Cosmic Horror Story - TV Tropes

TROPES MEDIA INDEXES FORUMS

Follow TV Tropes
Edit Page Related Discussion Watch
Browse TV Tropes
History More Ask The Tropers
Trope Finder
You Know That Show...
Trope Launch Pad
Reviews

DISPLAY OPTIONS

Show Night Sticky Wide

Crucial Browsing

Genre

Media

Narrative

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CosmicHorrorStory[6/9/2017 1:06:25 PM]

Cosmic Horror Story - TV Tropes

Other Categories
Topical Tropes

Community Showcase Explore More

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CosmicHorrorStory[6/9/2017 1:06:25 PM]

Cosmic Horror Story - TV Tropes

Cosmic Horror Story Share

Main Laconic Quotes Haiku ImageLinks PlayingWith Create New

"Now all my tales are based on the fundamental premise that

common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or
significance in the vast cosmos-at-large."
H.P. Lovecraft

Imagine a universe where even the tiniest spot of hope for

the future is blindness in itself, the insane Straw Nihilist
yelling about The End of the World as We Know It in the
asylum is actually the only one with a clue, and too much
curiosity about the true nature of the world is a precursor to a
Fate Worse Than Death. A universe where humanity is
preyed upon as a mere plaything for all kinds of
inconceivable horrors, and all our ideals are naught but cruel
illusions; a universe which was once ruled by such eldritch
abominations from the depths of space long ago. Nor are
they dead; they merely wait, and soon they shall wake. They
shall return to rule this world, and all our grandest Image courtesy of yohkai . Used with permission.
achievements shall have been in vain. For all our blind hubris
we are but mice in the wainscoting, making merry while the cat's awaybut even today, the world is more
dangerous than we may know.

Take one step away from the comforts of home, and you will find terror and madness on every nook and corner
dark cults, hideous monstrosities, truths so terrible that none may comprehend them and remain sane.
Demons gibber in the tunnels beneath your feet. Parasites and worms slither unseen in whatever food or drink
you dare put into your mouth. Ghosts hover unseen and unheard around you, discerning and mocking your
every thought and secret. The vile essence of an alien disease lurks in the recesses of your own family tree, a
genetic time bomb just waiting to go off...
Such was the vision of H.P. Lovecraft, pioneer, Trope Maker, and Trope Codifier of the Cosmic Horror Story.
This type of fiction doesn't just scare you with big, ugly monstersthough it can certainly have themit
depresses you with the fatalistic implication of being insignificantly powerless before such vast, unknowable
and fundamentally alien entities. On the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism, it sometimes lies near the
cynical Despair Event Horizon.
If you aren't sure if a work is a Cosmic Horror Story or not, ask yourself these questions:
Is the antagonist evil or uncaring on a cosmic scale? We're talking a Big Bad who is capable of destroying
humanity, planet Earth, the universe, or all three and doing so with very little, if any, preparation and/or
intent, and with about as much effort as it takes you to swat a mosquito that's landed on your arm.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CosmicHorrorStory[6/9/2017 1:06:25 PM]

Cosmic Horror Story - TV Tropes

Is the attitude of the antagonist towards humanity disregard, simple pragmatism, or incidental hatred? (A
godlike antagonist that actively hates humanity and its works is more in line with Rage Against the
Heavens or God Is Evil.) Does the antagonist have a worldview and motivations that doesn't really seem
to take humanity into account? Are the motivations of the antagonist difficult to explain using human
terms?
Are the antagonist or its minions so alien in appearance or mentality that simply being near them or even
seeing them is enough to drive a human to madness?
Are the antagonist or its minions indescribable -- literally? Lines like "I cannot find the words to describe
the vile thing I saw..." are a hallmark of Cosmic Horror Stories.
Is the tone of the work deeply pessimistic about the possibility of the antagonist being defeated
completely? If it isn't, the work is more likely to be Lovecraft Lite.

Answering "No" to more than two of these means that the work is probably not a Cosmic Horror Story, although
it may share tropes with the genre.

In the last few decades it's become fairly popular to invert the common indifference of the Cosmic Horror Story
setting, while still keeping it every bit as horrifying, by incorporating elements such as Your Mind Makes It Real,
Sense Freak, and Humans Are Cthulhu. Such settings are usually still classed as Cosmic Horror, and are
embodied by the works of Clive Barker, and the Warhammer games. In such settings humans often learn that
they really do matter, and their emotions and desires really can shape reality...only to then get smacked in the
face with Be Careful What You Wish For.

