Let me get this out of the way: my love of reading was largely sparked by the work of H.P. Lovecraft. There’s not much to be said about him that hasn’t already been said by somebody older and smarter than I am; the influences the man had on the horror genre speak for themselves at this point. Admittedly, many of his stories have not aged well into 2020, but nobody can deny that he’s left his mark on popular culture in a massive way. Since most if not all of his work is now available in the public domain, the last decade has seen a massive influx in the number of books, games, movies, and comics that either overtly or more subtly reference Lovecraft’s work. And this absolutely kills me, because it’s so rare that I’ve seen anybody get Lovecraftian horror right in the modern era.
“The Rats in the Walls”, But You Name the Cat
H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls” is an uncomfortable story, but not really for the reasons the prolific author originally intended. Although the story is among Lovecraft’s most discussed, it’s difficult for many people to get past the narrator’s cat’s undeniably racist name. Thankfully, in the year of our Lord 2020, we finally have the technology to rename cats at a whim (and really, what greater joy in life is there than naming a cat?).