John Darnielle channels the dark personality of H. P. Lovecraft more than the monsters in “Lovecraft in Brooklyn.”

Track: “Lovecraft in Brooklyn”
Album: Heretic Pride (2008)

H. P. Lovecraft is best known for creating the horrific monster Cthulhu and other fictional monster-gods. Even without knowing the man at all you can be assured that his worldview is a dark one. I haven’t read much Lovecraft, but it’s clear that he believes humanity to be inconsequential to the universe. The Old Ones in his stories are hateful, destructive beings that are either unaware of or uninterested in humanity’s desires or future.

Such a person is definitely at home in the Mountain Goats catalog. They’re much angrier than most of the narrators we have, but no less lonely. They’re at the end of their rope, perpetually. But this narrator isn’t Lovecraft himself, they’re just using the author as a parallel to their worldview. They say they “feel like Lovecraft in Brooklyn,” which requires that we understand a little about that specific time in the writer’s life.

Some misanthropes hate all of humanity and some hate specific parts of it more than others. Lovecraft is the latter, with specific hatred saved for non-English, white gentlemen. During his time in Brooklyn he was robbed and had a difficult time financially and he blamed his misfortunes on immigrants.

That’s the headspace for our narrator in “Lovecraft in Brooklyn.” They’ve set themselves against humanity in all forms. They view blood on the ground and monsters in the darkness of Brooklyn. They even imagine the end of their actual home.

It’s all dark, but it turns darkest towards the end. Our narrator goes to buy a switchblade and tells the pawn shop clerk about evil thoughts. When we see a sketchy stranger this is exactly who we hope it isn’t, but John Darnielle reminds us to look closer.