What is the philosophy of cosmicism and how is it used to convey a sense of dread in both The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Colour out of Space?
The Shadow over Innsmouth, follows a young man as he travels through towns, not really knowing where he is going. He finds himself taking a detour through the dead town of Innsmouth, where the locals are quiet and keep to themselves and the town acts as if there is a curse that hangs over it. During the short story the young man finds himself stuck in his hotel room for one night where he escapes away from a town of things that aren’t human but are hunting hi, for reasons unknown other that he is passing through the town.
The idea of cosmicism is that there is no higher power out there due to H.P Lovecraft’s ideas of horror. The sense of dread conveyed is the idea that the young man, is being pursued by creatures God did not make, creatures so unnatural that it sues terror to contribute fear into both the character and audience that if the young man does not escape and make it out of that town by morning then the ‘fish-head’ creatures that are hunting him will cause him either death or pain if not both. The sense of dread is created with every close call and the overall build up of the story as we learn about the town and how the town and its people have been exiled by surrounding towns due to its unfriendly nature and odd aura that plays on the idea of terror due to our imaginations.
The Colour out of space (Lovecraft) conveys a sense of dread when the main character sees a world through different eyes that shows no humanity and no higher power coming to save them and its as the readers realize that there is little to no hope is when the dread sets in. The idea is that hope is wiped out and replaced by fear and confusion.
References:
Lovecraft, H.P. (n.d.) The Colour out of Space: Summary & Analysis. (2016, August 16). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-color-out-of-space-by-hp-lovecraft-summary-analysis.html
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