H.P. Lovecraft and dreams

[Worlds Within]

I was surprised to see that, after doing a forum search, that there were no threads about H. P. Lovecraft.(other than mentioning him in passing) "Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy and horror fiction, noted for giving horror stories a science fiction framework. Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, but his works have become quite important and influential among writers and fans of horror fiction." from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft How many members of the forum are fans of Lovecraft's writing? I have been a fan of his works since 1982, long before I developed an interest in dreams. Coincidentally, the first story I read was The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, in the book by the same name. This story remains my all time favorite. Lovecraft was a prolific dreamer and his dreams formed the basis for many of his stories. He was also plagued by nightmares, beginning in childhhood and occuring until his death. Particularly he was haunted in his dreams by "nightgaunts": "Born to parents with mental problems (his mother was neurotic, his father psychotic), H. P. Lovecraft was haunted from the age of 10 by nightmares, which he dubbed Night Gaunts. Lovecraft was so traumatized by these night terrors that his maternal grandfather, Whipple Phillips of Providence, Rhode Island, took the boy for nightly rambles through their large Victorian home to help him overcome his fear of the dark. However, it was not the dark that H. P. Lovecraft feared--all his life, he would be fascinated by the dark--instead, he feared the Night Gaunts. These were bat-winged creatures with no faces but with black, prehensile talons that play a large part in “Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath” where “such cattle are known to haunt most persistently the dreams of those who think too often of them.” Throughout his life, Lovecraft thought of them a lot." http://www.curiouschapbooks.com/Catalog_of..._lovecraft.html (I disagree with the authors view about Lovecraft's lack of literary skill.) It has been suggested that Lovecraft was a lucid dreamer or as one person put it, a "serial lucid dreamer." http://www.hollyfeld.org/heaven/Usenet/Nec...9406.nconhpl.pr The page at this link: http://www.curiouschapbooks.com/Catalog_of..._lovecraft.html also gives other quotes from some of Lovecrafts letters which may indicate that he was a lucid dreamer. A search on Google failed to reveal anything definite. A volume of his letters would probably yield much material to answer the question. For further reading about Lovecraft see http://www.hplovecraft.com/ . It also has an online library of many of his works.

[R.Carter]

The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft sits next to my bed right now. " Unknown Kadath " is probably my favorite story of all time. If you're a fan , you know who Randolph Carter is. His stories are always so richly detailed. That and the originality of them make him a must read, IMHO.

[Worlds Within]

I saw your user name on another thread and THE Randolph Carter immediately came to mind. I have seen some group dreaming experiments proposed elsewhere on the net in an attempt to enter and explore Lovecraft's Dreamlands. That would be an interesting experience.

[R.Carter]

I've considered that. With good control and a head full of Lovecraft, you should be able to go anywhere in his world. To explore Carters journey to Unknown Kadath would be an awesome task.