So, after I made my Dracula DBWI it got me thinking about alternative trends in popular culture and here's the challenge I came up with: With a post-1900 POD make William Hope Hodgson's work fill Lovecraft's current cultural niche. Keep in mind that some sort of "Hodgson cycle" or what have you would tend more toward the ghostly and ethereal than what we would typically consider modern cosmic horror, making for some interesting changes.
As for my take on the concept, Lovecraft proves that you can die in poverty and still have a major cultural impact, so a scenario where Hodgson isn't, you know, hit directly by an artillery shell could see him publish more weird fiction informed by his wartime experiences. It's possible then that he could crossover several of his ideas into a unified setting, with Carnacki stories set in the "modern" day and the Night Land being the setting's logical conclusion. This would create a wide expanse for other writers to expand on and utilize Hodgson's concepts.
Personally, it would be pretty amusing if Lovecraft played a role to Hodgson that Derleth infamously played to Lovecraft in OTL, but that's just me.
As for my take on the concept, Lovecraft proves that you can die in poverty and still have a major cultural impact, so a scenario where Hodgson isn't, you know, hit directly by an artillery shell could see him publish more weird fiction informed by his wartime experiences. It's possible then that he could crossover several of his ideas into a unified setting, with Carnacki stories set in the "modern" day and the Night Land being the setting's logical conclusion. This would create a wide expanse for other writers to expand on and utilize Hodgson's concepts.
Personally, it would be pretty amusing if Lovecraft played a role to Hodgson that Derleth infamously played to Lovecraft in OTL, but that's just me.