Possible source of attack, but not sure

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Christianus_Dei

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Hello. I’ve posted about this before. A bit of background:

I’m a bit of a fan of H.P. Lovecraft. He wrote horror that uses the occult in his stories, but as a source of horror, not as a good thing(ala Harry Potter, etc.). However, I’ve always had reservations towards it. I feel uncomfortable reading it, though I enjoy the stories, though of course I feel uncomfortable about everything–I’m over-scrupulous.

I had two seperate people pray for an answer to discern if it was spiritually dangerous(they didn’t know what they were praying for), and it was in the negative both times. However, I felt like it was God saying yes when I prayed about it. But since they are better at listening for God’s voice than I am, I went with their answers. I read a story(pretty much the only one where the hero uses the occult) and the next day I went under normally chronic temptations, though not especially strong ones, that I hadn’t felt in weeks. I don’t know if that’s a coincidence, but I really hope it is.

Reading it again, I kept feeling, and somewhat hearing, that I should close the book. But Satan’s always trying to convince me that small, innocuous, innocent things, especially FUN innocent things, will lead to bad things happening, usually spiritually.

Anyways, when asking about the safety in reading these stories, last time on this site, everyone said the stories are fine. But I’d still like more counsel on this. Really, every horror story has me saying a prayer of protection every 15 seconds, but I haven’t been under those temptations in weeks, and it coming right on the heels of The Dunwich Horror… I don’t know.
 
It would be one thing if Lovecraft’s stories presented a universe in which evil is celebrated and glorified, therefore encouraging the reader to act in a sinful manner.

As a fan of Lovecraft myself, I’ve never gotten the impression that any of his stories celebrates evil or teaches the reader that evil is rewarded.

If scrupulosity is the issue, perhaps it would be best to tackle that with a trusted priest. Focusing on fictional stories and whatnot sounds like you might be mistaking the forest for the trees.
 
I think you should probably substitute these stories for something that’s spiritually productive. Sounds like its causing you nothing but trouble.

I used to watch a lot of horror, but after I was Confirmed I realized the things we expose ourselves to actually do affect us, maybe not right now but it could come out in the future , I suffer from nightmares a lot now. I couldnt even watch the scene from the Mummy at my mums house, where the statue comes alive and starts breathing fire.

I try and steer well away from these genres now. But seriously youve got to ask yourself is this stuff really helpful?
 
May God’s Holy Spirit be your guide in what you think, do, and read.
May God help you to keep the doors closed to evil influences.
May St Michael intercede for all that is God’s will in your life

:blessyou:

Francie
 
Actually, it isn’t that it may impact my beliefs, it’s that I’ve often seen certain fictional works draw in spiritual attack, and I’d like to make sure this isn’t one of those. The fact that it demonises the occult may or may not help that.

Also, nightmares give me no qualms. I enjoy nightmares, they make for good stories. In fact, Lovecraft’s work gives me the kind of chills I enjoy, not the kind that leave me cowering in my bed, looking out the window in paranoia, like Slenderman and various Slashers. I enjoy those, of course, but Slenderman messes with my head. Which he’s supposed to.

As I said, my concern is what precautions to take to make sure it won’t draw in attacks, because I’ve seen enough of that.
 
Christianus_Dei said:
Hello. I’ve posted about this before. A bit of background:

I’m a bit of a fan of H.P. Lovecraft. He wrote horror that uses the occult in his stories, but as a source of horror, not as a good thing(ala Harry Potter, etc.). However, I’ve always had reservations towards it. I feel uncomfortable reading it, though I enjoy the stories, though of course I feel uncomfortable about everything–I’m over-scrupulous.

I had two seperate people pray for an answer to discern if it was spiritually dangerous(they didn’t know what they were praying for), and it was in the negative both times. However, I felt like it was God saying yes when I prayed about it. But since they are better at listening for God’s voice than I am, I went with their answers. I** read a story(pretty much the only one where the hero uses the occult) and the next day I went under normally chronic temptations, though not especially strong ones, that I hadn’t felt in weeks. I don’t know if that’s a coincidence, but I really hope it is.**

**Reading it again, I kept feeling, and somewhat hearing, that I should close the book. **But Satan’s always trying to convince me that small, innocuous, innocent things, especially FUN innocent things, will lead to bad things happening, usually spiritually.

