By Jovan Stipić

Funnily enough, it wasn't the general public that adored this macabre horror story and the creature that gave it the name, but Lovecraft's peers and friends. We had already mentioned Bloch of the 'Psycho' fame, but Lovecraft became friends with several other important figures of literature.

Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian, was one such friend, and he absolutely loved the idea of Cthulhu and pretty much all stories that came afterward. So much so, they all started writing stories set in the same universe that Lovecraft had created. That was the inception of the Cthulhu Mythos, which is alive and thriving far into the 21st century. Even more so than it did back when Lovecraft was alive.

Those would be the most productive years of Lovecraft's life, during which he wrote other cult stories such as "The Color Out of Space," "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," and "At the Mountains of Madness." It was the master working at his peak, still naming only a few of his most famous works that all got published during the years of his return to Providence.

Living in poverty with his two terrible aunts, away from his wife, did wonders for his imagination and creativity.

But even that would not last. If we have learned anything about his life, nothing good lasts for too long. And when it does end, it ends terribly.

In 1932, his aunt Lillian, died, which plunged the two into even worse poverty. Though he was writing incredible, complex stories, his work still had no mass appeal. Thus, it brought very little money in. For example, it took five years to publish "At the Mountains of Madness," one of his most celebrated stories.

Later years of his life were spent eating expired canned food, and that was when he had enough strength to dig through the garbage. What little money he did earn was made from ghost writing, which left him drained and spent mentally. Thus, we have very little of his work from the last years of his life. He had all but given up on fiction by 1936.

That is not to say that he did not write at all. One of his most famous stories, "The Haunter of the Dark," was finished during his later years. Seen as a classic today, it saw little to no attention during his lifetime. His bad fortune did not end there.

At the same time he got a terminal illness, his close friend Robert Howard committed suicide, which sent Lovecraft spiraling into depression. By 1937, he would be in constant pain from his illness, having written nothing in over a year. On March 15th, he passed away from cancer, drowned in his dark thoughts.

We do not know what he thought of his writings in those last days, considering he never had a celebrated publication. It is doubtful he had any hopes that they would survive the years to come.

Enter August Derleth. 

Though a writer of his pedigree, today, we remember him as the savior of Lovecraft's work. In 1939 he opened "Arkham House," which published Lovecraft's stories as paperbacks and hardcovers and is the sole reason we can enjoy his work today.

The first series sold only 150 copies, but Derleth didn't give up. A loyal friend with deep pockets, he continued to publish his friend's work. However, it wasn't until he started translating the work that he got any success at all.

In post-war France, his stories saw a huge boom in popularity. A country that saw Edgar Allan Poe as a literary titan could do little else but devour Lovecraft's work as quickly as it was released. By the 1960s, his books had become so popular in Europe that Derleth decided to republish the work in the U.S. again.

It could not have come at a better time.

A new wave of scientific horror was taking shape in the States, and Lovecraft's work would finally get the attention he deserved. In the 1970s, his cult following had risen to dizzying heights, with his books sold in the tens of thousands worldwide.

In 1977, his shabby tombstone was replaced with an obelisk upon which the fans engraved "I am Providence."

He may be an estranged weirdo with questionable worldviews, but the raw imagination of his work cannot be understated. He changed the world of horror forever in a way never seen before or since.

And his influence upon it today? Endless.