{∅, {∅}, {∅, {∅}}} : Rage Against the Meat Grinder

At the very beginning of the essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature," Lovecraft writes: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”    It can be inferred that according to Lovecraft, a truly effective horror story should not depend on an established repository of well-known monsters and creatures.

Quote from: HP Lovecraft

The true weird tale has something more than secret murder, bloody bones, or a sheeted form clanking chains according to rule. A certain atmosphere of breathless and unexplainable dread of outer, unknown forces must be present; and there must be a hint, expressed with a seriousness and portentousness becoming its subject, of that most terrible conception of the human brain — a malign and particular suspension or defeat of those fixed laws of Nature which are our only safeguard against the assaults of chaos and the daemons of unplumbed space.

As the above passages show, the grotesque is closely connected to horror. Absurdity, which can express itself through grotesque and alienated world, may serve to enhance horror in the story. But the absurd can also be means of creating humor. French researcher Jean Onimus writes that: “Our resistance against the scandal of existence oscillates between clownery and anger, between mad laughter and sobbing”. The scandal of existence which stems from absurdity of the world is a prevailing theme in Ligotti’s writing. This theme serves as a frame within which humor and horror can be combined.