Dr. Lemons told of a young Lovecraft, who, “Hated this church, but… loved this building.”

Clarifying, Lemons explained that Lovecraft had decided to quit the church by age five and had become an atheist by age eight. That’s right, Rhode Island, this weekend we are celebrating the accomplishments of one of Rhode Island’s leading atheists.

Of course, Lovecraft’s atheism is somewhat nihilistic and existential, a far cry from some of the more optimistic and Humanistic atheism I might champion. Still the government Roger Williams established here 350 years ago helped guarantee freedom of and freedom from religion for all shades of belief and non-belief.

You can view Lemons full talk below, followed S.T. Joshi’s keynote address in which he talks about the long and tortured history of Lovecraft’s literary reputation. In the middle of Joshi’s speech is the surprise appearance of Lovecraft’s ghost, banging out “Yes, We Have no Bananas” on the church organ.

This is going to be a fun weekend.

Lovecraft, for those who don’t know, was a horror fiction writer virtually unknown in his time but now regarded as a master of the form. He lived in Providence nearly all his life, and died in 1937.

The festival begins Thursday, August 22nd at 5:30pm at the First Baptist Church, “Lovecraft’s favorite landmark referred to as ‘The Finest Georgian Steeple in America’ in [his short story] ‘The Call of Cthulhu.'” The keynote is to be delivered by Lovecraftian scholar S.T. Joshi and there will be some words from both Mayor Angel Taveras and the church’s official historian Stan Lemons.

There are other events, some requiring tickets and some open to the public. For a full listing of events and to purchase tickets check out the website.