By H.P. Lovecraft
Edited by N.R. Jenzen-Jones

From the Editor’s Preface

Lovecraft loved Christmas. Contrary to many people’s expectations, he was no Ebenezer Scrooge. Rather, Howard Phillips Lovecraft—that celebrated scribe of eldritch horrors—looked forward to watching the candles “gaily glow” and hearing the “joyous peals” of the belfries. Indeed, Lovecraft frequently wrote to his various correspondents to express his greetings of the season, often including short poems to convey Yuletide wishes. As I uncovered a few of these fragments of Lovecraftian festivity myself, it became evident that his enthusiasm for Christmas was an oft-overlooked aspect of the man. Lovecraft, deeply rooted in the traditions of New England and the British Isles, was possessed of a particular reverence for the customs that echoed through his ancestral heritage. For many, no doubt including Lovecraft, Christmas evokes a traditional religious festival in the world’s original meaning of ‘Christ’s Mass’. For others, older Roman or pagan traditions might still play some role. Whilst Lovecraft was famously atheistic, the religious pageantry, history, and folkloric aspects of Christmas tradition were clearly of great interest to him....
The pages that follow present some of Lovecraft’s work with a seasonal bent, from the light-hearted to the horrific. I invite you to embark on a journey through both the eldritch and festive realms of Lovecraft’s imagination, where cosmic horror and the Yuletide intertwine in ways both unexpected and enchanting. Lovecraft’s endearing relationship with Christmas, despite his atheistic convictions, offers a glimpse into the complex interplay of tradition, culture, and personal sentiment that informs each of our lives. His love for the holiday season, rooted in Novanglian and British influences, illuminates a lesser-known aspect of the Old Gent’s private life. Perhaps it can remind us that, even in the darkest of tales and times, a flicker of warmth and nostalgia can endure through the Yuletide.

Contents

• Preface by N.R. Jenzen-Jones
• Christmas
• Yule-Horror [Festival]
• Old Christmas
• Brumalia
• Solstice
• A Winter Wish
• Bells
• Ye Merry Christmas [To Lillian D. Clark and C. W. Smith]
• A Brumalian Wish
• The Festival
• Christmas Greetings from Lovecraft
• To Eugene B. Kuntz et al.
• To Laurie A. Sawyer
• To Sonia H. Greene
• To Rheinhart Kleiner
• To Felis (I)
• To Felis (II)
• To Annie E.P. Gamwell
• To Arthur Goodenough, Esq.
• To W. Paul Cook, Esq.
• To The Silver Clarion
• To E. Sherman Cole
• To Samuel Loveman
• To Anne Tillery Renshaw
• To Sarah Susan Lovecraft
• Notes

Bibliographic Information

Christmas with H. P. Lovecraft. By H. P. Lovecraft, edited by N.R. Jenzen-Jones. London, UK: Helios House Press; 2023; 978-1-911683-21-6; pamphlet, 48 pages.

Purchasing This Book

This book may be purchased from The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society or directly from the publisher, Helios House Press.