A little while ago, I released the Helmut Finch mythos into the public domain. This was a response to the frequent call for more Helmut Finch stories that follow anyone hearing the Pseudopod performance of "Hometown Horrible."
So the question has arisen, what makes a story a Helmut Finch mythos story, and not just an homage to Lovecraft? (The original story is frequently interpreted as a Lovecraft homage, although that is not entirely correct, Lovecraftian flare is just how I write by default.)
For one thing, a Helmut Finch story could be a fleshing-out of the story synopsis presented in "Hometown Horrible." So automatically a story about the Candy Dog or the Cornstalk Witch would be a Helmut Finch mythos story.
But if the Helmut Finch story didn’t start from those ideas, which is a very intriguing prospect, then where does the story come from? Period piece writing and a strong emphasis on the horror of memetic themes is a good start.
But I think the best signifier of a Helmut Finch story would be offhand references to Wisconsin. Now you might be thinking, surely one would have to be a longtime resident of Wisconsin, or at least have visited it once or twice to make cagey references.
Sadly, this is not the case. Wisconsin is the most banal of all states. If you want to give your story a little Wisconsin color, just make a reference to some of the weird town names like Sheboygan or Beloit. Or maybe have your characters drinking a Wisconsin beer like Leinenkugel’s or Berghoff while eating cheese curds. And if you’re extra good at research, include some strangely detailed knowledge of dairy pricing.
