May 11, 2026

 Greetings Everyone!

I hope all of you will pick up a copy of my most recent book: Horror as Racism in H. P. Lovecraft: White Fragility in the Weird Tales! You can get  it from Bloomsbury, Amazon and other online sources, and, of course, in bookstores.    

H. P. Lovecraft, in his hybrid, degenerative monster tales, as I refer to them, makes use of  the miscegenation narrative, which holds that sexual liaisons or intimate, non-sexual associations between members of different races, or species, pose a threat for Anglo Saxon whites. 

 In Lovecraft’s view, miscegenation always debases the white partner — male or female — and it can lead to the production of mixed race children, which are, in effect, not only an abomination against natural law, but also a threat to the longevity of the white race and to the survival of western civilization in general.

 As a further elaboration of the miscegenation narrative, there are two types of miscegenation narratives in Lovecraft’s fiction.  First, there is miscegenation by blood; in these cases, the relationship between the two parties is always sexual, and hybrids are produced.  Second, there is miscegenation by association; in these cases, no sexual contact occurs; the danger, thus, arises merely from the contact between the partners.

Check out my book for analysis of how Lovecraft uses his miscegenation narrative  in some of his most popular tales: “The Lurking Fear,” “The Rats in the Walls” and one of his greatest tales: “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”!

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/horror-as-racism-in-h-p-lovecraft-9798765107706/

JLS

May 10, 2026

Greetings Everyone!

My new book, Horror as Racism in H. P. Lovecraft: White Fragility in the Weird Tales, was recently published by Bloomsbury; I hope that all of you will pick up a copy!

Lovecraft makes extensive use of racist images and racist narratives in both his early and later works—I will identify the racist narratives in the next posting; here, I am discussing the racist images.  

These images are drawn from Lovecraft’s observations of members of the non-white race that he most despised and abhorred,  African Americans,  especially as he observed them in the slums of his hometown Providence, Rhode Island and at close quarters during his brief residence in the Red Hook district of New York. 

Lovecraft focuses on the simian and ape-like characteristics that he insisted on seeing in the faces and forms of  the locals and then simply projects these onto his monsters.  He does this in a very conscious and deliberate manner in order to enhance the horror and the repugnance that these creatures inspire in the minds of his readers (or at least, so Lovecraft presumed).

Check out my book for analysis of how Lovecraft uses these images creatively in some of his most popular tales: “Arthur Jermyn,” “Herbert West—Reanimator,” and “The Horror at Red Hook”!

 https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/horror-as-racism-in-h-p-lovecraft-9798765107706/

 JLS