The Lost World of the Antarctic: Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness

Record summary

Lovecraft’s novella presents a supposedly suppressed Antarctic expedition report involving ancient nonhuman beings, ruins and competing interpretations of creation and civilization. As a clearly fictional apocryphal narrative, it is useful for comparing how expeditionary authority, polar remoteness and “watcher” or creator figures are used to produce religious dread. It should remain classified as literature, not a purportedly authentic field report. Publication history, serialization in Astounding Stories and Lovecraft’s influences can be verified through bibliographies and manuscript studies.