Eldritch horror, a subgenre also known as Lovecraftian horror, is named after its commonly acknowledged creator, author H. P. Lovecraft, best known for works like “The Call of Cthulhu” (1928) and At the Mountains of Madness (1936). Lovecraft’s works operate in a complex mythos of gods, aliens, and what he termed “madness”—a condition that mortals risk when trying to grasp otherworldly and incomprehensible beings. Eldrich horror foregrounds the specific feeling of powerlessness in the face of destruction brought about by entities that are usually apathetic or even unaware of the humans they destroy. Lovecraft’s stories typically depict how encountering impossible events, creatures, or objects can break the human mind. Other notable works of eldritch horror include It (1986) by Stephen King, House of Leaves (2000) by Mark Danielewski, and Lovecraft Country (2016) by Matt Ruff.

Lake uses the term “eldritch” as the title of this novel because she employs similar techniques in building the tension and danger of Maevyth and Zevander’s world. The eldritch glyph, which Alastor tries to teach Zevander, is portrayed as an unfathomable and incredibly powerful magical talisman. Its power is rooted in the chaos god Deimos, who does not care about humanity in pursuit of his love, the death goddess Morsana. Likewise, while Pestilios, the god of pestilence with whom Cadavros is allied, spreads infection to control the world, he sees people only as corruptible objects. Also adding to the Lovecraftian tropes is Zevander’s withdrawal from vivicantem, which comes with an increasingly tenuous grasp on reality, hallucinations, and periodic slippage into a psychic realm known as Caligorya. Zevander’s deteriorating mental health is aligned with Lovecraft’s idea of “madness.”