Common tropes in Cosmic Horror Stories include:

Above Good and Evil
Alien Geometries
Ancient Evil
Apocalyptic Log
Beneath the Earth
Blue and Orange Morality
Body Horror
Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu
Brown Note
Campbell Country (cosmic horror taking place outside New England)
Closed Circle
Cosmic Horror Reveal
The Dark Times
Diabolus ex Machina
Diabolus ex Nihilo

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CosmicHorrorStory[6/9/2017 1:06:25 PM]

Cosmic Horror Story - TV Tropes

Dimension Lord
Dug Too Deep
Eldritch Abomination
Eldritch Location
Go Mad from the Revelation
God Is Evil
Half-Human Hybrid
Humans Are Insects
Humans Are Morons
Insignificant Little Blue Planet
Leaking Can of Evil
Lovecraft Country (New England is the standard settings for these stories)
Lovecraft Lite
Mad God
Mind Rape
Mythopoeia: Most Eldritch Abominations do not derive from folklore.
That said, there are quite a few of them that created folklore accidentally.
Outside-Context Problem
Outside-Genre Foe
Planetary Parasite
Psychological Horror
Puny Earthlings
Puppeteer Parasite
Sealed Evil in a Can
So You Want To Write A Cosmic Horror Story
These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know
Through the Eyes of Madness
Technologically Advanced Foe
Time Abyss
Tome of Eldritch Lore
Town with a Dark Secret
Ultimate Evil

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CosmicHorrorStory[6/9/2017 1:06:25 PM]

Cosmic Horror Story - TV Tropes

The Unpronounceable
You Cannot Grasp the True Form

The genre is sometimes called "Cosmic Horror", Lovecraftian Fiction, or Weird Fiction. Very likely to use
Paranoia Fuel and invoke an atmosphere similar to Room 101; both tropes play with the fear of that unknown
thing that happens to traumatize all those who encounter it. A Despair Event Horizon or a Downer Ending can
be used to add to the depressing atmosphere. Compare/contrast with Gothic Horror (on which prose the first
Cosmic Horror Stories, like those from Lovecraft himself, borrowed), Dark Fantasy, Crapsack World, Mind
Screw and Through the Eyes of Madness.

Note that while the Cthulhu Mythos Shared Universe originated in the Cosmic Horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, a
Cosmic Horror Story need not refer to the Mythos or borrow from its imagery. Lovecraft Lite goes a step further
than that by either giving the setting some genuine hope or playing it for laughs.

Examples

open/close all folders

Anime & Manga

Comic Books

Documentary

Fan Works

Films Animated

Films Live Action

Literature

Live Action TV

Music

Radio

Religion

Tabletop Games

Theater

Video Games

Visual Novels

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CosmicHorrorStory[6/9/2017 1:06:25 PM]

Cosmic Horror Story - TV Tropes

Web Comics

Web Original

Western Animation

They're coming, they're-- We'Re heRe.

Alternative Title(s): Lovecraftian Fiction , Lovecraftian , Cosmic Horror Stories , Cosmic Horror Genre

Previous Index Next

Corrupt Church JustForFun/Trope Names for a Band Covert Pervert

Lovecraftian Tropes Did You Just Index Cthulhu?

Eldritch Abomination Sliding Scale of Villain Effectiveness God Is Evil

Corrupt Quartermaster Cynicism Tropes CrapSackWorld

Computer Virus Sci-Fi Horror Eldritch Abomination

Cloning Blues Romanticism Versus Enlightenment Creating Life Is Bad

Bloody Tropes Horror Tropes Lovecraftian Tropes

Black Face The Roaring '20s Dance Sensation

Primal Fear Nightmare Fuel Swarm of Rats

Compensating for Something ImageSource/Internet Council of Vampires

Cosmic Egg We Are Not Alone Index Cosplay

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CosmicHorrorStory[6/9/2017 1:06:25 PM]

Cosmic Horror Story - TV Tropes

TVTROPES COMMUNITY TROPES

About TVTropes Ask The Tropers HQ
The Goals of TVTropesTrope Launch Pad About Us
The Troping Code Trope Finder Contact Us
TVTropes Customs You Know That Show Advertising:
Tropes of Legend Live Blogs advertising@proper.

Reviews
Forum

TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. Privacy Policy

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CosmicHorrorStory[6/9/2017 1:06:25 PM]