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Question (2): 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 literary philosophy of cosmicism was brought into being by the American author H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft wrote horror stories, he specifically liked writing about occult phenomena, including such themes as spirit possession and alien miscegenation. This philosophy of cosmicism encapsulates this idea around humans being fairly insignificant compared to a much larger intergalactic existence. This knowledge causes humans to face just how unimportant and small they are compared to the entire universe and that realisation instills fear which typically causes a psychological transformation or breakdown to occur (Wikipedia, n.d.). Stableford (2007, p. 66) states “At first glance ‘‘cosmic’’ seems to be used here merely as a replacement term for ‘‘supernatural,’’ but the substitution also implies a particular psychological attitude to the supernatural”.    

This philosophy of cosmicism is used to convey a sense of dread in the 2019 film adaptation of Lovecrafts ‘The Color Out of Space’. This film utilizes an unknown force simply named ‘the color’. This unknown force begins to control the Gardner family, making them act and do things that are unexplainable. For example, when Theresa is preparing dinner she absentmindedly chops off two of her fingers (Stanley, 2019). Many more inexplicable things happen, and due to unknown knowledge this leads to the family and extended town folk becoming more and more fearful for their lives. At the peak of the film ‘the color’ finally reveals itself as a thing that originates from another planet which is inhabited by intergalactic beings (Stanley, 2019). This narrative follows closely the philosophy of cosmicism and that sense of dread that the unknown brings. As Lovecraft (1934) once famously stated “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” (The H. P. Lovecraft Archive, n.d.). 

This philosophy of cosmicism also extends throughout many other works of Lovecraft’s notably ‘The Shadow Over Innsmouth’. In ‘The Shadow Over Innsmouth’ Lovecraft utilizes the same kind of celestial beings that are unknown to the rest of the world but only known to residents of Innsmouth. The town of Innsmouth came upon some tough times and they began to sacrifice townspeople to ‘the deep ones’ as they are referred to in exchange for economic stability. However, these sacrifices were abolished and ‘the deep ones’ became angry and killed over half the village’s population. This led to the production of hybrid offspring (Wikipedia, n.d.). This is another common theme of Lovecraft’s cosmicism philosophy. This idea of cultic worshiping and the fraternisation between human and celestial (Stableford, 2007). Following on, after the main character learns the truth of this forbidden knowledge he manages to escape Innsmouth. It is not till much later in his life that he learns that he too has ‘the deep ones’ blood within him (Wikipedia, n.d.). This deliberately slow transition from human to celestial into something unknown is fear inspiring. This theme of the unknown instilling fear into the characters involved in his narratives is common of Lovecraft’s cosmicism philosophy.             

References

Stableford, B. (2007). The cosmic horror. Icons of Horror and the Supernatural, 66-96. 

Stanley, R. (Director). (2019). Colour Out of Space [Film]. SpectreVision.    

The H. P. Lovecraft Archive. (n.d.). Supernatural horror in literature. Retrieved, September 2, 2020, from https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/essays/shil.aspx  

Wikipedia. (n.d.) Cosmicism. Retrieved September 2, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicism#:~:text=The%20philosophy%20of%20cosmicism%20states,face%20of%20an%20incomprehensibly%20large  

Wikipedia. (n.d.). The shadow over innsmouth. Retrieved September 3, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_over_Innsmouth 

W7

Carroll (2003) and King (2010) discuss how the “monster” is a defining feature of a horror story. Using references, explain in your own words how a monster in horror differentiates from monsters in other popular genres.

According to Carrol 1987, horror and science fiction are not really in the same genres. For them, science fiction explores in many different technologies of the theme of horror but in the horror genre is a matter of scary monsters. According to Carroll, 1987 said that ‘should not be assumed that all genres can be analysed in the same way’. She gives some example such as in Westerns; they use a monster in horror in novels, films, plays, paintings, and other works are group under the label of ‘horror’ which has monsters there to scare people. Some people can say that horror novels, stories, films, plays, and so on can be marked by the presence of monsters (Carroll, 1987). But in Carroll purpose, the monsters not just only in horror but it can be either a supernatural or a sci-fi origin.

