Cosmic Horror Explained | Horror Explored
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Instagram ➤ @danieljblackwood
Hi, I'm Daniel J. Blackwood, and welcome to Horror Explored, and this is my video explaining Cosmic Horror, or as it is most commonly referred to, Lovecraftian Horror. This video serves as an introduction into the genre, covering its inception, the philosophy behind the genre, its core themes, and how it has influenced modern day horror.
Thank you for watching Horror Explored.
If you enjoyed this video please remember to leave a like, comment and subscribe as it really helps the channel out.
Music in this video: • Free Horror Sci-Fi Mus...
Intro animation by: • Creatures of Madness
#CthulhuMythos
#Lovecraft
#CosmicHorror
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:49 Introduction & Brief History
02:02 Cosmicism
03:00 Core Themes
06:44 Modern Cosmic Horror
09:29 Outro
TAGS
cosmic horror
h. p. lovecraft
cthulhu
explained
history of cosmic horror
horror movie
horror explained - บันเทิง
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![What is 'Cosmic Horror'? [Illustrated]](/img/n.gif)
So I uploaded this video yesterday, and it did really well.
First it got copyright claimed, so I have had to use fog to avoid the copyright demons.
Secondly, TH-cam removed its likes.
And then finally the video was removed by TH-cam due to "inappropriate content".
I had to blur much of the video, so I'm sorry about that, but the subject matter remains untouched.
Also: towards the end of recording my voiceover I came down with a cold. Sorry about the nasally narration.
I was listening only and wouldn't have noticed a thing, except I came to leave a comment and saw this lol. You're good. Great job. I really enjoyed your writing and background music. Cheers☕
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed. I appreciate your watching.
I appreciate your perseverance. Great explanation on genre 👏
TH-cam denying cosmic horror is the equivalent of a bank robber denying they stole millions from the safe-boxes. The Board doesn't want people to learn, just be worker drones!
I know this is an old post but man, youtube really is dogcrap. Smaller youtuber making quality content gets hammered by copyright claims, flags, and other trash. It's so stupid. I'm sorry you have to put up with it.
ngl, cosmic horror or the fear of the unknown beyond our comprehencion was always and still is a part of what humans made up, pretty sure it was there before lovecraft, he just gave it a specific shape and gave it his own spin
He said it himself that it is the oldest fear. Occult beliefs were there to fill in gaps in the explanation of things. Stuff like ghouls, djinns, vampires are just that. It's the nihilistic+atheistic flavor that he gave to it that transcended it from spooky folktales to something quite nice. Uncaring universe and all that.
Would Dead Space necromorphs be considered part of cosmic horror btw?
Puny humans
There's nothing scarier than wondering "what's out there?"
Playing Bloodborne back when it launch gave me this feeling, and this past month when I played it again, that same feeling struck me even harder, maybe because I'm older and can understand more and wonder more but yet I know less, shit hits deep
I wish I still had a PlayStation so I could replay it. It's a masterpiece of visual storytelling, atmosphere, and of course, cosmic horror.
Patiently awaiting a PC release. :(
I wish I was terrible at it so I could play it and enjoy it. Maybe one day
yes, Made in Abyss excels in this. i would recommend it to everyone, whos into cosmic and body horror
I'd argue that The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers was one of the first Cosmic Horror books. Still a lot of gothic horror, but also a lot of what would later become cosmic horror.
The King In Yellow was a major inspiration for Lovecraft, so there are some themes that Lovecraft adopted and cross-pollinated with cosmic horror. Without Chambers, who knows how Lovecraft's works would have turned out! But, yes; I personally read The King In Yellow through the lense of the cosmic, rather than the gothic.
Fancy seeing you here
I just got this book, and idk why, but I have been procrastinating to read it.
Radio drama and podcasts is a great medium for cosmic horror- it allows for the viewer to imagine their own version of "unknowable terror".
The Magnus Archives! Can you recommend any others?
great overview of the genre and high quality video overall! just what i needed for research on cosmic horror
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for stopping by!
Currently writing a series that touches on cosmic horror a little and this really gave me a bit more ideas to expand out and really grab the readers attention so deeply. I wish the cosmic horror genre really blooms further and people get more creative than before.