Anyways, when asking about the safety in reading these stories, last time on this site, everyone said the stories are fine. But I’d still like more counsel on this. Really, every horror story has me saying a prayer of protection every 15 seconds, but I haven’t been under those temptations in weeks, and it coming right on the heels of The Dunwich Horror… I don’t know.
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Christianus_Dei said:
Oh, I enjoy them. But I want to be sure they won’t harm me.
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Doesn’t sound like a very enjoyable experience to me.😉

There’s a ton of great Catholic authors out there. Why not try them?
 
Just remember that I’ve often gone under “Bomb Scare” attacks where I’m convinced something horrible will happen if I don’t act, or if I do something innocent.
 
I personally don’t think this stuff seems like you should really be getting into it, I think you’re focusing on things you don’t need to by reading it, and yes, maybe drawing in certain stuff… :confused:

You obviously already know this yourself as this is the second time you have posted on the forums with concerns even after people say it was fine the first time.

As triumphguy said- there’s a lot of great things to read out there that may not cause detriment. The Catholic types of books will probably even increase faith in God etc 🙂 👍
 
I have read a good bit of Lovecraft, including “The Dunwich Horror”. (One of his better stories, by the way.)

It is not a story that glorifies the occult. None of his (at least none I know of) do that. There is nothing in reading those stories that should draw spiritual attack.

However, vulnerability will draw attack. If you are worrying about it, then the enemy can sense your discomfiture and can seize upon that to cause you problems. I do not see anything wrong with the stories, but if you worry about it, then your very worry lays you open.

If you can’t stop worrying about it, then reading them is probably not worthwhile to you. Not because the stories are “harmful”, but because your response to them makes you vulnerable.
 
To the OP. Hi.

My personal opinion would be a no! Don’t read those books, any books or games that involve the occult or the Devil. Do I sound like an old conservative grandpa? Maybe. Saying thing like that would open me to flak and I would likely to be shot down defenseless. That’s the risk I have to take in saying it here in this Forum.;):o

There are many ways how the Evil One tries to enter into our spiritual realm and one of them is through books. So, yes, be careful in what books you are reading. “He cannot come in if you don’t invite him,” probably some line we see in the movies but unfortunately that cannot be less true. Like the Lord, we know him and may believe in him if we learn about him. Can’t that be true to Satan too? Of course it can.🤷

Now, I am not saying you cannot read those books. I love horror stories. I avoided them at times but not all the times. It depends very much on how stable you are spiritually. Like not everybody can do exorcism. The Evil One will always attack our weak spot. If we have that weak spot and that our spiritual armor (ref Eph 6:10-20) is not strong enough, then don’t tinker with anything remotely satanic.👍

If you are into Christ and find that life is peaceful and good, there are many books that can help us getting deeper into Him and help us spiritually. So you see what I mean. The reverse also can happen (with the Evil One).

God bless.🙂
 
Christianus_Dei

I’m thinking that you should stop reading Lovecraft. Not everyone, just you. Seriously. I’m familiar with his works, and one of the problems here is that he was an *excellent *writer. You are suffering precisely because HP Lovecraft (the irony of the name) was very talented at scaring the bejesus out of people. He’s creepy, but it’s no accident. As a writer I study and teach technique. Lovecraft was a master. But you, (yes YOU) are having a reaction that you ought not be having and so I would suggest quitting him cold turkey.

It is not relativism to say that some people can handle certain things better than others. You can’t do Lovecraft. If you say “But I really still like him (blah blah blah)” then that’s you enjoying your own suffering. Your thread asks “Possible source of attack.” For you, the answer is “Oh yes.”

Satan attacks each of us according to our weaknesses. I don’t have a weakness for getting drunk, but others do and so they must abstain. Satan cannot tempt me to sin with a bottle of Jack Daniels, but can with an Internet porn site. Satan cannot attack me through Lovecraft, but by your own admission, it works with you.

Consult a priest or therapist if you want, but for now, ixnay on the ovecraftlay.
 
Nom_the_Wise said:
Christianus_Dei

I’m thinking that you should stop reading Lovecraft. Not everyone, just you. Seriously. I’m familiar with his works, and one of the problems here is that he was an *excellent *writer. You are suffering precisely because HP Lovecraft (the irony of the name) was very talented at scaring the bejesus out of people. He’s creepy, but it’s no accident. As a writer I study and teach technique. Lovecraft was a master. But you, (yes YOU) are having a reaction that you ought not be having and so I would suggest quitting him cold turkey.

