How Should We Deal with Lovecraft’s Influence in Games?

Content warning for a discussion of racism in horror games and movies throughout the podcast and a mention of rape in horror movies at 1:10:00-1:12:00.

H.P. Lovecraft, the author so well-known for his works of horror, his writings on monsters and madness and cosmic horror, was a radically, horrifically racist person, even for his time. So, how do we deal with that, when his influence is all over the horror genre, indirectly through popular tropes and immediately, in games inspired from his work, like this week’s Call of Cthulhu? Why are these tropes so enduring, and where do they come from? And how to we wrestle with works that we may enjoy, even if they come from this lineage?

Danielle, Natalie, Rob, and Patrick sit down to discuss the new game, cosmic horror tropes, and Lovecraft’s influence in games.

Discussed: Call of Cthulhu, Bloodborne, works of H.P. Lovecraft.

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