Opinion - Cthulhu has losts its Scare Factor

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Gamespew writes that Cthulhu is no longer delivering the scares.

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Whatever the reason for Cthulhu’s massive popularity, it’s time for creators to look elsewhere for their nightmarish entities, preferably crafting their own otherworldly threat. Through repetition, the character has been robbed all mystique and menace. I suspect its appearance in the real world would be greeted with cries of “Yay! Cthulhu”, followed by a horde of people rushing over to hug it. Because when can you can wander into Hot Topic and purchase a cuddly plush of a cosmic horror, maybe it’s not so scary any more.
Thanks Farflame!

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Well I was never interested in the setting or games before like others so I cant be disappointed. Though one game called Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones has my interest.
 
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Well…pretty much the same argument could be made about any classical horror character/themes couldn't it?

Vampires/Dracula, Zombies, Haunted Houses, Slashers, Cannibals, Crazy Hillbillies/Rednecks, Killer Animals, Killer Aliens, Sadistic Trapsters..they have all been through massive entertainment exposure, to the point were many regard them somewhat affectionatly. That doesn't mean that if it's done well they can't still be scary.
 
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No matter how old-hat the subject matter may be, it can always be scary if done correctly. You might have to play around with some established tropes, but it is certainly doable even these days.
 
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I disagree. If anything he's become overpowered - much like Superman did in order to compete with Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman and many of the other superheroes in the 1940's. In the original novella you could kill Cthulhu by simply running him over with a boat. Now he's practically on par with the elder gods.
 
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There are opinion pieces written on this site longer than the article.
 
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I always felt the real horror was in what happened to people, not so much about Cthulhu.

I agree. And there should be examples that transmit that well, for instance the Dark Corners of the Earth game.
 
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I totally agree with this article, so just minutes ago I called the Director of Cthulhu Rights and told him that they need to turn the Cthulhu franchise into porn. Lots of tentacles anyway, so its a reasonable choice. Soon you all will browse Cthulhu-Tentacle-PornHUB.
 
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Cthulhu isn't always the center of Cthulhu and maybe that should be explored more. There's a twisted sci-fi element to Lovecraft's works that is reminiscent of War of the Worlds - the Great Race of Yith or the Fungi from Yuggoth for examples.

The traditional 1920's setting is always good one too. It goes beyond the Jazz Age flappers and such and you can read the contemporary assumptions of class like in the Whisperer in the Darkness instead of taking the viewpoint of historians. The cynicism of the post war era is in full display in his writings which sparked things like cubism, freudian psychology, hypermodern chess, surrealism, dadism, jazz, etc. and you can't spin these things as something else.
 
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