones which is not even Horror at all. He is one of the most important writers in recent history.

    • @97epicman
      @97epicman Před 5 lety +16

      pierrecurie Also the Ironborn’s “What is dead may never die” comes from a line in Call of Cthulu

    • @xrz3000
      @xrz3000 Před 5 lety +14

      @@angryyordle4640 And even in games like Bloodborne

  • @Sci-Fi_Freak_YT
    @Sci-Fi_Freak_YT Před 4 lety +87

    My favorite of his stories is the Call of Cuthulu. It’s actually what inspires some of my own stories that I write. I may not like the man for his social views, but I respect him for how he has changed literature forever.

  • @earthernut4073
    @earthernut4073 Před rokem +12

    Many of revolutionary artists were inspired by their own demons. The most intense of pain and horror made them create a own style of expression. But also the same horror made their life and death miserable. Many brilliant artists like Van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, Silvia Path ended up taking their lives, and other like Lovecraft died in misery. It's heartbreaking.

  • @uPSIDEdOWN577
    @uPSIDEdOWN577 Před 5 lety +206

    I’m still traumatized by mathematics

  • @I-am-the-Magus
    @I-am-the-Magus Před 5 lety +130

    "That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange æons even death may die."

  • @magicman3163
    @magicman3163 Před 4 lety +55

    Imagine what he would write if he heard about radiation an the nuclear bomb

    • @Skeloric
      @Skeloric Před 2 lety +12

      Look more closely at The Color out of Space, much of the effects upon the farm are in fact close to nuclear radiation.
      He knew.

    • @jeremias-serus
      @jeremias-serus Před 2 lety +1

      @@Skeloric Must be the New World Order.

    • @FimbongBass
      @FimbongBass Před 2 lety +7

      well he did talk about other multi-universes and dimensions beyond the third and fourth which is very ahead of his time

    • @twelvecatsinatrenchcoat
      @twelvecatsinatrenchcoat Před 2 lety +5

      Some of the creepiest real life things I've ever seen are the pictograms they design for guarding nuclear waste sites. They have to draw something that humans or even other intelligent creatures could see potentially thousands of years in the future that communicates, without any cultural context, the message:
      What we buried here will kill you.
      Spooky.

  • @theGhoulman
    @theGhoulman Před 4 lety +26

    Lovecraft is an American original.
    He created a genre beyond 'horror'. He created what is called 'cosmic horror'.

  • @marimarimeow
    @marimarimeow Před 5 lety +78

    these animations somehow blow me away every time! keep it up!!

  • @MalaysianTropikfusion
    @MalaysianTropikfusion Před 5 lety +19

    I've heard of Lovecraft many times throughout my life, but I've never read his work.
    Didn't realise he had such a profound impact on many of my favourite horror and sci-fi films.
    Thank you for enlightening me.

    • @mirokortemaa9060
      @mirokortemaa9060 Před 5 lety +1

      If you want hear about Lovecraft storys then please visit channel called Horrorbable as they have large amounts of Lovecraft audiobooks.

    • @MalaysianTropikfusion
      @MalaysianTropikfusion Před 5 lety

      @@mirokortemaa9060 Thank you for the recommendation =]

    • @henriktamminen7438
      @henriktamminen7438 Před 5 lety +2

      @@MalaysianTropikfusion I'd recommend reading the books because they give your imagination more work

    • @MalaysianTropikfusion
      @MalaysianTropikfusion Před 5 lety

      ​@@henriktamminen7438 I just recently read a manga adaptation of The Colour Out of Space:
      mangakakalot.com/chapter/isekai_no_shikisai/chapter_1
      It felt quite short, so I'll definitely consider his books sometime.

    • @aldoushuxley5953
      @aldoushuxley5953 Před 4 lety +2

      You should definitively read his books. They are relatively short, so if you have 1-2 hours before bed, you could get though one.
      They are not only well written, but also thought provoking. To Lovecraft, we are not the centre of the universe, but mere ants in relation to higher powers, we don't understand. Powers, that are neither good, nor bad, but indifferent.
      My favourites are At the mountains of madness or the color out of space.
      Color out of space also gets a movie adaptation very soon, that looks pretty good!

