Offbeat | Fans use Lovecraft’s fame to promote Providence’s weird side

Fans of H.P. Lovecraft’s writings are trying to use the growing fame of the early 20th century fantasy-horror writer to promote Providence’s weird side.
Lovecraft so identified with Rhode Island’s capital city that he wrote “I am Providence” in a letter. His headstone bears the phrase. Some of Lovecraft’s best-known works are set in Providence.
In the 79th anniversary of his death this week, a light rain fell as about 20 people gathered where Lovecraft’s childhood house once stood for the unveiling of a marker.
The nonprofit Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council placed the marker as part of a broader effort to foster the weird fiction and art community in Providence and highlight Lovecraft and other writers and artists. It’s working to publicize local historic sites, weird events and unique destinations.
The council wants to use Lovecraft to present Providence as a capital for weird, fun and imaginative events, said Niels Hobbs, the director.
“That’s something even Lovecraft would appreciate,” Hobbs said. “He adored Providence.”
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born in Providence on Aug. 20, 1890. He spent a brief period in New York, then returned and lived in Providence until his death on March 15, 1937.