It is not relativism to say that some people can handle certain things better than others. You can’t do Lovecraft. If you say “But I really still like him (blah blah blah)” then that’s you enjoying your own suffering. Your thread asks “Possible source of attack.” For you, the answer is “Oh yes.”

Satan attacks each of us according to our weaknesses. I don’t have a weakness for getting drunk, but others do and so they must abstain. Satan cannot tempt me to sin with a bottle of Jack Daniels, but can with an Internet porn site. Satan cannot attack me through Lovecraft, but by your own admission, it works with you.

Consult a priest or therapist if you want, but for now, ixnay on the ovecraftlay.
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Thanks for the advice. This is really helpful, at least for now.

Honestly, it isn’t the occult part of the stories that I like. You see, I’m afraid of the effects in reality it could have. I enjoy the type of fear that comes otherwise. Giant interdimensional things stomping a house in the night, dogthings coming from underground and eating people. The alienness of it all. I loved Pickman’s Model, and that had none of what bothers me about Lovecraft’s work, but still freaked me out because there’s a trapdoor to a muddy crawlspace near my room. That’s what I liked about it. I want to be scared, but I want Satan to have no hand in it.

So yes, thank you. Maybe after counceling I’ll be able to be okay reading it, but otherwise I think I’ll avoid for the most part.

Oh, and to those fans who can read it and be fine with it:
Check out the webcomic “Lovecraft is Missing.” It’s a homage, about people investigating the mysterious occurences surrounding Howard Lovecraft’s dissapearence. It’s good, entertaining, action instead of horror. There is (cartoonish)nudity, having to do with cult rituals, but it is always obscured or made as grotesque as possible–not really an occasion to sin, but it makes you not want to sin as much as possible concerning the subject.
Also, a main character is a hilarious Catholic Priest who fights extradimensional horrors. His name is Father Jackey. This is(or was, depending if I can shake this eventually or not) cool for me, as I’m friends with an exorcist named Father Jack.

Anyways, thanks for the advice. I’ll need to talk to someone about this who can help. Actually, the aforementioned Father Jack would probably be the most help.
 
Honestly… this type of thing happens with a lot of horror involving the supernatural… I can’t do Slenderman–I actually get watery eyes with how scared I get, and I’m sure it’s not just the stories’ influence with how paranoid it makes me, if you get what I mean. I’m terrified of the dark, and I’m a 19 year old guy. I know, I probably sound like an idiot for saying that…Wow… I write fiction, and am looking at writing for a career path. Makes sense I’d be attacked there.
 
Christianus_Dei said:
Thanks for the advice. This is really helpful, at least for now.

Honestly, it isn’t the occult part of the stories that I like. You see, I’m afraid of the effects in reality it could have. I enjoy the type of fear that comes otherwise. Giant interdimensional things stomping a house in the night, dogthings coming from underground and eating people. The alienness of it all. I loved Pickman’s Model, and that had none of what bothers me about Lovecraft’s work, but still freaked me out because there’s a trapdoor to a muddy crawlspace near my room. That’s what I liked about it. I want to be scared, but I want Satan to have no hand in it.

So yes, thank you. Maybe after counceling I’ll be able to be okay reading it, but otherwise I think I’ll avoid for the most part.

Oh, and to those fans who can read it and be fine with it:
Check out the webcomic “Lovecraft is Missing.” It’s a homage, about people investigating the mysterious occurences surrounding Howard Lovecraft’s dissapearence. It’s good, entertaining, action instead of horror. *There is (cartoonish)nudity, having to do with cult rituals, but it is always obscured or made as grotesque as possible–not really an occasion to sin, but it makes you not want to sin as much as possible concerning the subject.*Also, a main character is a hilarious Catholic Priest who fights extradimensional horrors. His name is Father Jackey. This is(or was, depending if I can shake this eventually or not) cool for me, as I’m friends with an exorcist named Father Jack.

Anyways, thanks for the advice. I’ll need to talk to someone about this who can help. Actually, the aforementioned Father Jack would probably be the most help.
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You see, even the cartoonish nudity (for me) would be a near occasion of sin.

You are the kind of reader that all of us writers *dream *of having. Do you know that? You embrace the story, delve into it and relate it to your world. Not all readers do this. I’m a borderline scrupe myself (I’ve recently thought of an idea for a parody type of story: Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Scrupe) that’s me.

