projectlovecraft

[projectlovecraft]

LIFE, February 9, 1928

[projectlovecraft]

This isn't a reasonable decision, right?

[projectlovecraft]

This isn't a reasonable decision, right?

[projectlovecraft]

The Adumbrali ...mere shadows. #lovecraft #cthulhu #midjourney #horror #adumbrali

[projectlovecraft]

Mi-go across the universe #mi-go #lovecraft #cthulhu #midjourney #horror

[projectlovecraft]

Mi-Go

[projectlovecraft]

Mi-Go

[projectlovecraft]

[projectlovecraft]

[projectlovecraft]

Alex Raymond - Rip Kirby 01/15/1955

[projectlovecraft]

Women of the Resistance (Liliana Cavani, 1965)

[projectlovecraft]

My latest cartoon for New Scientist.

Many more here: www.newscientist.com/author/tom-gauld/

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[projectlovecraft]

Just another day...

[projectlovecraft]

There in the ancient Gothic doorway stood a human figure. It was that of a man clad in a skullcap and long mediaeval tunic of dark color. His long hair and flowing beard were of a terrible and intense black hue, and of incredible profusion. His forehead, high beyond the usual dimensions; his cheeks, deep-sunken and heavily lined with wrinkles; and his hands, long, claw-like, and gnarled, were of such a deathly, marble-like whiteness as I have never elsewhere seen in man. His figure, lean to the proportions of a skeleton, was strangely bent and almost lost within the voluminous folds of his peculiar garment. But strangest of all were his eyes, twin caves of abysmal blackness, profound in expression of understanding, yet inhuman in degree of wickedness. These were now fixed upon me, piercing my soul with their hatred, and rooting me to the spot whereon I stood. Title and author: The Alchemist, a Gothic horror tale by H. P. Lovecraft (1908) Plot: The narrator, Antoine, is the last descendant of a noble family cursed by a sorcerer named Charles Le Sorcier, who swore revenge for the death of his father Michel Mauvais2. Antoine discovers that Charles still lives thanks to an elixir of eternal life, and that he is responsible for the premature deaths of his ancestors. Antoine confronts Charles in a subterranean chamber of the castle, where he reveals his secret and tries to kill him with a poison3. Antoine manages to escape but is horrified to hear Charles say that he is the very sorcerer who cursed his family six centuries ago. Theme: The tale explores themes such as the hereditary curse, the supernatural revenge, alchemy, and cosmic horror. Style: The tale is written in an archaic and elaborate style, typical of Lovecraft’s works, and makes references to elements of medieval history and culture. The tale also presents a dark and oppressive atmosphere, and a surprising and terrifying climax. The main characters of the tale “The Alchemist” by H. P. Lovecraft are: Antoine: The narrator and last descendant of a cursed noble family. Charles Le Sorcier: The sorcerer who cursed Antoine’s family and lives thanks to an elixir of eternal life. Michel Mauvais: Charles’s father, whose death by an ancestor of Antoine triggered the curse. First Paragraph: High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mound whose sides are wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, stands the old chateau of my ancestors. For centuries its lofty battlements have frowned down upon the wild and rugged countryside about, serving as a home and stronghold for the proud house whose honored line is older even than the moss-grown castle walls. These ancient turrets, stained by the storms of generations and crumbling under the slow yet mighty pressure of time, formed in the ages of feudalism one of the most dreaded and formidable fortresses in all France. From its machicolated parapets and mounted battlements Barons, Counts, and even Kings had been defied, yet never had its spacious halls resounded to the footsteps of the invader. Last Paragraph: Suddenly the wretch, animated with his last burst of strength, raised his hideous head from the damp and sunken pavement. Then, as I remained, paralyzed with fear, he found his voice and in his dying breath screamed forth those words which have ever afterward haunted my days and my nights. “Fool,” he shrieked, “can you not guess my secret? Have you no brain whereby you may recognize the will which has through six long centuries fulfilled the dreadful curse upon your house? Have I not told you of the great elixir of eternal life? Know you not how the secret of Alchemy was solved? I tell you; it is I! I! I! that have lived for six hundred years to maintain my revenge, FOR I AM CHARLES LE SORCIER!”

Antoine at 90 years old

Antoine at 30 years old

Antoine searching the castle

Charles Le Sorcier in flames