  • @reillykoyl8276
    @reillykoyl8276 Před 5 lety +19

    This man brought us one of the best final bosses in Terraria and I’m so happy I learned more about him.

    • @M12GProductions
      @M12GProductions Před 5 lety

      And Cthulhu isn't even the most powerful entity in the mythos.

    • @aldoushuxley5953
      @aldoushuxley5953 Před 4 lety +2

      @@M12GProductions The power of entities does not matter. What matters is their relation to us. We are but ants to them.
      Ants can not understand our motives, can not fight us, can not plead with us for mercy. Cthulhu has the same realtion to you.

    • @user-jy8np7zx3z
      @user-jy8np7zx3z Před 2 lety

      @@aldoushuxley5953 well they dont even have mind, so this is inapplicable. I think we could contact and even regularily interact even with such an entities that all those stinky gods of Lovecraft are, even if its hard for most of us. These gods are definitely shamanic gods, so take a shrooms before contacting them, heh

  • @0penthaughtz
    @0penthaughtz Před rokem +16

    Don't care about his bigotry, I have no problem with separating the person from his work.
    Which his stories are amazing!

  • @mushu1247
    @mushu1247 Před 5 lety +37

    The best five minute video describing and capturing Lovecraft, especially in the visuals. Your animators are awesome, TED-Ed.

  • @mikoajwoznica3281
    @mikoajwoznica3281 Před 5 lety +7

    Just leaving the comment to express the perfection of this video, both the graphics and substantive infos... Wow. Great job.

  • @Quadraxis
    @Quadraxis Před 2 lety +30

    It's a strange irony how he died as many of his characters: insignificant and unknown, but his work, his imagination is what lived on as a near-unfathomable entity in its own right.
    To me, he didn't just write his mythos, he embodied it. Both in life and in death.

  • @catherineohearn3631
    @catherineohearn3631 Před 3 lety +7

    For all the Lovecraft fans I highly recommend the educator for this video, Silvia Morena-Garcia's novel Mexican Gothic! I just finished it and loved it!
    I always enjoy viewing the artistic interpretations in these "Why you should read.." videos.

  • @lostpopcorns
    @lostpopcorns Před 5 lety +50

    thank you for shoving in those diverse authors with their strong and independent thoughts to counter Lovecraft's lack of privilege checking

    • @JAKphoenixify
      @JAKphoenixify Před 5 lety +21

      I feel like this is sarcasm XD

    • @rune2O2O
      @rune2O2O Před 2 lety

      Lovecraft sympathizer 👰🏻

  • @SuperSylar
    @SuperSylar Před 5 lety +12

    It's amazing how detailed the drawing had, leaving some hints of what story they may be talking about. Amazing video!

    • @Gadget-Walkmen
      @Gadget-Walkmen Před 4 lety

      I think it might jorge jaramillo, based on the ending credits.

  • @rusojanjalashvili3437
    @rusojanjalashvili3437 Před 4 lety +20

    I'm just in love with his eloquent style of writing! From the moment I read his works at 12, I wanted to dedicate myself to "Lovecraftian Horror". 8 years later, my translations of his works were published and my stories, inspired from his works, were also included in literary journals. Even my bday is the same as his. I sometimes even feel I was wrongly born in this era! THIS MAN... 😂

  • @eduardo_corrochio
    @eduardo_corrochio Před 4 lety

    Superb video. The graphics, music, narration, pacing, mood ... all wonderfully ghastly. I am only beginning to delve into Lovecraft, and didn't know he encouraged his peers to include things from his own fiction works into their tales. Fascinating notion.

  • @thecommentdoggo9271
    @thecommentdoggo9271 Před 5 lety +130

    Hey you!!
    Ya you!!
    Stay happy.

  • @novelnouvel
    @novelnouvel Před 5 lety +45

    Ahh, Kos, or some say Kosm... Do you hear our prayers? Grant us eyes, grant us eyes. Plant eyes on our brains, to cleanse our beastly idiocy.

    • @GiraffeVortex
      @GiraffeVortex Před 5 lety +12

      As you once did for the Vacuous Rom...

