H. P. Lovecraft’s tales of cosmic horror have long inspired obsessive fandom. His short stories, in the hundred years since they were first published, have extended their tentacular influence to Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, the Alien movies, Dungeons & Dragons, and beyond. Paul La Farge’s new novel, The Night Ocean, traces Lovecraft’s unusual friendship with a 16-year-old fan named Robert Barlow. Lovecraft and Barlow collaborated on a story, also called “The Night Ocean,” that was the last work of fiction either of them wrote before Lovecraft’s death and Barlow’s own tragic end.
I interviewed La Farge by phone and produced a piece for The Organist. I also sound designed and mixed the rest of the episode.