Atomic Age Cthulhu: Terrifying Tales of the Mythos Menace in the 1950s

So why Atomic Age Cthulhu, why bring Lovecraftian horror to the 1950s? Because few other points in history seem so tailor made for the paranoia and fear that is so important to the Cthulhu Mythos. While many places in the world were still recovering and rebuilding from the Second World War, this was a good time for America in many ways. The economy and industry were roaring, the middle class exploded and it seemed like everyone could own their own home, car, or perhaps even one of those new amazing televisions, and the nation was filled with pride over a hard won victory. Very few, if any other decade is remembered more fondly and viewed through thicker rose-colored glasses than the 1950s is for Americans. It was a time of innocence where the music, movies, cars, and everything was just so much better than anything before or since. It was a time of progress and strong moral values and optimism. The future never seemed brighter. And yet, all that was largely a façade. Just below the shiny surface of “everything is great” there was a festering fear that wrapped its clammy tentacles around everyone regardless of race, sex, or age.
Never before in history did the world face a global threat as it did in the shadow of the A-bombs, and later the even more devastating H-bombs. Mankind had always waged war, but now humanity had the power to eradicate all life on the planet with the press of a button. Educational films were made to show how to survive a nuclear blast, and at the movie theaters the classic monsters of the 30s and 40s were replaced by the horrors spawned from that atom. Children were instructed to crawl under their desks at school if “The Bomb” was dropped, as if a few inches of wood would make any difference. Many regular families either had new bomb shelters dug into their back yards, or converted existing basements and storm cellars into something with a more grim purpose.