Share

Subscribe now

Released in 1928, H. P. Lovecraft’s stories provided inspiration for decades of literature and fiction.

In The Call of Cthulhu, Francis Wayland Thurston investigates the meaning of a strange clay sculpture left behind by his father. As he continues to investigate the meaning of the sculpture, his mind slowly descends into madness, and his world increasingly borders on the paranormal. He encounters incredible horrors along his journey, and he witnesses the doomed beckoning of ‘The Old Ones’ first hand. While Thurston himself is eventually able to escape the monstrosities hidden beneath the swamps, his mind is permanently damaged by the experience, and he continues to suffer nightmares that slowly drive him insane.

When I first read The Call of Cthulhu, I was enamored by the mood and theme of the short story. Diving into the plethora of Lovecraftian fiction that came after, I find the world and depictions both striking and powerful. As I considered what to write for my first attempt at a fiction novel, my mind kept wandering back to a Lovecraftian inspired mystery.

In The Woman in the Sunken Mirror, Lt. Matthew Barnett steps into the role of our protagonist. He is a well-intentioned investigator, doomed to plunge into the darkest depths of depravity for a woman who will ultimately corrupt him and claim his soul.

The original inspiration for Barnett’s character came directly from Lovecraft’s Thurston. Several other characters in the Lakeborn series bear names from Lovecraft’s stories, such as Henry Wilcox, Francis Morgan, Obadiah Marsh, and Lavinia and Wilbur Wheatley. Many of these characters don’t appear until later in the series.

Some of the themes of The Call of Cthulhu are conveyed directly into The Woman in the Sunken Mirror. For example, Edmund Spencer’s discovery of the sunken chamber is directly inspired by the hidden temples in Cthulhu. Also, the dreams and depraved madness that seem to stem from the sunken chamber are also inspired from Cthulhu, as well as other items and locations central to the stories of other books in the Lakeborn series. Cthulhu is a story centered around madness and dreams, and every book in the Lakeborn Series attempts to maintain a similar emphasis on dreams and supernatural visitations as a silent nod to H. P. Lovecraft. After a certain point in the first book, Barnett’s story deviates considerably from that of Lovecraft’s Thurston. Nevertheless, Cthulhu, as well as the other of Lovecraft’s stories, will continue to provide strong inspiration throughout the series. But more on that soon.

Find the Woman in the Sunken Mirror here https://amzn.to/4nBRaGW

Thanks for reading Wayfarer Tales! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

#ad