Providence: Following the footsteps of a horror icon
Horror writer H.P Lovecraft so identified with this New England city that the headstone on his grave reads: 'I AM PROVIDENCE,' a phrase taken directly from one of his letters.
The author, now viewed as one of the great horror writers of the 20th century, grew up near Brown University. Some of his best-known works are set in the colonial homes near downtown Providence, and his grave is in a historic city cemetery.
A visit to Lovecraft's hometown is a must for American culture buffs and fans of the author of 'At the Mountains of Madness,' a famous novella about a doomed archaeological expedition. Visitors can stroll the same streets where Lovecraft imagined stories about dormant gods returning to torment or annihilate mankind.
Several Lovecraft walking tours are being offered March 17-18 along with a 'Pulp Uncovered' festival, March 15-18, that will include discussions of the writer's legacy. The events coincide with the 70th anniversary of the writer's death. The tours will be led by the Providence Preservation Society and the Rhode Island Historical Society. The festival is being hosted by Brown University's Public Humanities Program.
But you can also do a self-guided tour of Lovecraft sites.
'It's amazing how many of the sites he described in his stories still survive in Providence and are in better condition now than in his day,' said Lovecraft biographer and archivist S.T. Joshi, who is expected to speak at the 'Pulp Uncovered' event. 'It's very much as Lovecraft knew it, so when you go there you are stepping back to his time.'