Some of the horror in fairy stories, myths and odysseys can’t be told as a horror genre, it can be distinguished the horror genre from mere words and in other genres such as fairy tales. What is the difference between monster in horror and different genres is that rarity in horror can be a monster appear as an extraordinary character in an ordinary world. In contrast, in other genres such as fairy tales, monsters appear like a familiar creature in an incredible world. The monster in horror fiction creates some utmost significance and also disgusting to people who loves and what monster in fictions. Therefore, in the context of a horror narrative, the anomalies are identified as impure and unclean (Carroll, 1987). The art of horror is that the creator of the genre keep doing it until the audience can feel of the horror in the movie to make them feel the scare and horror of the monsters in the film. Monsters in horror make the audience’s emotional reaction is scared to the monsters in the movie. Another kind of horror in the movie is that alien, who comes from another galaxy, who can manipulate people by control or rot people’s psychology and physical. Whether these aliens can be called monsters or not, it is still horrifying in the context of fiction. And some monsters can be only threatening rather than terrifying some audiences, and some audience feels opposite way, but whether their feeling is threatening or horrifying, the movie is still thriving in a genre to make people scared of monsters in the film. The monster can be contradictory in many forms such as ghosts, zombies, vampires, mummies, the Frankenstein monster, Melmoth the Wanderer, and so on and whether they are in terms of being both living and dead.

Monster in horror can be a horror-comedy in movies such as Beetlejuice; it gets audiences laughing when some of them may be screaming (Carroll, 1999). The purpose of this movie is making audience alternative between laughing and crying throughout the duration of the film (Carroll, 1999). This genre aims to shift moods rapidly to turn horror to humour or vice verve, on time (Carroll, 1999). Horror-comedy is one of the well-known genres in the film that everyone may know and like it exists (Carroll, 1999). Vampires can seem like a monster in a horror movie, but vampires have in many different genres such as horror, comedy, or even romantic genre such as vampires fall in love with a human and protect human.

Some other popular genres turn to psychoanalysis in search of enlightenment. In some part of the genre itself invokes psychoanalytic considerations. “It’s imagery from symbolic apparatus of dream interpretation as well as allowing fictional characters to advance pseud- Freudian accounts on their own and other’s motivations. Some monster has been compulsive murders, the genre’s common presumption rooted in the psychosexual dynamics of childhood.” (Tudor, 1997). A monster can be different form in horror and popular genre. A superhero can be a monster as well in another form of transfer the characters to the audiences.

Reference:

Tudor, A. (1997). Why horror? The peculiar pleasures of a popular genre. Cultural studies, 11(3), 443-463.

Carroll, N. (1999). Horror and humor. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 57(2), 145-160.

Carroll, N. (1987). The nature of horror. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 46(1), 51-59.

1. King (2010) describes Horror as being defined through three basic elements. Explain, using references, what these three elements are. Think of a horror story you’ve read/watched/heard that makes use of all three of these elements and show how King’s definition is at play in that narrative.

In Danse Macabre (King, 2010) acclaimed horror writer Stephen King defines the horror genre as being comprised of three basic elements these elements being, terror which King considers to be the finest element, horror, and revulsion the element King attempts to avoid the most. King also mentions how these three elements are layered in order of importance with “terror on top, horror below it, and lowest of all, the gag reflex of revulsion” (King, 2010, p. 22). The Witch (Eggers, 2015) is a horror film that makes use of all three of these elements to craft the horror within the film’s narrative.

 

The first, and finest element that King defines as the essential elements of horror is terror, King (2010, p. 20) says that “it’s what the mind sees that makes these stories such quintessential tales of terror. It is the unpleasant speculation called to mind when the knocking on the door begins in the latter story.” This definition of terror is quintessential to The Witch as it builds horror primarily in this way, what the film shows to the audience is a lot less scary than what the film does not show. An example would be towards the beginning of the film when the baby Samuel is kidnapped by a witch living in the woods. During this scene, we are shown brief glimpses into what the witch is doing with Samuel but never enough for the audience to fully understand. It is the implication that instils a sense of fear within the audience not what is shown, such as when the witch holds a knife close to Samuel and the audience is terrified that she may kill a baby.

