H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was one of the most famous horror writers of the 20th century. His oeuvre was enormous and included, among others, the famous tales of the Cthulhu Cycle, the Dream Cycle and the Randolph Carter Cycle. Lovecraft's fiction launched a new type of horror and fantasy tales, mixing different influences and literary prototypes from previous eras and reinterpreting them in his own very personal style. Some of Lovecraft's greatest sources of inspiration were undoubtedly Edgar Allan Poe and Lord Dunsany, considered literary masters that are difficult to equal by the author and modern literary critics.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, Lovecraft lived an extremely complex and bizarre life, characterised by sentimental suffering, mental problems and constant financial difficulties. In a famous study on the author's childhood, critic S.T. Joshi recalls how Lovecraft's mother, suffering from schizophrenia, always kept him at home because, according to her, he was 'too ugly' to play with other children. Both of young Lovecraft's parents died in asylums, an event that marked an existential trauma that led him down the path of mental imbalance, but also contributed to the production of some of the most extraordinary horror-fantasy stories in 20th century history.

In the Cthulhu Cycle, Lovecraft constructed a pantheon of horrifying extraterrestrial cosmic deities, such as the god Cthulhu or the ancient Azathoth, deities who shared the characteristic of having tentacles and an often bizarre and indefinable form, thus contributing to enriching the horror genre and giving it an aura of indescribable horror.

Lovecraft published most of his most famous stories in Weird Tales magazine, helping to make this periodical a mainstay of American pulp fiction. However, during his lifetime he did not enjoy the success he deserved and died in near poverty in 1937, aged only 47. His work was rediscovered at the end of the 20th century and he was finally accorded the success he had unfortunately not enjoyed in life.