It would be ridiculous to suggest that all Mythos stories have the same plot. As more and more tales are spun, this becomes less and less likely as writers experiment with the Lovecraft’s vision of Elder Gods. Still, there are many – I would say most – stories that seem to follow a standard plot type. At least, a traditional Mythos tale, anyway. That plot involves an oblivious individual falling into or dabbling with things better left alone. The classic ending features the main character meeting his end at the tentacles of a monster (Writing it down in a journal, as it happens, is optional.)
I recently realized where this plot type came from. This Christmas, I chose to re-read The Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James. And it was here in this book that I saw where H.P. Lovecraft chose the plot. HPL was well-acquainted with M.R. James and other ghost story writers, as his The Supernatural Horror in Literature proves. Of James, he wrote:
“At the opposite pole of genius from Lord Dunsany, and gifted with an almost diabolic power of calling horror by gentle steps from the midst of prosaic daily life, is the scholarly Montague Rhodes James, Provost of Eton College, antiquary of note, and recognized authority on mediæval manuscripts and cathedral history. Dr. James, long fond of telling spectral tales at Christmastide, has become by slow degrees a literary weird fictionist of the very first rank; and has developed a distinctive style and method likely to serve as models for an enduring line of disciples.”
The Supernatural Horror in Literature by H. P. Lovecraft
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