The NecronomiCon is a biennial celebration of the works of HP Lovecraft and beyond, and throughout the genre of “weird fiction.” Centered in downtown Providence, it boasts four days of literary panels, readings from various authors, tabletop gaming, vendor halls, and guided walking tours which showcase locations described in Lovecraft’s stories. It is a four-day celebration, running from August 13 to 16, combining elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism.
Running out of Providence, Lovecraft’s hometown, the main convention takes place across the Omni Providence Hotel and the Biltmore Hotel (Now the Graduate Hotel). Multi-faceted events are available including, but not limited to: over seventy literary and academic panels, the Ars Necronomica arts exhibition, late-night film screenings, and the convention’s signature Eldritch Ball. In addition, there will be forty different tabletop, board, and card game sessions, including the Call of Cthulhu RPG.
The first NecronomiCon Providence was held in August 2013, which succeeded a previous convention called “The Cthulhu Mythos Convention.” The original convention was first founded and organized by the Lovecraft Society of New England and ran bi-annually from 1993-2001. It was led by Franklin Hummel, the founder of The Galaxian Network, attorney Joan Stanley, and Necronomicon Press publisher Marc Michaud. The initial funding for the project was partially raised through a successful Kickstarter. The success of the first event was undeniable and it was attended by folks outside RI and the US. The Lovecraft Arts and Sciences Council reported an audience of over 1,300 attendees and guests. In 2021 the convention was postponed due to the COVID 19 pandemic, which resulted in a three-year gap between the 2019 and 2022 events.
The convention was originally centered around the works of HP Lovecraft, but has been revamped as a celebration of all bizarre and eldritch works of art. It has expanded to embrace all creators, thinkers, the form and art in every aspect of the genre. From the classical to the contemporary, from the local to the international, all aspects of weird fiction’s influence are explored. ’Gansett Brewery is also doing a limited re-release of their Color out of Space IPA.
The panels cover a wide range of topics which examine the lives and relationships of weird fiction authors. For example, one symposium is entitled, “Men of Their Time: The Correspondence and Relationship between H.P. Lovecraft and James F. Morton.” The themes and tropes of weird fiction and film are covered in “Deterministic Landscapes: The Role of Psychogeography in Weird Fiction.” A history of the genre from different perspectives is covered with “Out of the Shadows: A History of the Queer Weird.” Panels also engage in dialogues about literary craft and theory in such gatherings as “Not Just Three Acts: Narrative Structure and the Weird.” Subjects involving gaming and game design are included in “Everyone Dies or Goes Insane: Survival and Consequences in Horror Gaming.” This is pretty heady stuff folks. The gaming aficionados could consume the entire fest on their own, and past outings, sponsored by gaming company Chaosium, have produced modules and supplements for the Call of Cthulhu role playing game, including adventures set in RI and in The Biltmore. You may even encounter some sinister figures LARPing.
We caught up with NecronomiCon reanimator Niels Hobbs, on his way back from teaching his “Marine invertebrates of southern New England” class at URI. “What I love most is the multifaceted variety of options all happening at the same time. Art shows, films, academic presentations, gaming, vendor halls, music. You could spend the entire four days on any one of these.” To people not involved in the con, it has an effect like ComicCon – seeing people in weird costumes wandering the streets is “Just another weird and wonderful thing people can associate with Providence.” The international draw has gone down this year, as folks from other countries aren’t visiting the US as much, but there will still be a solid international draw, along with thousands of fans from across the country.
The line-up of special guests this year includes notable, award-winning weird fiction authors like Linda D. Addison, Dr. Chesya Burke, and Jeff VanderMeer (author of the Bourne novels and the Southern Reach series, including the recently movie-fied Annihilation), Manga artist and graphic novelist Gou Tanabe, ventriloquist Jon Padgett, game designer Badger McInnes, and filmmaker Philip Gelatt (“Love Death + Robots,” Europa Report).
The convention also hosts the “Dr. Henry Armitage Memorial Scholarship Symposium” where academic articles on Lovecraft and his various works are presented. Any articles based on the presentations are reprinted as “The Lovecraftian Proceedings” series by Hippocampus Press.
Community events are also scheduled both before and after the convention proper, including the walking and bus tours of Lovecraftian sites. Other special events include the opening ceremony, the fancy dress and masquerade “Eldritch Ball,” and the Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast. The Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast is a holdover from previous NecronomiCon’s, hosted in Providence and Danvers, set up as a prayer gathering on Sunday Morning. There will also be concerts, both to kick off the event on Thursday night, and to cap off Saturday, presented as block parties outside The Red Door and featuring local creepy favorites like the Big Nazo Squid Squad on Thursday, Viennagram, The Deep Ones and Vudu Sister on Saturday.
Public tickets are available for single day entry. (e.g. $15 dollars for film blocks and $5 for the vendor halls) To purchase full-access passes or single event tickets visit Passes and Tickets NecronomiCon Providence or the official NecronomiCon Providence 2026 Eventbrite portal.
This is an event designed to appeal to all people who have an interest in the Cthulhu mythos, Lovecraft, or just bizarre literature in general. From people who take a purely academic interest in the work to those who want to kick up their heels and engage in some good old-fashioned Cosplay, they’ve got you covered. A multi-cultural experience involving all things eldritch is something that is more than just interesting. It is a phenomenon. And it should be.