First things first:
- Lovecraft considered his work to belong to “Weird Fiction.”
- The famous Necronomicon was first referenced in “The Nameless City.”
- The Cthulhu Mythos received its name only after Lovecraft’s death.
About the author
Howard Philips Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1890, passed away in 1937. From an early age, he was deeply interested in science, particularly chemistry and astronomy, and published articles on these subjects. However, due to physical and mental health issues, he never attended university. His talent for writing emerged early; he could read at age 3, and by age 7, he was already writing poetry. Lovecraft contributed many stories to “Weird Tales”, a magazine founded in 1923. While his prose work is well known today, this represents only a small part of his life’s work; he also wrote countless letters, poems, and essays. This article focuses on his prose work.
Though frequently classified as horror, Lovecraft saw his work as “Weird Fiction.” His works often explore moral themes and critique topics like mysticism, occultism, and religion. However, it’s essential to remember that Lovecraft’s racist worldview is evident in many of his stories.
The short story “The Nameless City”
An unnamed, presumably male, narrator recounts his journey into the Arabian desert, where he finds the ruins of an ancient city. This city, unnamed and shunned by locals, is surrounded by dark legends and fear. Its construction appears non-human, and local lore claims it predates humanity.
As the narrator explores the ruins, he conducts excavations, seeking clues about the lost civilization. After encountering a strange, whirlwind-like phenomenon, he finds a massive temple precisely carved into the rock. Within the temple, he discovers a dark shaft with a staircase leading downwards, which he follows. His torch eventually goes out, yet for some unfathomable reason, he continues descending the steps in complete darkness. To soothe his fear, he sings to himself and recites dark poems.
Eventually, after what feels like an eternity of climbing down in pitch blackness, he reaches the bottom. Here, a mysterious glow allows him to see coffins containing mummified, reptilian creatures. Murals on the walls depict ancient times, showing the story of an immortal, reptilian civilization’s decline and retreat into subterranean depths. The paintings seem to resemble the corridors inside the temple, and the narrator believes he recognizes some of the depicted passageways but doesn’t think much of it. Following the corridor, he reaches a vast gate that opens onto an endless chasm filled with an otherworldly glow. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind rushes through the passageway, nearly pushing him into the abyss. Terrified, he watches as a horde of ghastly, reptilian creatures crawling up from the depths. The story concludes with a fortunate gust of wind slamming the gate shut, cutting off the creatures and sparing the narrator’s life. His ultimate fate remains unknown.
Background to the short story
“The Nameless City” was written and published in 1921, likely inspired by works like Edgar Rice Burroughs’s “At the Earth’s Core”, which also features subterranean reptilian creatures. The story shares themes with other Lovecraftian tales, including “At the Mountains of Madness”, which also deals with an ancient abandoned city and reptilian beings.
This story marks Lovecraft’s first reference to Abdul Alhazred, the poet who penned the Necronomicon, a book central to the Cthulhu Mythos, said to drive all who read it into madness. In “The Nameless City”, Lovecraft introduces one of Alhazred’s famous verses: “That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons, even death may die.”
The Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos, which received its name only after Lovecraft’s death, includes several foundational works by the author. The core stories include:
- “The Call of Cthulhu”
- “The Dunwich Horror”
- “The Whisperer in Darkness”
- “At the Mountains of Madness”
- “The Shadow over Innsmouth”
- “The Shadow Out of Time”
- “The Haunter of the Dark”
Central elements of the Mythos include settings in New England and the concept of the Great Old Ones—ancient, extraterrestrial gods who once ruled the Earth but have since fallen into a deep slumber. Cthulhu, perhaps the most well-known of these beings, is a notable figure among the Great Old Ones. Although Lovecraft introduced some of the Mythos motifs in earlier works, “The Call of Cthulhu” is where he first combines all central elements. It’s also the only story in which a human directly encounters one of the Great Old Ones, in this case, Cthulhu himself. The Mythos expanded after Lovecraft’s death, with new deities, characters, and stories contributed through role-playing games and other media, ensuring the enduring presence of the Mythos in popular culture.
Sources:
- The H.P. Lovecraft Archive: The Life of a Gentleman of Providence
- Deutsche Lovecraft Gesellschaft: H. P. Lovecraft
- H.P. Lovecraft Wiki: The Nameless City
- “The Nameless City”. 1921. H.P. Lovecraft
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