If you’re striving for a lovecraftian horror vibe but want to avoid some of his more overtly racist stuff I do have some recommendations.
These synopsis contain spoilers but honestly since you’re not sold on the guy I’d recommend spoiling yourself first so you can just take what you like as inspiration the first time you read it or just skim the wiki or tv tropes.
Pickman’s Model- cosmic horror themed around art, specifically paintings. Lots of interesting refs to famous artists and insight on what makes their work eerie. The narrator and antagonist are both artists. Antagonist has an interest in witchcraft and pushes boundaries with the subject matter of his paintings. The monsters featured in his paintings are way too realistic to be pure fiction.
The Music of Eric Zahn- Narrator meets an elderly musician whose original pieces sound both beautiful and otherworldly. Seems to be inspired from a supernatural force and the music is played to keep whatever it is at bay.
The Outsider- Told from the perspective of the monster and starts off sympathetic. Themes of loneliness, alienation and the horror of coming to the realization you’re not human.
Personally, I recommend you make up your own lore since I find the Lovecraft mythos to be overrated and often the stories that include his most famous monsters tend to be the most overtly racist.
Keep in mind, these works still contain racists themes it’s just not as obvious or prevalent. I.e. the first two there’s physical descriptions that aren’t obviously racially coded but the idea of using facial features to infer moral character or otherness is definitely something you’d want to avoid.
I’ve been thinking about how to respond to this ask for a while cause it’s literally so kind. You just compiled and made a synopsis of 3 stories just to make my Lovecraft experience a bit more bearable and fun. TYSM!!! THAT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!
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