Influence or hoax?

[frodosampippinmerry]

Are there any Christian scholars that could steer me in the right direction? = I've seen websites claiming Tolkien was influenced by lovecraft, but considering that the horror Genre in general, and lovecraft's in particular, focus on out of control evil that would assume squash humans like insects or drive them mad, I doubt internet claims that tolkien (who was a good Catholic and whose beliefs are mirrored in his fantasy) ever knew, read, or commented on lovecraft (who was an athiest and wrote dark demonic tales laced with the occult and an air of despair, hopelessness, and inevitable, unavoidable doom at the hands of hostile gods). Do you know of anyone who can give me a christian perspective on lovecraft and any Christian tolkien scholors who might be able to tell me if Tolkien ever said anything about lovecraft or horror in general?