EnCrypted Episode 7: 'Pickman's Model' by H.P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft languished in relative obscurity during his lifetime, yet the extensive body of work he left behind has inarguably had a profound and lasting influence on the horror genre with such luminaries as Stephen King crowning him as "the twentieth century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale". 

He was undoubtedly ahead of his time.  His brand of cosmic horror, his atheism, and his evocation of a centuries-old ancient alien mythos has little in common with the relatively polite drawing-room ghosts of the likes of E. Nesbit or M.R. James, although one can find connections between Lovecraft and the British "weird" author Arthur Machen.

Pickman's Model is an unusual story in the Lovecraft canon.  Relatively compact, it is essentially a monologue (or, more accurately, two monologues) written in informal (ish) vernacular.  As such (and for those who find some of Lovecraft's prose a little on the purple side) it is one of his most accessible short works, and blessed also of a terrific twist ending that works even if you see the twist coming several paragraphs before our narrator (Pickman's rattled admirer, Thurber) does.

Reading the story again, despite the titular Pickman being ostensibly the villain of the piece, it's hard not to imagine Lovecraft identifying with his antagonist.  In this story - which contains, possibly, one of the most quotable/quoted final sentences of any horror story - the artist Richard Upton Pickman is a gifted and visionary artist, with a singular philosophy and mode of expression, that effectively ensures his ostracisation from polite socity and commercial acceptance.

Which brings me to a closing editorial note. I am a firm believer that literature should be preserved for the historical record, and there is very little point (or worth) in trying to censor it for modern palates. As such, I am usually against mangling older texts merely to have them conform to contemporary sensibilities.  In the case of Pickman's Model, for this podcast recording, I have excised a single line containing a xenophobic ethnic slur.  I chose to remove the line (a) lest it fall foul of any YouTube (etc.) policies and (b) because it was easy to remove without detracting from the narrative. 

I would not necessarily seek to make such changes because I was concerned about causing offence.  I think literature, like all art, must have the power to cause offence. 

I'm quite sure Pickman would agree.  But, for the record, I am personally glad that the said phrase won't be there to upset anyone.  If, however, any other part of this episode shocks, repels, or terrifies you... I consider it a badge of honour.

Until next time...

Yours artfully,

Jasper

P.S. 

Scott Buckley is a brilliant composer who makes great music that is free to use with attribution for creative projects. I think his music really adds to this podcast and, if you agree, I suggest you head over to listen to more of his fabulous music on his website! 

 

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About the episode:

"Pickman's Model" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft, written in September 1926 and first published in the October 1927 issue of Weird Tales. Source text online (a great website with a wealth of biographical information about the author too!)

Theme music: The Black Waltz by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  

Incidental music: The Fall by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Other music sourced at: https://www.chosic.com/ 

Sound effect attributions: 

https://freesound.org/people/DrMinky/sounds/166187/*

https://freesound.org/people/phlair/sounds/388340/*

https://freesound.org/people/Sea%20Fury/sounds/48673/*

https://freesound.org/people/digifishmusic/sounds/69876/*

https://freesound.org/people/reinsamba/sounds/15280/*

https://freesound.org/people/nornalbion/sounds/195733/*

https://freesound.org/people/itsadequate/sounds/353277/*

https://freesound.org/people/Ndheger/sounds/118106/*

https://freesound.org/people/pbrproductions/sounds/418830/*

https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/475738/*

https://freesound.org/people/julius_galla/sounds/322296/*

*All used under the following Creative Commons license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Other public domain sound effects sourced at: https://freesound.org/ 

The recording was created using Audacity and distributed via Anchor.

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