Cosmic Horror is a genre of anti-humanist Horror which focuses thematically on the horrifying insignificance of humanity in the context of the vastness of time and space, in which scientific inquiry often reveals or unleashes the unfathomable terrors of nature and the universe, in the face of which humans are largely helpless. It was pioneered in the 'weird fiction' works of author H.P. Lovecraft, many of whose Cosmic Horror stories have been adapted into films, such as From Beyond (1986), The Call of Cthulhu (2005) and Color Out of Space (2019).
In exploring its themes of unknown (or unknowable) threats from beyond the frontiers of human experience and understanding, Cosmic Horror frequently delves into the Psychological Horror experienced by its characters when the true nature of human existence becomes known to them, and as it is commonly scientific inquiry that leads to the unveiling of these truths, the genre often proceeds from a Science Fiction premise.
