Poe became more than an inspiration to Lovecraft.  He became something of a personal hero.  In a 1932 letter, Lovecraft speaks of tracing and traveling to the landmarks of Poe's boyhood.  In “Supernatural Horror in Literature,” Lovecraft goes beyond crediting Poe with originating “the modern horror-story,” and asserts, “Truly may it be said that Poe invented the short story in its present form.” (Lovecraft, Book, 29)  (Lovecraft does have arguments for this assertion, but a detailed analysis would be well beyond the scope of this paper.  The critical point is that Lovecraft believed it.)

References to Poe appear constantly throughout Lovecraft's work.  In “The Horror at Red Hook,” Lovecraft mentions “Poe's German authority,” a reference to Poe's “The Man of the Crowd.”  As we shall see later, Lovecraft's “The Rats in the Walls” is inextricably linked with Poe's “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Lovecraft's third short novel, “At the Mountains of Madness,” contains many references to “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, of Nantucket,” the most noteworthy being the repeated and mysterious cries of “Tekeli-li” heard by the explorers.  At one point Lovecraft's narrator specifically mentions “Poe's only long story-the disturbing and enigmatical Arthur Gordon Pym.”  Lovecraft also quotes verbatim five lines of Poe's poem “Ulalume” in this novel.