A-Z of Horror: E is for Eldritch Horror
Come and see how little I know about this subject
For those of you who loves things tied up neatly with a lovely little bow, you are in luck. I am going to start this piece with a horror confession and close it out with yet another. Can you feel that anticipation? Okay, so to get things started, I need to confess that Eldritch Horror is not something that I have read or watched much of. The things that I have consumed always leave me feeling a certain way, none of which is good. With this in mind, the ideas I share here may be well off the mark, but since this is a personal piece, I am okay with that.
Why Is Eldritch Horror So Effective?
Speaking from my own admittedly limit experience with the genre, I would have to say that it is the sense of overwhelming dread that you are left with at the end. There is something about elder gods and their view of the universe that simply makes you feel very small and insignificant as a human being.
Besides that, there is another thing with this brand of horror that I find unsettling. In books and movies, the killer or creature on the loose usually has a motive to their madness, while also having a definite way in which they can be stopped. This is not so with elder gods, as they seem to carry an air of mystery and a general misunderstanding of their nature and intent. There is a feeling of inevitability in that if they want to do something, they can without us being able to stop it from happening.
Any story in this sub-genre tends to fall into the unhappy ending territory. While the book or movie may end on a positive note, it never really feels as though the threat is truly extinguished. Instead, our inevitable end is simply delayed by fickle gods who have no real interest in us. After all, to them, we are little more than ants in an ant farm, viewed from afar.
Why Does Eldritch Horror Frighten Me?
There are a couple of explanations here. The first plays into my poor mental health. I tend to think the worse of every situation, and the sense of dread that comes as part and parcel of Eldritch horror seems to feed that feeling. It seems miserable and anxiety inducing in its nature, which does not sit well with me, as I feel that way all the damn time.
The other part of it is my final confession, which is that I so want to write a cosmic horror piece, but I am terrified to do so. There seems to be a mythos there that is beyond my level, and I am scared that if I try it and fail, I will somehow be consumed by an unhappy god whose name I mispronounced when speaking it aloud. I have touched on the genre a couple of times, but both were the equivalent of dipping a toe into a vast, unnamable universe.
What to Read And Watch
Like I said, I do not have a ton of experience in this genre, so my choice may not be indicative of what is really great. For a book, I would recommend Lacuna’s Point by Tim Meyer. I really love his work, and while this is certainly not what I would call true Eldritch terror, there are some Lovecraftian vibes to be found. As for movies, I would go with The Void. This is one that I need to sit down and rewatch. I was enjoying it but got interrupted and somehow never got back to watching the end.
That’s all I have for this week. I will try to do better next week with a subject I am more in tune with. Next Monday, be ready for the next chapter of my A-Z of horror, which will be…
