Keyport Cthulhu – by Armand Rosamilia – Book Review

Keyport Cthulhu

by Armand Rosamilia

The Cthulhu Mythos rises in a small fishing town on the New Jersey coast. When New England author, Harrison, inherits his eccentric grandfather’s home in the seaside town of Keyport, he is encouraged to sell it quickly by both his wife, Nicole, and the local real estate agent. Despite cold treatment from the townsfolk and reluctance from his wife, they stay in the home overnight. It turns out to be a big mistake. During the stormy night, strange noises permeate the walls, a locked upstairs bedroom reveals a dark secret and a hallway ‘painting’ holds a strange power that overwhelms all that gaze upon it. Before the night is over Nicole is kidnapped and Harrison plunges into a downward spiral that seems inescapable. We are soon introduced to ‘The Esoteric Order of Dagon’ and their plan to raise Cthulhu from his resting place off the Atlantic coast through ritual and sacrifice.

Each of the first few chapters introduce the reader to a new character, almost like a separate short story. Eventually all the characters converge in order to work against the cult. Rosamilia does a great job at portraying an unfriendly town with strange people who are weary of outsiders. The tale escalates to a tense climax as the outsiders work to save Harrison’s wife from the cult and escape Keyport. They might just save the world in the interim. The story is entertaining and fun for the Cthulhu Mythos reader, written in modern style.

At the end of the story narrative, a related story begins. Set in the past, it demonstrates the Cthulhu mythos migration to NJ from New England. This one is written in Lovecraft’s first person, early 20th century style and is a nice addition to the book. Following that is a story Rosamilia wrote with his 11 year-old daughter called, Cthulhunicorn, which reads like mythological lore. It’s a short fun story and almost seems like a strange alternate world to the rest of the book. Keyport Cthulhu was an entertaining read and worth a night at the shore with a book or Kindle in your lap. However, if you see strange lights out on the water and hear scratching in the walls, pack up and head inland… before it’s too late!

Keyport Cthulhu on Amazon

Lovecraft – Fear of the Unknown – (2008) – dvd review

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Lovecraft – Fear of the Unknown – (2008)
A Wyrd Documentary 
Directed by Frank H. Woodward

The solid and well-made documentary/biography explains the creation, evolution and expansion of the Cthulhu Mythos from the moment of origin in H.P. Lovecraft’s fertile mind to the present. We follow Lovecraft’s life from childhood and see how personal tragedies and situations influenced his story-telling. The timeline points to periods in his life and his emotional states at the times of certain writings and it addresses – with no apologies – his xenophobic mentality and biased visions of the world. The documentary touches on his friendships with author peers, Edith Miniter, Clark Ashton Smith, Frank Belknap Long, amongst others, and his unique relationship with the pulp magazines, most notably Weird Tales.

For anyone that doesn’t truly understand what all the fuss is over Lovecraft, it explains how Lovecraft moved horror out of the predominantly Gothic style – whose monsters were human in origin (ghosts, vampires) –  into something completely different and how writers of the day followed him into this strange new world of cosmic horrors.

The basis for the Cthulhu Mythos is this; many eons ago, other races of cosmic Gods and strange creatures ruled the universe and will one day come back to claim the worlds which were theirs. They are not at war with humans; they are completely indifferent to them and regard them the way mankind would regard the common house fly. Lovecraft stories are part mystery, part scientific discovery and part mythology, usually affecting a solitary individual on the brink of insanity for his inability to accept or comprehend the impossible.

The documentary explains the origin of the Necronomicon and how other writers began using the sacred book in their own stories, further propagating the notion that it was indeed a real book of spells and transgressions. When Lovecraft was once asked if he would document/write a complete Necronomicon, he replied that doing so would take its power and mystery away. It was better for people to keep wondering what else was in this ancient book and what other horrors could it bring forth.

Lovecraft’s baroque style and his love for earlier literature, including his admiration of Lord Dunsany’s work is evident in this historical investigation. The documentary is laced with quotes and short readings of his work exemplifying his unique and sometimes overbearing style. The coherent story of his life and works is compiled with opinions and statements from modern horror directors; Guillermo del Toro, John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon. His influence on modern authors is evident when hearing praise and descriptions from; Ramsey Campbell, Neil Gaiman, S.T. Joshi, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Peter Straub, Robert M. Price. In the end they speak with cultist Isaac Bradley about the growing cultism of the Cthulhu Mythos.

The dvd is available for purchase at Amazon.com – or –
You can see the whole film at: http://www.crackle.com/

You can also read most, if not all of Lovecraft’s published stories at:
www.hplovecraft.com
There, you can also investigate the gods and beasts of the mythos, terminology, and everything Lovecraft.
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“There are horrors beyond life’s edge that we do not suspect, and once in a while man’s evil prying calls them just within our range.”  – H.P. Lovecraft,   ‘The Thing on the Doorstep’

“I have seen the dark universe yawning
Where the black planets roll without aim,
Where they roll in their horror unheeded,
Without knowledge, or lustre, or name.”
 – Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Cthulhurotica – book review

Cthulhurotica – edited by Carrie Cuinn
Dagan Books

They say seafood is an aphrodisiac. What if the potential seafood is at least as big as you are, often bigger, and even more often, considered to be an ancient God? Cthulhurotica is an anthology that explores some of the possibilities of love and lust intertwined with the Cthulhu Mythos. We have some potent tales within these pages; ‘Descent of the Wayward Sister’ by Gabrielle Harbowy leads us to a dark basement with an erotic secret. ‘The Assistant from Innsmouth’ by Steven James Scearce, shows us an accountant who hires local help on a project but soon doesn’t know who is assisting who. ‘Infernal Attractions’ by Cody Goodfellow unveils shades of From Beyond as a young woman forces her man to build a Tillinghast Resonator, in order to quench her demanding addictions.

Despite these transgressions, this collection does not portray a far-fetched world of monsters and sex. It relays a world that is very much like it is today with a bit of Cthulhu around the edges of its reality. It is more like an aphrodisiac than the main event and never gets too harsh. So if you are expecting caustic aggressions that would shock as much as they would arouse, this is probably not the anthology you have in mind.

Cthulhurotica made for some enjoyable reading and entertained in its melding of seemingly incompatible worlds. My only concern is that perhaps this is the first step to Twilight-izing the Cthulhu Mythos – to turn the silver-gray and dismal dark shades of alien beasts to lavender and fuchsia, turn the rotting stench of decaying sea-life to a supine fragrance, and turn the slimy, scaly textures of monstrous hide to a subtle oiled leather – creating a more acceptable world for the non-horror reader. The Lovecraft world is an exclusionary one. The people that love it have an instant bond in their knowledge of strange secrets that no others could fathom. The last thing I want is a Lovecraft film staring Robert Pattinson and a bunch of tweens discussing the merits of The Great Old Ones. Did you know that Nyarlathotep’s skin shimmers in daylight?