This is hard, because the “Mr. Scrupe” in me wants to say “all fear is from Satan.” I mean, when people used to talk about “Fear of the Lord” they meant a deep reverence that bordered on real fear, but stopped just short of despair, a reverence and respect that would keep us from sinning because of the real “fear” of losing salvation. When it is pointed out that the Bible says “Do not fear” 364 times, it obviously doesn’t mean “Do not fear the Lord.”

The non-scrupe in me says that “fear” in entertainment scenarios is just fine. I once watched “The Exorcist” with a girl cousin of mine, and some scenes made her not only scream but bury her face in the cushions of the couch so she couldn’t see. That’s one kind of fear reaction. And it’s not you. The other kind of fear reaction is the wide-eyed, trembling and “lick-smacking” kind of fear. “Give me more” the viewer says, though in most cases they cannot admit it to themselves. It reminds me of the old Hellraiser series, when the Xenobites show up to take people to some layer of hell where pleasure and suffering become mixed (Lovecraft did some of that too. Am I thinking of Reanimator? I can’t recall). Anyway, I just creeped myself out with that.

I’m not sure what I’m getting at anymore. (Ah, I remember). I was thinking of what you said about wanting the fear but not wanting Satan to have any hand in it.

That’s a hard question for me. Any fear that weakens you is not from God. That’s a fairly logical conclusion. Is all fear of Satan? I don’t think so, but then I can only react to what I perceive is detrimental to me.
 
Nom_the_Wise said:
You see, even the cartoonish nudity (for me) would be a near occasion of sin.

You are the kind of reader that all of us writers *dream *of having. Do you know that? You embrace the story, delve into it and relate it to your world. Not all readers do this. I’m a borderline scrupe myself (I’ve recently thought of an idea for a parody type of story: Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Scrupe) that’s me.

This is hard, because the “Mr. Scrupe” in me wants to say “all fear is from Satan.” I mean, when people used to talk about “Fear of the Lord” they meant a deep reverence that bordered on real fear, but stopped just short of despair, a reverence and respect that would keep us from sinning because of the real “fear” of losing salvation. When it is pointed out that the Bible says “Do not fear” 364 times, it obviously doesn’t mean “Do not fear the Lord.”

The non-scrupe in me says that “fear” in entertainment scenarios is just fine. I once watched “The Exorcist” with a girl cousin of mine, and some scenes made her not only scream but bury her face in the cushions of the couch so she couldn’t see. That’s one kind of fear reaction. And it’s not you. The other kind of fear reaction is the wide-eyed, trembling and “lick-smacking” kind of fear. “Give me more” the viewer says, though in most cases they cannot admit it to themselves. It reminds me of the old Hellraiser series, when the Xenobites show up to take people to some layer of hell where pleasure and suffering become mixed (Lovecraft did some of that too. Am I thinking of Reanimator? I can’t recall). Anyway, I just creeped myself out with that.

I’m not sure what I’m getting at anymore. (Ah, I remember). I was thinking of what you said about wanting the fear but not wanting Satan to have any hand in it.

That’s a hard question for me. Any fear that weakens you is not from God. That’s a fairly logical conclusion. Is all fear of Satan? I don’t think so, but then I can only react to what I perceive is detrimental to me.
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I watched Hellraiser. Good movie. Good plotting, characters, acting, and everything else. I never, never want to watch it again. It was messed up, even by my standards.

Okay, so yes, I am easily scared by horror. Or so I thought. I’ve recently come to the realisation that the uncomfortable kind of fear that makes me want to curl up in a ball and scream in terror at the trees out my window is not from these stories, but from the devil. There’s another kind of fear I get that’s purely from the stories, and that I highly enjoy, but it gets mixed up with the other junk.

At least, that’s what I think it is.

To demonstrate some of what I find fun when it comes to horror. I typically enjoy nightmares. They have interesting ideas, and I like the feeling I get when struggling with undead or being frozen in fear looking at an evil spectre(second most terrifiying dream I’ve had), even though they should make me freak out.
But the worst dream I’ve ever had was a mundane day, just talking with someone, and then looking out the window and seeing Slenderman in a neighbors yard. I hated that dream, still do. It’s a different kind of horror, which I do need to avoid for sanity’s sake. The paranoia and terror makes me tear up just remembering it.

Okay, I think I’m rambling a bit off topic now. That really didn’t have too much to do with anything.
 
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