“I cannot forget Carcosa where black stars hang in the heavens; where the shadows of men's thoughts lengthen in the afternoon, when the twin suns sink into the lake of Hali; and my mind will bear for ever the memory of the Pallid Mask. I pray God will curse the writer, as the writer has cursed the world with this beautiful, stupendous creation, terrible in its simplicity, irresistible in its truth—a world which now trembles before the King in Yellow.”
- Robert W. Chambers, "The Repairer of Reputations".
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| Cover of the 1895 edition. |
Hello again, Cromrades! We trust that you have been keeping up with your reading. This particular book is most enlightening. Tell us - Have you found The Yellow Sign? This week, we take on Robert W. Chambers' influential collection of short stories, THE KING IN YELLOW. It's easy to see how these tales influenced the authors we've discussed thus far on the show, from Lovecraft to Howard to Smith and beyond. We focus our discussion on THE YELLOW SIGN, but other stories from the collection are also considered.
Note: This episode contains spoilers for True Detective, Season One! They start at around the 60 minute mark, if you want to avoid them!
Extra Resources
Listen to The Repairer of Reputations on the Tales to Terrify podcast, and The Yellow Sign on Pseudopod!
Consider whether life is worth living and the notion of anti-natalism while you listen to David Benatar on Waking Up with Sam Harris.
Do Slenderman and other creepypastas spring forth from the same fount as pulp grimoires like The Necronomicon?
Should THE KING IN YELLOW be considered a weird fiction grimoire in the same way as The Necronomicon? Let us know what you think!
One Things
Jon: The Nintendo Switch, and Mario Kart! Who is your go-to kart racer?
Josh: Supergods, by Grant Morrison. (But is it a grimoire?)
Luke: Zeal & Ardor's 2018 album Stranger Fruit.
Next time: Klarkash-Ton tells us of The Book of Eibon. What terrible wisdom lies within the pages of this dread tome?
Questions? Comments? Curses?
Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)
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Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner!
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We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!
Legal Mumbo-Jumbo
Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Closing theme: Cirice by Ghost B.C. All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!
Note: This episode contains spoilers for True Detective, Season One! They start at around the 60 minute mark, if you want to avoid them!
Extra Resources
Listen to The Repairer of Reputations on the Tales to Terrify podcast, and The Yellow Sign on Pseudopod!
Consider whether life is worth living and the notion of anti-natalism while you listen to David Benatar on Waking Up with Sam Harris.
Do Slenderman and other creepypastas spring forth from the same fount as pulp grimoires like The Necronomicon?
Should THE KING IN YELLOW be considered a weird fiction grimoire in the same way as The Necronomicon? Let us know what you think!
One Things
Jon: The Nintendo Switch, and Mario Kart! Who is your go-to kart racer?
Josh: Supergods, by Grant Morrison. (But is it a grimoire?)
Luke: Zeal & Ardor's 2018 album Stranger Fruit.
Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)
You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Did you know that we're on Facebook?
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner!
Or, check us out on iTunes!
We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!
Legal Mumbo-Jumbo
Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Beginning theme: Sudden Defeat by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.