Counter-Currents
The Presence of the Past: A Brief Tour of Webster’s Weird World
James J. O'Meara1,329 words 
C. P. Webster
Lovecraft’s Cat & Other Tales of Weird Fiction
Independently published, 2025
What a foolish, inquisitive fly was I to stumble into this sticky, enveloping embrace of a lurking spider’s web… And very soon, perhaps this very evening, when the sun has set and the twilight creeps up to touch the eaves, then the spider might come crawling for its prize.
—“Still Here”
Subscribe here to keep reading
Enjoyed this article?
Be the first to leave a tip in the jar!
11 comments
I have always been disappointed with writers whom try to imitate Lovecraft, they never achieve that lofty standard. Those writers who wish to imitate Lovecraft might start by copying by hand his best stories; I understand that is how London learned how to write—by copying Kipling stories. 🤓
I recently came across Kipling’s poems and didn’t realize how good of a talent he was in that style.
Yes this is a familiar method for aspiring authors: making extensive verbatim extracts from good passages of classic authors (even if you don’t read them again). But that can never imitate the talent and inspiration of a Lovecraft-level writer. I consider Lovecraft the patron saint of all romantic racist incels. Normies can’t understand his genius. You know Michel Houellebecq’s brilliant essay on Lovecraft?
No, I have not read his essay, is it good?
Yes, it’s a very good.
It’s interesting that no one here mentions HBO’s bizarre anti-white Lovecraft-themed series Lovecraft Country from 2020. Imagine a Lovecraft-inspired series where the positive heroes are Negroes and other non-whites fighting Jim Crow. Whites are just there as monsters and allies of monsters.
I agree. I certainly don’t try to imitate Lovecraft’s prose. I have, however, used ‘the mythos’ that humbly acknowledges the tradition of those in the Lovecraft circle who did the same.
“But the potential reader may want to know that this is a Lovecraftian tale, which may or may not encourage the reader (it does me).”
Trust me, this is all too real. I’ve been there and I’m still trying to claw my way out.
But if it’s chaps pondering mysteries in Jaguars—in this case, Burt Reynolds wondering how he will meet his end after receiving a terminal diagnosis—view this free movie starting at 11:04 and stay for Robbie Benson as a new priest soliciting his first confession from Bert.
Is this just a coincidence? We watched THE END just last night. Is there a mystique to the Jaguar?
Sorry, wrong book review. Got caught in a time loop. I was commenting on “Cthulhu and a Cuppa: C. P. Webster’s Veddy British Horror.
Yes, there is very definitely a mystique to the Jaguar….. especially the E-Type.
Thinking back, the E-Type was one of my first cars. It was a Matchbox car that revealed an early vulnerability to styling and sales pitch.
The E-Type suggests the feminine, but you can only imagine it with a man in control—speeding down a narrow lane under a steady drizzle, spooking the sheep.
Maybe this is why they felt the need for the recent rebranding.
https://youtu.be/rLtFIrqhfng?si=uNEI9lYt_XdoQkqd
The new 00 Type suggest a stocky overstuffed figure.
Matchbox cars… that takes me back to my childhood in the 70s.
Lovecraft is not my fave. Just because a writer agrees with our opinions, doesn’t necessarily make me like them, although it helps a bit. On the other hand, precociously woke writers like ray bradbury offend me because they are lying to me. How can I learn anything from them?
I really like the stories of Clark Ashton smith, lovecraft’s friend, simply for the power of his imagination in a certain limited vein, and his disciple Jack Vance. Smith didn’t comment on race so far as I’m aware, but he never misrepresents race—he’s simply reticent. I think one of Vance’s stories from Dying Earth has deep subtext on race, and he agrees with us!
If you have a Subscriber access,
simply login first to see your comment auto-approved.
Note on comments privacy & moderation
Your email is never published nor shared.
Comments are moderated. If you don't see your comment, please be patient. If approved, it will appear here soon. Do not post your comment a second time.