Happy Horrordays

The Masque (or Mask, originally) of the Red Death needs no introduction. However, if you've seen or heard any adaptations, the original text is a rewarding treat. Poe's musical descriptions are on full display here. Say what you will about dear Edgar; the man could write!

Why is this our choice for Day of the Dead? I toyed with finding a Latin American tale, but finding translations is tricky. I work in the public domain, and for me to read the story here, both the writer and the translator would have to have been dead for at least 70 years.

Covering this holiday was also a last-minute choice. Next year, friends, next year. However, I think I chose well! This is a tale about people who tried to forget the dead and dying, and the penalty they paid! In a time when many people feel forgotten, it touched my soul even as it sent shivers up my spine.

Vivek Abhishek's royalty-free songs played a nice role here, as did a Tibetan bowl standing in for a clock chime. Please check out Vivek's music; it'd do my soul good.

#diadelosmuertos #dayofthedead #horror #poe #fiction

I'm tired, friends. Good night!

Have you seen the Pallid Mask? Have you found the Yellow Sign? Have you read The King in Yellow? Halloween or not, here's hoping the answer to all these questions is "no."

We finish our journey through the early days of cosmic horror with the second half of Robert Chambers' "The Yellow Sign." If you didn't listen to part 1 last week, I recommend catching up before you join Scott and Tessie as they rapidly descend into truly dreadful, unworldly horror.

I hope you've all enjoyed our Halloween celebration! Against my better judgment, I'll cover Día de los Muertos this year. I hope you like costume parties, because we're looking at Poe and The Masque of the Red Death!

Vivek Abhishek's royalty-free music helped a lot this week. I'm grateful that he keeps composing and sharing his work. I layered some of his songs with sound effects this time around, and I liked the effect.

How are you liking the podcast? Tell me what you think at [email protected].

Talk soon, my friends? Happy horrordays to you.

#horror #scary #halloween #fiction #chambers #kinginyellow #cosmichorror #yellowsign

A mere week before Halloween! I wanted to embrace Chambers' King In Yellow one last time before we travel on to other provinces in the realm of horror!

The Yellow Sign is more phantasmagoric than I gave it credit for initially. Its themes include romance and decadence, certainly, but they don't stop there. Beneath its surface lie secrets and unforgiven crimes, love and death, and that hideous play, "The King in Yellow."

There are more scares here than I'd remembered. It's intense and strange; I think The Yellow Wallpaper influenced Chambers more than I'd assumed. And Oscar Wilde, of course. But that's all in my commentary on tonight's story.

I found a new Vivek Abhishek piece for this story, "The Tall Man." As always, I'm indebted to Abhishek for his royalty-free music. As always, his YouTube page is free to all.

All right, friends. Beware of corpse worms bearing gifts, and enjoy your last week before #Halloween.

#horror #romance #chambers #kinginyellow #yellowsign

The sixth story in Chambers' book, The King in Yellow, was inspired by The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam. And it arguably isn't a story. Call it vignettes, micro-fictions, inscrutable fables. Each one has similar habits and similar themes. Characters like Truth and Death march the stage here, often accompanied by the narration of a man who knows that he doesn't know what's happening.

It's not Chambers' best writing, though I wouldn't undervalue it. I suspect it's his best attempt to put the content of his cursed, unwritten play, "The King in Yellow," to paper.

Vivek Abhishek's music, as always, was very valuable this week. My thanks to him and his royalty-free YouTube channel.

#halloween #horror #robertchambers #kinginyellow #fiction

Good night, my friends. And happy horrordays to you.

Well, hello!

Robert Chambers's "In the Court of the Dragon" is part of his famous King In Yellow stories. These 10 stories, which inspired legends like the Cthulhu mythos and the first season of True Detective, have resonated widely and well in popular culture.

This is a nicely intense little story for Halloween. I hope you'll enjoy it in full... and that no 'slender man' is hunting you through the Paris streets, to your home... on the Rue Du Dragon.

As always, Vivek Abhishek has my gratitude. His lovely, royalty-free music makes the podcast work. "The Door" and "Obsession" are doing a lot of heavy lifting in this story.

#kinginyellow #hastur #robertchambers #horror #paris #halloween

Good night!

