Is the antagonist evil or uncaring on a cosmic scale? We're talking a Big Bad who is capable of destroying humanity, planet Earth, the universe, or all three and doing so with very little, if any, preparation and/or intent, and with about as much effort as it takes you to swat a mosquito that's landed on your arm.If you aren't sure if a work is a Cosmic Horror Story or not, ask yourself these questions: As a genre, Cosmic Horror is at the very pessimistic end of the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism. This type of fiction doesn't just scare you with big, ugly monsters-though it can certainly have them-it depresses you with the fatalistic implication of being insignificantly powerless before such vast, unknowable and fundamentally alien entities. Lovecraft, pioneer, Trope Maker, and Trope Codifier of the Cosmic Horror Story. The vile essence of an alien disease lurks in the recesses of your own family tree, a genetic time bomb just waiting to go off. Ghosts hover unseen and unheard around you, discerning and mocking your every thought and secret. Parasites and worms slither unseen in whatever food or drink you dare put into your mouth. Demons gibber in the tunnels beneath your feet. Take one step away from the comforts of home, and you will find danger hiding almost anywhere, terror and madness on every nook and corner - dark cults, hideous monstrosities, truths so terrible that none may comprehend them and remain sane.
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