H.P. Lovecraft

The most popular of H.P. Lovecraft's creations proved to be Cthulhu, first appearing in the 1928 short story "The Call of Cthulhu". The story's title antagonist is described as "an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature" with a "pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque scaly body with rudimentary wings".

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (20 August 1890–15 March 1937), credited as H.P. Lovecraft in his writings, remains one of the most influential American horror, fantasy and science fiction authors, his works having inspired generations of writers. He is particularly closely-associated with the 'weird fiction' sub-genre, and some of his writings, such as the 'Cthulhu Mythos' linked series of works, have developed a cult following. Throughout his works runs a theme of life and the universe as incomprehensible to the human mind. Image by Alexander Liptak.