I can't believe I just found you, you did an amazing job. I really needed this for my English project and it helped me a lot. I also just love looking more into subjects I have a peaked interest in, I appreciate the work you put into your video :) it really shows
Thank you! Good luck on your English project :)
I wondered why I got the notification of this upload again today. TH-cam really does hate small creators
Yeah, the TH-cam police got to me!
I love reading lots of genres! I even bought The Cthulhu Mythos to learn more about how to write Cosmic Horror! Love your voice, it's absolutely soothing, can't wait to see more!
Thank you for watching. I'm glad you enjoyed!
The Cthulhu Mythos is probably my favourite fictional universe ever created, so you're definitely in for a ride. Happy reading!
@@DanielJBlackwood I’ve started reading until The Festival, and so far it’s given me lots of stuff to think about! Really made me feel small compared to the universe, definitely creepy…😨
Already had a fear of the unknown and the book just made it worse-😂😂😂
Great intro to cosmic horror and Lovecraft.
Keep up the good work, Blackwood!
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed. Thank you for stopping by!
"Before there was time, before there was anything... there was nothing. And before there was nothing, there were monsters."
For some reason cosmic horror doesn't scare me as much as horror I grew up with as a kid. I love it as a matter of fact. I'm glad it was a universe left open for interpretation. Gives the imagination of a writer a lot of room to play.
Great video. I'm a few pages into The Fisherman already, so I am even more excited for it now
Thank you! It quickly became one of my favorite novels of all time. Langan is such a fantastic writer. Enjoy!
The genre really plays on my phobia, I love and hate it at the same time lol. Great vid man, learning a lot from these so you better keep it going haha.
It truly is a gamble the genre. Great video loved how in depth it was and the background to accompany it.
Cosmic horror is my fav genre of horror besides slasher and this vid explains it really well
Ive been researching cosmic horror for some time now, and you've gone so in depth, i love it!!
I can't wait to see you continue, after a while, I wonder if you'd be able to help explain ways to better adapt said genre into the art of film and games
keep up the good work, there's only up from here, my friend!
I absolutely am continuing the series, but during the pandemic I started a new job and moved house, so there has been a delay in videos. I'm working to release in batches in future, though. Thank you for your support!
I’ve always had a great idea for a cosmic horror movie. Maybe one day I will script it into action
Your videos are very well done. You deserve more subs and I hope you dont give up on this.
Thank you! I'm not planning on giving up any time soon. I'm hoping 2022 will be a big year for this channel and I'm excited about the videos I'm currently making.
Thank you for the kind words. It's comments like this that keep me motivated. I appreciate you.
THANK YOU, Mr. Narrator for pronouncing Cthulhu the way it was meant to sound!
These vids are great, I don't have a clue about it but the descriptions are fascinating! Please keep going man.
Caught you on reddit, just commenting for the algo. All the best.
Thank you so much!
Great video. You’re gonna do great on TH-cam. Keep it up!
criminally underrated channel
I believe that cosmic horror has a convoluted definition I strongly believe that it is not just the fear of the unknown because if this was the case then all we would have to do is keep the monster hidden from the reader and voila we have a start of cosmic horror simply asking what is it isn't fear inducing no what causes fear is seeing the events of gazing in the eye of madness so my personal definition of cosmic horror is
Cosmic horror- an event that which shatters the reality of the protagonist whether a creature and or realization
Ps a good movie that caught the feel. Of cosmic horror was the empty man it did well on the fear not of the unknown but the fragility of man
Cosmic horror is higher order of abstraction in the mind that begins with a sense of existential insignificance. It is born not from the knowledge there is an unknown, or unknown to be pointed at. Nor is it anxiety with respect to the uncertainty thereof. It is meta-awareness of the chasm between that which is possible to be known and that which we are aware may be beyond comprehension. It is a deeply cognitive response to this gulf, presenting as an uncontrolled descent towards oblivion of coherent self, with increasing awareness that within cannot possibly be reconciled with the scale of without. We are blown apart through meta-consciousness and assign prospective malevolence to the this boundless measurement, coupled with awe of the inexplicably sublime, because we can register no greater threat to our selfhood. That, is existential dread/horror.
This is exactly what I was looking for thank you!👍
Read Charles Stross's novella "A Colder War". It's a masterful fusion of the Cthulhu Mythos with an alternate 1980s America.
