So I was reading Foucault's Pendul um , by Umberto Eco, the Italian author, when at the height of the drama, one of the characters chanted "Ia! Cthulhu!" It seemed kind of out of place, as the entire novel this far has been about the Templars in Europe. I was just astonished that a fairly "intellectual" (for lack of a better word) would just throw in a Lovecraft reference off the wall. The quote had no larger implications for the rest of the book... Anyway it got me thinking about how little things like that just sort of seep in to modern culture- has anyone else noticed anything similar?

This is actually not a (direct) reference to Lovecraft, but a reference to satanism, and the works of LaVey, as the book quotes a rite from The Satanic Rituals; "I'a Cthulhu! I'a S'ha-t'n!" And since satanism is a parody religion, it quotes Lovecraft. So, the writer used a cheap copy instead of the original, cool Mythos.

i think stephen kings the stand has some mention. i cant remember if its the stand exactly but i think it is. also the laughing corpse by laurell hamilton the main character mentions being chased by some lovecraftian horror. i dont remember the exact wording but i know 'lovercraftian' was used. thats all i can think of now.

In my humble opinion 3 most common used mythologies are:

1. Greek/Romanian

2. Tolkien

3. Lovecraft


It is a pity that even that Lovecraft's is quoted very often by various authors (books, comics, movies, etc) - nearly no one knows what it is about.

Example: There is Metallica's "Call of Ktulu" - when I hear it (or you guys) - we know what it is about, but 99% of the population thinks that it is just some instrumental song.

Pity that even that Lovecraft is used so often it is still a niche, unknown to wide world, culture/mythology/books. Maybe because Lovecraft's books are written in such way that it is absolutely impossible to make good Hollywood move from it?

Maybe we are convicted to see Cthulhu in Pirates of Caribbean, Reaniamtor in Resident Evil, etc etc.

Veross said:

That's kinda cool, though, is it? Cthulhugeeks (and with geeks, I mean 'people who are strong fans, enthousiasts of something in pop-culture) often learn quite some things about Lovecraft and his life and what he was about. And how his Mythos grew out of his life and fears. Now, to the general public, the primal pictures that he invoked are quite realistic. I think that if you would go out on the street and ask if some mythos elements are real (like the Necronomicon as an even better example then Cthulhu) than a lot of people would think it is real.

Yeah, I know you can buy a Necronomicon in every good bookstore, but most people actually believe it's based on the actual ancient tome, not the fevered dreams of a 1920's writer...

The fear of losing ones mind and that of greater beings and an uncaring universe are so universal, most people would rather not think about it or take time to understand it, or devote time to learn about a very weird author of books from the beginning of the last century.

I thought about something else..

Look at Tolkien and Roman/Greek Mythology. It is so Hollywood. The main plot is always that there is a "hero" who is no one special, with no special abilities, but using devotion, honour, good thinking, clever ideas etc he can over come every obstacle, ever the most powerful one (like Frodo and Sauron, David and Goliath, Theseus and Minotaur). Good gus using their cool ideas wins and bad guys are defeated - sooo Hollywood.

But Lovecraft is different, human is a miserable creature that has no impact on universe fate, there are powers much greater than any individual. There are only 2 choces: remain blind to the truth or go insane and eventually commit suicide, as no man can withstand the true horror. I do not think that this is something for wide public. The whole idea is putting this Mythology nishe.

i found another one. in george martin's a feast for crows one of the pirates ship is called lord dagon. but then dagon pre-dates lovecraft. so i guess someone would have to ask martin if its a nod to lovecraft or not.