Cat Webling September 7, 2022 Updated March 6, 2026

Monsters that lurk in the dark. Shadows in the corners of your eye. That person who doesn’t seem quite…human. The classic tropes of horror can be very fun to dive into when you’re writing, but what if you want to do something bigger? Then, my friend, it might be time for you to explore cosmic horror.

Cosmic horror, sometimes called Lovecraftian horror, is a subgenre of horror fiction that focuses on existential fears and themes of human irrelevancy. It’s experienced a major resurgence lately (which is…concerning) and so has become a very popular field to write in. It’s also popular in the world of movies, being used as a major trope in films like Event Horizon, The Endless, The Void, The Cabin in the Woods, Evil Dead, or The Mist (beware: the ending of this one is extremely disturbing).

Want to know more about this strange and esoteric genre? Read on, if you dare. (…)