Lovecraftian horror | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Music Review: Dreams in the Witch House: A Lovecraftian Rock Opera

Dreams in the Witch House: A Lovecraftian Rock Opera

Presented by The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, executive producer Mike Dalager

Platinum West, 2013

Available: Pre-order (MP3 and audio CD)

Running Time: 65 minutes.

Adapting H.P. Lovecraft into other media has not always been the easiest thing for writers, directors, and producers. It is one of the many reasons Guillermo Del Toro’s forthcoming $150 million epic take on At The Mountains of Madness has generated so much interest and dread among lovers of the author’s work. He just doesn’t translate well to other media. Films like The Thing or Alien, though not created from Lovecraft works, are often considered more stylistically Lovecraftian than the films actually adapted from his stories. However, I have now discovered a very faithful adaptation of Dreams of the Witch House, and quite an unusual one: a rock opera. It’s the most interesting tribute since the silent film Call of Cthulu.

The audacity of executive producer Mike Dalager’s project is my favorite thing about it. Writing a rock opera based on a beloved story is challenge enough; try doing it with over a dozen voice actors, a six member rock band that lives in various countries, organizing recording in LA, Sweden, and Denmark, and then paying for it all without a record label backing you financially. It is quite a feat.

The opera tells the story of Miskatonic University mathematics student Walter Gilman, who is having nightmares while staying in Arkham’s infamous Witch House. Brown Jenkin (Chris Laney) is a hybrid humanoid rat-like creature who torments the sleeping math genius as he unlocks the secrets of universe and opens up travel to other planes of reality. The songs range from operatic metal to straight rock, some with a 90s feel.

To say I am impressed by this project is an understatement. I think every Lovecraft collector or library should have this in their collection cross-referenced to his books. Highly recommended, with a big thumbs up for horror fans, and anyone who collects rock and metal music. Appropriate for ages 12-up

Reviewed by David Agranoff

Monster Movie Month: At the Movies with H.P. Lovecraft

Howard Philips Lovecraft, known as H.P. Lovecraft, was a writer of weird fiction- tales with a supernatural bent- and a defining influence on the horror genre. He was born on August 20, 1890, and died at age 46 on March 15, 1937.

Lovecraft is best known for his invention of the Cthulu mythos- a cycle of loosely-related stories that concerned the “Great Old Ones,” beings from outer space who took up residence on Earth to cause total destruction. After Lovecraft’s death other authors, including August Derleth and Robert E. Howard, took up writing stories using the Cthulu mythos, and writers continue to use and find inspiration in his ideas and mythos today . The subgenre of Lovecraftian horror uses the concept of cosmicism. According to Wikipedia, that can be defined as “the sense that ordinary life is a thin shell over a reality which is so alien and abstract in comparison that merely contemplating it would damage the sanity of the ordinary person”.

The Cthulu mythos and Lovecraftian horror have taken hold in popular culture in interesting ways. There’s a roleplaying game, Call of Cthulhu; a band called H.P. Lovecraft; and a zillion products for your favorite cultists, including a cuddly plush Cthulu, perfect for baby showers(and yes, I did receive not one, but two of these at mine). And, of course, there are movies.

Click here to see a review and suggested read-alikes for the newest Lovecraft-inspired movie, Cabin in the Woods, and check out this one-sheet readers advisory handout for the newest Lovecraft-inspired movie, from reviewer Benjamin Franz.

For a list of Lovecraft-inspired and Lovecraftian movies, check out this page from the H.P.Lovecraft Archives or this filmography from IMdb.

If you’re interested in building your Lovecraft collection, take a moment to visit Jamie Blackman’s H.P. Lovecraft Collection Development Guide at MonsterLibrarian.com, and check out our Cthulu Mythos page for reviews of works of Lovecraftian horror.