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