This is next-level content. A similar book I read was a quantum leap in my thinking. "Stars Aligned" by Olivia Whitestone
My fav horror genre... I collected all the greats lovecraft, Howard, belknap long, ashton smith, bloch, lieber etc.. It's the notion of there being no happy ending and our longing for knowledge and further experiences.. It being our ultimate undoing.. We long to see, to know,... But when we find the truth we recoil in horror in the revelation of there being no salvation for humanity... That's why things like sending signals into space searching for other intelligence... Or cern creating mini black holes. Research into parallel universes.. Scares me to the core... More than demons or monsters etc.. Our own search for knowledge will backfire one day... Sending us into a new "dark age"...
here you go a subscribe mate! awesome job on the video! been searching abt cosmic horror for a while now and your vid is the best out there! keep up the good work.
Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words.
absolutely love this video man
Thanks a lot! Thank you for stopping by, I'm glad you enjoyed it
Have you seen the anime Space Runaway Ideon? It uses a lot of these kinds of tropes. I'd go as far as to call it cosmic horror.
The only anime I've ever seen is the original Berserk. I was not aware that there was such a thing as cosmic horror anime until now. So that's pretty neat. I may give it a watch. 🙂
@@DanielJBlackwood Nice. You could also check out its spiritual successor, Evangelion.
Also, you could check out my personal favorite animes, the Universal Century Gundam animes, if you want stories about the harshness of war and political conflict.
I'm probably wrong, but is it fair to say that maybe it arose from anxiety? Fear of the unknown, of the unknowable, and the uncontrollable? Thinking that *something* is out there, but not knowing entirely what it is? If I am wrong, I'd like someone to explain because I have a feeling that it's probably wrong. I just wanna hear a different perspective
Dead space is a cosmic horror masterpiece. The main enemy in the game is an ancient stone obelisk.
Actually, the TRUE enemy in the game is far more Lovecraftian in nature. However, this doesn't become clear until Dead Space 3, whereas it had only been vaguely hinted at or teased before then.
Adventure time, the chapter of golden stars is a good example of cosmic horror for kids
Check out the movie "The Empty Man" for a really good example of lovecraftian/cosmic horror done well.
What a fantastic film. One of my favorites, for sure.
Great video.
Your videos are very insightful Daniel, however I wish if you had listed the citations for this videos specifically. I say this for the sole reason that I wish to cite your video/s in a research I'm conducting on the Cosmic/Gothic medium. Thank you for the information.
You really deserve more more viewers more subscribers more likes
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words.
Great commentary 👍👍
I think I am closer to understanding what cosmic horror is, but I'm not sure whether a particular film belongs to that genre. Would Alien be considered cosmic horror?
great video and explanation!
You could technically say that because H.P. Lovecraft was born in Rhode Island, which was Christian, maybe Bibically accurate angels inspired him!
off topic but annihilation was such a depressing movie it made me want to cry because I didn't want to die
Here's my take. The lovecraft mythos and by extension other cosmic horror settings aren't nihilistic atheist settings but pessimistic maltheist settings as actual gods and creator entities exist. Most cosmic horror stories are like if christopher hitchens found out god was real and was as terrible as he said he was but couldn't do anything about it.
Lovecraft! There's my Boi!
If anyone is interested in some great cosmic horror films that flew under the radar I highly recommend:
Black Mountainside
The Endless
In the Mouth of Madness
The Empty Man
Color Out Of Space
All excellent recommendations!
I would also add (unintentionally from best to least best):
Dagon
The Mist
The Void
Sphere
The Ninth Gate
As well the movie “Under water”
Fun fact: You can take an eclectic approach when writing R'lyehian and have it be from it influencing human language in universe
Underrated channel
I've always liked cosmic horror like it was a weird offshoot of science fiction, but it had significantly more impact after experiencing DMT
cosmic horror = best horror
: How about Stephen King's "It"? That was a very successful novel, a classic miniseries, and both were enough to get the two-part feature film production that was also very successful.
Great essay!
Thank you, my friend!
the SCP foundations end of death cannon is both cosmic horror and weird fiction
I am a bit late, but excellent video !
Thinking about seeing “the block island sound” Anyone seen it ?
