{"id":{"repo_id":"baylor","oai_identifier":"oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14830"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/baylor/oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14830","repository":{"repo_id":"baylor","name":"Baylor University","base_url":"https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A knocking at the door : Christian hope in the horror fiction of H. P. Lovecraft.","abstract":"Mechanistic materialist H.P. Lovecraft spent his entire career writing supernatural horror fiction. This paradox occasions an exploration of horror and Christian hope in his fiction. The appeal of supernatural horror fiction in a culture which denies the supernatural demonstrates the fascinating nature of objects of Christian hope, even when represented as frightening or revolting. Lovecraft&apos;s stories contain such Christian elements as revelatory visions, bodily resurrection, radical transformation (conversion and glorification), a body of immortal beings transcending mortal history (the Church), and a longed-for &quot;unveiling&quot; (apocalypse). These elements, however, are depicted as horrible rather than hopeful, as Lovecraft attempts to suppress Christian hope even as he exploits its irresistible appeal. Lovecraft&apos;s pursuit of the fascinating, however, ultimately leads to stories in which the inversion is incomplete and Christian hope shines through. Stories examined include &quot;The Outsider,&quot; &quot;The Shadow Out of Time,&quot; &quot;The Dunwich Horror,&quot; and &quot;The Shadow Over Innsmouth.&quot;","abstract_html":"Mechanistic materialist H.P. Lovecraft spent his entire career writing supernatural horror fiction. This paradox occasions an exploration of horror and Christian hope in his fiction. The appeal of supernatural horror fiction in a culture which denies the supernatural demonstrates the fascinating nature of objects of Christian hope, even when represented as frightening or revolting. Lovecraft&amp;apos;s stories contain such Christian elements as revelatory visions, bodily resurrection, radical transformation (conversion and glorification), a body of immortal beings transcending mortal history (the Church), and a longed-for &amp;quot;unveiling&amp;quot; (apocalypse). These elements, however, are depicted as horrible rather than hopeful, as Lovecraft attempts to suppress Christian hope even as he exploits its irresistible appeal. Lovecraft&amp;apos;s pursuit of the fascinating, however, ultimately leads to stories in which the inversion is incomplete and Christian hope shines through. Stories examined include &amp;quot;The Outsider,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;The Shadow Out of Time,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;The Dunwich Horror,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;The Shadow Over Innsmouth.&amp;quot;","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Epps, Peter G."],"institution":"Baylor University.","degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Wood, Ralph C."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2002,"date_issued":"2002-05","date_published":"2002-05","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:08:16Z","subjects":["Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips), 1890-1937 -- Criticism and interpretation.","Horror tales, American -- History and criticism."],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14830","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Wood, Ralph C."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Epps, Peter G."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-05-12T04:17:08Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2002-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Baylor University."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips), 1890-1937 -- Criticism and interpretation.","Horror tales, American -- History and criticism."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14830"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Mechanistic materialist H.P. Lovecraft spent his entire career writing supernatural horror fiction. This paradox occasions an exploration of horror and Christian hope in his fiction. The appeal of supernatural horror fiction in a culture which denies the supernatural demonstrates the fascinating nature of objects of Christian hope, even when represented as frightening or revolting. Lovecraft&apos;s stories contain such Christian elements as revelatory visions, bodily resurrection, radical transformation (conversion and glorification), a body of immortal beings transcending mortal history (the Church), and a longed-for &quot;unveiling&quot; (apocalypse). These elements, however, are depicted as horrible rather than hopeful, as Lovecraft attempts to suppress Christian hope even as he exploits its irresistible appeal. Lovecraft&apos;s pursuit of the fascinating, however, ultimately leads to stories in which the inversion is incomplete and Christian hope shines through. Stories examined include &quot;The Outsider,&quot; &quot;The Shadow Out of Time,&quot; &quot;The Dunwich Horror,&quot; and &quot;The Shadow Over Innsmouth.&quot;"]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A knocking at the door : Christian hope in the horror fiction of H. P. Lovecraft."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Wood, Ralph C."],"dc:creator":["Epps, Peter G."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-05-12T04:17:08Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2002-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["Mechanistic materialist H.P. Lovecraft spent his entire career writing supernatural horror fiction. This paradox occasions an exploration of horror and Christian hope in his fiction. The appeal of supernatural horror fiction in a culture which denies the supernatural demonstrates the fascinating nature of objects of Christian hope, even when represented as frightening or revolting. Lovecraft&apos;s stories contain such Christian elements as revelatory visions, bodily resurrection, radical transformation (conversion and glorification), a body of immortal beings transcending mortal history (the Church), and a longed-for &quot;unveiling&quot; (apocalypse). These elements, however, are depicted as horrible rather than hopeful, as Lovecraft attempts to suppress Christian hope even as he exploits its irresistible appeal. Lovecraft&apos;s pursuit of the fascinating, however, ultimately leads to stories in which the inversion is incomplete and Christian hope shines through. Stories examined include &quot;The Outsider,&quot; &quot;The Shadow Out of Time,&quot; &quot;The Dunwich Horror,&quot; and &quot;The Shadow Over Innsmouth.&quot;"],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14830"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:rights":["Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission."],"dc:subject":["Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips), 1890-1937 -- Criticism and interpretation.","Horror tales, American -- History and criticism."],"dc:title":["A knocking at the door : Christian hope in the horror fiction of H. P. Lovecraft."],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."],"thesis:institution_name":["Baylor University."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:08:16Z"}