Posted Friday, October 11, 2019 1:35 pm

Providence native and cult horror writer H.P. Lovecraft will be the subject of the popular annual walking tour and film series during the annual Flickers' Vortex Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Film Festival (Vortex), October 19-27. Due to popular demand, the Lovecraft Tour returns for four special days.

The life and work of Providence's best known fantasy and horror author, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, will provide the backdrop for the tour, which will be led by the Rhode Island Historical Society. Lovecraft's "Providence stories" (written between 1924 and 1935) are the inspiration behind the walk. Lovecraft wrote eloquently, and in great detail, about such landmarks as Prospect Terrace, the First Baptist Church and Benefit Street houses. Participants will see the site of his former home, as well as locales mentioned in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Haunter of the Dark, The Shunned House and The Call of Cthulhu.

The tours will be offered over four afternoons this year on Saturday, October 19, Sunday, October 20, Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27. All tours will begin at noon. Following the tour, which lasts for approximately 90 minutes, participants will be treated to a ticket to see premiere films inspired by Lovecraft. This is the 12th year that the tours have been part of the Vortex Festival.

The screenings will be held in collaboration with the Brown University Film Forum (BUFF) and screened on the University Campus (blogs.brown.edu/buff/about-us) at 2 p.m.

"This walking tour is a wonderful opportunity for fans of H.P. Lovecraft to connect with the man behind the writer and for others to discover his genius," said Shawn Drywa, Vortex director.

“Lovecraft's horror writing continues to resonate with audiences today and provides inspiration for some of the most chilling and terrifying stories in the genre," said Shawn Quirk, the RIIFF program director. "His work has become part of our popular culture and a major source of academic study.”

Tickets for the walking tour, which includes a ticket to the film screenings, are $22 per person and can be purchased online at www.film-festival.org/HPLovecraft.php or by calling RIIFF offices at 861-4445.