Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born on August 20, 1890, in Providence, Rhode Island, and spent most of his life there. A gifted but sickly child, he learned to read early, immersed himself in mythology and science, and began writing poetry and stories at a young age. His childhood was marked by instability—his father died after a long mental illness, and his sheltered upbringing and frequent sickness kept him isolated.

Encouraged by his grandfather, Lovecraft explored classic literature, Gothic tales, and eventually astronomy and chemistry, producing homemade scientific journals and writing for local newspapers as a teenager. The death of his grandfather in 1904 caused severe financial hardship, a loss that deeply affected him. A nervous breakdown prevented him from graduating high school and attending Brown University, something he later viewed with shame.

Lovecraft withdrew from public life for several years, maintaining an unhealthy emotional dependence on his mother. He reemerged in 1913 after writing a scathing, witty letter to The Argosy, which sparked a lively literary debate and attracted the attention of Edward F. Daas of the United Amateur Press Association (UAPA). Joining the UAPA in 1914 revitalized Lovecraft’s creative life, giving him a community and a sense of purpose.

Through amateur journalism, he published essays, poetry, and his own paper, The Conservative. Fellow writers encouraged him to revisit fiction, and in 1917 he returned to storytelling with early works such as “The Tomb” and “Dagon,” setting the stage for the mythos he would later become famous for.

This is an abridged bio from the website Lovecraft Stories.