  • @user-nk1rk2uo8p
    @user-nk1rk2uo8p Před rokem

    I can't believe I watched this video, was extremely impressed and then started reading Silvia's books years later I should have checked her out as soon as I saw this

  • @uhafi
    @uhafi Před 4 lety

    this channel is so so good keep up w that good work!

  • @FreshSmog
    @FreshSmog Před 5 lety +4

    Wow. The art depicting the Colour out of space and At the mountains of madness are absolutely breathtaking!

  • @magnusa.cameron2201
    @magnusa.cameron2201 Před 5 lety +32

    H.P. Lovecraft of course inspired Abraham Lincoln, as we all know. 4:00.

  • @Adityarm.08
    @Adityarm.08 Před 3 lety +37

    "A victim of universe's cosmic indifference."

    • @sandollor
      @sandollor Před 2 lety +4

      The same as everyone's fate. We live an absurd existence with only the insignificance and meaninglessness of our lives to lean on. Have a nice day.

    • @pafoneto1275
      @pafoneto1275 Před 2 lety +1

      @@sandollor
      Don’t take science fiction seriously please.

    • @Napoleonwilson1973
      @Napoleonwilson1973 Před 2 lety +1

      We are all insignificant in the grand scheme

    • @sandollor
      @sandollor Před 2 lety +1

      @@pafoneto1275 I'm an absurdist, I don't take anything seriously.

  • @istoleyourlatte
    @istoleyourlatte Před 5 lety

    The narration gives me chills love it!!!!!

  • @naveenraj2008eee
    @naveenraj2008eee Před 5 lety +25

    Wow.. Amazing animation,narration music makes video awesome.. Thanks ted-ed.. Thanks silvia garcia...🙏
    Congratulation ted-ed for nine million subscribers.👏

  • @jackiedim7028
    @jackiedim7028 Před 5 lety +5

    The Animation and theme really fits into that Mysterious tone of Lovecraft's stories

  • @nayo7956
    @nayo7956 Před 4 lety

    The storytelling and animation made me want to read his books. Thanks Ted-Ed!

  • @netrefel4010
    @netrefel4010 Před 3 lety

    Amazing video! I loved every second of it!!!

  • @Nugcon
    @Nugcon Před 5 lety +675

    Lovecraft sounds like a weird minecraft mod

  • @diyaelizabeth13
    @diyaelizabeth13 Před 5 lety +7

    I literally searched up "Why I should read H. P. Lovecraft" yesterday and was disappointed there wasn't a Ted-ed video on it yet! I bought one of his books today, can't wait to read it!!

  • @alleenahaiderwaseem7309

    Oh my goodness i LOVE silvia moreno- garcia's books!!! I can't believe she narrated this!

  • @chrx6089
    @chrx6089 Před 4 lety

    Wow! I love the art in this video and a great overview for Lovecraft.

  • @blackhole2824
    @blackhole2824 Před 5 lety +6

    I learn so much from TEDEd, it’s like my second school but better

  • @phhh827
    @phhh827 Před 2 lety +4

    I've never read his work but it sounds truly incredible. Everything he put in his work ACTUALLY sounded terrifying. Gore and murder or jump scares. None of that stuff scares me. Though stuff like the omnipotent beings in the lovecraftian universe, beings beyond reality, are truly terrifying

  • @mvcp007
    @mvcp007 Před 4 lety

    The language and tone of narration used was very pleasing and mysterious . Never knew who he was , but now what to read his novel

  • @jackwoods7275
    @jackwoods7275 Před 4 lety +1

    1:21 and had a dream like that once. It was a sleep paralysis kind of thing, where my room was covered in a green grid, and just looking at too much of the room at once was terrifying.

  • @TTiger997
    @TTiger997 Před 5 lety +3

    That feeling you get when someone else starts talking about something you're really into without you prompting them or bringing it up yourself? That's what I'm feeling right now

  • @VI-nh9bd
    @VI-nh9bd Před 5 lety +57

    I knew this guy from "Incident in a ghostland"

  • @TheMikester307
    @TheMikester307 Před 2 lety

    These videos are wonderful!

