Cthulhu-worshippers in his work are found in what he considered "savage" peoples/societies: among the Inuit and in Haitian Vodoun circles, for example.
From "The Call of Cthulhu":
"...the prisoners all proved to be men of a very low, mixed-blooded, and mentally aberrant type. Most were seamen, and a sprinkling of negroes and mulattos, largely West Indians or Brava Portuguese from the Cape Verde Islands, gave a colouring of voodooism to the heterogeneous cult."
In "Herbert West, Reanimator," he describes a black man who had just died:
"He was a loathsome, gorilla-like thing, with abnormally long arms that I could not help calling fore legs, and a face that conjured up thoughts of unspeakable Congo secrets and tom-tom poundings under an eerie moon."
In the Wikipedia article on him, there are some equally revolting extracts from his personal letters. The bigotry had to do with class as much as race -- there's an example where poor Hispanics are scum, but an educated doctor from the same location in the story is admirable.
I might be alone in this thinking, but I always figured Lovecraft's ethnic prejudices were a product of the time period he grew up in, as well as his background. In the first half of the 20th century, it was expected and totally acceptable for "pureblood", middle-class white people to be prejudiced against non-whites and people of mixed ancestry (mulatto, for example) and lower classes.
Personally, I would have been surprised if the writing didn't hint at some ethnic prejudices, but that's just me, and I learned to not waste much thought on it when I'm reading Lovecraft.
Of course they're a product of his time, to an extent, and likely his upbringing. Other writers, however, don't fixate on race and class quite the way ol' Howard Phillips does, or equate them with closer ties to the supernatural. If you compare Poe, for example, the black servant in "The Gold-Bug" is no genius or hero, but he also isn't a malignant worshipper of unspeakable evil from beyond the cosmos. Poe's villains are almost entirely European or European-descended white people doing each other in (e.g. the Fortunato/Montresor feud in "The Cask of Amontillado" -- they're from the same social class and, indeed, social circles) without the help of any people of color summoning Elder Gods.
The "product of his time" argument only goes so far. There was plenty of literature well before Lovecraft's time that does not contain his views on race, class, and religion. In many of Lovecraft's stories, "the dark man" is considered as much a part of the horror as the indescribable demon from outer space
( ... )
That said, the reason why I threw that up there as an aside is because I do not think it's his predominant failings as a writer. Clearly, my issue is more with his poor storytelling skills than it is with his bigot views. It's just worth acknowledging, in my opinion, while we're on the topic of this popular cultural artifact.
As I'd said, I tend not to waste much thought on his prejudices. I definitely do agree that he has rather poor storytelling ability is worse for me.
This is why after reading several volumes of stories, I honestly can't remember anything besides "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Dunwich Horror" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." Though I did like a bit of "At the Mountains of Madness," everything else I found pretty forgettable, they really start blurring together, yes?
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From "The Call of Cthulhu":
"...the prisoners all proved to be men of a very low, mixed-blooded, and mentally aberrant type. Most were seamen, and a sprinkling of negroes and mulattos, largely West Indians or Brava Portuguese from the Cape Verde Islands, gave a colouring of voodooism to the heterogeneous cult."
In "Herbert West, Reanimator," he describes a black man who had just died:
"He was a loathsome, gorilla-like thing, with abnormally long arms that I could not help calling fore legs, and a face that conjured up thoughts of unspeakable Congo secrets and tom-tom poundings under an eerie moon."
In the Wikipedia article on him, there are some equally revolting extracts from his personal letters. The bigotry had to do with class as much as race -- there's an example where poor Hispanics are scum, but an educated doctor from the same location in the story is admirable.
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Personally, I would have been surprised if the writing didn't hint at some ethnic prejudices, but that's just me, and I learned to not waste much thought on it when I'm reading Lovecraft.
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--DiB
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This is why after reading several volumes of stories, I honestly can't remember anything besides "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Dunwich Horror" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." Though I did like a bit of "At the Mountains of Madness," everything else I found pretty forgettable, they really start blurring together, yes?
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