--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Horror and the unknown or the strange are…" description: "\"Horror and the unknown or the strange are always closely connected so that it is hard to create a convincing picture of shattered natural law or cosmic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/h-p-lovecraft-1408_fear_horror-and-the-unknown-or-the-strange-ar_2281070.jpg" --- # Horror and the unknown or the strange are always closely… ![“Horror and the unknown or the strange are always closely connected so that it is hard to create a convincing picture of shattered natural law or cosmic alienage or 'outsideness' without laying stress on the emotion of fear.” quote by H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/h-p-lovecraft-1408_fear_horror-and-the-unknown-or-the-strange-ar_2281070.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/h-p-lovecraft-1408_fear_horror-and-the-unknown-or-the-strange-ar_2281070.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/h-p-lovecraft-1408_fear_horror-and-the-unknown-or-the-strange-ar_2281070.jpg) > “Horror and the unknown or the strange are always closely connected so that it is hard to create a convincing picture of shattered natural law or cosmic alienage or 'outsideness' without laying stress on the emotion of fear.” [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Links horror to fear, noting difficulty in depicting law‑breaking cosmic events without emphasizing fear. **In simple terms:** Fear is essential to horror. Key Takeaway Emphasize fear when portraying the unknown. Themes horror cosmic fear Mood eerie intense Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing horror - film direction - game design - artistic illustration Key Concepts existential dread unknown alienation Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey dread without explicit fear? - What other emotions amplify horror? A Different Perspective Overreliance on fear can become cliché. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotion Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-fear-334896/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Horror Unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror-unknown-5324134/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange Closely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-closely-5324135/) [Unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknown/) ## Related quotes > [Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/searchers-after-horror-haunt-strange-far-places/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Animals do have emotion. But fear tends to be one of the most primal emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/animals-do-have-emotion-but-fear-tends-to-be-one-of-the-most-primal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [“The oldest and most powerful emotion is fear... And the oldest and most powerful kind of fear is that of the unknown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/the-oldest-and-most-powerful-emotion-is-fear-and-the-oldest-and-most/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It's the fear that we're not good enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/shame-is-the-most-powerful-master-emotion-it-s-the-fear-that-we-re/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Fear is the most basic emotion we have. Fear is primal. Fear sells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/fear-is-the-most-basic-emotion-we-have-fear-is-primal-fear-sells/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Shame is the most powerful emotion. It's the fear that we're not good enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/shame-is-the-most-powerful-emotion-it-s-the-fear-that-we-re-not-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no worse emotion than fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/there-is-no-worse-emotion-than-fear/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [First, ask yourself: Is the feeling mine or someone elses? It could be both. If the emotion such as fear or anger is yours,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/first-ask-yourself-is-the-feeling-mine-or-someone-elses-it-could-be/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [“In truth I am changed by the event, and not for the better. Seeing how easily I can be physically overpowered has sapped a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rivers/in-truth-i-am-changed-by-the-event-and-not-for-the-better-seeing-how/) [Susan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rivers/) > [Surprise will be my last emotion, not fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-jameson/surprise-will-be-my-last-emotion-not-fear/) [Storm Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-jameson/) > [One of the primary reasons why people struggle financially is because they cannot control their emotion of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/one-of-the-primary-reasons-why-people-struggle-financially-is-because/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [The brutality of apartheid drains you of that emotion of fear if you have gone through everything you can be put through in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-madikizela-mandela/the-brutality-of-apartheid-drains-you-of-that-emotion-of-fear-if-you/) [Winnie Madikizela-Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-madikizela-mandela/) > [GUIL: A scientific approach to the examination of phenomena is a defence against the pure emotion of fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/guil-a-scientific-approach-to-the-examination-of-phenomena-is-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The strongest human emotion is fear. It's the essence of any good thriller that, for a little while, you believe in the boogeyman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carpenter/the-strongest-human-emotion-is-fear-it-s-the-essence-of-any-good/) [John Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carpenter/) > [The emotion of fear often works overtime. Even when there is no immediate threat, our body may remain tight and on guard, our mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/the-emotion-of-fear-often-works-overtime-even-when-there-is-no/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) ## More by H. P. Lovecraft > [It is the night-black Massachusetts legendry which packs the really macabre "kick". Here is material for a really profound study in group-neuroticism; for certainly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-is-the-night-black-massachusetts-legendry-which-packs-the-really/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“Sounds—possibly musical—heard in the night from other worlds or realms of being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/sounds-possibly-musical-heard-in-the-night-from-other-worlds-or/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Very few minds are strictly normal, and all religious fanatics are marked with abnormalities of various sorts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/very-few-minds-are-strictly-normal-and-all-religious-fanatics-are/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [It's not a bad idea to call this Cthulhuism & Yog-Sothothery of mine "The Mythology of Hastur" - although it was really from Machen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-s-not-a-bad-idea-to-call-this-cthulhuism-yog-sothothery-of-mine/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [The appeal of the spectrally macabre is generally narrow because it demands from the reader a certain degree of imagination and a capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-appeal-of-the-spectrally-macabre-is-generally-narrow-because-it/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [There are probably seven persons, in all, who really like my work; and they are enough. I should write even if I were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/there-are-probably-seven-persons-in-all-who-really-like-my-work-and/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Nothing is really typical of my efforts... I'm simply casting about for better ways to crystallise and capture certain strong impressions (involving the elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/nothing-is-really-typical-of-my-efforts-i-m-simply-casting-about-for/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Thus I began my systematic though half-bewildered tour of Innsmouth's narrow, shadow-blighted ways. Crossing the bridge and turning toward the roar of the lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/thus-i-began-my-systematic-though-half-bewildered-tour-of-innsmouth-s/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Of what use is it to please the herd? They are simply coarse animals - for all that is admirable in man is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/of-what-use-is-it-to-please-the-herd-they-are-simply-coarse-animals/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“How little does the earth self know life and its extent! How little, indeed, ought it to know for its own tranquility!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/how-little-does-the-earth-self-know-life-and-its-extent-how-little/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [The trees grew too thickly, and their trunks were too big for any healthy New England wood. There was too much silence in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-trees-grew-too-thickly-and-their-trunks-were-too-big-for-any/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Plots may be simple or complex, but suspense, and climactic progress from one incident to another, are essential. Every incident in a fictional work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/plots-may-be-simple-or-complex-but-suspense-and-climactic-progress/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/searchers-after-horror-haunt-strange-far-places/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Cosmic terror appears as an ingredient of the earliest folklore of all races and is crystallised in the most archaic ballads, chronicles, and sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/cosmic-terror-appears-as-an-ingredient-of-the-earliest-folklore-of/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Truth is of no practical value to mankind save as it affects terrestrial phenomena, hence the discoveries of science should be concealed or glossed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/truth-is-of-no-practical-value-to-mankind-save-as-it-affects/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) [Explore all 244 H. P. Lovecraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) [Nagisa Tatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagisa-tatsumi/) > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Horror and the unknown or the strange are always closely connected so that it is hard to create a convincing picture of shattered natural law or cosmic alienage or 'outsideness' without laying stress on the emotion of fear.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H. P. 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