Abstract
This article examines Michel Houellebecq's work from a point of view that most scholars have yet to consider: its religious, metaphysical and existential concerns. I first argue that Houellebecq's novels are in large part an exploration of the psycho-social consequences of materialism. I then go on to discuss three vectors of ‘materialist horror’ that Houellebecq evokes: the body, nature and space. I also suggest a lineage between the ‘horror’ elements of Houellebecq's fiction and the writing of H. P. Lovecraft and Blaise Pascal. Finally, I point out that Houellebecq's vision of a materialistic and post-religious Europe is more polemical fantasy than reality, as extant measures of European religiosity are higher than one might assume from a reading of Houellebecq's novels.
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