Letters from the Abyss: Epistolary Form and the Unknowable in Lovecraft’s Cosmic Horror
Location
PANEL: Communication Capstone Pt. I
CELA Moffett
Moderator: Cortney Smith
Document Type
Presentation - Open Access
Start Date
5-1-2026 2:30 PM
End Date
5-1-2026 3:30 PM
Abstract
Epistolary narrative forms played a central role in nineteenth-century Gothic literature, using letters, diaries, and documents to construct realism and narrative authority. This paper examines how H. P. Lovecraft adapts epistolary and document-based narrative forms as a transformation of those earlier Gothic communication practices. Nineteenth-century Gothic texts such as Dracula and Frankenstein use written correspondence to create realism, build trust, and establish clear lines of communication between narrator and reader. This study argues that Lovecraft reworks these same forms to produce the opposite effect: confusion, fragmentation, and uncertainty. Drawing on communication theory, the paper treats epistolary writing as a system for organizing and transmitting knowledge. While earlier Gothic epistolary narratives rely on coherent communication to make the supernatural believable, Lovecraft’s stories, which are constructed through research notes, testimonies, and incomplete records, highlight the inherent limits of this same form to produce a different kind of horror. His narratives often fail to clearly communicate what has been seen or discovered, emphasizing epistemological breakdown rather than clarity. By situating this shift within early twentieth-century concerns about science, scale, and environmental change, this paper argues that Lovecraft’s narrative style reflects a broader communicative crisis. Ultimately, his work shows how traditional forms of communication struggle to represent increasingly complex and incomprehensible realities.
Keywords:
Epistolary, Lovecraft, Cosmic Horror
Recommended Citation
O'Daniel, Travis, "Letters from the Abyss: Epistolary Form and the Unknowable in Lovecraft’s Cosmic Horror" (2026). Research Symposium. 33.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2026/presentations/33
Major
Communication Studies
Project Mentor(s)
Cortney Smith, Writing and Communication
2026
Letters from the Abyss: Epistolary Form and the Unknowable in Lovecraft’s Cosmic Horror
PANEL: Communication Capstone Pt. I
CELA Moffett
Moderator: Cortney Smith
Epistolary narrative forms played a central role in nineteenth-century Gothic literature, using letters, diaries, and documents to construct realism and narrative authority. This paper examines how H. P. Lovecraft adapts epistolary and document-based narrative forms as a transformation of those earlier Gothic communication practices. Nineteenth-century Gothic texts such as Dracula and Frankenstein use written correspondence to create realism, build trust, and establish clear lines of communication between narrator and reader. This study argues that Lovecraft reworks these same forms to produce the opposite effect: confusion, fragmentation, and uncertainty. Drawing on communication theory, the paper treats epistolary writing as a system for organizing and transmitting knowledge. While earlier Gothic epistolary narratives rely on coherent communication to make the supernatural believable, Lovecraft’s stories, which are constructed through research notes, testimonies, and incomplete records, highlight the inherent limits of this same form to produce a different kind of horror. His narratives often fail to clearly communicate what has been seen or discovered, emphasizing epistemological breakdown rather than clarity. By situating this shift within early twentieth-century concerns about science, scale, and environmental change, this paper argues that Lovecraft’s narrative style reflects a broader communicative crisis. Ultimately, his work shows how traditional forms of communication struggle to represent increasingly complex and incomprehensible realities.