 

The second element King mentions is horror, which he classifies as the second most important element and describes it as “that emotion of fear that underlies terror, an emotion which is slightly less fine, because it is not entirely of the mind. Horror also invites a physical reaction by showing us something which is physically wrong” (King, 2010, p. 20). The Witch makes use of horror by using imagery that elicits a physical reaction from the audience by showing them something wrong and unnatural. The most obvious scene where this occurs is the possession scene in which Caleb writhes around uncontrollably as his family watches in horror. He first spits out a bloody apple and then begins to scream and move in a way that disturbs the audience before he passes away. The audience recognises this as physically wrong and is how the horror is crafted.

 

The final and least important element to King is revulsion, he finds it to be the least important element because it relies on shock and disgust rather than the horror being carefully constructed to scare the audience. Yet despite this, he still says that “the truth of this can’t be argued; it’s bad enough to see a gelatinous crab-thing spread over some fellow’s face, but the infamous “chest-burster” scene which follows is a quantum leap in grue” (King, 2010, p. 20). Much like how King does not like to rely on revulsion to create horror, The Witch is very light on moments intended to gross the viewer out and as mentioned, builds its horror slowly and does not reveal a lot to the audience. But it is still utilised within the film with can be seen when small glimpses of blood and violence do appear in the film. It is not overly gratuitous but still enough to gross out the audience, the most blood and gore appears when Thomasin kills her mother with a cleaver and begins to hack away at her. Covering herself in her own mother’s blood. It shocks the audience which completes the usage of King’s three elements of horror in The Witch.

 

References

Eggers, R. (2015). The Witch [Film]. A24.

King, S. (2010). Danse Macabre. Everest House.

What is the philosophy of cosmicism an how is it used to convey a sense of dread in both The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Color Out of Space?

In Stableford’s (2007) article, it is defined that “cosmic horror” is a term closely associated with H. P. Lovecraft and his work involving weird fiction and horror. Lovecraft’s fascination with the concept of the cosmos and supernatural fiction has been apparent throughout his work, and regarding his essay on supernatural horror literature (written between 1924-1926), the philosophy of cosmicism can be further understood.

In his essay, when describing his own work, Lovecraft differentiates the “literature of cosmic fear” from the literature regarding “physical fear and the mundanely gruesome.” The term “cosmic” adds onto the supernatural themes portrayed in his stories in a more psychological way. Lovecraftian fiction has been known to have an essence of horror that originates from the idea that knowledge is too much to bear, and that the ultimate kind of knowledge is related to “unplumbed space,” in his terms, over the common concepts of horror such as ghosts, curses, and human evil. In ways to go beyond the limitations of supernatural horror, Lovecraft attempted elements of “cosmic horror,” which would be carefully concentrated and regarded as a type of over-arching kind of entity.

Furthermore in Lovecraft’s essay, he argues that the roots of “cosmic terror” are very ancient. Using references from varying ancient folklore, he associated it with a hypothetical pagan cult of “nocturnal worshipers,” whose ideas had been driven out by organized religions. The fundamental and central argument that Lovecraft created in the making of cosmic horror is that it it looks at the universe outside of the associations to humanistic activities, that the classical times had often overlooked the repression of awareness of the magnitude and horrors of the universe in which humans only resided in. Lovecraft’s philosophy also disregarded most organized religions as part of the process, as cosmicism mostly stemmed from the presence of the unknown over concepts such as gods, and divine beings that were present in religious literature. Another one of Lovecraft’s arguments explained that the most artistic and effective works of modern weird fiction cannot be found in the form of an absolute belief but in the form of an “aesthetic response.” An example of a kind of aesthetic sensation is often regarded as “the Sublime,” in his works.

