Is H.P. Lovecraft's Body Missing?

(a 10/1997 letter to Ron Marshall)

Good morning Ron! As a member of the Lovecraft circle here in Providence for many years, I know you would be very disturbed by today's headline in the Providence Journal: "New Lovecraft mystery surfaces at Swan Point".

You and I have made frequent visits to the gravesite ourselves. At times we observed petty but disrespectful vandalism there ourselves. The atmosphere around H.P grave is for me eerie reminder of the cult horror film, "The Night of the Living Dead"

Lovecraft himself was a dignified scholar, indeed a philosophical Materialist, and would have scorned many silly cult groups inspired by his brilliant horror fantasies. I wonder what S.T Joshi thinks about this latest abominable deed.

According to the paper: "Cemetery president Dugan declines to elaborate on the grave desecration not wanting to attract more attention. "But–Is he there?" - he is asking himself.

I'm sure H.P would have delighted in writing a horror story dealing with a suitable punishment for
anybody trying to rob his pitiful remains - for what? A profitable sensation?

In one modest way I would like to imitate H.P Lovecraft: perhaps I can write 100,000 letters myself. If one tenth of them were worth reading!

But all of them are FUN writing!

"The oldest and strongest emotion of
mankind is fear, and the oldest and
strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
 - H.P. Lovecraft

Religion in Russia

Is Boris Yeltsin the only significant person in Russia who appreciates Western Civilization's concept of religious freedom? He alone, it seems, just saved this precious thing in Russia. By power of veto!

There was overwhelming sentiment in both houses of parliament to make the Russian Orthodox Church the official one in that vast and troubled country. What an unholy alliance! Communists and religious bigots!

In a way the leaders were trying ,no doubt, to protect their old culture. Our idea of separation of Church and State is as fundamental as the idea of "CHECKS AND BALANCES" in government. It was a colossal mistake for the old communist regime to even preach a definite philosophy- dialect materialism to the masses.

People everywhere hunger for deeper meaning and purpose in their uninspired, humdrum lives. But it is not any government's job to supply it! No government in the world can tell us how to be happy, or even good.

April 2007: An Orthodox priest stands next
to the coffin of former Russian President
Boris Yeltsin in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral
in Moscow.

Only FOOLS will seek ultimate meaning in some political order. Our form of democracy is the best way to protect human dignity. That is all we can ask of it. And that is enough! We can leave all the rest to the world's great religions or to the solitary human heart.