High Strangeness is much stranger than “low strangeness,” or everyday strangeness. Seeing lights in the sky that you shouldn’t expect to be there? That isn’t necessarily a UFO or alien abduction team (AAT). It could be a secret military jet or [REDACTED]. High Strangeness would be if you went to take a video of this craft, and suddenly your phone’s battery dropped from 80% to 0% charge in a matter of seconds. Or if the video you manage to take is corrupted, altered, tainted.
this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
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Lovecraft Mythos - Cosmic Horror
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H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos is a shared universe far larger and more terrifying than that of humanity, where ancient, malevolent beings known as the Great Old Ones slumber in the depths of space or time. After Lovecraft's death, the Mythos has been expanded and developed by many authors, including August Derleth, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard. These and many other authors have helped to flesh out the Mythos into a rich and complex Dark Universe.
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Nice topic. I'll add some link about the cited works here:
Who is Junji Ito? An Introduction to the Master of Horror Manga
HP Lovecraft invented cosmic horror and the concept of "High Strangeness" talked about here. To me, they're hand in hand. If it doesn't have incomprehensible beings, events, or even colors, then it isn't cosmic horror.
and the lasting feeling that you'll never understand it, and any serious effort to learn more will inevitably drive you to insanity. to me, staring into the uncaring abyss and feeling hopelessly lost and powerless, is a key feature of cosmic horror.
Strictly speaking the concept itself is an ancient archetype. Strangeness is just an human interpretation to the unknown or the unexpected. There's also the "Das Unheimliche," which translates to "the uncanny." This concept, extensively discussed by Sigmund Freud in his 1919 essay "The Uncanny," refers to experiences that evoke a sense of discomfort or eeriness when something familiar becomes strange or unsettling.
This is the unifying theme of the SCP project as well