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Women in Horror Month...and the Cthulhu Mythos
Ann K. Schwader once observed "We've been here since the beginning."
She was right. Let's do a short thread.
#WomeninHorrorMonth
Ann K. Schwader once observed "We've been here since the beginning."
She was right. Let's do a short thread.
#WomeninHorrorMonth
Anne Helen Crofts was Lovecraft's first collaborator, in 1920. https://deepcuts.blog/2019/03/02/poetry-and-the-gods-1920-by-anna-helen-crofts-h-p-lovecraft/
Edith Miniter wrote the first Lovecraftian pastiche, in 1921. https://deepcuts.blog/2019/06/03/falco-ossifracus-1921-by-edith-miniter/
The first Lovecraft collaboration published in WEIRD TALES was with his future wife, Sonia H. Greene, in 1923. https://deepcuts.blog/2019/03/16/the-horror-at-martins-beach-1923-by-sonia-h-greene-h-p-lovecraft/
Lovecraft's first woman revision client was Zealia Brown Reed, in 1929. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/01/04/the-curse-of-yig-1929-by-zealia-bishop-h-p-lovecraft/
Lovecraft's first (and only) story in WONDER STORIES was a revision for Hazel Heald, in 1932. https://deepcuts.blog/2019/03/30/the-man-of-stone-1933-by-hazel-heald-h-p-lovecraft/
Some of the first fans to write Mythos poetry were Virgnia "Nanek" Anderson and Grace Stillwell, in the 30s and 40s. https://deepcuts.blog/2018/02/03/shadow-over-innsmouth-1942-by-virginia-anderson-the-woods-of-averoigne-1934-by-grace-stillwell/
The first professional woman pulp writer to play in the Mythos was C. L. Moore, who contributed with Lovecraft, A. Merritt, Robert E. Howard, and Frank Belknap Long on a round-robin. https://deepcuts.blog/2018/07/14/the-challenge-from-beyond-1935-by-c-l-moore/
Lovecraft corresponded with many women, some of whom produced work dedicated to their friend, such as Elizabeth Toldridge in 1937. https://deepcuts.blog/2019/07/13/h-p-lovecraft-1937-by-elizabeth-toldridge/
Several of these women would contribute to early Lovecraft studies, by sharing their memories of Lovecraft and his work, such as the Rev. Dr. Dorothy Tilden Spoerl in 1945. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/07/22/cosmic-horror-1945-by-dorothy-tilden-spoerl/
Zealia Brown Reed Bishop published the first standalone Mythos collection in 1953; it was the only Mythos volume attributed to a woman published by Arkham House. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/12/23/the-curse-of-yig-1953-by-zealia-bishop/
Joanna Russ broke the mold in many ways, but she also wrote a couple of Mythos stories; "I Had..." in 1964 was one of the few published outside of Arkham House's near-monopoly. https://deepcuts.blog/2018/01/28/i-had-vacantly-crumpled-it-into-my-pocket-but-by-god-eliot-it-was-a-photograph-from-life-1964-by-joanna-russ/
The Lovecraftian occult took off in the 1970s as fictional Necronomicons and other work began to be published in earnest; women were active there too. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/04/08/the-book-of-the-forgotten-ones-1977-by-nema-andahadna/
The 1980s saw a surge in Lovecraft scholarship, including the publication of many materials by his former wife Sonia H. Davis. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/06/17/the-private-life-of-h-p-lovecraft-1985-by-sonia-h-davis/
After the demise of August Derleth, Mythos publishing opened up, which allowed new voices - including women like Jessica Amanda Salmonson - to write and publish Mythos and Lovecraftian fiction. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/11/14/pale-trembling-youth-1986-by-w-h-pugmire-jessica-amanda-salmonson/
One of the first black women in this surge of Lovecraftian writing was Joan C. Stanley. https://deepcuts.blog/2018/05/26/ex-libris-miskatonici-1993-by-joan-c-stanley/
Women like horror writer Nancy Collins were active in bringing the Mythos to comic books too. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/09/02/elder-gods-1997-by-nancy-collins/
The early 2000s saw many works of Mythos fiction by women writers receive high critical praise, such as “Pickman’s Other Model (1929)” (2008) by Caitlín R. Kiernan and “Shoggoths in Bloom” (2008) by Elizabeth Bear.
https://deepcuts.blog/2019/08/17/pickmans-other-model-1929-2008-by-caitlin-r-kiernan/ https://deepcuts.blog/2020/09/05/shoggoths-in-bloom-2008-by-elizabeth-bear/
https://deepcuts.blog/2019/08/17/pickmans-other-model-1929-2008-by-caitlin-r-kiernan/ https://deepcuts.blog/2020/09/05/shoggoths-in-bloom-2008-by-elizabeth-bear/
Women took the lead as editors too; Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles founded Innsmouth Free Press to publish more diverse Mythos fiction. https://deepcuts.blog/2019/01/24/editor-spotlight-silvia-moreno-garcia-paula-r-stiles/
With greater diversity came new, fresh takes on the Mythos - as Molly Tanzer examines homosexuality in the Mythos in "Herbert West in Love." https://deepcuts.blog/2019/05/04/herbert-west-in-love-2012-by-molly-tanzer/
Likewise, Ruthanna Emrys took a very different look at race and "The Shadow over Innsmouth" in "The Litany of Earth." https://deepcuts.blog/2018/04/21/the-doom-that-came-to-innsmouth-1999-by-brian-mcnaughton-the-litany-of-earth-2014-by-ruthanna-emrys/
2015 saw two Mythos anthologies written entirely by women - SHE WALKS IN SHADOWS and DREAMS FROM THE WITCH HOUSE, the latter edited by Lynne Jamneck. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/07/01/editor-spotlight-interview-with-lynne-jamneck/
2016 saw several notable Mythos novellas by women, including THE DREAM-QUEST OF VELLITT BOE by Kij Johnson and HAMMERS ON BONE by Cassandra Khaw.
https://deepcuts.blog/2020/09/12/hammers-on-bone-2016-by-cassandra-khaw/ https://deepcuts.blog/2020/09/19/the-dream-quest-of-vellitt-boe-2016-by-kij-johnson/
https://deepcuts.blog/2020/09/12/hammers-on-bone-2016-by-cassandra-khaw/ https://deepcuts.blog/2020/09/19/the-dream-quest-of-vellitt-boe-2016-by-kij-johnson/
One of the more recent works to catch critical interest is THE CITY WE BECAME by N. K. Jemisin, which also confronts Lovecraft's racism. https://deepcuts.blog/2020/12/05/the-city-we-became-2020-by-n-k-jemisin/
All this is leaving out dozens of women horror writers, editors, artists, critics, and scholars...but it goes to show: women really were there from the beginning, and they're still here, still creating.
