Born in and a lifelong resident of Providence, Rhode Island, he was an antiquarian by taste and a recluse by preference. His wide reading, supplemented by field explorations and genealogical quests, gave him a scholar's authority on the history and colonialization of New England. The same firsthand knowledge provided him the the realistic detail and visual vitality that impart conviction to his tales of supernatural horror. His naratives begin in the locale and terrain that he loved and then transport the reader into stupefying cosmic vistas beyond known space and conjectured time.

                                   - Raymond Bayless, Dunwich Horror and Othersdust jacket, Arkham House Edition
 

    Lovecraft's early fiction emulates the writing of Victorian horror master Edgar Allan Poe, whereas Lovecraft's middle period reflects the fantastic style of Ireland's Lord Dunsany. However, the final period of Lovecraft's writing holds up as being both original and cutting-edge in it's cosmic scope. Lovecraft studied both physics and astronomy on his own, being especially interested in Albert Einstein's theories of general and special relativity. Lovecraft explores the latter extensively in his use of time-travel and over-dimensionality(Shadow Out of Time and Dreams in The Witch House respectively). One could say that Lovecraft was the first science fiction writer, although he would definitely object to such labeling.
    The Cthulhu Mythos, or Lovecraft's mythology should not be taken lightly. The social and philosophical significance of such symbols as The Great Old Ones is very important and should be studied in great detail. Why would such a man of fact and science, not to mention a staunch atheist, write about such fantastic mythical creatures? The answer can be approached from many directions, but I believe that the heart of the matter lies within Azathoth himself. Lovecraft has him seated on a black throne of chaos. Chaos seems to be the scientific buzzword of the day, but back in the 1920's it was quite a remote concept, at least the chaos that Lovecraft was referring to.
    The Great Old Ones of Lovecraft's mythology represent the chaos in the universe that cannot be understood or dissected by human minds. We have the tendancy as human beings to analyze objects and situations around us as a way to control them, or at least to pack them away into neat compartments in our brains. Lovecraft's intent is to have us experience the absurdity and futility of our existence, much in the way that Camus, Sartre and Kafka would have us feel in their work. I'm am not saying that Lovecraft was a psuedo-existentialist, but his idea of transience in the human species indeed suggests that. Lovecraft also believed that the more we learn about our evolution the more insignificant we become. In this way he sees spirituality as a crutch, and the insanity that overtakes his characters when they view the chaos head-on as the breaking of that crutch. As long as the human species dwells on the belief in a "higher power" it will be ill-prepared to openly accept its true origins.