In both “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” and “The Colour Out of Space,” Lovecraft’s cosmic horror is portrayed through the over-arching and atmospheric gloom and dread that is apparent in the narrative. Joshi (2007) describes the atmosphere of The Shadow Over Innsmouth as a claustrophobic sense of doom and decay which can be seen through his evocative prose. The Colour Out of Space also expands on the theme of cosmicism as for the entirety of the film, there is no exact “monster” or evil in a physical form but instead, the distress and outcomes of the unknown evil is shown as it takes its effect and toll on the family. Going back to Lovecraft’s note on the “aesthetic response” in cosmic horror, much of that can be experienced in the Colour Out of Space as it is a very visually appealing film and the overall sensation you get from the visuals can be unnerving and mysterious. Because it is hard to know what the exact horror is, there is a constant feeling of dread from not knowing. The meteorite that crashed on the family’s farm in the film is the only clue to the haunting evil, and the horrific creatures it induced, but overall you do not see what the exact terror was, only the result of it.

References

Joshi, S. T. (2007). The Cthulhu Mythos. Icons of Horror and the Supernatural, 98-128.  

Stableford, B. (2007). The Cosmic Horror. Icons of Horror and the Supernatural, 66-96.  

1.  Reyes (2014), describes Body Horror as being a “fictional representation of the body exceeding itself or falling apart, either opening up or being altered past the point where it would be recognised by normative understandings of human corporeality.” How do The Colour out of Space and Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth make use of this definition to explore themes of the unknown? 

Reyes description above of “Body Horror” offers a sound foundation of this sub-genre of horror when the human body is attacked and mutates out of control, usually in a painful and hideous way.  

We consider our body ours alone, so how do we defend against something inside of us taking over. Lovecraft saw the body as a fragile shell that could be harmed or influenced by outside forces with our spirit still alive trapped inside but aware of the changes going on. The fear factor for Lovecraft is when the body we consider ours is seized, taken over, changed, as is the case with mutation, which comes from the genetic code and carries the curse of our ancestors which cannot be escaped because it is embedded in our tissue (Lovecraft, 2013). 

We can understand this better when we consider the Mutation Theory (1901), Hugo de Vries (1848—1935), a Dutch botanist (Samiksha, 2020) who believed the following: 

1. Mutations or discontinuous variations are the raw material of evolution. 

2. Mutations appear suddenly. They become operational immediately. 

3. Unlike Darwin’s continuous variations or fluctuations, mutations do not revolve around the mean or normal character of the species. 

4. The same type of mutations can appear in several individuals of a species. 

5. All mutations are inheritable. 

6. Mutations appear in all conceivable directions. 

7. Useful mutations are selected by nature. Lethal mutations are eliminated. However, useless and less harmful ones can persist in the progeny. 

8. Accumulation of variations produce new species. Sometimes a new species is pro­duced from a single mutation. 

9. Evolution is a jerky and discontinuous process. 

In The Shadow over Innsmouth, the narrator (Robert Olmstead) goes to Innsmouth and finds the citizens are physically mutating into horrible grotesque foul-smelling fish-frog-human hybrids and near the end discovers he has Innsmouth blood in his veins too and mutates into the creatures he was repulsed by. Interestingly, he accepts his own fate, which contrasts with his initial fear and repulsion of transforming into something hideously unrecognizable. 

In The Colour out of Space (2019) directed by Richard Stanley, a strange alien lifeform is transported to Earth when a meteorite crashes in the front yard of the Gardner family (5 members) who live on a farm in rural New England. Nothing happens at first, but then this alien entity, that emanates strange colors, starts to mutate with organisms it finds contaminating the water, plants vegetables, alpaca’s and the family, like morphing together the mother and youngest son into a hideous blob thing.  

The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Colour out of Space are both good examples of Reyes (2014) description of Body Horror highlighting Lovecrafts trademark of grotesque, horrifying mutations and helplessness when faced with overpowering forces, casting an atmosphere of dread and fear of the unknown for the viewer/reader (Lovecraft, 2013). 

REFERENCES  

Lovecraft, H. (2013). Supernatural horror in literature. The Palingenesis Project. (Wermod and Wermod Publishing Group). Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/ 

Lovecraft, H. (2020). The Colour out of Space. Gothic Digital Series @ UFSC. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/ 

Reyes, X. (2014). Body Gothic: Corporeal Transgression in Contemporary Literature and Horror Film. University of Wales Press. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/ 

Samiksha, S (2020). Mutation Theory: Mutation Theory of Evolution by Hugo De vries’ 

Retrieved from https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/mutation/mutation-theory-mutation-theory-of-evolution-by-hugo-de-vries/12255