How To Write Like HP Lovecraft – 5 Best Tips

Lovecraft might not be a household name like Stephen King, but his stories and the mythos behind them have a cult following. His unique style of cosmic horror has inspired countless authors, films, musicians, and games. So, even if you haven’t sat down and read The Call of Cthulhu, you’re probably familiar with some “Lovecraftian” inspired horror, which is the topic of today’s article – What is Lovecraftian Horror and how to write like HP Lovecraft.

What Is “Lovecraftian Horror”

H.P. Lovecraft’s writing is unique because it created a new subgenre of horror focused on the terror of the unknown and the cosmic insignificance of humanity. While traditional horror often dealt with the supernatural or serial killers, Lovecraft’s work introduced a sense of dread on a cosmic scale.

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Cosmicism: The Philosophy of Insignificance

At the heart of Lovecraft’s style is Cosmicism, the philosophical idea that human life is meaningless in the face of the vast, indifferent universe. His stories are not about good versus evil, but about frail, limited humans stumbling upon truths that their minds are simply not equipped to handle. The horror comes from the revelation that there are ancient, powerful, and utterly alien beings for whom humanity is less than an afterthought.

The Fear of the Unknown

Lovecraft rarely showed his monsters in full detail. Instead, he relied on suggestive prose and vague descriptions to build suspense. He would use words like “cyclopean,” “non-Euclidean,” and “squamous” to describe his creations, forcing the reader’s imagination to fill in the terrifying blanks. The horror isn’t just in the monster itself, but in the inability of the human mind to fully comprehend it.

Pastiche and Pseudobibliographia

Lovecraft created a shared literary universe by having his characters reference the same fictional grimoires and texts, most famously The Necronomicon. This technique, known as pseudobibliographia, made his stories feel more real and connected, as if they were all part of a larger, horrifying history. He also used a style of writing that mimicked 18th-century antiquarians, giving his prose a scholarly, archaic feel that lent credibility to the terrifying events he described.

How To Write Like HP Lovecraft

If you want to try writing like H.P. Lovecraft, you should focus on a few key elements that define his unique style. It’s less about imitating his exact word choice and more about capturing the atmosphere and philosophical core of his work.

1. Focus on the Cosmic, Not the Personal

The biggest mistake is making the horror about a scary monster. Instead, make the horror about the revelation of a terrifying truth. Your characters shouldn’t be brave heroes. They should be fragile, insignificant beings who have stumbled upon something that proves their reality is a lie. The horror comes from the understanding that humanity is a small, fleeting accident in an uncaring universe.

• Tip: Think of your monsters as forces of nature or ancient, indifferent entities rather than things to be defeated. Their motives should be incomprehensible to a human mind.

2. Master the Art of Vague and Evocative Description

Lovecraft rarely gave a clear picture of his horrors. You should do the same. Use a lexicon of unsettling, archaic, and unscientific-sounding words to describe your monsters and settings. The more you force the reader’s imagination to fill in the blanks, the more terrifying the horror becomes.

• Tip: Use words like cyclopean, non-Euclidean, squamous, gelatinous, eldritch, and blasphemous. These words evoke a sense of the unnatural and defy easy visualization.

3. Build Dread Through Atmosphere, Not Action

Don’t rush to the reveal. The most terrifying part of a Lovecraftian story is the slow, creeping dread that builds up before the climax. Your prose should be descriptive and deliberate, setting a mood of isolation, decay, and encroaching madness. Focus on the sounds, smells, and unsettling geometries of a place.

• Tip: Write long, winding sentences that draw the reader into a claustrophobic and uncomfortable space. The horror is in the journey, not just the destination.

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4. Create a Sense of Veracity

One of Lovecraft’s signature moves was to make his fictional worlds feel real through a technique called pseudobibliographia—referencing made-up books and historical events as if they were real. Your characters should discover the truths of your world through old, forbidden texts or journals written by people who went mad from what they learned.

• Tip: Invent a fictional grimoire, a historical society, or an ancient cult. Refer to this artifact as a source of your story’s dreadful secrets to give them a sense of history and reality.

5. Atmosphere Over Action

Instead of focusing on fast-paced action or jump scares, Lovecraft built his stories on atmosphere and mood. He would spend pages meticulously describing decaying houses, desolate landscapes, or strange sensations to create a pervasive sense of dread. The journey into the unknown is slow and deliberate, designed to build a feeling of claustrophobia and impending doom.

It’s this combination of philosophical cosmic dread, a focus on the unseen, and a unique, academic writing style that made H.P. Lovecraft’s work so influential and distinctive in the world of horror.