Crypt of Cthulhu
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Crypt of Cthulhu |
| Publisher: | Cryptic Publications (1981-1990), Necronomicon Press (1990-1999, 2017-now), Mythos Books (1999-2001) |
| Editor(s): | Robert M. Price |
| Date(s): | 1981-2001, 2017-still running |
| Frequency: | eight times a year |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | H.P. Lovecraft, Cthulhu Mythos, weird fiction and horror |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | a Lovecract website where many articles can be accessed |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Crypt of Cthulhu is a fanzine by Robert M. Price, dedicated to Lovecraft and Cthulhu Mythos. The main content is Lovecraftian literary and historical studies, but it also publishes fiction, both reprints and new works, as well as interviews, news, letters of comment and reviews of books, films and games. It had been published by various presses from 1981 until 2001, and then was re-launched in 2017. The issues appear eight times a year in accordance with the “ecclesiastical” calendar:
- Candlemas (February 2)
- Eastertide (March 19)
- Roodmas (May 3)
- St. John's Eve (June 23)
- Lammas (August 1)
- Michaelmas (September 29)
- Hallowmas (November 1)
- Yuletide (December 17)
Price's zine was inspired by S.T. Joshi’s Lovecraft Studies. Price wrote so much for Joshi's zine that it eventually became “way too much for him [Joshi] to accommodate”, so he decided to start his own zine that would also publish other things besides scholarly criticism and would have more humorous tone than Lovecraft Studies (Price said that he wanted “to inject some Stan Lee style fun!”). [1]
The zine was included in the Esoteric Order of Dagon mailings during the 1980s.
Crypt of Cthulhu is one of the most famous and long-running Lovecraftian fanzines, with professional authors as well as fans contributing stories, articles and commentary. This includes members of "Lovecraft's Circle" such as Frank Belknap Long, Fritz Leiber and Robert Bloch, his close friend Duane W. Rimel, and other established authors and Lovecraft scholars: Brian Lumley, Lin Carter, L. Sprague deCamp, Robert Anton Wilson, Karl Edward Wagner, Ramsey Campbell, Dirk W. Mosig and S. T. Joshi. Other contributors would begin to publish their own works over the course of the zine and several issues highlighted or reviewed their efforts: Richard L. Tierney, C. J. Henderson, Peter Cannon, and other members of the Providence Pals; as well as artists Allen Koszowski and Jason C. Eckhardt.
Some of the articles from Crypt of Cthulhu were later collected in the books by Starmont House:
- The Horror of It All: Encrusted Gems from the “Crypt of Cthulhu”
- H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos
- Black Forbidden Things: Cryptical Secrets from the “Crypt of Cthulhu”.
Editor's Comments
Price described his fanzine as
a bizarre miscegenation; half Lovecraft Studies rip-off, half humor magazine, a 'pulp thriller and theological journal'
Price cited as the reason for re-launching Crypt of Cthulhu in 2017 that:
The Lovecraft Movement has recently mutated into a frightful caricature of itself. One thinks of the insidious influence of the alien Colour on the Nahum Gardner farmstead. It is part of the destructive (and highly annoying) politicization of everything today. If, like me, the Hierophant of the Horde, you are pretty sick of this strife, what say we set aside our politics for the nonce and just get back to the glory days of Lovecraft fandom and scholarship?[2] And the best way to do that would of course be to revive Crypt of Cthulhu! So we did! We have hit the ground running, offering great articles, poetry, and reviews by Will Murray, Don Burleson, S.T. Joshi, Scott Connors, Sam Gafford, Ann K. Schwaeder and others. And this is just the beginning! So come on in and join in the gibbering![3]
We are serious about Lovecraft, so our discussions of Lovecraft's life and work are serious, too. We set and meet high scholarly standards in our articles about HPL, his friends and colleagues, and their fiction. Their work is both fascinating to the mind and fun for the imagination. Thus our work strives to be both, too. Have we succeeded? I think so. And a special section of fantastic verse ought to prove how classy we are! [4]
Reactions and Reviews
I've never before written to express my thanks and appreciation to you for the beautiful magazine you produce and for reintroducing me--through Crypt--to the world of HPL fandom. I really can't tell you just how delightful and exciting it was to discover a high-quality zine devoted exclusively to Lovecraft. The first thing that impressed me was Crypt's unique blend of humor and serious scholarship/criticism. The mag is free of the deadly solemn, frequently pretentious qualities that characterized some of the Lovecraft criticism I'd occasionally seen during the 1970s. "Lovecraft As I Seem to Remember Him" is a perfect example of the spirit of playfulness which gives Crypt its distinctive tone and makes it such a joy to read. <...> Will Murray is consistently good, and I always look forward to things by Dirk Mosig and Richard L. Tierney. I do wish we could have more stuff by Charles Hoffman and Marc Cerasini. [5]
Crypt is grand reading material, the real Weird Tales of the eighties! [6]
I have read the last few issues of Crypt of Cthulhu with a lot of pleasure. Your contributors succeed, for the most part, in combining short-term anarchy with long-term objectivity. Essays which argue unlikely ideas are usually worthwhile (though some are sillier than other); the most irritating kind of Lovecraft-buggery is that which humourlessly expounds fictional conceits in an overblown "worldview" context. Lovecraft has to interpreted in his own terms: his limitations are an essential feature of his art. The bizarre appeal which makes him such an intriguing minor writer (let's be honest) cannot objectively be rationalized into claims that Lovecraft-is-Poe-Kafka-and-the-new-messiah-rolled-into-one-and-wrapped-up-in-Weird-Tales. Some commentators (Tierney, Schweitzer, St. Armand) have the imagination to realize this; others (Mosig, etc.) apparently do not; still others (Colin Wilson, Lin Carter) miss the point entirely. [7]
I am very pleased with your journal. It's nice to know that someone out there is willing to treat Lovecraft's works with some respect and professionalism. I especially enjoy your "R'lyeh Review" section. I would, however, like to see more stories from beginning writers. Other than this, your publication is wonderful. [8]
Individual Issues
References
- ^ Information taken from In the Mountains of Madness: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of H.P. Lovecraft by W. Scott Poole.
- ^ It should be noted that Price himself is not always willing to "set aside politics" in his fandom activity, as his controversial speech at the opening ceremony of NecronomiCon Providence 2015 indicates.
- ^ Quoted from Necronomicon Press website
- ^ Quoted from Necronomicon Press website
- ^ From a letter by Jeff Newman in the issue #26
- ^ From a letter by Shawn Ramsey in the issue #49
- ^ From a letter by Joel D. Lane in the issue #25
- ^ From a letter by Scott D. Hazen in the issue #53