Body horror often imagines the victim’s flesh and bones turning against them. No nightmare is off-limits. Human limbs can become tentacles, eyes and mouths can pop up anywhere, and skin can grow scales. Though this is typically the worst imaginable fate for the character in question, there could be some upsides. If a character wields superhuman capabilities at the cost of unnatural changes to their body, they’ve got a Lovecraftian Superpower.
Most body horror victims either die horribly or suffera fate worse than death. Most victims of Lovecraftian cosmic horror wind up losing their minds and taking their own life. However, some writers like to imagine a character using the limitless powers of these horrific situations for their own gain.
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Lovecraftian Superpowers are immensely powerful unnatural abilities that are often tied to a dark otherworldly force. There are a lot of different examples, but they generally come across in one of two ways. Either the user wields dark magic that can alter reality in impossible ways, or they suffer physical mutations that allow them new capabilities. By default, these power sets are the exclusive domain of villains. A hero can usually only pick up a Lovecraftian gift if they pay a consistent and substantial cost. In many cases, the powers in question resemble unique evolutions present in real-world animals, from the tentacles of the octopus to the chitin of a rhinoceros beetle. Lovecraftian Superpowers can be almost anything, as long as they make the character more capable and the audience a bit uncomfortable with every use.
While Lovecraftian Superpowers are inspired by and named after the works of H. P. Lovecraft, there are older examples. Lovecraft’s Old Gods were capable of altering the fabric of reality and changing the physical form of their worshipers, leaving a lot of the background clear. Before Lovecraft,Celtic mythology introduced thehero Cú Chulainn. Cú Chulainn is a capable fighter who wields a magical spear, he was trained in the art of combat by an impossibly competent warrior woman, and he was the son of the god Lugh. On top of all that, Cú Chulainn has an ability called ríastrad (Warp Spasm) which is a much more visually unpleasant version of The Incredible Hulk. The Warp Spasm grants immense physical strength and resilience, at the cost of overwhelming bloodlust. He looks as if he’s been turned inside out. This power, as gross as it is, is one of thebest pre-Lovecraft examplesof the Lovecraftian Superpower.
The obvious king of this trope on the bigscreen is David Cronenberg. Widely known as the father of body horror, many of Cronenberg’s victims gain superhuman gifts as a limited upside. They don’t typically get the chance to use them however they please, but at least they’re capable of some incredible things.The Flydepicts a scientist slowly mutating into a fly-human hybrid, which happens to grant him the ability to climb on walls. Max fromVideodromegains a bio-organic gun arm and a disgusting mouth in his stomach that dispenses hand grenades. Out of context, those would be somewhat helpful. In context, they do more harm than good.
Across mediums,Resident Evilpresents countless characters with Lovecraftian Superpowers. From the minor G Virus recipient to thebiggest antagonists in the series, tons of characters gain the tactical advantage of being ripped apart from within. The best examples are usually bosses.Resident Evil 4introduces Krauser and Saddler. The former replaces one of his arms with a massive blade and the latter grows a tentacle before becoming a nightmarish monstrosity. The franchise’s favoriterecurring threat, Albert Wesker, doesn’t always show as many visual symptoms, but he’s a great poster boy for the trope. He grows a tentacle, some glowing red eyes, and the occasional disgusting mouth parasite. He also reveals that his long-term plan is to gift the world Lovecraftian Superpowers. Tentacles with razor blades for all.
Anime loves a good Lovecraftian Superpower from time to time.Akirafeatures Tetsuo’s physical breakdown into gore and metal. A variety of quirks fromMy Hero Academiainvolve some pretty grotesque imagery, especiallyAll For One’s giant arm.Narutofeatures Shino, a ninja who uses a host of parasitic insects that live in his body. Just about every demon inDevilmangets into a victim and brutalizes them into a walking mess.Tokyo Ghoulis almost exclusively packed with nightmarish humans wielding glowing tentacles.Deadman Wonderlanddepicts characters who turn their own blood into weaponry. It’s very common, though it’s typically a bit less grotesque in the universe.
Lovecraftian Superpowers are all the fun of regular superpowers with an added jolt of visceral unease. They give a horror writer a chance toplay with action elementswithout having to tone down the fear. When a hero can fight back, the audience loses a bit of the terror they’d feel when faced with an unstoppable foe. If the author makes even their hero’s triumph a nightmare, they’ve truly left no safe place.
