The dream originally took place in New England, in a cemetery there. For some reason, Lovecraft decided to relocate it to Florida, which makes NO sense to me. Florida doesn’t have a history of ancient cemeteries stretching back hundreds of years. Also, Florida is barely above ocean level!
—Lisa Shea, “Author’s Note” in “The Statement of Randolph Carter Twisted” (2024)
The only topographical features of H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Statement of Randolph Carter” are the “Gainsville pike” and the “Big Cypress Swamp.” This has led many to believe the story takes place in Florida, near the city of Gainesville. It is possible that Lovecraft actually intended the location to be Georgia—his friend Samuel Loveman, who appeared in his dream and is depicted as Harley Warren, was stationed at Camp Gordon, only about 40 miles from Gainesville, GA.
I don’t point this out to nitpick, but to applaud. Lisa Shea’s author’s note gives evidence she really thought about Lovecraft’s story. Looked at how he framed it, what he did and did not achieve in a narrative sense. There have been many efforts to revise, revisit, revamp, and rewrite Lovecraft’s stories, from “His Mouth Will Taste Of Wormwood” (1990) by Poppy Z. Brite to “The Ballad of Black Tom” (2016) by Victor LaValle to “Kanye West—Reanimator” (2015) by Joshua Chaplinsky. Like old folktales, there is room for infinite variation. The first version of a story isn’t necessarily the best one, even if it’s the one repeated most often.
Shea’s “twist” to “The Statement of Randolph Carter” is an update to setting, characters, and attitude. No ambiguous Southern swamp in the 1910s and military telephones with long wires; this is set in Massachusetts in the 21st century with smartphones. The characters are younger, but their relationship is less ambiguous. The shift in setting and character requires a few tweaks in the plot; but the end result is tight. Nothing superfluous, no attempts to cram in a random “fhtagn!” where it isn’t needed. True to the spirit of Lovecraft’s original, but adapted to the current syntax.
There’s even a nice little flourish at the end. A little twist of the knife that Lovecraft didn’t do.
As a twisted tale, it works. What works best about it, however, might be the approach. Instead of approach Lovecraft’s tales as canon, they are approached as examples to study and learn from. Jumping-off points rather than fixed stars in the firmament.
If you read the original “The Statement of Randolph Carter” by Lovecraft, how would you change the scenes so they were more scary to you?
—Lisa Shea, “Author’s Note” in “The Statement of Randolph Carter Twisted” (2024)
Lisa Shea has done some other Mythos ebooks including Sailing Downward To The Cthulhu Call (2022) and Dagon Twisted (2024).
Bobby Derie is the author of Weird Talers: Essays on Robert E. Howard and Others and Sex and the Cthulhu Mythos.
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Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein 