Yes, agreed. AFAIK, Lovecraft himself never took his work seriously - but he, and his friends, seem to have derived a lot of Fun from it...
He did, however, believe in the worst parts of it all—the notion of an uncaring cosmos in which our notions of goodness or virtue, possibly even sanity, are simply meaningless. It’s that which I think drives some of his characters mad.
Yes indeed, and I think that's my point. Horror is an example which is very personal to the OP, but the general point is still valid and worth discussing.
We could also ask if there are Biblical scenes that are horrifying. I would nominate the tortures of Job, the destruction of Sodom, and the slaughter of dozens of helpless men by Jacob's sons in revenge for the actions of one of those men.
Yes indeed, and I think that's my point. Horror is an example which is very personal to the OP, but the general point is still valid and worth discussing.
We could also ask if there are Biblical scenes that are horrifying. I would nominate the tortures of Job, the destruction of Sodom, and the slaughter of dozens of helpless men by Jacob's sons in revenge for the actions of one of those men.
Those are, alas! only a few examples - there are many more. Hence, peehaps, the concept of the Bad God...
I was only offering a few examples. There are more such as the plagues in Egypt and the loss of life in the great flood. It is difficult to come up with many NT examples, but maybe that is the point.
Hmm. Yes, I appreciate that you were offering only a few examples. Lots of material for discussion there, of course.
AIUI, the Flood was an actual event, affecting that part of the Middle East, and archaeological evidence has been found. It's mentioned in pre-Biblical writings.
When does an historical, and perhaps natural, event become a way of connecting with God/god/gods, though?
I was only offering a few examples. There are more such as the plagues in Egypt and the loss of life in the great flood. It is difficult to come up with many NT examples, but maybe that is the point.
The Book Of Revelation pretty generously compensates for the lack of carnage and occulticism in the rest of the New Testament. I can off the top of my head name a quarter-dozen standard horror film motifs that appear in the Apocalypse, though granted that could possibly be because the book is the literal ur-text for those motifs.
I was only offering a few examples. There are more such as the plagues in Egypt and the loss of life in the great flood. It is difficult to come up with many NT examples, but maybe that is the point.
The Book Of Revelation pretty generously compensates for the lack of carnage and occulticism in the rest of the New Testament. I can off the top of my head name a quarter-dozen standard horror film motifs that appear in the Apocalypse, though granted that could possibly be because the book is the literal ur-text for those motifs.
And from the rest of the NT...
Herod's Slaughter Of The First Born
Salome and John The Baptist
The Torture And The Crucfixion Of Christ
Would probably fit the bill for horror. Though they also probably require the reader to fill in the imagery, somewhat.
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
At the risk of being classed as An Hell-Bound Heretick™, it has been suggested that Jesus himself may have been one of those put living into the tomb...
As I recall, the book of Revelation is represented as a dream, not a description of actual events. The other examples listed on this thread are mostly given to us as actual events.
As I recall, the book of Revelation is represented as a dream, not a description of actual events. The other examples listed on this thread are mostly given to us as actual events.
I don't think "presented as a dream" and "containing horror imagery" are mutually exclusive categories. The religious images in the movie Altered States are also meant to be hallucinations of the main character, but are definitely of the horror genre.
As I recall, the book of Revelation is represented as a dream, not a description of actual events. The other examples listed on this thread are mostly given to us as actual events.
Good point, but, as @stetson says, there's some truly horrible imagery which, of course, is often characteristic of dreams...
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He did, however, believe in the worst parts of it all—the notion of an uncaring cosmos in which our notions of goodness or virtue, possibly even sanity, are simply meaningless. It’s that which I think drives some of his characters mad.
Fair comment.
Those are, alas! only a few examples - there are many more. Hence, peehaps, the concept of the Bad God...
AIUI, the Flood was an actual event, affecting that part of the Middle East, and archaeological evidence has been found. It's mentioned in pre-Biblical writings.
When does an historical, and perhaps natural, event become a way of connecting with God/god/gods, though?
The Book Of Revelation pretty generously compensates for the lack of carnage and occulticism in the rest of the New Testament. I can off the top of my head name a quarter-dozen standard horror film motifs that appear in the Apocalypse, though granted that could possibly be because the book is the literal ur-text for those motifs.
And from the rest of the NT...
Herod's Slaughter Of The First Born
Salome and John The Baptist
The Torture And The Crucfixion Of Christ
Would probably fit the bill for horror. Though they also probably require the reader to fill in the imagery, somewhat.
(For that matter, "person being buried alive" is also a horror trope.)
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
At the risk of being classed as An Hell-Bound Heretick™, it has been suggested that Jesus himself may have been one of those put living into the tomb...
I don't think "presented as a dream" and "containing horror imagery" are mutually exclusive categories. The religious images in the movie Altered States are also meant to be hallucinations of the main character, but are definitely of the horror genre.
Good point, but, as @stetson says, there's some truly horrible imagery which, of course, is often characteristic of dreams...