I love cosmic horror
If you want cosmic horror in sound, listen to Humanity’s Last Breath - Ashen
Rumour has it that WB is going to be making a Call of Cthulu movie. However... apparently based on the script they're going to paint Lovecraft as a cross dressing incel, most likely because of the alleged "racism" he had.
My only hope is that Del Toro settles on the 200M and R rating the studio said they'd give him to make Mountains of Madness. Unfortunately he says he isn't going to do it because they won't let him cast Tom Cruise (I know right? wtf?) as the main character.
Well, how strange. There have always been weird ideas for Lovecraft films, but my God if they go the route with the incelcraft it would be a HUGE slap in the face to his legacy.
What is the movie at the beginning with the car driving in the snow and the skull pattern in the mountain background?
It's a TH-cam video called "Creatures of Madness" by Moon Prod. 🙂
@@DanielJBlackwood thank you!
What is the film clip used in the hospital room?
If you're referring to the clip at 6:15, that's "The Void". A fantastic film, and I would highly recommend!
Came to the comments for the same question, thanks!
To me, the "cosmic" must be there or it is not cosmic horror. With no sense that we are so small and insignificant that it is almost impossible to truly understand, there is no cosmic horror.
Underwater was such a disappointment, Cthulhu was so forced. You could have replaced him with any generic monster and it would have been exactly the same movie. Very obvious the creators did not know what cosmic horror even was, much less how to handle it properly. It irritates me when people list Underwater as cosmic horror because its not, its a sci-fi thriller at best.
I'm glad I gave that one a miss, to be honest. I have see clips of it and it just feels... Off.
I've always found Lovecraftian Horror to be most effective when set between 1880-1930.
@@DanielJBlackwood It might be worth a watch if people are going into it expecting something more along the lines of Leviathan or Deep Star Six, but it will be extremely disappointing if they are expecting a good cosmic horror.
Do you still upload videos?
Be an interesting story for eve be grated the knowledge of the existence of the unknown, when she eats the fruit of knowledge.
*Why aren't there more cosmic horror films*
I think it has more to do with many of the tenants of the genre being largely rejected by modern audiences. The most glairing being 'the fragility of sanity'. Lovecraft's sanity was fragile, mostly because he was a giant racist and it was very easy to demonstrate how wrong his closely held beliefs were. In fact a lot of the issues come back to the creator's racism. Star Trek, for instance, was very much not afraid of the unknown. It's not the 1920's anymore, Godzilla killed Cthulhu.... metaphorically *shrug*
I don’t know how much but Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is going to touch upon this genre :D
The whole 'racist' thing is overblown. No books are written by sinless men.
@@brambleheartit did but in a shallow and bland way; it was appalling.
Can Aliens be implemented into this genre?
Yeah I'm convinced Dead Space is a lovecraftian horror.
as you age, mature and accumulate this life's shitty experiences, you become way less afraid of the unknown than the KNOWN. you start to basically look up to the unknown as almost the only source of inspiration and stimulation. I'd say it's more like AWE than fear. it's a feeling that contains fear, but also transcends it. speaking of which, my favorite all time cosmic "horror" movie is 2001 space odyssey. it's not horror based on fear, it just goes beyond it. and where exactly that is in terms of psyche, I can't even explain.
*N.O.P.E 2022.*
marvel venom could very easily have been cosmic horror. i actually watched a short sci film with a premise like that
I love your northern dialect, but I would adjust the pronunciation of the name ‘Poe’, because that sounded just weird.
👏
anyone else here because of bloodborne? no? okay.
Your last name is cool!
Fallout series could be one
and in strange eons even death will die HP Lovecraft
Can you say Cthulhu one more time...
Starfield should have cosmic horror
Is Stranger Things a Cosmic Horror?
Stranger Things is more hard Sci-Fi with horror elements. It doesn't really share many themes with Cosmic Horror.
4:15 What the actual fuck is a "Kululu"? 🦑
There's multiple ways to pronounce Cthulhu. For example there's Kuth-oo-loo, Ku-loo-loo, Ku-too-loo. The reason there's different ways to pronounce the name is because it's in a language that humans cannot understand or speak, so they're the closest "words" or sounds we can use to pronounce the name.
algorithm
Did this guy for real blur out scenes due to gore?
Lol dead channel walking.
I'm such a pot head that my first thought seeing the fog was, "Man...those guys are getting baked AF!!"
Dude don’t blur when talking about horror lmao