Happy Halloween, my friends! The season of the witch is upon us, and we descend, hand in hand, into weird fiction's open maw!

Yes, H.P. Lovecraft is probably the best-known weird fiction author. I can see why. When he wasn't busy being consumed by racist delusions, he had some interesting ideas. However, he was inspired by better writers. M.R. James, E.F. Benson, E.A. Poe... and, indirectly, by the great Ambrose Bierce.

Lovecraft, you see, was inspired by Robert Chambers' story cycle "The King in Yellow." And Chambers was inspired by Bierce. Thus, before we get to Chambers, we're starting with Bierce's tale, "An Inhabitant of Carcosa."

The image for our podcast is by... dronebogus, apparently. Anyhow, much thanks to them, and the Creative Commons License they shared it under.

Vivek Abhishek, in his kindness, provided several royalty-free songs for this episode: "Haunting Ghost Choir," "Obsession," and of course, our de facto theme, "The Door."

If you're interested, reach out to me: [email protected]

I have to choose the best weird fiction I can find for October 2026's many weekends, and I'd appreciate your thoughts!

Take care, and happy horrordays, to you.

#horror #weird #weirdfiction #kinginyellow #carcosa #bierce #halloween

Leave it to M.R. James to title a story "Rats," and then immediately say it's not about rats at all. Sometimes, the thing under the blanket is much nastier than mere vermin!

Labor Day is a challenging holiday to pair with tales of horror and spirits. It's a relatively young holiday, established locally in NYC in 1882, and as such it doesn't have any august or risible traditions for me to exploit. Still, I think this story has just enough about class in it to fit the bill while still keeping things interesting.

No more holidays in September, I think, though if I change my mind, you'll see an episode drop into your feed. If you subscribe, you won't miss any.

October, though! It's time for me to get busy reading! I don't have my seasonal tales picked out yet, or even my release schedule, but you can expect at least 4. The final seasonal tale will be released on Día de los Muertos, not Halloween.

All Hallows. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

#horror #laborday #mrjames #ghosts

Hello, friends! Welcome back!

Obon is more like the Japanese equivalent of Día de los Muertos than it is Halloween... though it bears a resemblance to Samhain as well. Yes, it is a time for remembering the beloved dead, but it's also a time to expect visitations from Things Beyond The Veil.

Of all the possible visitors, Japanese Yokai are some of the most delightfully bizarre and grotesque. Lafcadio Hearn's tale of a samurai-priest and his encounter with Night Things ticks every box for me. It's almost a fairy tale but with some very gruesome fairies in the mix.

What did you think of it? [email protected]

As always, Vivek Abhishek's music greatly enhanced this episode. My thanks to him! Check out his YouTube page if you want more music to tell scary stories by.

#horror #obon #japan #yokai #hearn #audiobook

The Great God Pan is dead, indeed. Thank you for coming on this journey with us. I noticed that some of you missed chapter 7, but rest assured, it is waiting for you.

If you subscribe, that will never happen again.

Machens truly knew how to craft a nasty tale. It will almost be a relief when we visit Japan at the week's end and join the festival of Obon! Japanese ghosts and goblins are always imaginative and entertaining.

The usual Thank You to Vivek Abhishek for the use of his themes. His YouTube page is replete with music of all stripes for you royalty-free enjoyment.

Sleep well, friends. Pleasant dreams.

#horror #pan #machens #greatgodpan

Our penultimate chapter, friends! Machen's novella is nearing its end, Helen Vaughn's fate is all but sealed, and... well, very little is right with the world. You don't need me to tell you that, though. You have eyes.

David Milloway's voice work has continued to improve throughout this series. This is a good time to thank him for volunteering for a challenging project and learning the ways of Audacity in the process. We've been creative partners before, and it's good to be working together again.

As always, I'm grateful to Vivek Abhishek for his royalty-free music. Check out his YouTube channel for more spooky thrills.

I hope you're enjoying our little show. It's been a good summer, and an exceedingly long Solstice. I'm looking forward to finishing up this leg of the journey and moving forward to Obon in August.

Happy Horrordays to you.

#horror #pan #gods #fiction #stories