  • @medardbitangimana4580
    @medardbitangimana4580 Před 4 lety

    Wow this video looks like a collection of concept art. Beautiful

  • @just-some-menace6138
    @just-some-menace6138 Před 5 lety +40

    he was the one who opened up our minds to the idea that maybe we're not the most important things in the world.

  • @thecommentdoggo9271
    @thecommentdoggo9271 Před 5 lety +95

    Hey TED-ED
    Please
    Can you make a video on the topic of *"depressive reality"*

  • @SilvioBritto
    @SilvioBritto Před 3 lety

    Well done. The video is beautiful. Amazing colors. Perfect.

  • @chrs-wltrs
    @chrs-wltrs Před 2 lety

    Massive kudos to the artists for this episode, holy moly

  • @Todomo
    @Todomo Před 5 lety +35

    learned about this author from the scp universe- so glad i did

  • @vesperrose666
    @vesperrose666 Před 3 lety +56

    It’s kind of sad that he died before he could see his success that he made in the world

    • @Bronxbug
      @Bronxbug Před 3 lety +4

      Its very poetic, in a way.

    • @ophelie2620
      @ophelie2620 Před 3 lety

      Ah yes, as an "Asian dreg" im really sorry him

  • @dylanroberts6720
    @dylanroberts6720 Před 5 lety

    super good video, always love to learn more about Lovecraft.

  • @Grace-mb8tb
    @Grace-mb8tb Před 4 lety

    This animation is absolutely incredible

  • @kirbymarchbarcena
    @kirbymarchbarcena Před 5 lety +12

    It's amazing how Lovecraft's horrors can be so entertaining.

  • @kailierayner5512
    @kailierayner5512 Před 5 lety +3

    Cool to see a TedEd video about a man from my home state!

  • @colincampbell3199
    @colincampbell3199 Před 4 lety

    I love the animation and graphics!

  • @jehrnandez21
    @jehrnandez21 Před 3 lety

    This series needs to continue.

  • @cronkedt5570
    @cronkedt5570 Před 3 lety +5

    woah, i want to read this guy's stories, it sounds cool

  • @victor7480
    @victor7480 Před 5 lety +158

    The father of creepypasta

    • @christopherdavis7069
      @christopherdavis7069 Před 5 lety +26

      All of Lovecraft's fiction is much better than any creepy pasta out there. Creepy pastas generally don't have very high quality of writing.

    • @victor7480
      @victor7480 Před 5 lety +3

      @@christopherdavis7069 that's the point actually ... Cuz most are based partially on real things, it's not supposed to be some literature genius.

    • @christopherdavis7069
      @christopherdavis7069 Před 5 lety +5

      @@victor7480 I wasn't insulting all creepy pastas. There are some pretty good ones out there. And most of the ones I've listened to over 4 years are based in non fiction, not real the real.

    • @wintershafts5024
      @wintershafts5024 Před 5 lety +8

      No, I believe Edgar Allan Poe was. . . . . .
      "I buried a man alive who insulted me in my wine cellar"
      "I killed my cat but found another one that looks like him"
      "I killed an old man because I didn't like his eye"

  • @CastleCrimson
    @CastleCrimson Před 4 lety

    I really love the animation on this one!

  • @somubasumatary4241
    @somubasumatary4241 Před 3 lety

    I'm in love with the music in the video especially the piano piece towards the end. Someone please recommend something similar to it.

  • @therealgeneralMacArthur
    @therealgeneralMacArthur Před rokem +6

    Bad news y'all.
    Apperently his dad named the cat and not him.

  • @dreamleaf4363
    @dreamleaf4363 Před 4 lety +38

    “These beings exist beyond our conceptions of reality, their true forms as inscrutable as their motives.”
    You can’t grasp the true form of Giygas’ attack!

  • @bbd121
    @bbd121 Před 3 lety +1

    Found this as a recommendation in OSP's halloween video of Lovecraft's stories.
    Thank you, Red. :D

  • @randomobserver8168
    @randomobserver8168 Před 5 lety

    Those are truly appropriate graphics. Well done.