Lovecraft Country: The Easter Egg That Changes H.P. Lovecraft’s Stories

Lovecraft Country on HBO includes an easter egg to a spooky location in H.P. Lovecraft’s work that functions as meta-commentary on Lovecraft’s racism.

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WARNING! Spoilers for HBO’s Lovecraft Country ahead

Lovecraft Country on HBO has already given viewers plenty of monsters to contend with—both human and Lovecraftian—but an Easter egg pointing to an infamous location in H.P. Lovecraft’s work may offer some clues about the show and what it’s trying to say. As the season 1 premiere, “Sundown”, unfolds, the mysterious town of Ardham looms over events to come.

Lovecraft Country (from executive producers J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele) begins with Atticus—known as “Tic”— learning about the town of Ardham in a letter from his estranged father. In the letter, Tic’s father, Monstrose, claims that a “birthright” has been kept from Tic. This birthright is somehow connected to his mother and where she came from, a legacy that lies in the enigmatic town of Ardham. Atticus, his uncle George, and friend Leti set out to find Ardham, but not before running into trouble.

When Atticus first reads the name “Ardham”, he misinterprets Montrose’s messy handwriting as “Arkham”. He is familiar with the name Arkham because it is a fictional city featured in several of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror stories, which he has read despite knowing that Lovecraft was a racist. In Lovecraft’s work, Arkham is the home of Miskatonic University (where the Necronomicon is stored) and home to Herbert West, who famously reanimates the dead in the story “Herbert West – Reanimator”. Ardham, on the other hand, is not labeled on any of their maps, but appears to be in the middle of Devon County, a place known for its intolerant racism towards African Americans. Despite this fact, Atticus and his companions set out to find Ardham and his father. Interestingly, the play between Arkham and Ardham both pays homage to Lovecraft’s work while also subverting it.

How Lovecraft Country Subverts H.P. Lovecraft

Lovecraft would never have written a story with a Black protagonist. He was openly racist and a Hitler supporter, although many of his views were common for his time period, and he died in 1937 before he could see what Hitler would do with his power. Still, he is known for his racist views that sometimes spill over into his fictional work. Some even claim that the space aliens and otherworldly creatures present in his work are proxies for non-white humans. Lovecraft Country, based on Matt Ruff’s novel, explores this idea by juxtaposing Lovecraftian monsters with human ones, which both serve as major threats to Atticus and his companions.

Ardham functions as a meta-commentary on Lovecraft’s racism. When Atticus and his companions locate Ardham, they come face to face with violent creatures based on the shoggoths out of Lovecraft’s work—it’s a way to pay homage to the author. At the same time, these beasts end up saving Tic and his companions from a group of racist sheriffs who intend to kill them, thereby subverting Lovecraft’s ideas as well.

Like the Arkham present in Lovecraft’s stories, Ardham has real monsters roaming around. Earlier in the episode, after noticing that Ardham is in Devon County, George says, “Maybe this Ardham is in Lovecraft Country after all”. This not only refers to Lovecraft’s racist beliefs, but also alludes to how dangerous the author’s world could be. While Ardham in HBO’s Lovecraft Country is not the same place as Arkham, Massachusetts, they do have some frightening similarities.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/lovecraft-country-hbo-easter-egg-lovecraft-story-changes-explained/