H.P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born on August 20, 1890 and is commonly regarded as one of the most influential American horror writers of all time. He lived primarily in Providence, Rhode Island, and helped invent the genre of Cosmic Horror - a blend of Science Fiction and Horror that suggests our universe is an alien and dangerous place, incomprehensible to its miniscule inhabitants. His stories often feature protagonists who encounter horrible beings from outside our world, resulting in horror, insanity, and death. A cult following revolves around the Cthulhu Mythos, which is defined by a series of loosely connected stories that feature encounters with creatures such as horrible fish-men, faceless flying devils, and tentacled beasts, as well as semi-human cultists that worship mind-shattering deities like Cthulhu, Dagon, Azathoth, and Nyarlathotep. The dreaded Neconomicon, a grimoire of evil knowledge and rites, features heavily in some of his fiction. He died on March 15, 1937, and is still loved by fans of his unique kind of science fiction and horror.