Welcome to 2012, and a farewell to the year past! There were some wonderful events attended, performances given, and friends met, both new and old!
There are some changes coming to this crypt that I'm quite excited about. I hope you'll join me in the next few months while I unveil the surprises, and invite others to visit as well. Most of all, I hope to see and hear from you in the coming months, for I'm extremely fond of all of you, and enjoy your company immensely!
Onward!
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Probably the most influential authors of the genre of Horror and Dark fantasy are Edgar Allen Poe and Howard Phillip Lovecraft. Almost every modern work has their fingerprints upon it; they set down the rules and delineated the country of nightmares to thoroughly, even if you are unfamiliar with the details and haven't read them, you recognize the seminal titles and storylines. Their shadows loom large over everything we do.
In his marvelous reference book “Danse Macabre,” Stephen King put forth the icons of what he calls the Horror Tarot, whose archetypes can be found in almost every work in the field, in film or prose. These archetypes are The Thing Without A Name, The Vampire, The Werewolf, and The Ghost , and are represented by the classic novels “Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde,” and “The Turn Of The Screw.” (Although the Ghost Tarot encompasses much more than a single reference, and James' novel is not as influential on modern culture as the other three.)
In examining these archetypes, Mr. King categorizes “The Vampire” as comprising the concept of “outside evil;” forces in the universe that cause grief, misery and terror that are not brought about and are separate from mankind's own actions. We see this in diverse works such as NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, JAWS, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, THEM! , and THE BIRDS. “The Werewolf,” on the other hand, represents “internal evil;” terror that comes about because of humanity's own actions, such as madness and cruelty. Works that represent this Tarot are PSYCHO, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, SAW, ANGEL HEART, HOSTEL , and HALLOWEEN.
We can generalize that Mr. Poe's specialty was depicting internal evil, as in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” “The Pit & The Pendulum,” and “The Fall Of The House Of Usher.” Mr. Lovecraft, on the other hand, excelled at outside evil, in tales such as “The Colour Out Of Space,” “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” “From Beyond,” and “At The Mountains Of Madness.” Of course there are exceptions; occasionally Mr. Poe looked at the universal malevolence with “MS Found In A Bottle” and “The Descent Into The Maelstrom,” and Mr. Lovecraft could write a story of very personal terror in “The Outsider” and “Cool Air.” (Both of which he acknowledges his debt and admiration for Poe.)
But in the main, I believe it's safe to say that Mr. Poe was at his best detailing man's inhumanity to man, the horror of madness, and the failures of the flesh and violence, and it was there that he left his enormous influence. Mr. Lovecraft was more fascinated with an unfeeling, cosmic sense of dread and despair, where mankind is little more than an annoyance and afterthought to creatures and forces that walked between the stars, and this was where his fingerprints can be seen.
Mr. Lovecraft has inspired, both directly and indirectly, some of the greatest talents in the filed today. Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison, Clive Barker, F. Paul Wilson, Peter Straub and countless others all acknowledge their debt to this gentle, soft-spoken man from Providence , RI . No doubt he would be pleased by this recognition; like Mr. Poe, Mr. Lovecraft died relatively poor, with his great success eluding him, known only by a small but fiercely loyal following. I hope he would be filled with pride and gratitude to see how his efforts have lived so long after he has passed from this plain of existence.
So it is with great pleasure and delight, as we move into a new year, that I pay tribute to him with this month's website, evoking his creations in our Twilight Gallery, Recommendations, and Links sections. In addition, I believe he'd be amused by the creature represented in The Parting Glass, being a collector of lore and legends, and would welcome him to partake in his own Christmas tale, “The Festival.”
Thank you so much, Mr. Lovecraft, for your visions and verse. We are so much richer for having had you among us, even for such a short time.
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We also honor another pioneer of the Dark Fantastic this month.
January 7, 2012 marks the 100 th birthday of legendary macabre cartoonist Charles Addams, who, along with Gahan Wilson and Edward Gorey, created a subgenre of humorous, dark art that reflected the nightmarish with affection and wit. Besides creating the classic characters of The Addams Family , Mr. Addams also illustrated the Ray Bradbuy tale “Homecoming” for ‘Mademoiselle' magazine in 1948, a tale that has very special meaning to myself and my fellow Patient Creatures.
Mr. Bradbury was so captivated by the illustration that he intended to write several short stories about The Family featured in “Homecoming,” with Mr. Addams illustrating each one. Alas, that collaboration wasn't to be, due to Mr. Bradbury's commitment to scripting MOBY DICK for director John Huston. But the illustration remained one of Mr. Bradbury's favorites, and when his book “From The Dust Returned” was published in 2001 finally collecting all The Family stories in one volume, Mr. Addams illustration was chosen for the cover of the hardback edition.
In honor of this Christmas Season past, and in memory of a ghoulish grand master, I offer the meditation below, and gently chide the fair Morticia that there is nothing wrong with feeling merry when Mr. Addams is present. Long may he live! (And I'm certain Misters Lovecraft and Poe would enjoy it as well!)
